Request based on Article 18

Request based on Article 18

Pursuant to Article 18(6) of Regulation 1/2003, at the request of the Commission the governments and competition authorities of the Member States must provide the Commission with all the necessary information to carry out the duties assigned to it by this Regulation.

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Formal requests for information under Article 18(6) are normally addressed to the competition authority of the Member State and signed by the Director-General.

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In rare occasions it may be necessary to address a request to the government of a Member State. In such a situation, it is, depending on the circumstance (to be assessed in each case separately) signed either by the Commissioner or the Director-General. Formal requests addressed to a government are sent by the SG via the Permanent Representation of the Member State.

Other Considerations

Requests for information under Article 18(6) should not make reference to Article 23(1)(a) (provisions on fines for an inaccurate reply), because this applies only to undertakings and associations of undertakings.

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Requests can also be sent to competition authorities and government of third countries. They do not need to be channelled through the EU delegation in the country in question.

Resources

See Also

References

• Information about Request based on Article 18 in the Antitrust Manual of Procedures for the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (Internal DG Competition)

Further Reading

• Information about Request based on Article 18 in EU Competition Procedure, 3rd. Edition, Edited by Luis Ortiz Blanco (Oxford University Press)