Brussels, 19 February 2002
I. GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS
I.1 The aim of this call for proposals is to identify projects, which might be eligible for financial support from DG ENV. This support would be in the form of co-financing grants.
I.2 For guidance, DG ENV is planning to assist between, 23 and 41 projects, allocating a total of some 2.45 million EURO. These amounts and numbers may be subject to changes in the event that new themes are added.
I.3 The fields concerned, and the nature and content of the activities (as well as the conditions for granting assistance, application forms, and a draft grant agreement) are set out in the annexes to this call for proposals.
II. CONTEXT
II.1 Projects, which may be eligible for co-financing, will be in line with one or more of the objectives defined, and fall within the context of a duly approved basis in Community law (Directive, Regulation or Council Decision) or help to promote objectives in specific fields.
III. EXCLUSION CRITERIA
III.1 A commercial company may not in principle participate in this call for proposals unless it is able to demonstrate that the immediate objective of the project that it intends to propose is of a non-commercial nature, and definitely non-profit making.
III.2 Any application, presented by a body acting as an intermediary for a third party, shall be excluded.
III.3 Any application presented by an organisation, which is the subject of one of the grounds for exclusion from a public contract within the meaning of Article 29 of the Directive on the procedures for the award of public service contracts (Directive 92/50 of 18/06/1992), shall be excluded. This applies in particular where the party submitting the proposal:
(a) is bankrupt or is being wound up, whose affairs are being administered by the court, who has entered into an arrangement with creditors, who has suspended business activities or who is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure under national laws and regulations;
(b) is the subject of proceedings for a declaration of bankruptcy, for an order for compulsory winding up or administration by the court or for an arrangement with creditors or for any other similar proceedings under national laws or regulations;
(c) has been convicted of an offence concerning its professional conduct by a judgement that has the force of res judicata;
(d) has been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means;
(e) has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions in accordance with the legal provisions in force;
(f) has not fulfilled regulations relating to the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions in force;
(g) is guilty of serious misrepresentation in supplying or failing to supply the information that may be required in connection with this call for proposals.
III.4 Any application presented by an organisation receiving an operating-costs subsidy granted under the Community action programme promoting non-governmental organisations primarily active in the field of environmental protection (Council Decision No 97/892/EC of 16 December 1997) will be excluded.
III.5 Any project or project phase, which has already been completed or already begun, at the time of receipt of the request, is not eligible for co-financing.
III.6 The proposed project must not, directly or indirectly, send messages which conflict with Union policies or be associated with an image, which is not in keeping with that of the institutions.
IV. SELECTION CRITERIA
IV.1 Only requests submitted on the basis of the application form contained in the annex will be considered. All the compulsory sections of the form must be completed clearly and accurately. Any incomplete or unsigned application will be rejected automatically.
IV.2 Only organisations which have been legally constituted for more than two years are eligible for assistance. To this end, parties submitting proposals must enclose the following with their application (unless the application is submitted by a recognised public authority):
(a) the articles of association of the organisation and a copy of the statutory registration certificate
(b) if it is not enclosed with the articles of association, a list of the members of the management board
(c) all information required by the application form (title of organisation, VAT, etc.).
IV.3 Only organisations capable of funding their activities will be eligible for a grant. To this end, the party submitting a proposal must enclose with its application a copy of the annual accounts of the organisation (or the annual budget in the case of a public body) for the last financial year preceding the submission of the proposal. The budget estimate for the project must be in balance expenditures/incomes.
IV.4 Only organisations providing evidence of adequate operational capacity and professional qualifications and experience will be eligible for assistance. To this end, parties submitting proposals must enclose with their application
(a) the annual activity report of their organisation
(b) the CVs of the persons who will carry out the project activities.
V. CRITERIA FOR AWARDING GRANTS
The grants referred to in point I of this call for proposals will be awarded with a view to the successful completion of those projects deemed the most suitable on the basis of the following criteria:
V.1 Sound understanding by the party submitting the proposal of the theme, under which the proposal is presented, as set out in the annex to this call for proposals.
V.2 Clarity of description of the methods to be employed for the realisation of the proposed project, the anticipated results and the timetable envisaged. To this end, the principal information must be given at points 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 of the application form, which will serve as a technical annex if the project is approved.
V.3 Feasibility of the project
V.4 Cost effectiveness.
VI. PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION AND EXAMINATION OF PROPOSALS, TIMETABLE
VI.1 This call for proposals is open until 30/4/2002. All the documents required for a proposal must be sent in triplicate to the following address. They should be presented in A4 format:
European Commission
"MARKET" TEAM
CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2002
DG ENV.5, Budget and Finance (BU-5, 001/120)
B-1049 Brussels.
VI.2 The complete proposal must be delivered by registered letter, by private courrier or by hand (in case of hand delivery the address is: "MARKET" TEAM, Call for Proposals 2001, DG ENV.5 (BU5, 00/120) rue de Genève 1 – 3, B-1140 BRUSSELS – Evere) before 15.00 hours on the 30/4/2002. The postmark, the date of collection by the courier or the acknowledgement of receipt dated and signed by the responsible official will serve as proof of the date of submission of the proposal. Faxes, electronic mail, incomplete dossiers, or dossiers sent in several parts will not be accepted.
VI.3 The proposal must be valid until 31/12/2002.
VI.4 The procedure for the appraisal of a proposal is as follows:
- receipt, recording and acknowledgement of receipt by the Commission (for guidance: 15/5/2002)
- examination by the services of the Commission (for guidance: 15/6/2002)
- formulation of the final decision and communication of the result to the applicant (for guidance: 15/7/2002)
Proposals will be selected on the basis of the criteria set out above and within the limits of the available budget. The entire procedure is strictly confidential. In the event of approval by the Commission, a contract (established in Euro) will be concluded between the Commission and the party submitting the proposal.
The decision of the Commission is final.
The following documents are available:
General information
Annexes:
Annex B: Standard application form (pdf format 50k) (MS WORD format)
Annex C: Model agreement (pdf ~21K)