1. Each Member State shall designate the competent authorities
which are to carry out each of the duties provided for under the different
provisions of this Directive. Member States shall inform the Commission
and the competent authorities of other Member States of the identity
of the competent authorities responsible for enforcement of each of
those duties, and of any division of those duties.
2. The competent authorities referred to in paragraph 1 shall be
public authorities, without prejudice to the possibility of delegating tasks
to other entities where that is expressly provided for in Articles 5(5), 16
(3), 17(2) and 23(4).
Any delegation of tasks to entities other than the authorities referred to
in paragraph 1 may not involve either the exercise of public authority or
the use of discretionary powers of judgement. Member States shall
require that, prior to delegation, competent authorities take all reasonable
steps to ensure that the entity to which tasks are to be delegated has
the capacity and resources to effectively execute all tasks and that the
delegation takes place only if a clearly defined and documented framework
for the exercise of any delegated tasks has been established stating
the tasks to be undertaken and the conditions under which they are to be
carried out. These conditions shall include a clause obliging the entity in
question to act and be organised in such a manner as to avoid conflict
of interest and so that information obtained from carrying out the delegated
tasks is not used unfairly or to prevent competition. In any case,
the final responsibility for supervising compliance with this Directive
and with its implementing measures shall lie with the competent
authority or authorities designated in accordance with paragraph 1.
Member States shall inform the Commission and the competent authorities
of other Member States of any arrangements entered into with
regard to delegation of tasks, including the precise conditions regulating
such delegation.
3. The Commission shall publish a list of the competent authorities
referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 in the Official Journal of the European
Union at least once a year and update it continuously on its website.