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1. The Authority shall periodically conduct peer reviews of some or all of the activities of non-financial supervisors and public authorities referred to in Article 52 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 to strengthen consistency and effectiveness in supervisory outcomes. The Authority shall develop methods to allow for an objective assessment and comparison between the non-financial supervisors reviewed. Where relevant, the planning and conducting of assessments shall take due account of the evaluations, assessments and reports drawn up by international organisations and intergovernmental bodies with competence in the field of AML/CFT. The assessments may also take due account of the information contained in the central AML/CFT database established pursuant to Article 11 of this Regulation. The methods referred to in the first subparagraph shall take into account the specific features of the supervisory framework in cases where supervision is entrusted to self-regulatory bodies, including the role of the public authority responsible for overseeing those bodies pursuant to Article 52 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640, and the specific characteristics of supervisors in those cases.

2. Peer reviews shall be carried out by the staff of the Authority jointly with the relevant staff of the non-financial supervisors and of the public authorities as referred to in Article 52 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640.

3. The peer review shall include an assessment of, but not be limited to:

(a) the adequacy of powers and of financial, human and technical resources, the degree of independence and the governance arrangements and professional standards of the non-financial supervisor to ensure the effective application of Chapter IV of Directive (EU) 2024/1640;

(b) the effectiveness and the degree of convergence reached in the application of Union law and in supervisory practice, and the extent to which the supervisory practice achieves the objectives set out in Union law;

(c) the application of best practices developed by non-financial supervisors whose adoption might be of benefit for other non-financial supervisors;

(d) the effectiveness and the degree of convergence reached with regard to the enforcement of the provisions adopted in the implementation of Union law, including the pecuniary sanctions imposed and administrative measures applied against persons responsible where those provisions have not been complied with.

4. The Authority shall produce a report setting out the results of the peer review. That peer review report shall be jointly prepared by the staff of the Authority and the relevant staff of the non-financial supervisors and of the public authorities as referred to in Article 52 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 involved in the peer review, and adopted by the Executive Board, having received the observations of the General Board in supervisory composition as to the consistency of application of the methodology with other peer review reports. The report shall explain and indicate the follow-up measures that are deemed appropriate, proportionate and necessary as a result of the peer review. Those follow-up measures may be adopted in the form of guidelines and recommendations pursuant to Article 54 and opinions pursuant to Article 55 of this Regulation. The non-financial supervisors and the public authorities as referred to in Article 52 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 shall make every effort to comply with any guidelines and recommendations issued, in accordance with Article 54(3) of this Regulation.

5. The Authority shall publish the findings of the peer review on its website and inform at least the European Parliament thereof. It shall submit an opinion to the Commission where, having regard to the outcome of the peer review or to any other information acquired by the Authority in carrying out its tasks, it considers that further harmonisation of Union rules applicable to obliged entities in the non-financial sector or to non-financial supervisors would be necessary from the Union’s perspective.

6. The Authority shall provide a follow-up report two years after the publication of the peer review report. The follow-up report shall be jointly prepared by the staff of the Authority and the relevant staff of the non-financial supervisors involved in the peer review, and shall be adopted by the Executive Board, having received the observations of the General Board in supervisory composition on the consistency of application of the methodology with other peer review reports. The follow-up report shall include an assessment of the adequacy and effectiveness of the actions undertaken by the non-financial supervisors that were subject to the peer review in response to the follow-up measures of the peer review report. The Authority shall publish the findings of the follow-up report on its website.

7. For the purposes of this Article, the Executive Board shall adopt a peer review work plan every two years, after consulting the General Board in supervisory composition. That peer review work plan shall reflect the lessons learnt from past peer review processes and discussions held in the General Board in supervisory composition. The General Board in supervisory composition, acting by a majority of two thirds of its members, may require the Executive Board to adopt a new plan. The peer review work plan shall constitute a separate part of the annual and multiannual working programme and shall be included in the single programming document referred to in Article 65. In the case of urgent or unforeseen events, the Authority may decide to carry out additional peer reviews.

8. Where peer reviews concern supervisory activities which in one or more Member States are carried out by self-regulatory bodies, the peer review shall include an assessment of measures taken pursuant to Article 52 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 by the public authority responsible for overseeing those bodies to ensure that they perform their function adequately and effectively.

9. Where peer reviews concern supervisory activities which in one or more Member States are carried out by self-regulatory bodies, those self-regulatory bodies shall not be required to participate. However, where they indicate an interest in participating in a peer review, staff of those bodies that are entrusted with supervisory tasks shall be allowed to participate in that peer review.