Article 43
1. Contracts may be made against an invoice or bill of costs where the expected value of the goods or services does not exceed EUR 2000. 2. By way of guarantee of the performance of contracts, suppliers, contractors or providers of services may be required by a warranty clause to make a preliminary deposit. Such deposit must cover not only the entire period of the guarantee but also a period long enough to allow the guarantee to be invoked. The deposit must, in principle, consist of a payment in euro made to a bank account specifically opened for that purpose in the name of the General Secretariat of the Council. Such deposit may only be lodged with a first-class credit institution in a sight- or short-term deposit account denominated in euro. 3. The amount of the deposit shall be fixed according to the usual trade terms and conditions. 4. The provision of such security shall be obligatory where the value of the contract concerned equals or exceeds the thresholds set out in the Council Directives on public procurement procedures. 5. This security may be replaced by a joint and several personal guarantee given by a third party approved by the accounting officer. The guarantee shall, in principle, be denominated in euro and must comply with the same rules as the guarantee referred to in paragraph 2. 6. Where a contract has not been performed or completion has been late, the Deputy Secretary-General shall ensure that the Member States referred to in Article 25, as well as Iceland and Norway, are adequately compensated in respect of all damages, interests and costs by the deduction of the amount from the deposit, whether this has been lodged directly by the supplier or contractor or by a third party.