The European Central Bank has published version 1.17 of its general contract terms for all works, services and products supplied to the ECB. The terms govern areas including subcontracting, remuneration and invoicing, confidentiality, cybersecurity, data protection, conflicts of interest, framework agreements and compliance with EU and German foreign trade rules. The individual contract sheet takes precedence over specific contract terms, which in turn take precedence over the general terms. Contractors must obtain prior written consent for subcontracting, promptly report IT security incidents and potential conflicts of interest, and comply with standards on gifts, external influence, workplace conduct and financial transactions where they may access inside or other confidential information. The ECB may conduct compliance audits once per calendar year, or more often where it has reasonable grounds, with audit rights continuing for two years after contract termination. Contractual penalties may reach 5% of the net contract value for each confidentiality or data protection breach, subject to an overall contractual penalty cap of 5% during the contract or relevant order. The terms also allow termination for specified serious breaches, unresolved conflicts of interest, minimum wage violations and circumstances preventing compliance with applicable sanctions, export control or other foreign trade rules.
Source: 2026-09-28European Central Bank
European Central Bank updates supplier contract terms covering audits, security and conduct
The European Central Bank has published version 1.17 of its general contract terms for suppliers of works, services and products. The terms set requirements covering subcontracting, audits, cybersecurity reporting, confidentiality, data protection, conduct and foreign trade compliance, with contractual penalties generally capped at 5% of the net contract value.