Article 32
Powers of competent authorities
1.
In order to fulfil their duties under this Regulation, competent authorities shall have, in accordance with national law, at least the following supervisory and investigatory powers:
(a)
to require issuers, offerors or persons asking for admission to trading on a regulated market to include in the prospectus supplementary information, where necessary for investor protection;
(b)
to require issuers, offerors or persons asking for admission to trading on a regulated market, and the persons that control them or are controlled by them, to provide information and documents;
(c)
to require auditors and managers of the issuer, offeror or person asking for admission to trading on a regulated market, as well as financial intermediaries commissioned to carry out the offer of securities to the public or ask for admission to trading on a regulated market, to provide information;
(d)
to suspend an offer of securities to the public or admission to trading on a regulated market for a maximum of 10 consecutive working days on any single occasion where there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that this Regulation has been infringed;
(e)
to prohibit or suspend advertisements or require issuers, offerors or persons asking for admission to trading on a regulated market, or relevant financial intermediaries to cease or suspend advertisements for a maximum of 10 consecutive working days on any single occasion where there are reasonable grounds for believing that this Regulation has been infringed;
(f)
to prohibit an offer of securities to the public or admission to trading on a regulated market where they find that this Regulation has been infringed or where there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that it would be infringed;
(g)
to suspend or require the relevant regulated markets, MTFs or OTFs to suspend trading on a regulated market, an MTF or an OTF for a maximum of 10 consecutive working days on any single occasion where there are reasonable grounds for believing that this Regulation has been infringed;
(h)
to prohibit trading on a regulated market, an MTF or an OTF where they find that this Regulation has been infringed;
(i)
to make public the fact that an issuer, an offeror or a person asking for admission to trading on a regulated market is failing to comply with its obligations;
(j)
to suspend the scrutiny of a prospectus submitted for approval or suspend or restrict an offer of securities to the public or admission to trading on a regulated market where the competent authority is making use of the power to impose a prohibition or restriction pursuant to Article 42 of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 17 ), until such prohibition or restriction has ceased;
(k)
to refuse approval of any prospectus drawn up by a certain issuer, offeror or person asking for admission to trading on a regulated market for a maximum of five years, where that issuer, offeror or person asking for admission to trading on a regulated market has repeatedly and severely infringed this Regulation;
(l)
to disclose, or to require the issuer to disclose, all material information which may have an effect on the assessment of the securities offered to the public or admitted to trading on a regulated market in order to ensure investor protection or the smooth operation of the market;
(m)
to suspend or require the relevant regulated market, MTF or OTF to suspend the securities from trading where it considers that the issuer’s situation is such that trading would be detrimental to investors’ interests;
(n)
to carry out on-site inspections or investigations at sites other than the private residences of natural persons, and for that purpose to enter premises in order to access documents and other data in any form, where a reasonable suspicion exists that documents and other data related to the subject-matter of the inspection or investigation may be relevant to prove an infringement of this Regulation.
Where necessary under national law, the competent authority may ask the relevant judicial authority to decide on the use of the powers referred to in the first subparagraph.
In the event that approval of a prospectus has been refused pursuant to point (k) of the first subparagraph, the competent authority shall inform ESMA thereof, which shall then inform the competent authorities of other Member States.
In accordance with Article 21 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010, ESMA shall be entitled to participate in on-site inspections referred to in point (n) of the first subparagraph where those inspections are carried out jointly by two or more competent authorities.
2.
Competent authorities shall exercise their functions and powers referred to in paragraph 1 in any of the following ways:
(a)
directly;
(b)
in collaboration with other authorities;
(c)
under their responsibility by delegation to such authorities;
(d)
by application to the competent judicial authorities.
3.
Member States shall ensure that appropriate measures are in place so that competent authorities have all the supervisory and investigatory powers that are necessary to fulfil their duties.
4.
This Regulation is without prejudice to laws and regulations on takeover bids, merger transactions and other transactions affecting the ownership or control of companies that transpose Directive 2004/25/EC and that impose requirements in addition to the requirements of this Regulation.
5.
A person making information available to the competent authority in accordance with this Regulation shall not be considered to be infringing any restriction on disclosure of information imposed by contract or by any legislative, regulatory or administrative provision, and shall not be subject to liability of any kind related to such notification.
6.
Paragraphs 1 to 3 are without prejudice to the possibility for a Member State to make separate legal and administrative arrangements for overseas European territories for whose external relations that Member State is responsible.
( 7 ) Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 84).