diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 9561b0cf61a4abfa84101675347ba88390c70444..56cc5dd6ad524e4faf242db040ec59b88bfcb56c 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+# only start pipelines if we are on the main branch, at a git tag or a merge request.
+include:
+  - template: 'Workflows/MergeRequest-Pipelines.gitlab-ci.yml'
+
 stages:
   - lint