S.L. 451.3 Art. 5Award or receive evidence of formal qualifications, recieve applications and take decisions.

(1) There shall be designated authorities to award and, or receive evidence of formal qualifications and other documents or information, competent to receive applications and to decide on matters referred to in article 4 of the Act.

(2) The designated authorities shall work in close collaboration with the relevant counterparts of other Member States and shall provide mutual assistance in order to facilitate application of professional recognition. They shall ensure confidentiality of the information exchanged.

(3) (a) The designated authorities shall exchange information with competent authorities of other Member States regarding disciplinary action or criminal sanctions taken or any other serious, specific circumstances which are likely to have consequences for the pursuit of activities under these regulations. In so doing, they shall respect personal data protection rules provided by law.

(b) The appropriate authorities in the home Member State shall examine the veracity of the circumstances and shall decide on the nature and scope of the investigations which need to be carried out and shall inform the host Member State of the conclusions which it draws from the information available to it.

(4) For the purposes of sub-regulations (2) and (3), the designated authorities shall use IMI.