9.7. Subject to Article 9.9, the contractor undertakes to treat in the strictest confidence and not  make use of or divulge to third parties any information or documents which are linked to  the performance of the contract without the prior consent of the contracting authority. The  contractor shall continue to be bound by this undertaking after completion of the tasks  and shall obtain from each member of its staff the same undertaking. However, use of the  contract’s reference for marketing or tendering purposes does not require prior approval  of the contracting authority, except where the contracting authority declares the contract  to be confidential.  9.8. If the contractor is a joint venture or a consortium of two or more persons, all such  persons shall be jointly and severally bound in respect of the obligations under the  contract, including any recoverable amount. The person designated by the consortium to  act on its behalf for the purposes of the contract shall have the authority to bind the  consortium and is the sole interlocutor for all contractual and financial aspects. The  composition or the constitution of the joint venture or consortium shall not be altered  without the prior consent of the contracting authority. Any alteration of the composition  of the consortium without the prior consent of the contracting authority may result in the  termination of the contract.  9.9. Save where the European Commission requests or agrees otherwise, the contractor shall  ensure the highest visibility to the financial contribution of the European Union. To ensure  such publicity the contractor shall implement among other actions the specific activities  described in the special conditions. All measures must comply with the rules in the  Communication and Visibility Manual for EU External Actions published by the European  Commission. 9.10. Any records shall be kept for a 7-year period after the final payment made under the  contract. In case of failure to maintain such records the contracting authority may,  without formal notice thereof, apply as of right the sanction for breach of contract  provided for  in Articles 35 and 36. 9a.1  The contractor shall at all times act impartially and as a faithful adviser in accordance  with the code of conduct of its profession. It shall refrain from making public statements  about the project without the prior approval of the contracting authority. It shall not  commit the contracting authority in any way without its prior consent and shall, where  appropriate, make this obligation clear to third parties.  9a.2  The contractor and its staff shall respect human rights and applicable data protection  rules.  9a.3  The contractor shall respect environmental legislation applicable in the country where the  supplies have to be delivered and internationally agreed core labour standards, i.e. the  ILO core labour standards, conventions on freedom of association and collective  bargaining, elimination of forced and compulsory labour, elimination of discrimination in  respect of employment and occupation, and the abolition of child labour, as well as  applicable obligations established by these conventions:  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 contractor shall also provide to inform the contracting authority of any breach of  ethical standards or code of conduct as set in the present Article. In case the contractor is  aware of any violations of the abovementioned standards he shall report in writing within  30 days to the contracting authority  August 2020 c4e_annexigc_en  Page 7 of 36  Article 9a - Code of conduct 