Confidentiality

1.   Member States and the Commission shall take all necessary steps to ensure the confidentiality of the information communicated or obtained under inspection and clearance of accounts measures implemented under this Regulation.
The rules laid down in Article 8 of Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 shall apply to that information.
2.   Without prejudice to national provisions relating to legal proceedings, information collected in the course of scrutiny as provided for in Title IV, Chapter III, shall be protected by professional secrecy. It shall not be communicated to any persons other than those who, by reason of their duties in the Member States or in the institutions of the Union, are required to have knowledge thereof for the purposes of performing those duties.