
SECTION I
Article 1 
This Decision lays down the rules concerning the establishment and use of the Administrative Assistance and Cooperation system (the ‘AAC system’) to support the exchange of information between the competent authorities of the Member States, and between those competent authorities and the Commission, in accordance with Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004.
Article 2 
For the purpose of this Decision, the following definitions shall apply:

((1)) ‘administrative assistance and cooperation procedure’ means an established workflow provided for in the AAC system which permits liaison bodies and the Commission to exchange information concerning possible instances of non-compliance in accordance with Articles 36, 37 and 38 of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004;
((2)) ‘closure of an administrative assistance and cooperation procedure’ means applying the technical facility provided by the AAC system to close an administrative assistance and cooperation procedure;
((3)) ‘withdrawal of an administrative assistance and cooperation procedure’ means withdrawing from the AAC system an administrative assistance and cooperation procedure which was erroneously uploaded onto it.
SECTION II
Article 3 

1. The Commission shall establish, manage and update, as necessary, the AAC system.
2. The Commission shall give access to the AAC system to the liaison bodies designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 35(1) of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 (‘the liaison bodies’).
3. Upon request of one of the liaison bodies referred to in paragraph 2, the Commission shall give access to the AAC system to designated staff belonging to competent authorities at central or regional level within the same Member State. Such access shall be limited to the technical functionalities of the AAC system required to exchange information between those competent authorities and the liaison body that requested the access, in relation to the preparation of administrative assistance and cooperation procedures handled by the liaison body.
4. The Commission shall ensure that the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) established in accordance with Article 50 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 and the Trade Control Expert System (TRACES) established in accordance with Article 2 of Decision 2004/292/EC are able to provide the necessary information to the AAC system and thereby to the liaison bodies.
Article 4 
Member States shall specifically indicate which of the liaison bodies referred to in Article 3, paragraph 2 are designated for the purpose of exchanging information regarding possible non-compliances perpetrated through deceptive fraudulent practices.
Article 5 

1. The liaison bodies shall be responsible for:
(a) ensuring that their staff comply with the rules on confidentiality provided for in Article 7(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004;
(b) uploading onto the AAC system requests for assistance in accordance with Article 36 of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 (‘requests for assistance’), notifications of a non-compliance in accordance with Articles 37 and 38 of that Regulation (‘notifications of non-compliance’) and the responses to such requests for assistance or notifications of non-compliance, as appropriate;
(c) ensuring that the information that must be provided to a liaison body in another Member State, in accordance with Articles 36, 37 and 38 of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004, is uploaded without undue delay on the AAC system;
(d) taking every reasonable step to ensure that the information uploaded to the AAC system is accurate and, where necessary, is rectified and kept up-to-date;
(e) withdrawing from the AAC system, no later than 30 days from the upload date, any information erroneously uploaded onto it or no longer necessary to initiate the administrative assistance and cooperation procedure.
2. Requirements in paragraph 1(a), (d) and (e) shall also apply to staff of the competent authorities at central or regional level referred to in Article 3(3). If a liaison body has evidence to suggest that an item of information is inaccurate or was erroneously included in the AAC system, it shall inform the liaison body which included that item in the AAC system as soon as possible.
Article 6 

1. The administrative assistance and cooperation procedure shall be closed by the liaison body that uploaded the request for assistance or the notification of non-compliance in accordance with Article 5(1)(b) following receipt of an appropriate response to such request for assistance or notification of non-compliance, from the receiving liaison body.
2. If, after a period of 6 months from the date on which the request for assistance or notification of non-compliance was uploaded onto the AAC system as provided for in Article 5(1)(b), the administrative assistance and cooperation procedure has not been closed, the AAC system shall ask the requesting liaison body or notifying liaison body to confirm that the administrative assistance and cooperation procedure is still ongoing.The requesting liaison body or notifying liaison body shall, within 15 working days either confirm that the administrative assistance and cooperation procedure is still ongoing or close the procedure if it is no longer necessary. If no confirmation is given or the procedure is not closed by the liaison body, the AAC system shall close the procedure automatically.
3. Where confirmation is received in accordance with paragraph 2 that the administrative assistance and cooperation procedure is still ongoing, it shall remain open in the AAC system.Starting from the date of such confirmation any period of 6 months of no exchange of information shall result in the automatic closure of the administrative assistance and cooperation procedure.
Article 7 
The Commission shall:

((a)) ensure the development, maintenance, support and any necessary update of the software and IT infrastructure for the AAC system;
((b)) monitor the exchange of information through the AAC system for the purpose of identifying activities that are, or appear to be, contrary to food or feed law and are of particular interest at Union level, as provided for in Article 40(1) of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004;
((c)) analyse the information exchanged through the AAC system for the purpose of its coordination tasks, as provided for in Article 40(1) of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004, and in view of producing reports to facilitate the implementation of that Regulation;
((d)) provide the necessary formats and guidance for the use of the AAC system.
Article 8 

1. Information shall be exchanged through the AAC system by using the format made available by the Commission in accordance with point (d) of Article 7.
2. In relation to each instance, the information exchanged through the AAC system shall at least include:
(a) contact details of the competent authorities and officials dealing with the instance;
(b) a description of the possible non-compliance;
(c) the identification, where possible, of the business operators associated with it;
(d) details of animals or goods associated with a possible instance of non-compliance with food or feed law;
(e) an indication of whether the information is exchanged for the purpose of:
((i)) formulating a request for assistance or replying to one; or
((ii)) introducing a notification of non-compliance or responding to one;
(f) an indication of the liaison body to which the request for assistance or notification of non-compliance is addressed;
(g) an indication of whether the request for assistance or the notification of non-compliance relates to a possible instance of a non-compliance perpetrated through deceptive fraudulent practices and whether access to it is to be limited to the liaison bodies referred to in Article 4.
SECTION III
Article 9 

1. The liaison bodies and the Commission shall exchange and process personal data through the AAC System only for the purposes of implementing the requirements on administrative assistance and cooperation laid down in Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004.
2. In no instance shall personal information revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership and information concerning the health or sex life of an individual be included in the data exchange.
Article 10 

1. Directive 95/46/EC and Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 shall apply to the extent that the information exchanged through the AAC system contains personal data as defined in Article 2(a) of Directive 95/46/EC and in Article 2(a) of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.
2. In relation to their responsibilities to transmit the relevant information to the AAC system and the processing of any personal data that might result from that activity as well as from the exchanges referred to in Article 3(3), the competent authorities and the liaison bodies of the Member States shall be regarded as controllers, as defined in Article 2(d) of Directive 95/46/EC.
3. In relation to the responsibility to manage the AAC system, for the processing of any personal data that might result from Article 5 of this Decision, the Commission shall be regarded as controller as defined in Article 2(d) of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.
4. Member States may restrict the rights and obligations under Article 6(1), Article 10, Article 11(1) and Article 12 of Directive 95/46/EC as necessary to safeguard the interest referred to in Article 13(1)(d) and (f) of that Directive.
5. The Commission may restrict the rights and obligations under Article 4(1), Article 11, Article 12(1), and Articles 13 to 17 of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 where such restriction constitutes a necessary measure to safeguard the interests referred to in Article 20(1)(a) and (e) thereof during the period in which actions are being planned or performed to verify compliance with food or feed law or to ensure the enforcement of food or feed law in the specific case to which the information relates.
Article 11 
The Commission shall remove the personal data processed in the AAC system as soon as they are no longer necessary for the purpose for which they were collected and processed and, as a general rule, no later than 5 years after the closure of the administrative assistance and cooperation procedure.
Article 12 
The Commission and Member States shall ensure that the AAC system complies with the rules on data security adopted pursuant to Article 22 of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and to Article 17 of Directive 95/46/EC respectively.
Article 13 
This Decision shall apply from the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 14 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 22 October 2015.
For the Commission
Vytenis ANDRIUKAITIS
Member of the Commission