The application shall be examined by the Member State proposed by the applicant, unless another Member State in the same zone agrees to examine it. The Member State which will examine the application shall inform the applicant.
At the request of the Member State examining the application, the other Member States in the same zone to which an application has been submitted shall cooperate to ensure a fair division of the workload.
The other Member States within the zone to which an application has been submitted shall refrain from proceeding with the file pending assessment by the Member State examining the application.
Where an application has been made in more than one zone, Member States evaluating the application shall agree on the evaluation of data which are not related to the environmental and agricultural conditions.