1. The competent authorities shall only use information received pursuant to this Regulation for the purpose of applying this Regulation, unless otherwise required by Union or national law in compliance with Union law.

2. The Commission, Member States and competent authorities shall treat the identity of those who provide information, or the information provided, as confidential, in accordance with Union or national law in compliance with Union law, unless stated otherwise by those who provided the information.

3. Paragraph 2 shall not preclude the Commission from disclosing general information in a summary form, provided such general information does not contain any information which allows the identification of the provider of the information. Such disclosure of general information in a summary form shall take into account the legitimate interest of the parties concerned in preventing the disclosure of confidential information.