## II. GENERAL CONDITIONS FOR THE SERVICE CONTRACT 

## II.1. DEFINITIONS 

For the purpose of this contract, the following definitions (indicated in italics in the text) apply: 

‘Back office’ : the internal system(s) used by the parties to process electronic invoices; 

‘Breach of obligations’: failure by the contractor to fulfil one or more of its contractual obligations. 

‘Confidential information or document’ : any information or document received by either party from the other or accessed by either party in the context of the performance of the contract,  that any of the parties has identified in writing as confidential. It may not include information that is publicly available; 

‘Conflict of interest’ : a situation where the impartial and objective performance of the contract by the contractor is compromised for reasons involving family, emotional life, political or national affinity, economic interest, any other direct or indirect personal interest, or any other shared interest with the contracting authority or any third party related to the subject matter of the contract; 

‘Creator’ : means any natural person who contributes to the production of the result ; 

‘EDI message’ (electronic data interchange): a message created and exchanged through the electronic transfer, from computer to computer, of commercial and administrative data using an agreed standard; 

‘e-PRIOR’ : the service-oriented communication platform that provides a series of web services and allows the exchange of standardised electronic messages and documents between the parties. This is done either through web services, with a machine-to-machine connection between the parties’ back office  systems ( EDI messages ), or through a web application (the s upplier portal ). The Platform may be used to exchange electronic documents (e-documents) such as electronic requests for services, electronic specific contracts, and electronic acceptance of services or electronic invoices between the parties. 

‘Force majeure’ : any unforeseeable, exceptional situation or event beyond the control of the parties that prevents either of them from fulfilling any of their obligations under the contract. The situation or event must not be attributable to error or negligence on the part of the parties or on the part of the subcontractors and must prove to be inevitable despite their exercising due diligence. Defaults of service, defects in equipment or material or delays in making them available, labour disputes, strikes and financial difficulties may not be invoked as force majeure , unless they stem directly from a relevant case of force majeure ; 

‘Formal notification’ (or ‘formally notify’): form of communication between the parties made in writing by mail or email, which provides the sender with compelling evidence that the message was delivered to the specified recipient; 

‘Fraud’: an act or omission committed in order to make an unlawful gain for the perpetrator or another by causing a loss to the Union's financial interests, and relating to: i) the use or presentation of false, incorrect or incomplete statements or documents, which has as its effect the misappropriation or wrongful retention of funds or assets from the Union budget, ii) the 

