1. Without prejudice to the respective competences of the Member States and the Union institutions, the Authority may develop contacts and enter into administrative arrangements with regulatory, supervisory and, where applicable, resolution authorities, international organisations and third-country administrations. Those arrangements shall not create legal obligations in respect of the Union and its Member States nor shall they prevent Member States and their competent authorities from concluding bilateral or multilateral arrangements with those third countries.

2. The Authority shall assist the Commission in preparing equivalence decisions pertaining to regulatory and supervisory regimes in third countries following a specific request for advice from the Commission or where required to do so by the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2).

3. The Authority shall monitor, with a particular focus on their implications for financial stability, market integrity, investor protection and the functioning of the internal market, relevant regulatory, supervisory and, where applicable, resolution developments, and enforcement practices and market developments in third countries, to the extent they are relevant to risk-based equivalence assessments, for which equivalence decisions have been adopted by the Commission pursuant to the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2).

Furthermore, it shall verify whether the criteria, on the basis of which those equivalence decisions have been taken, and any conditions set out therein, are still fulfilled.