Decision (EU) 2016/956 of the European Central Bank of 7 June 2016 amending Decision (EU) 2016/245 (ECB/2016/2) laying down the rules on procurement (ECB/2016/17)

‘2 The ECB may order from the initial contractor additional products, services or works, irrespective of their value, provided that the necessary amendments to the initial contract are not substantial. Amendments shall be considered substantial if they change the overall nature of the contract, in particular where one or more of the following conditions are met: (a) the amendment introduces conditions which, had they been part of the initial procurement procedure, would have allowed for the admission of candidates other than those initially selected, or for the acceptance of a tender other than that originally accepted or would have attracted additional participants in the procurement procedure; (b) the amendment changes the economic balance of the contract in favour of the contractor in a manner which was not provided for in the initial contract; (c) the amendment extends the scope of the contract considerably; (d) a new contractor replaces the one to which the initial contract was awarded in cases other than those provided for in paragraph 4. Amendments shall be considered not to be substantial in any circumstances if their cumulative value remains below (a) the relevant threshold set out in Article 4(3), and (b) 10 % of the initial contract value for supply and service contracts or 15 % of the initial contract value for works contracts.’;

‘7 Where a candidate or tenderer, or an undertaking related to a candidate or tenderer, has been involved in the preparation of a procurement procedure, for example by advising on the procurement strategy or developing specifications, the ECB shall take appropriate measures to ensure that competition is not distorted by the participation of that candidate or tenderer. The ECB may exclude the candidate or tenderer concerned from the procedure, if this is necessary for that purpose. Prior to exclusion, the candidate or tenderer shall be given the opportunity to prove that their previous involvement does not distort competition.’;

This Decision shall enter into force on 1 July 2016.