ISSN 1977-091X

doi:10.3000/1977091X.C_2011.381.eng

Official Journal

of the European Union

C 381
European flag  

English edition

Information and Notices

Volume 54
30 December 2011

Notice No

Contents

page

 

IV   Notices

 

NOTICES FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES

 

European Commission

2011/C 381/01

Euro exchange rates

1

2011/C 381/02

Commission notice on current State aid recovery interest rates and reference/discount rates for 27 Member States applicable as from 1 January 2012(Published in accordance with Article 10 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 of 21 April 2004 (OJ L 140, 30.4.2004, p. 1))

2

 

V   Announcements

 

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES

 

European Commission

2011/C 381/03

Call for proposals — EACEA/42/11 — Erasmus Mundus 2009-2013 action programme — Implementation in 2012

3

 

PROCEDURES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPETITION POLICY

 

European Commission

2011/C 381/04

Prior notification of a concentration (Case COMP/M.6449 — DCC Energy/Swea Energi) — Candidate case for simplified procedure ( 1 )

9

 

 

(1)   Text with EEA relevance

EN

 

IV Notices

NOTICES FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES

European Commission

30.12.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 381/1

Euro exchange rates (1)

29 December 2011

2011/C 381/01

1 euro =


 

Currency

Exchange rate

USD

US dollar

1,2889

JPY

Japanese yen

100,24

DKK

Danish krone

7,4343

GBP

Pound sterling

0,83600

SEK

Swedish krona

8,9414

CHF

Swiss franc

1,2186

ISK

Iceland króna

 

NOK

Norwegian krone

7,7740

BGN

Bulgarian lev

1,9558

CZK

Czech koruna

25,910

HUF

Hungarian forint

310,75

LTL

Lithuanian litas

3,4528

LVL

Latvian lats

0,6990

PLN

Polish zloty

4,4411

RON

Romanian leu

4,3025

TRY

Turkish lira

2,4650

AUD

Australian dollar

1,2799

CAD

Canadian dollar

1,3189

HKD

Hong Kong dollar

10,0181

NZD

New Zealand dollar

1,6815

SGD

Singapore dollar

1,6805

KRW

South Korean won

1 488,70

ZAR

South African rand

10,5089

CNY

Chinese yuan renminbi

8,1461

HRK

Croatian kuna

7,5375

IDR

Indonesian rupiah

11 861,52

MYR

Malaysian ringgit

4,0981

PHP

Philippine peso

56,511

RUB

Russian rouble

41,5360

THB

Thai baht

40,961

BRL

Brazilian real

2,4201

MXN

Mexican peso

18,0061

INR

Indian rupee

68,3790

(1)  Source: reference exchange rate published by the ECB.

30.12.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 381/2

Commission notice on current State aid recovery interest rates and reference/discount rates for 27 Member States applicable as from 1 January 2012

(Published in accordance with Article 10 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 of 21 April 2004 (OJ L 140, 30.4.2004, p. 1))

2011/C 381/02

Base rates calculated in accordance with the Communication from the Commission on the revision of the method for setting the reference and discount rates (OJ C 14, 19.1.2008, p. 6). Depending on the use of the reference rate, the appropriate margins have still to be added as defined in this communication. For the discount rate this means that a margin of 100 basis points has to be added. The Commission Regulation (EC) No 271/2008 of 30 January 2008 amending the Implementing Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 foresees that, unless otherwise provided for in a specific decision, the recovery rate will also be calculated by adding 100 basis points to the base rate.

Modified rates are indicated in bold.

Previous table published in OJ C 225, 30.7.2011, p. 8.

From

To

AT

BE

BG

CY

CZ

DE

DK

EE

EL

ES

FI

FR

HU

IE

IT

LT

LU

LV

MT

NL

PL

PT

RO

SE

SI

SK

UK

1.1.2012

…

2,07

2,07

3,66

2,07

1,72

2,07

1,85

2,07

2,07

2,07

2,07

2,07

6,39

2,07

2,07

2,57

2,07

2,38

2,07

2,07

4,91

2,07

6,85

2,76

2,07

2,07

1,74

1.8.2011

31.12.2011

2,05

2,05

3,97

2,05

1,79

2,05

2,07

2,05

2,05

2,05

2,05

2,05

5,61

2,05

2,05

2,56

2,05

2,20

2,05

2,05

4,26

2,05

7,18

2,65

2,05

2,05

1,48

1.7.2011

31.7.2011

2,05

2,05

3,97

2,05

1,79

2,05

1,76

2,05

2,05

2,05

2,05

2,05

5,61

2,05

2,05

2,56

2,05

2,20

2,05

2,05

4,26

2,05

7,18

2,65

2,05

2,05

1,48

1.5.2011

30.6.2011

1,73

1,73

3,97

1,73

1,79

1,73

1,76

1,73

1,73

1,73

1,73

1,73

5,61

1,73

1,73

2,56

1,73

2,20

1,73

1,73

4,26

1,73

7,18

2,65

1,73

1,73

1,48

1.3.2011

30.4.2011

1,49

1,49

3,97

1,49

1,79

1,49

1,76

1,49

1,49

1,49

1,49

1,49

5,61

1,49

1,49

2,56

1,49

2,20

1,49

1,49

4,26

1,49

7,18

2,23

1,49

1,49

1,48

1.1.2011

28.2.2011

1,49

1,49

3,97

1,49

1,79

1,49

1,76

1,49

1,49

1,49

1,49

1,49

5,61

1,49

1,49

2,56

1,49

2,64

1,49

1,49

4,26

1,49

7,18

1,76

1,49

1,49

1,48

V Announcements

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES

European Commission

30.12.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 381/3

Call for proposals — EACEA/42/11 — Erasmus Mundus 2009-2013 action programme — Implementation in 2012

2011/C 381/03

Action 1 — Joint programmes

Action 2 — Partnerships

Action 3 — Promotion of European higher education

PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES

By Decision No 1298/2008/EC (1) of 16 December 2008, the European Parliament and the Council established the Erasmus Mundus action programme for the period 2009 to 2013. The Erasmus Mundus programme's overall aim is to promote European higher education, to help improve and enhance the career prospects of students and to promote intercultural understanding through cooperation with third countries, in accordance with EU external policy objectives in order to contribute to the sustainable development of third countries in the field of higher education.

The programme's specific objectives are:

—

to promote structured cooperation between higher education institutions and an offer of enhanced quality in higher education with a distinct European added value, attractive both within the European Union and beyond its borders, with a view to creating centres of excellence,

—

to contribute to the mutual enrichment of societies by developing the qualifications of women/men so that they possess appropriate skills, particularly as regards the labour market, and are open-minded and internationally experienced through promoting mobility for the most talented students and academics from third countries to obtain qualifications and/or experience in the European Union and for the most talented European students and academics towards third countries,

—

to contribute towards the development of human resources and the international cooperation capacity of higher education institutions in third countries through increased mobility streams between the European Union and third countries,

—

to improve accessibility and enhance the profile and visibility of European higher education around the world as well as its attractiveness for third country nationals and citizens of the Union.

The Erasmus Mundus Programme Guide and the relevant application forms for the three actions are available at the following address:

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/funding/higher_education_institutions_en.php

A.   Action 1 — Erasmus Mundus joint programmes

This action that aims at fostering cooperation between higher education institutions and academic staff in Europe and third countries with a view to creating poles of excellence and providing highly trained human resources is composed of two sub-actions:

—

Action 1A — Erasmus Mundus Master Courses (EMMCs), and

—

Action 1B — Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorates (EMJDs).

The aim of the sub-actions is to support postgraduate programmes of outstanding academic quality, jointly developed by consortia of European and, where relevant, third-country universities and that could contribute to the increased visibility and attractiveness of the European higher education sector. Such joint programmes must involve mobility between the consortia universities and lead to the award of recognised joint, double or multiple degrees.

A.1.   Eligible participants and consortium composition

The conditions applicable to eligible participants and to the composition of the consortium are specified in the Programme Guide under Section 4.2.1 for Action 1A and under Section 5.2.1 for Action 1B.

A.2.   Eligible activities

Eligible activities are specified in the Programme Guide under Section 4.2.2 for Action 1A and under Section 5.2.2 for Action 1B. No thematic priorities have been identified for this call.

A.3.   Award criteria

Action 1A and 1B applications will be assessed against the following award criteria:

—

Action 1A — Erasmus Mundus Master Courses (EMMCs)

Criteria

Weight

1.

Academic quality

30 %

2.

Course integration

25 %

3.

Course management, visibility and sustainability measures

20 %

4.

Students’ facilities and follow-up

15 %

5.

Quality assurance and evaluation

10 %

Total

100 %

—

Action 1B — Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorates (EMJDs)

Criteria

Weight

1.

Academic and research quality

25 %

2.

Partnership experience and composition

25 %

3.

European integration and functioning of the programme

20 %

4.

Provisions for candidates granted an EMJD fellowship

15 %

5.

Management, sustainability and quality assurance of the programme

15 %

Total

100 %

A.4.   Budget

This call for proposals has no direct budgetary impact in 2012. It aims at selecting:

—

for Action 1A (EMMCs): around 15 new applications and up to 23 renewal applications,

—

for Action 1B (EMJDs): around 10 new applications.

For each of the selected applications, a five-year framework partnership agreement (FPA) will be issued in the summer of 2012. These FPAs will give rise to the award of annual specific grant agreements starting from the academic year 2013/14 which will include, on the one hand, a financial support to the consortia implementing the joint programmes and, on the other, a yearly defined number of individual scholarships for European and third-country students, doctoral candidates and scholars.

A.5.   Submission deadline

The submission deadline for Action 1A — Erasmus Mundus Master Courses (EMMCs) and Action 1B — Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorates (EMJDs) is 30 April 2012 at 12 noon, Central European Time.

The Agency has established a system for the electronic submission of all applications. For this call for proposals, applicants must send their application using an electronic form available as of February 2012.

This form (including annexes) is considered as the definitive application.

Only applications submitted by the deadline and in accordance with the requirements specified on the relevant application forms will be accepted. Applications submitted on paper, by fax or directly by e-mail will not be examined.

B.   Action 2 — Erasmus Mundus partnerships

NOTICE

The call for proposals is being launched with a suspensive clause concerning part of the funding for lot 1, lot 2, lot 3, lot 5 (ENP countries) and for the entire amount of funding for lot 11 (India). The funding and the subsequent award of project grants for these lots are subject to the adoption of the respective decisions by the European Commission.

This action aims at fostering structured cooperation between European and third-country higher education institutions through the promotion of mobility at all levels of studies for students (undergraduate and masters), doctoral candidates, researchers, academic and administrative staff (not all regions and lots may include all types of mobility flow).

Action 2 — Erasmus Mundus partnerships (EMA2) is divided into two strands:

—

Erasmus Mundus Action 2 — STRAND 1 — Partnerships with countries covered by the ENPI, DCI, EDF and IPA instruments (2) (former External Cooperation Window),

—

Erasmus Mundus Action 2 — STRAND 2 — Partnerships with countries and territories covered by the Industrialised Countries Instrument (ICI).

B.1.   Eligible participants, countries and partnership composition

The conditions applicable to the eligible participants and to the composition of the partnerships are specified in the Programme Guide under Section 6.1.2.a for EMA2-STRAND 1 and under Section 6.2.2.a for EMA2-STRAND 2, and in the ‘Guidelines to the call for proposals EACEA/42/11’ under Section 5.3.1 for EMA2-STRAND 1 and under Section 5.3.2 for EMA2-STRAND 2.

B.2.   Eligible activities

Eligible activities are specified in the Programme Guide under Section 6.1.2.b for EMA2-STRAND 1 and under Section 6.2.2.b for EMA2-STRAND 2, and in the ‘Guidelines to the call for proposals EACEA/42/11’ under Section 5.3.1 for EMA2-STRAND 1 and under Section 5.3.2 for EMA2-STRAND 2.

B.3.   Award criteria

—

Applications under EMA2-STRAND 1 will be assessed against the following award criteria:

Criteria

Weight

1.

Relevance

25 %

2.

Quality

65 %

2.1.

Partnership composition and cooperation mechanisms

20 %

2.2.

Organisation and implementation of the mobility

25 %

2.3.

Students’/staff facilities and follow-up

20 %

3.

Sustainability

10 %

Total

100 %

—

Applications under EMA2-STRAND 2 will be assessed against the following award criteria:

Criteria

Weight

1.

Relevance

25 %

2.

Contribution to excellence

25 %

3.

Quality

50 %

3.1.

Partnership composition and cooperation mechanisms

15 %

3.2.

Organisation and implementation of the mobility

20 %

3.3.

Students’/staff facilities and follow-up

15 %

Total

100 %

B.4.   Budget  (3)

The overall available amount under this call for proposals is approximately EUR 170,640 million, aiming at a minimum mobility flow of 6 210 individuals.

The available budget for EMA2-STRAND 1 is EUR 169,440 million aiming at a minimum mobility of 6 185 individuals.

The available budget for EMA2-STRAND 2 is EUR 1,2 million aiming at a minimum mobility of 25 individuals.

B.5.   Submission deadline

The submission deadline for the Erasmus Mundus Action 2 — Partnerships is 30 April 2012 (as per postmark).

The grant application shall be sent by registered mail to the following address:

Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency

Call for proposals EACEA/42/11 — Action 2

Attn. Mr Joachim FRONIA

BOUR 02/029

Avenue du Bourget/Bourgetlaan 1

1040 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

Only applications submitted by the deadline and in accordance with the requirements specified on the application form will be accepted. Applications submitted by fax or e-mail only will not be accepted.

Where an applicant sends several different applications, each one must be sent in a separate envelope.

C.   Action 3 — Promotion of European higher education

This action aims at promoting European higher education through measures enhancing its attractiveness, profile, image, visibility and accessibility. Action 3 provides support to trans-national initiatives, studies, projects, events and other activities related to the international dimension of all aspects of higher education. These include promotion, accessibility, quality assurance, credit recognition, recognition of European qualifications abroad and mutual recognition of qualifications with third countries, curriculum development, mobility, quality of services, etc.

Action 3 activities may take various forms (conferences, seminars, workshops, studies, analyses, pilot projects, prizes, international networks, production of material for publication, development of information, communication and technology tools) and may take place anywhere in the world.

C.1.   Eligible participants and consortium composition

The conditions applicable to eligible participants and to the composition of the consortium are specified in the Programme Guide under Section 7.2.1.

C.2.   Eligible activities

Eligible activities are specified in the Programme Guide under Section 7.2.2.

For the purposes of this call for proposals, projects should address one of the following priorities:

—

projects dealing with promotion of European higher education in certain geographical areas (notably eastern and southern neighbourhood countries),

—

projects that aim to improve services for international students and doctoral candidates,

—

projects addressing the international dimension of quality assurance,

—

projects that aim to strengthen relations between European higher education and research,

—

projects promoting European study opportunities for doctoral candidates,

—

projects promoting the Erasmus Mundus programme towards European students,

—

projects promoting the Erasmus Mundus programme towards employers.

Projects which foresee the following activities will not be financed:

—

activities implemented in the context of the internationalisation of Erasmus thematic networks.

C.3.   Award criteria

—

Action 3 applications will be assessed against the following award criteria:

Criteria

Weight

1.

Relevance of the project to the Erasmus Mundus programme

25 %

2.

The expected impact of the project to help enhance the attractiveness of European higher education worldwide

25 %

3.

Arrangements for dissemination of project results and experiences, quality assurance and plans for sustainability and the long-term exploitation of results

15 %

4.

Consortium composition and cooperation mechanisms

15 %

5.

Work plan and budget

20 %

Total

100 %

C.4.   Budget  (4)

This call for proposals aims at selecting around six projects. The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects under the present call for proposals is EUR 1,5 million. Grant amounts will vary considerably according to the size of the projects selected (usually between EUR 100 000 and EUR 350 000). The financial contribution from the Agency cannot exceed 75 % of the total eligible costs.

C.5.   Submission deadline

The submission deadline for the Erasmus Mundus Action 3 projects to enhance the attractiveness of European higher education is 30 April 2012 (as per postmark).

The grant application must be sent by registered mail to the following address:

Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency

Call for proposals EACEA/42/11 — Action 3

Attn. Mr Joachim FRONIA

BOUR 02/029

Avenue du Bourget/Bourgetlaan 1

1040 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

Only applications submitted by the deadline and in accordance with the requirements specified on the application form will be accepted. Applications submitted by fax or e-mail only will not be accepted.

(1)  OJ L 340, 19.12.2008, p. 83.

(2)  

ENPI

—

European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument.

DCI

—

Development Cooperation Instrument.

IPA

—

Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance.

EDF

—

The European Development Fund (EDF) is the main instrument for providing European Union assistance for development cooperation under the Cotonou Agreement: ‘the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of the one part and the European Community and its Member States of the other part’.

(3)  This amount is conditioned to the adoption of the EU budget for 2012.

(4)  See footnote 3.

PROCEDURES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPETITION POLICY

European Commission

30.12.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 381/9

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case COMP/M.6449 — DCC Energy/Swea Energi)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

2011/C 381/04

1.

On 20 December 2011, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which DCC Energy Limited (‘DCC Energy’, Ireland) acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of Swea Energi Holding AB (‘Swea’, Sweden) by way of a purchase of shares.

2.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—

for DCC Energy: is mainly active in the sale, marketing and distribution of oil and LPG in Great Britain, Ireland, Denmark and Austria,

—

for Swea: is active in the Swedish market for fuel distribution. The company distributes heating oil, diesel, gasoline, wood-pellets and lubricants in Sweden.

3.

On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the EC Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved. Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under the EC Merger Regulation (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in the Notice.

4.

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax (+32 22964301), by email to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference number COMP/M.6449 — DCC Energy/Swea Energi, to the following address:

European Commission

Directorate-General for Competition

Merger Registry

J-70

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘EC Merger Regulation’).

(2)  OJ C 56, 5.3.2005, p. 32 (‘Notice on a simplified procedure’).