1.   The requesting authority and the requested authority shall communicate in relation to the request for cooperation or exchange of information either in paper form or electronically, depending on which of the two is the most expeditious, and taking due account of confidentiality considerations, correspondence times, the volume of material to be communicated and the ease of access to the information by the requesting authority. In particular, the requesting authority shall respond promptly to any clarifications asked by the requested authority.

2.   The requested authority shall notify the requesting authority where it anticipates a delay of more than 5 working days beyond the estimated date of response specified in the acknowledgement of receipt.

3.   Where the request has been qualified by the requesting authority as urgent, the requested authority and the requesting authority shall agree on the frequency with which the requested authority will update the requesting authority on its handling of the request and on the date when it expects to provide a response.

4.   The requested authority and the requesting authority shall cooperate to resolve any difficulties that may arise in executing a request.