Introductory text

THE PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular Article 38 thereof,

Whereas:

Article 38 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (hereinafter the ‘Statute of the ESCB’) provides that the European Central Bank (ECB) is legally committed to third parties by the President or by two members of the Executive Board or by the signatures of two members of staff of the ECB who have been duly authorised by the President to sign on behalf of the ECB. In order to facilitate efficient working processes within the ECB, members of staff should be authorised to legally commit the ECB to third parties by virtue of their function within the ECB.

This Decision grants the Chief Services Officer, acting on behalf of the President, the power to authorise, in exceptional cases and where justified, members of staff to legally commit the ECB to third parties.

It is sometimes necessary for a person who is not an ECB member of staff to act as an agent of the ECB and to exercise rights on the ECB’s behalf, or to legally commit the ECB to third parties, e.g. by accepting work by an ECB service provider or in the context of joint procurements with other Union institutions. Therefore, the Chief Services Officer, acting on behalf of the President, should be able to exceptionally authorise such a person to legally commit the ECB in accordance with instructions provided by the ECB.

This Decision is without prejudice to any specific current or future authorisation by the President to legally commit the ECB in accordance with Article 38 of the Statute of the ESCB,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: