1. The competent authorities referred to in Article 16 and ESMA shall cooperate closely with each other and exchange information for the purpose of carrying out their duties pursuant to this Regulation, in particular in order to identify and remedy infringements of this Regulation.
2. A competent authority may refuse to act on a request to cooperate and exchange information in accordance with paragraph 1 only in either of the following exceptional circumstances:
(a) where judicial proceedings have already been initiated in respect of the same actions and against the same persons before the authorities of the Member State of the competent authority receiving the request; or
(b) where a final judgment has already been delivered in relation to such persons for the same actions in the Member State of the competent authority receiving the request.
In the case of such a refusal, the competent authority shall notify the requesting authority and ESMA accordingly, providing as detailed informat
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