Use of information by the Commission
1. Pursuant to Article 43(1) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 a provider of information may agree that the Commission be entitled to use information acquired pursuant to that Regulation for purposes other than those for which the information was originally acquired by the Commission.
2. If the information provider provides a waiver to the Commission pursuant to Article 43(1) Regulation (EU) 2022/2560, the information provider shall indicate which specific information it allows being used for purposes other than those for which the information was acquired and provide reasons why that information would be relevant for those other purposes, including in the application of other Union acts.
3. If the Commission requests the information provider to provide a waiver pursuant to Article 43(1) Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 the Commission shall specify the information covered by that request and the purposes for which it intends to use that information. The use of that information by the Commission shall not go beyond the purposes indicated by the Commission and agreed by the provider.
Identification and protection of confidential information
1. Unless otherwise provided for in Article 20 of this Regulation and Article 42 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 and without prejudice to paragraph 6, the Commission shall not disclose nor give access to information, including documents, in so far as it contains business secrets or other confidential information.
2. When requesting information pursuant to Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2560, interviewing a person pursuant to Article 13(7) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2560, or asking for oral explanations during inspections in accordance with Article 14 and Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2560, the Commission shall inform such persons, undertakings or associations of undertakings that by providing information to the Commission, they agree that access to that information may be granted pursuant to Article 20. Where the Commission otherwise receives information from information providers, it shall inform these information providers that access to the information they provide may be granted pursuant to Article 20.
3. Without prejudice to Article 8 and Article 15, the Commission may require, within a specified time limit, information providers that provide documents or other information pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2022/2560:
(a)
to identify the documents or parts of documents, or other information, which they consider to contain business secrets or other confidential information;
(b)
to identify the persons in relation to which these documents or other information are considered to be confidential;
(c)
to substantiate their claims for business secrets and other confidential information for each document or part of document, or other information;
(d)
to provide the Commission with a non-confidential version of the documents or parts of documents, or other information, in which the business secrets and other confidential information are redacted in a clear and intelligible manner;
(e)
to provide a concise, non-confidential and clear description of each piece of redacted information.
4. The Commission shall require an undertaking under investigation to identify, within a specified time limit, the parts of a summary notice pursuant to Article 40 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 or of a decision pursuant to Article 11, Article 25 and Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2560, that it considers to contain business secrets or other confidential information before the summary notice or the decision is published. Where business secrets or other confidential information are identified, the undertaking under investigation shall justify that identification within the time limit set by the Commission.
5. Where an information provider or undertaking under investigation fails to identify the information that it considers to be confidential in accordance with the requirements laid down in paragraphs 3 and 4, the Commission may assume that the information concerned does not contain confidential information.
6. If the Commission considers that certain information that is claimed confidential by an information provider or by the undertaking under investigation may be disclosed, either because this information does not constitute a business secret or other confidential information, or because there is an overriding interest in its disclosure, it shall inform the information provider or the undertaking under investigation of its intention to disclose such information. Should the information provider or the undertaking under investigation object within 5 working days after it has been informed of the Commission’s intentions, the Commission may adopt a decision specifying the date after which the information will be disclosed or, in the case of paragraph 4, published in the summary notice or decision. This date shall not be less than 5 working days from the date of notification of the Commission’s decision. The decision shall be notified to the natural or legal person concerned.
7. This Article shall not prevent the Commission from using and disclosing to the extent necessary information showing the existence of a distortive foreign subsidy.
