9.2.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 40/13

0.1.1.

The conduct of members of staff shall neither hinder their independence and impartiality nor harm the ECB’s reputation. Members of staff shall:

0.1.2.

The privileges and immunities enjoyed by members of staff under the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union are accorded solely in the interests of the ECB. These privileges and immunities shall in no way exempt members of staff from fulfilling their private obligations or from complying with the laws and police regulations in force. Whenever privileges and immunities are in dispute, members of staff concerned shall immediately inform the ECB’s Executive Board.

0.1.3.

Members of staff who are seconded or on leave from another organisation or institution shall be integrated into the staff of the ECB, shall have the same obligations and rights as other members of staff, and shall perform their duties solely for the benefit of the ECB.

0.3.1.

Members of staff shall refrain from making unauthorised disclosure of any classified information that they have received in the context of their work at the ECB to any person outside the ECB, including their family members, and to colleagues inside the ECB who do not need the information to perform their duties, unless that information has already been made public or is accessible to the public.

0.3.2.

Authorisation to make disclosure of information within and outside the ECB shall be obtained in accordance with the rules on management and confidentiality of documents in the Business Practice Handbook.

0.3.3.

Authorisation to make disclosure shall be granted to a member of staff where they have to give evidence, whether as a witness in legal proceedings or otherwise, and where a refusal to give evidence could incur criminal liability. As an exception, authorisation to make disclosure shall not be necessary if a member of staff is summoned to give evidence before the Court of Justice of the European Union in a case between the ECB and a current or former member of staff.

0.4.1.

Members of staff shall comply with their superiors’ instructions and with applicable reporting lines.

0.4.2.

Members of staff shall not require other staff to perform private tasks for them or for others.

0.4.3.

Members of staff shall behave loyally towards their colleagues. In particular, members of staff shall neither withhold from other members of staff information that may affect the conduct of business, particularly to gain a personal advantage, nor provide false, inaccurate or exaggerated information. Moreover, they shall not obstruct or refuse to cooperate with colleagues.

0.7.1.

Without prejudice to the obligations of members of staff under Decision ECB/2004/11 of 3 June 2004 concerning the terms and conditions for European Anti-Fraud Office investigations of the European Central Bank, in relation to the prevention of fraud, corruption, and any other illegal activities detrimental to the European Communities’ financial interests and amending the Conditions of Employment for Staff of the European Central Bank (1), members of staff shall report to the ECB and/or to the Ethics Officer if they have knowledge of or a well-founded suspicion of money laundering, terrorist financing, insider trading, fraud or corruption in the conduct of their professional duties by another member of staff or by any supplier of goods or services to the ECB.

0.7.2.

In all other cases, members of staff may report to the ECB and/or to the Ethics Officer if they have knowledge of or a well-founded suspicion of a breach of professional duty by another member of staff or by any supplier of goods or services to the ECB.

0.7.3.

Members of staff shall in no way be subject to inequitable or discriminatory treatment, intimidation, retaliation or victimisation as a result of having reported their knowledge of or well-founded suspicion of a breach of professional duty.

0.7.4.

The identity of members of staff who so request shall be protected when reporting their knowledge of or well-founded suspicion of a breach of professional duty.

0.10.1.

A ‘gift’ is any benefit or advantage, whether financial or in kind, which is connected in any way with the member of staff’s employment with the ECB and which is not the agreed compensation for services delivered, whether given by or offered to the member of staff or to any member of their family or to their personal acquaintances or professional associates.

0.10.2.

Members of staff may neither solicit nor accept any gifts with the following exceptions:

Members of staff shall endeavour to return to its source any gift received against the applicable rules and inform such source of the ECB rules in this respect. If the return of a gift is not possible, members of staff shall hand it over to the ECB. Members of staff shall report any gift received or refused in the template provided on the Intranet, except gifts in (b) above and gifts of up to EUR 10.

0.10.3.

The acceptance of a gift shall not, in any event, impair or influence the objectivity and freedom of action of the member of staff and shall not create an inappropriate obligation or expectation on the part of the recipient or the provider.

0.10.4.

Members of staff shall neither solicit nor accept gifts from participants in a procurement procedure.

0.10.5.

The acceptance of frequent gifts from the same source is prohibited.

0.10.6.

Members of staff shall report any gifts received by family members from sources connected in any way with the member of staff’s employment with the ECB.

0.12.1.

Members of staff shall not engage in private activities which might, in any way, impair the performance of their duties towards the ECB and, in particular, might be a source of conflict of interest.

0.12.2.

Without prejudice to the preceding paragraph, members of staff may engage in unremunerated private activities such as the simple conservative management of family assets and activities in domains such as culture, science, education, sport, charity, religion, social or other benevolent work, which do not have a negative impact on the member of staff’s obligations to the ECB and/or are not a likely source of conflict of interest.

0.12.3.

Members of staff shall obtain the ECB’s authorisation for any other private activities. These include:

In deciding whether to grant authorisation to engage in these private activities, the ECB shall have regard for whether the activity has a negative impact on the member of staff’s duties towards the ECB and, in particular, whether it is a likely source of conflict of interest.

0.12.4.

Without prejudice to the preceding paragraphs, members of staff may engage in political activities. Members of staff shall refrain from making use of their function and capacity at the ECB when engaging in political activities and shall avoid allowing their personal views to be seen as reflecting the views of the ECB.

0.12.5.

Members of staff who intend to stand for public office shall notify the ECB, which shall decide, having regard to the interest of the service, whether the member of staff concerned:

0.12.6.

Members of staff who are elected or appointed to public office shall immediately inform the ECB, which, having regard to the interest of the service, the importance of the office, the duties it entails and the remuneration and reimbursement of expenses incurred in carrying out the duties of the office, shall take one of the decisions referred to in the preceding paragraph. If the member of staff is required to take leave on personal grounds or is authorised to discharge their duties on a part-time basis, the period of such leave or part-time work shall correspond to the member of staff’s term of office.

0.12.7.

Private activities shall be carried out outside working hours. On an exceptional basis, the ECB may approve derogations from this rule.

0.12.8.

The ECB may, at any time, require the termination of private activities that do not or no longer comply with the provisions of the preceding paragraphs.

0.16.1.

Members of staff shall be mindful of the ECB’s independence, reputation and the need to maintain professional secrecy in their relations with any external party. In the performance of their duties, members of staff shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government, authority, organisation or person outside the ECB. Members of staff shall inform their management of any inappropriate attempt by a third party to influence the ECB in the performance of its tasks.

0.16.2.

Members of staff shall comply with the ECB’s rules for public access to information and take due note of the European Code of Good Administrative Behaviour in their relations with the public.

0.16.3.

Members of staff shall conduct their relations with their colleagues at NCBs of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) in a spirit of close mutual cooperation. Such cooperation shall be guided by the principles of non-discrimination, equal treatment and the avoidance of national bias. In any relationship with an NCB, members of staff shall bear in mind their obligations towards the ECB and the impartial role of the ECB within the ESCB.

0.16.4.

Members of staff shall maintain caution in their relations with interest groups and the media, in particular on issues related to their professional activities, and be mindful of the ECB's interests. Members of staff shall refer all requests for information related to their professional activities by representatives of the media to the Directorate Communications and comply with the relevant provisions in the Business Practice Handbook.

0.17.1.

Members of staff shall refrain from using or attempting to use information which pertains to the activities of the ECB, and which has not been made public or is not accessible to the public, to further their own or another’s private interests. Members of staff are specifically prohibited from taking advantage of such information in any financial transaction or in recommending or advising against such transactions. This obligation shall continue to apply after the termination of employment with the ECB.

0.17.2.

Members of staff may only engage in short-term trading in assets or rights provided that, prior to such transactions, the Ethics Officer is satisfied about the non-speculative nature and the justification for such transactions.

0.17.3.

Members of staff shall keep records for the previous and current calendar years of all of the following:

In order to monitor compliance with Article 0.17.1 and 0.17.2, at the request of the Directorate General HR, Budget and Organisation members of staff shall provide the documentation referred to above for a period of six consecutive months, as specified in the request.

The obligations of members of staff under this Article shall continue to apply for one year after the termination of their employment with the ECB.

0.17.4.

Members of staff who, by virtue of their duties, are deemed to have access to inside information about the ECB’s monetary policy, exchange rate issues, the ESCB’s financial operations, the ESCB’s financial stability analysis, pre-release statistics, activities of the ESRB or any other market sensitive information shall refrain from making financial investment transactions in any of the following:

Investments existing at a time when a member of staff falls under the scope of this provision may be maintained or changed if the member of staff:

The obligations of members of staff provided for in this Article shall continue to apply for one year after a member of staff has ceased to belong to the category of staff that is deemed to have access to inside information referred to in paragraph 1.

0.17.5.

Members of staff who, by virtue of their duties, are deemed to have access to inside information about the ECB’s monetary policy or exchange rate issues shall refrain from making any financial investment transaction during the period of seven days preceding the first Governing Council meeting of a calendar month.