24. Ethics clauses and code of conduct  24.1 Absence of conflict of interest  24.2 Respect for human rights as well as environmental legislation and core labour standards Zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment:  24.3 Anti-corruption and anti-bribery  24.4 Unusual commercial expenses 24.5 Breach of obligations, irregularities or fraud  August 2020 c4b_itt_en.doc  Page 15 of 17  The tenderer must not be affected by any conflict of interest and must have no equivalent  relation in that respect with other tenderers or parties involved in the project. Any attempt by a  tenderer to obtain confidential information, enter into unlawful agreements with competitors  or influence the evaluation committee or the contracting authority during the process of  examining, clarifying, evaluating and comparing tenders will lead to the rejection of its tender  and may result in administrative penalties according to the Financial Regulation in force. The tenderer and its staff must comply with human rights and applicable data protection rules.  In particular and in accordance with the applicable basic act, tenderers and applicants who  have been awarded contracts must comply with the environmental legislation including  multilateral environmental agreements, and with the core labour standards as applicable and as  defined in the relevant International Labour Organisation conventions (such as the conventions  on freedom of association and collective bargaining; elimination of forced and compulsory  labour; abolition of child labour).  The European Commission applies a policy of 'zero tolerance' in relation to all wrongful  conduct which has an impact on the professional credibility of the tenderer. Physical abuse or punishment, or threats of physical abuse, sexual abuse or exploitation,  harassment and verbal abuse, as well as other forms of intimidation shall be prohibited. The tenderer shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations and codes relating to anti- bribery and anti-corruption. The European Commission reserves the right to suspend or cancel  project financing if corrupt practices of any kind are discovered at any stage of the award  process or during the execution of a contract and if the contracting authority fails to take all  appropriate measures to remedy the situation. For the purposes of this provision, ‘corrupt  practices’ are the offer of a bribe, gift, gratuity or commission to any person as an inducement  or reward for performing or refraining from any act relating to the award of a contract or  execution of a contract already concluded with the contracting authority.  Tenders will be rejected or contracts terminated if it emerges that the award or execution of a  contract has given rise to unusual commercial expenses. Such unusual commercial expenses  are commissions not mentioned in the main contract or not stemming from a properly  concluded contract referring to the main contract, commissions not paid in return for any  actual and legitimate service, commissions remitted to a tax haven, commissions paid to a  payee who is not clearly identified or commissions paid to a company which has every  appearance of being a front company.  Contractors found to have paid unusual commercial expenses on projects funded by the  European Union are liable, depending on the seriousness of the facts observed, to have their  contracts terminated or to be permanently excluded from receiving EU funds.  The contracting authority reserves the right to suspend or cancel the procedure, where the  award procedure proves to have been subject to breach of obligations, irregularities or fraud. If 