Competent authorities of the Union
Article 6
1. The European Commission shall inform Cameroon of the contact details of the competent authorities designated by the Member States of the Union and their respective territorial areas of competence. 2. The competent authorities shall verify that each shipment is the subject of a valid FLEGT licence prior to releasing that shipment for free circulation in the Union. The procedures governing the release for free circulation in the Union of shipments covered by a FLEGT licence are described in Annex IV. 3. Each competent authority shall maintain and publish annually a record of FLEGT licences received. 4. According to national legislation on data protection, the competent authorities shall grant persons or bodies designated by Cameroon as independent auditors access to the relevant documents and data. 5. However, when timber and derived products from species listed in the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and covered by a FLEGT licence enter the Union, they shall only undergo the examination laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein ( 7 ) , as the FLEGT licence also attests to the fact that the timber in question has been legally produced or acquired.