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1. Where operational and technical assistance is to be provided, the Executive Director shall draw up an operational plan in cooperation with the host Member State. The Executive Director and the host Member State shall agree on the operational plan:

(a) within 10 working days of the date on which a decision as referred to in Article 17(5) is taken in the case of a request for assistance under Article 16(1), point (a);

(b) within 5 working days of the date on which a decision as referred to in Article 17(5) is taken in the case of a request for assistance under Article 16(1), point (b); or (c) within 5 working days of the date on which the Member State provides its agreement to a proposal by the Agency to provide assistance on its own initiative under Article 16(1), point (d). The Agency shall consult participating Member States, where necessary, on the operational plan through the national contact points referred to in Article 24.

2. An operational plan shall be binding on the Agency, the host Member State and the participating Member States. It shall set out in detail the conditions for the deployment of asylum support teams within the framework of the operational and technical assistance to be provided and organisational aspects, including the following:

(a) a description of the situation, and the modus operandi and objectives of the deployment of the asylum support teams, including the operational objective;

(b) the foreseeable duration of the deployment of the asylum support teams;

(c) the location in the host Member State to which the asylum support teams are to be deployed;

(d) logistical arrangements, including information on working conditions, for the asylum support teams;

(e) a detailed and clear description of the tasks and responsibilities of the asylum support teams, including with regard to fundamental rights;

(f) instructions for the asylum support teams, including as regards the national and European databases that they are authorised to consult and the equipment that they may use or carry in the host Member State;

(g) the composition of the asylum support teams in terms of profiles and number of experts;

(h) technical equipment, including specific provisions such as conditions of use, transport and other logistics and financial provisions;

(i) capacity-building activities related to the operational and technical assistance being provided;

(j) regarding assistance with applications for international protection, including regarding the examination of such applications, and without prejudice to the competence of Member States to decide on individual applications for international protection, specific information on the tasks that the asylum support teams may perform and a clear description of their responsibilities and of the applicable Union, national and international law, including the liability regime;

(k) a reporting and evaluation scheme containing benchmarks for an evaluation report and the date of submission of the final evaluation report;

(l) where appropriate, the conditions for cooperation with third countries, other Union bodies, offices and agencies, or international organisations within their respective mandates;

(m) measures for referring persons in need of international protection, victims of trafficking in human beings, minors and any other persons in a vulnerable situation to the competent national authorities for appropriate assistance;

(n) practical arrangements related to the complaints mechanism referred to in Article 51.

3. In Member States where the UNHCR operates and has the capacity to contribute to responding to a request for operational and technical assistance under Article 16(1), the Agency shall coordinate with the UNHCR as regards the implementation of the operational plan, where appropriate and with the agreement of the Member State concerned.

4. As regards paragraph 2, point (f), the host Member State shall authorise experts participating in asylum support teams to consult European databases, and it may authorise them to consult its national databases in accordance with relevant Union and national law on access to and consultation of those databases and as necessary to achieve the objectives and perform the tasks outlined in the operational plan.

5. Any amendments to or adaptations of an operational plan shall require the agreement of the Executive Director and the host Member State, after consulting the participating Member States, where necessary. The Agency shall immediately send a copy of the amended or adapted operational plan to the national contact points of the participating Member States referred to in Article 24.

6. The Executive Director shall, after informing the host Member State, suspend or terminate, in whole or in part, the deployment of asylum support teams where:

(a) the conditions for taking operational and technical measures as referred to in Article 16(2) are no longer fulfilled;

(b) the host Member State does not respect the operational plan;

(c) after consulting the fundamental rights officer, the Executive Director considers that there are violations of fundamental rights or international protection obligations by the host Member State that are of a serious nature or are likely to persist.