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1. Union response measures shall be proportionate and not exceed the level of injury to the Union, taking into account the gravity of the economic coercion, its economic impact on the Union or a Member State and the rights of the Union and its Member States.

2. The Commission shall select and design appropriate Union response measures on the basis of available information, including as gathered pursuant to Article 13, and taking into account the determination made pursuant to Article 5, the criteria set out in Article 2(2), the determination of the Union interest pursuant to Article 9, any relevant action pursuant to the Union’s common foreign and security policy, as well as the following criteria:

(a) the effectiveness of the Union response measures in inducing the cessation of the economic coercion and, where requested, the reparation of the injury to the Union;

(b) the avoidance or minimisation of negative impact on:

(i) Union actors affected by Union response measures, in light of, inter alia, the availability of alternatives for such actors, such as alternative sources of supply for goods or services;

(ii) the investment environment in the Union or a Member State, including the impact on employment and regional development policy;

(c) the avoidance or minimisation of negative impact on the promotion of economic growth and employment through the protection of intellectual property rights as a means to promote innovation and a knowledge economy in the Union or in a Member State;

(d) the potential to provide relief to Union economic operators affected by the economic coercion;

(e) the avoidance or minimisation of negative effects of the Union response measures on Union policies or objectives;

(f) the avoidance of disproportionate administrative burden and costs in the application of the Union response measures;

(g) the existence and nature of any response measures enacted by third countries affected by the same or similar economic coercion, including, where relevant, any coordination pursuant to Article 7;

(h) any relevant criteria established in international law.

In selecting Union response measures, the Commission shall give preference to measures which most effectively ensure compliance with criteria set out in the first subparagraph, points (a) and (b).

3. Without prejudice to paragraph 2, when selecting and designing an appropriate response measure that affects a procedure whereby a public authority in the Union grants authorisations, registrations, licences or other rights to a natural or legal person for the purposes of their commercial activities, the Commission shall consider Union response measures in the following hierarchical order:

(a) measures affecting procedures initiated after the entry into force of the implementing act referred to in Article 8(1);

(b) where measures referred to in point (a) of this paragraph are not available, measures affecting procedures not yet completed upon the entry into force of the implementing act referred to in Article 8(1).

Where none of the measures referred to in the first subparagraph are possible, the Commission may, in exceptional circumstances, consider other response measures, where it has been demonstrated, in light of the information and views gathered pursuant to Article 13, that those other measures would ensure effectiveness, without disproportionately affecting the upstream industries, downstream industries or final consumers within the Union, or imposing a disproportionate burden on the process of administration of relevant national regulations. When selecting and designing a Union response measure referred to in the first subparagraph, the Commission shall take into account the level of harmonisation and give preference to measures which affect procedures applied on a Union-wide basis or in an area where extensive Union law exists. Union response measures referred to in the first subparagraph shall not interfere with the administrative decisions of Union and Member State authorities that are based on the evaluation of scientific evidence.

4. Where necessary to achieve the objective of this Regulation, the Commission may adopt Union response measures that affect the access of foreign direct investment to the Union or trade in services and that apply to services supplied, or direct investments made, within the Union by one or more legal persons established in the Union and owned or controlled by persons of the third country. The Commission may adopt such Union response measures where not applying them to such services supplied or direct investments made would be insufficient to effectively achieve the objective of this Regulation, in particular where the effect of Union response measures could otherwise be avoided or circumvented by the third country or the person concerned. In assessing whether to adopt such Union response measures, the Commission shall consider, inter alia, the following criteria, in addition to those set out in paragraphs 1 and 2:

(a) the patterns of trade in services and investment in the sector targeted by the envisaged Union response measures and the risk of avoidance or circumvention by the third country or the person concerned of any Union response measures not applying to services supplied, or direct investments made, within the Union;

(b) the possible effective contribution of Union response measures referred to in the first subparagraph to obtaining the cessation of economic coercion and the reparation of the injury to the Union;

(c) the existence of alternative measures capable of obtaining the cessation of the economic coercion and the reparation of the injury to the Union that are reasonably available and less restrictive of trade in services or investment within the Union. The adoption of such Union response measures shall be duly justified in the implementing act referred to in Article 8(1) in the light of the criteria set out in this paragraph.