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1. By 29 December 2021, each Member State shall nominate one entity which fulfils the criteria laid down in paragraph 5 to act as its national coordination centre for the purposes of this Regulation. Each Member State shall notify that entity to the Governing Board without delay. Such entity may be an entity already established in that Member State. The deadline set out in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall be extended for the period during which the Commission is to issue the opinion referred to in paragraph 2.

2. At any time, a Member State may ask the Commission for an opinion concerning whether the entity that the Member State has nominated or intends to nominate to act as its national coordination centre has the necessary capacity to manage funds to fulfil the mission and objectives laid down in this Regulation. The Commission shall issue its opinion to that Member State within three months of the Member State’s request.

3. On the basis of the notification by a Member State of an entity as referred to in paragraph 1, the Governing Board shall list that entity as a national coordination centre no later than three months after the notification. The Competence Centre shall publish the list of nominated national coordination centres.

4. A Member State may at any time nominate a new entity to act as its national coordination centre for the purposes of this Regulation. Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall apply to the nomination of any new entity.

5. The national coordination centre shall be a public sector entity or an entity, a majority of which is owned by the Member State, which performs public administrative functions under national law, including by means of delegation, and having the capacity to support the Competence Centre and the Network in fulfilling their mission as set out in Article 3 of this Regulation. It shall either possess or have access to research and technological expertise in cybersecurity. It shall have the capacity to engage effectively and coordinate with industry, the public sector, the academic and research community and citizens, as well as with authorities designated pursuant to Directive (EU) 2016/1148.

6. At any time, a national coordination centre may request to be recognised as having the necessary capacity to manage funds to fulfil the mission and objectives laid down in this Regulation, in accordance with Regulations (EU) 2021/695 and (EU) 2021/694. Within three months of such a request, the Commission shall assess whether that national coordination centre has such capacity and shall issue a decision. Where the Commission has provided a positive opinion to a Member State in accordance with the procedure laid down in paragraph 2, that opinion shall be deemed to be a decision recognising the relevant entity as having the necessary capacity for the purposes of this paragraph. No later than 29 August 2021, after consulting the Governing Board, the Commission shall issue guidelines on the assessment referred to in the first subparagraph, including a specification of the conditions for recognition and how opinions and assessments are conducted. Before issuing the opinion referred to in paragraph 2 and the decision referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the Commission shall take into account any information and documentation provided by the requesting national coordination centre. Any decision not to recognise a national coordination centre as having the necessary capacity to manage funds to fulfil the mission and objectives laid down in this Regulation shall be duly reasoned, setting out the requirements the requesting national coordination centre has not yet fulfilled that justify the decision to withhold recognition. Any national coordination centre whose request for recognition has been rejected may resubmit its request with additional information at any time. Member States shall inform the Commission in the event of changes to the national coordination centre, such as the composition of the national coordination centre, the legal form of the national coordination centre or other relevant aspects, that affect its capacity to manage funds to fulfil the mission and objectives laid down in this Regulation. On receiving such information the Commission may review a decision to grant or withhold recognition of the national coordination centre as having the necessary capacity to manage funds accordingly.

7. The Network shall be composed of all the national coordination centres that have been notified to the Governing Board by the Member States.