European Central Bank: Procurement rules

The ECB declares its commitment to the principle of cost-efficiency and to seeking the best value for money from the procurement of goods, services and works.

Still, the EC Procurement Directive (2004/18/EC) and the Financial Regulation (No 1605/2002) do not apply to the European Central Bank (ECB), but the ECB states that it respects the general principles of procurement law as reflected in the Procurement Directive and the Financial Regulation.

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ESCB Statute

Protocol (No 18) on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (ESCB Statute; annexed to the latest consolidated version of the current treaties, OJ 29.12.2006 C 321 E/256─280) includes Article 11.6, which gives the Executive Board the authority to run the current business of the ECB:

11.6. The Executive Board shall be responsible for the current business of the ECB.

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ECB Rules of Procedure

More detailed rules are found in the Decision of the European Central Bank of 19 February 2004 adopting the Rules of Procedure of the European Central Bank (ECB/2004/2); OJ 18.3.2004 C 80/33.

Article 19 of the ECB Rules of Procedures sets out the main principles concerning procurement of goods and services for the ECB:

Article 19 ECB Rules of Procedure
Procurement

19.1. Procurement of goods and services for the ECB shall give due regard to the principles of publicity, transparency, equal access, non-discrimination and efficient administration.

19.2. Except for the principle of efficient administration, derogations may be made from the above principles in cases of urgency; for reasons of security or secrecy; where there is a sole supplier; for supplies from the national central banks to the ECB; to ensure the continuity of a supplier.

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ECB Rules of Procurement

On these bases, the Decision of the European Central Bank of 3 July 2007 laying down the Rules on Procurement (ECB/2007/5), OJ 14.7.2007 L 184/34, created new procurement rules for the ECB, largely built on general EC legislation, but with details particular to the ECB and the ESCB.

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EBC General Terms & Conditions

The ECB, like other contracting parties in a strong position, has set out its own standard terms for suppliers. These are presented separately (in English and German) for:

Services and Works (Dienst & Werk)

Purchase (Kauf)

There is a third set of standard terms, concerning construction work, available on the ECB web site in German (Vertragsbedingungen für Bauleistungen), perhaps an indication of the planned Headquarters Building in Frankfurt am Main.

For an overview of ECB procurement, go to:

http://www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb/jobsproc/proc/tenders/html/index.en.html


Ralf Grahn