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1. The Commission and the competent authorities of Member States shall follow a risk-based approach when assessing the likelihood of a violation of Article 3, when initiating and conducting the preliminary phase of the investigations and when identifying the products and economic operators concerned.

2. In their assessment of the likelihood of a violation of Article 3, the Commission and the competent authorities shall use the following criteria, as appropriate, in order to prioritise products suspected to have been made with forced labour:

(a) the scale and severity of the suspected forced labour, including whether forced labour imposed by state authorities could be a concern;

(b) the quantity or volume of products placed or made available on the Union market;

(c) the share of the part of the product suspected to have been made with forced labour in the final product.

3. The assessment of the likelihood of a violation of Article 3 shall be based on all relevant, factual, and verifiable information available to the Commission and competent authorities, including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) information and decisions encoded in the information and communication system referred to in Article 7(1), including any previous cases of compliance or non-compliance of an economic operator with Article 3;

(b) the database referred to in Article 8;

(c) the risk indicators and other information pursuant to Article 11, point (e);

(d) submissions of information made pursuant to Article 9;

(e) information received by the Commission or the competent authority from other authorities relevant for the implementation of this Regulation, such as Member States’ due diligence, labour, health or fiscal authorities, on the products and economic operators under assessment;

(f) any issues arising from meaningful consultations with relevant stakeholders, such as civil society organisations and trade unions.

4. When initiating a preliminary investigation pursuant to Article 17, the lead competent authority shall, to the extent possible, focus on the economic operators and, where relevant, product suppliers involved in the steps of the supply chain as close as possible to where the forced labour is likely occurring, and with the highest leverage to prevent, mitigate and bring to an end the use of forced labour. The lead competent authority shall also take into account the size and economic resources of the economic operators concerned, in particular whether the economic operator is an SME, and the complexity of the supply chain.