A Preamble
EBEA plays a vital role in our society. It falls upon each of us to uphold the integrity of EBEA and shield it from dishonest and unethical conduct. Consequently, the ensuing principles are obligatory for all full-time and voluntary staff, as well as all members of EBEA. These principles are expected to guide conduct both within EBEA and in interactions with external entities.
§ 1 Fairness
Adherence to rules, fairness, and ethical conduct are fundamental and are reflected in all subsequent principles. Lawful, compliant, and ethically impeccable conduct governs our entire association life.
We expect the same standards from everyone, including our business partners, and maintain relationships only with those who adhere to this Code of Conduct.
§ 2 Tolerance and Respect
Respectful, tolerant behaviour, and a culture of appreciation and preservation of human dignity are essential. Discrimination of any kind, whether based on
- race, colour, ethnic origin,
- religion, ideology,
- political views,
- age, disability,
- gender, or sexual identity,
is firmly opposed. We also denounce all forms of violence – be it of physical or emotional art – including insult, (sexual) harassment or abuse.
§ 3 Prevention of conflicts of interest and corruption
Acting in the name of and on behalf of EBEA requires integrity on the part of the persons acting.
This means that we are not guided by private interests, relationships and other advantages, i.e. irrelevant considerations when we act on behalf of EBEA, but only consider the interests of EBEA.
Should private interests, relationships or other advantages collide with the interests of EBEA in a situation („conflict of interest“), this must be disclosed immediately and it must be clarified whether the conflict of interest disqualifies the person concerned for the situation in question. It is important to avoid even the appearance of irrelevant considerations.
EBEA does not tolerate any form of corruption. This applies in particular to requesting, accepting promises of or accepting an advantage (passive corruption) as well as offering, promising or granting (active corruption) an advantage – for oneself or a third party – in return for favouritism in a business decision.
In order to avoid corruption, benefits – e.g. invitations and gifts – to or from our executive bodies, full-time and voluntary employees and all other members must be within the scope of customary social courtesy and hospitality and may only be made in a transparent manner. Contributions may never have an effect on an economic decision or even create the appearance of such a decision.
§ 4 Fair working conditions, compensation for volunteers and participation
We respect human rights, the principles of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and applicable labour law regulations. This applies in particular to the remuneration, social benefits, working hours and other working conditions of our full-time employees as well as to the compensation and reimbursement of expenses of volunteers. Our volunteers deserve our special thanks and appreciation, because without them EBEA could not continue to exist.
§ 5 Antitrust and Competition Law
Antitrust and competition law also applies to associations. We are therefore committed to free and undistorted economic competition.
In particular, agreements or behaviour that have the purpose or effect of impairing economic competition are generally prohibited. The same applies to the abuse of a dominant or monopoly-like position, i.e. the utilisation of market power to enforce conditions that would not be possible under normal economic competition.
§ 6 Dealing with Property and Assets
We always handle the property and assets of EBEA properly and with care. Every full-time and voluntary employee as well as all members must protect our assets in particular from loss, damage, misuse and destruction.
This also applies to our intellectual property (i.e. trademarks, image rights, media rights, copyrights and trade secrets), which must be protected against unlawful use and dissemination. In particular, access to non-published, confidential information is only granted to those persons who need it to fulfil their duties („need-to-know“ principle). Anyone who becomes aware of confidential information in the course of their work must also keep it secret within EBEA.
We always apply for public funding truthfully and without concealing material information. The use of public funding granted to us is always in accordance with its purpose.
§ 7 Transparency
Transparency is the basis of trust at EBEA and its decision-makers and committees. For this reason, both the preparation of decisions and the decision-making process (particularly in financial and personnel matters) must be documented in a comprehensible and complete manner after careful consideration.
We also apply the greatest possible transparency and care when completing tasks and carrying out processes.
§ 8 Data Protection
Data protection is of enormous importance in today’s fast-moving and digital society. We are aware of our responsibility with regard to the personal information of our members, full-time and voluntary employees, business partners and other third parties that we have access to. We therefore only process this information in full compliance with the applicable data protection regulations. In particular, we only collect the information that is necessary for the respective process and always treat the information provided to us confidentially and for a specific purpose. EBEA’s comprehensive privacy policy can be found on the website, ebea.work.
B Terms of Use EBEA Community
§ 1 Scope
(1) The following terms and conditions apply to the use of the EBEA Forum (hereinafter referred to as „Forum“). In order to use the Forum, it is important that you as a user accept the following Forum Terms and Conditions.
(2) By registering, you agree to the terms of use of our website. By agreeing, you guarantee that you will not create any contributions that violate these terms of use. The same applies to the creation of external links and signatures..
(3) The use of our website does not constitute a contract between the user and the EBEA.
§ 2 Duties as User of the Community
(1) As a user, you are not permitted to publish contributions that violate these terms of use, morality or other applicable German or European law.
As a user, you are specifically prohibited from engaging in the following activities:
- publishing content that is untrue and the publication of which constitutes a criminal offence or an administrative offence,
- sending spam to other Forum users via the Forum,
- using content protected by copyright and trademark law without appropriate authorisation (e.g. press releases etc.),
- to engage in advertising and
- publishing content that is offensive, racist, discriminatory or contains pornographic elements.
(2) If you violate B. § 2 para. 1 of these terms of use, we reserve the right to take the following steps:
- to delete your posts and modify them,
- to issue a ban on continuing to post in the Forum and
- blocking your access as a user.
(3) If you as a Forum user violate the terms of use and your contributions have resulted in possible legal violations, you as a user undertake to indemnify the EBEA against any claims, in particular claims for damages by other users, and to compensate them for the damage/costs incurred.
In addition, the user is obliged to provide EBEA with appropriate support in the event of any claims based on legal infringements caused by him/her and to bear the costs incurred.
§ 3 Transfer of Rights of Use
As a Forum user, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your contributions are published in compliance with copyright law. As a user, by publishing your contribution on the homepage, you grant EBEA the right to make the contribution permanently available for retrieval.
§ 4 Limitation of Liability
(1) We assume no responsibility for the contributions, topics, external links published in the Forum, and the resulting content, especially not for their accuracy, completeness, and timeliness. We are not obliged to permanently monitor the transmitted and stored contributions of users or to investigate the circumstances as to whether they indicate illegal content. We are only liable in the event of a wilful or grossly negligent breach of duty.
(2) We expressly point out that the contributions and discussions in the Forum are completely non-binding. The contributions and their utilisation are provided without guarantee.
(3) EBEA accepts no liability for the content and accuracy of advertisements. The respective author is solely responsible for this; the same applies to the content of the advertised website. Liability for illegal content lies exclusively with the advertiser.
(4) Downtimes cannot be completely ruled out and avoided, even when exercising the care required in traffic. No liability is assumed for the interruption of the usability and the retrieval of the website.
§ 5 Copyright
All texts, images and other information and data published on our website are – unless otherwise labelled – subject to the copyright of our website. Any form of reproduction and/or modification may only be made with the written authorisation of EBEA. Otherwise, we reserve the right to take legal action against such infringements. All costs caused by an infringement of rights by a user will be charged to that user.
§ 6 Reservation of right of amendment
EBEA reserves the right to change the terms of use at any time. Any changes to the terms of use will be indicated by a Forum post on the website..
§ 7 Termination and duration of the use of our website
Access to the Forum is granted upon registration and acceptance of our Terms of Use, and is provided for an indefinite duration. Membership in the Forum may be discontinued at any moment without the need to provide justification.
§ 8 Severability Clause
These Terms of Use shall be considered an integral component of our website. Should certain provisions within these Terms of Use become partially or wholly incompatible with current legal requirements, it is understood that the remaining clauses shall remain in full effect.
January 2024