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1. Member States may recognise interbranch organisations applying for such recognition, provided that they:

(a) fulfil the requirements laid down in Article 157;

(b) carry out their activities in one or more regions in the territory concerned;

(c) account for a significant share of the economic activities referred to in point (a) of Article 157(1);

(ca) strive for a balanced representation of the organisations in the stages of the supply chain referred to in Article 157(1), point (a), that constitute the interbranch organisation;

(d) with the exception of the cases laid down in Article 162, do not, themselves, engage in production, processing or trade.

2. Member States may decide that interbranch organisations which have been recognised before 1 January 2014 on the basis of national law and which fulfil the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article are deemed to be recognised as interbranch organisations pursuant to Article 157.

3. Interbranch organisations which have been recognised before 1 January 2014 on the basis of national law and which do not fulfil the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article may continue to exercise their activities under national law until 1 January 2015.

4. Member States may recognise interbranch organisations in all sectors existing prior to 1 January 2014, whether they were recognised on request or established by law, even though they do not fulfil the condition laid down in Article 157(1), point (b).

5. Where Member States recognise an interbranch organisation in accordance with paragraph 1 or 2, they shall:

(a) decide whether to grant recognition within four months of the lodging of an application with all relevant supporting documents; this application shall be lodged with the Member State where the organisation has its headquarters;

(b) carry out, at intervals to be determined by them, checks to verify that recognised interbranch organisations are complying with the conditions governing their recognition;

(c) in the event of non-compliance or irregularities in the implementation of the measures provided for in this Regulation, impose on those organisations the applicable penalties they have laid down and, if necessary, decide whether recognition should be withdrawn;

(d) withdraw recognition if the requirements and conditions for recognition laid down in this Article are no longer met;

(e) inform the Commission by 31 March of each year of every decision to grant, refuse or withdraw recognition taken during the previous calendar year.