Article 12

The following paragraph shall be added to Article 3 of Directive 90/53 I/EEC:

‘5.

As regards the exploitation of geographical areas for the purpose of prospecting for or extracting oil or gas, paragraphs 1 to 4 shall apply as follows from the date on which the Member State concerned has complied with the provisions of the European Parliament and Council Directive 94/22/EC of 30 May on the conditions for granting and using authorizations for the prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons^f1:

(a)

the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 shall be considered to be satisfied with effect from that date without prejudice to paragraph 3;

(b)

with effect from that date, the Member State referred to in paragraph 4 shall be required to communicate only the provisions relating to compliance with the conditions referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3.’