Article 16 Confidentiality

1. The Commission and the Member States shall not divulge to third parties any confidential information received or exchanged under this Regulation.

2. The exporter may indicate the information in the notification submitted under Article 4 which should be treated as confidential. Justification shall be given in such cases upon request.

3. In no case may the following information when submitted according to Articles 4, 9 or 12 be kept confidential:

(a) name and address of the exporter and importer,

(b) general description of the GMO or GMOs,

(c) a summary of the risk assessment of the effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health, and

(d) any methods and plans for emergency response.

4. If, for whatever reasons, the exporter withdraws the notification, the Member States and the Commission must respect the confidentiality of commercial and industrial information, including research and development information, as well as information on which the Party or non-Party of import and the exporter disagree as to its confidentiality.