Article 17 Identification of critical entities of particular European significance

1.   An entity shall be considered a critical entity of particular European significance where it:

2.   Member States shall ensure that a critical entity, following the notification referred to in Article 6(3), informs its competent authority where it provides essential services to or in six or more Member States. In such a case, Member States shall ensure that the critical entity informs its competent authority of the essential services it provides to or in those Member States and of the Member States to which or in which it provides such essential services. Member States shall notify the Commission, without undue delay, of the identity of such critical entities and of the information they provide under this paragraph.

The Commission shall consult the competent authority of the Member State which identified a critical entity as referred to in the first subparagraph, the competent authority of other Member States concerned and the critical entity in question. During those consultations, each Member State shall inform the Commission where it deems that the services provided to that Member State by the critical entity are essential services.

3.   Where the Commission establishes, on the basis of the consultations referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, that the critical entity concerned provides essential services to or in six or more Member States, the Commission shall notify that critical entity, through its competent authority, that it is considered a critical entity of particular European significance and inform that critical entity of its obligations under this Chapter and the date from which those obligations apply to it. Once the Commission informs the competent authority of its decision to consider a critical entity as a critical entity of particular European significance, the competent authority shall forward that notification to that critical entity without undue delay.

4.   This Chapter shall apply to the critical entity of particular European significance concerned from the date of receipt of the notification referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article.