Powers of enforcement authorities
Article 6
1. Member States shall ensure that each of their enforcement authorities has the necessary resources and expertise to perform its duties, and shall confer on it the following powers: (a) the power to initiate and conduct investigations on its own initiative or on the basis of a complaint; (b) the power to require buyers and suppliers to provide all necessary information in order to conduct investigations of prohibited trading practices; (c) the power to carry out unannounced on-site inspections within the framework of its investigations, in accordance with national rules and procedures; (d) the power to take decisions finding an infringement of the prohibitions laid down in Article 3 and requiring the buyer to bring the prohibited trading practice to an end; the authority may abstain from taking any such decision, if that decision would risk revealing the identity of a complainant or would risk disclosing any other information in respect of which the complainant considers that such disclosure would be harmful to its interests, and provided that the complainant has identified that information in accordance with Article 5(3); (e) the power to impose, or initiate proceedings for the imposition of, fines and other equally effective penalties and interim measures on the author of the infringement, in accordance with national rules and procedures; (f) the power to publish its decisions taken under points (d) and (e) on a regular basis. The penalties referred to in point (e) of the first subparagraph shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive, taking into account the nature, duration, recurrence and gravity of the infringement. 2. Member States shall ensure that the exercise of the powers referred to in paragraph 1 is subject to appropriate safeguards in respect of rights of defence, in accordance with the general principles of Union law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, including in cases where the complainant requests confidential treatment of information pursuant to Article 5(3).