Article 62 — Information requests

1. Where the Council activates the measure under this Article in accordance with Article 60(3), the Commission may, where the available information is not sufficient, request an economic operator contributing to the production of crisis-relevant products which are not defence products, with the prior agreement of the Member State on whose territory the production site of that economic operator is located, to provide information to that Member State within a set time limit about its production capabilities, production capacities and current primary disruptions. The Member State concerned shall make the requested information available to the Commission. The requested information shall be limited to what is necessary to assess the nature of the supply crisis or to identify and assess potential mitigation measures. 2. Before launching a request for information pursuant to paragraph 1, and with the prior agreement of the Member State on the territory of which the production site of the economic operator concerned is located, the Commission may carry out a voluntary consultation of a representative number of relevant economic operators with a view to identifying the appropriate and proportionate content of such a request. The Commission shall prepare the request for information in cooperation with the Board. 3. The Commission shall without undue delay forward a copy of the request for information to the national competent authority of the Member State on the territory of which the production site of the economic operator concerned is located. 4. The request for information shall: (a) state its legal basis; (b) be limited to the minimum necessary and be proportionate in terms of the granularity and volume of the data requested and of the frequency of access to the data requested; (c) have regard for the legitimate interests of the economic operator and to the cost and effort required to make the data available; (d) include the contact information of the national competent authorities of the Member State on the territory of which the production site of the economic operator concerned is located to which the reply is to be sent; (e) and set out the time limit within which the information is to be provided to the Member State concerned; and (f) state the penalties provided for in Article 72. 5. Where the Member State concerned agrees to the launch of a request for information pursuant to paragraph 1, it may decide to address that request, as prepared by the Commission pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 4, directly to the economic operator concerned. 6. Each economic operator concerned, or a person duly authorised to represent that economic operator, shall supply the information requested on an individual basis to the Member State concerned. 7. The Member State concerned shall ensure that the requested information is made available without undue delay to the Commission. 8. If an economic operator established in the Union is subject to a request for information from a third country, related to its activities for the supply of crisis-relevant products which are not defence products, it shall inform the Member State on the territory of which its production site is located, in a timely manner. That Member State shall, in turn, inform the Commission, in such a manner as to enable the Member State concerned and the Commission to request similar information from the economic operator. The Commission shall inform the Board of the existence of such a request from a third country. 9. If an economic operator supplies incorrect, incomplete or misleading information in response to a request made pursuant to this Article, or does not supply the information within the prescribed time limit, it shall be subject to fines set in accordance with Article 72, except where the economic operator has sufficient reasons for not supplying the requested information or not supplying it within the prescribed time limit, in particular where the processing of the information request by an economic operator has the potential to significantly disrupt its operations, where the information is classified and marked as for national use only or where the disclosure of that information could significantly harm the economic operator’s business activity. 10. The Commission and the Member State concerned shall use secure means to launch the request for information and to handle any information acquired in accordance with Article 80. 11. This Article is without prejudice to the right of each Member State to protect the essential interests of its security in accordance with Article 346(1), point (a), TFEU.