22.11.2013

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/1

RECOMMENDATION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

of 15 November 2013

to the Council of the European Union on the external auditors of Latvijas Banka

(ECB/2013/42)

2013/C 342/01

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,

Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular Article 27.1 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)	The accounts of the European Central Bank (ECB) and national central banks of the Member States whose currency is the euro are audited by independent external auditors recommended by the ECB’s Governing Council and approved by the Council of the European Union.

(2)	Pursuant to Article 1 of Council Decision 2013/387/EU (1), Latvia fulfils the necessary conditions for the adoption of the euro and the derogation in favour of Latvia referred to in Article 4 of the 2003 Act of Accession (2) is abrogated with effect from 1 January 2014.

(3)	Pursuant to Article 43 of the Law on Latvijas Banka, from 1 January 2014 the annual financial statements of Latvijas Banka shall be audited by independent external auditors recommended by the ECB’s Governing Council and approved by the Council.

(4)	The external auditors recommended herein are Latvijas Banka's current auditors, who were appointed for the financial years 2012 to 2014,

HAS ADOPTED THIS RECOMMENDATION:

It is recommended that SIA Ernst & Young Baltic should be appointed as the external auditors of Latvijas Banka for the financial year 2014.

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 15 November 2013.

The President of the ECB

Mario DRAGHI

(1) Council Decision 2013/387/EU of 9 July 2013 on the adoption by Latvia of the euro on 1 January 2014 (OJ L 195, 18.7.2013, p. 24).

(2) OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 33.

22.11.2013

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/2

Euro exchange rates (1)

21 November 2013

2013/C 342/02

1 euro =

	Currency	Exchange rate
USD	US dollar	1,3472
JPY	Japanese yen	135,83
DKK	Danish krone	7,4589
GBP	Pound sterling	0,83500
SEK	Swedish krona	8,9353
CHF	Swiss franc	1,2318
ISK	Iceland króna
NOK	Norwegian krone	8,2065
BGN	Bulgarian lev	1,9558
CZK	Czech koruna	27,197
HUF	Hungarian forint	297,46
LTL	Lithuanian litas	3,4528
LVL	Latvian lats	0,7027
PLN	Polish zloty	4,1923
RON	Romanian leu	4,4518
TRY	Turkish lira	2,7200
AUD	Australian dollar	1,4536
CAD	Canadian dollar	1,4109
HKD	Hong Kong dollar	10,4434
NZD	New Zealand dollar	1,6393
SGD	Singapore dollar	1,6818
KRW	South Korean won	1 431,41
ZAR	South African rand	13,6700
CNY	Chinese yuan renminbi	8,2082
HRK	Croatian kuna	7,6503
IDR	Indonesian rupiah	15 765,61
MYR	Malaysian ringgit	4,3178
PHP	Philippine peso	58,947
RUB	Russian rouble	44,3825
THB	Thai baht	42,858
BRL	Brazilian real	3,1130
MXN	Mexican peso	17,6655
INR	Indian rupee	84,7930

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

22.11.2013

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/4

Call addressed to relevant organisations such as research agencies, research institutions, universities, standardisation organisations, civil society organisations or enterprises for the establishment of a database of prospective independent experts to assist Commission services with tasks in connection with Horizon 2020 — the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation

2013/C 342/04

Notice is hereby given of the launch of a call addressed to relevant organisations such as research agencies, research institutions, universities, standardisation organisations, civil society organisations or enterprises for the establishment of a database of prospective independent experts to assist Commission services with tasks in connection with Horizon 2020 — the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020) (1) and its specific programme (Horizon 2020 framework programme), and the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2014-2018) complementing Horizon 2020 — the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (the ‘Euratom programme’) (collectively ‘Horizon 2020’) and the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) (2).

Information on the modalities and how to submit lists of proposed prospective independent experts for this call is available through the European Commission Participant Portal website (http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/page/experts).

(1) Not yet published in the Official Journal. This call is published before the expected adoption and entry into force of the Horizon 2020 framework programme. The call will, therefore, only take full effect after the Horizon 2020 framework programme has entered into force. It may be verified that the provisions concerning independent experts have not undergone any substantial change. The publication of the call, anticipating the adoption of the Horizon 2020 framework programme, shall not give rise to any claim against the Commission.

(2) Council Decision 2008/376/EC of 29 April 2008 on the adoption of the Research Fund of the RFCS and on the multiannual technical guidelines for this programme, OJ L 130, 20.5.2008, p. 7.

22.11.2013

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/5

CALL FOR PROPOSALS — EACEA/18/13

Erasmus Mundus 2009-13 action programme

Implementation in 2014

2013/C 342/05

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 concerned actions are available at the following address:

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

A. Action 2 — Erasmus Mundus partnerships

Notice

The call for proposals is being launched with a suspensive clause for the funding allocated to lot 10 (South Africa) and for part of the funding allocated to lots 7 and 8 (Latin America regional), notably the funding allocated to EU mobility to third countries. The award of project grants for lot 10 and the funding for the EU type of mobility under lots 7 and 8 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 and post-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, IPA and ICI (ICI +) instruments (2),

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

A.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/18/13’ under Section 5.4.1 for EMA2-STRAND 1 and under Section 5.4.2 for EMA2-STRAND 2.

A.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/18/13’ under Section 5.4.1 for EMA2-STRAND 1 and under Section 5.4.2 for EMA2-STRAND 2.

A.3. Award criteria

—

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

Criteria

Weight

Relevance

25 %

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

Relevance

25 %

2.	Contribution to excellence

25 %

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 %

A.4. Budget

The overall available amount under this call for proposals is approximately EUR 78 657 500, aiming at a minimum mobility flow of 2 808 individuals.

The available budget for all cooperation instruments under EMA2-STRAND 1 is EUR 73 457 500, aiming at a minimum mobility of 2 696 individuals, including the budget of EUR 12 300 000 for the ICI + instrument, promoting EU mobility towards third countries under the DCI instrument and aiming at a minimum mobility of 381 individuals.

The available budget for EMA2-STRAND 2 is EUR 5 200 000, aiming at a minimum mobility of 112 individuals.

A.5. Submission deadline

The submission deadline for the Erasmus Mundus Action 2 — Partnerships is 3 March 2014 at 12.00 (noon), Central European Time.

The Agency has created 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 2014.

Only the electronic submission (including annexes) will be considered as the formal valid application.

Additionally, one paper copy identical to the electronic submission (including annexes) as a back-up must be sent by registered post to the following address by the submission deadline:

Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency

Call for proposals EACEA/18/13 — Action 2

BOU 02/029

Avenue du Bourget/Bourgetlaan 1

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

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

(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.

ICI — instrument for cooperation with industrialised and other high-income countries and territories. This includes the promotion of people-to-people links to supplement Erasmus Mundus Action 2 and, given the adoption of ICI revision on December 2011, it also supports the mobility of the European Union students and academic staff to third countries (ICI + under the relevant lots).

22.11.2013

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/8

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case COMP/M.7066 — CNODC/Novatek/Total EPY/Yamal LNG)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

2013/C 342/06

On 14 November 2013, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which the China National Oil & Gas Development Corporation (‘CNODC’, China), Total E&P Yamal (‘Total EPY’, France) and OJSC Novatek (‘Novatek’, Russia) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of OAO Yamal LNG (‘Yamal LNG’, Russia) by way of purchase of shares.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—	for CNODC: subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (‘CNPC’, China), which is active, mainly in China, but to a lesser extent also in the EEA, in a broad range of petroleum and gas related activities,

—	for Total EPY: active, globally, in the fields of natural gas and oil production, refining and marketing of oil products, petrochemicals and specialty chemicals,

—	for Novatek: active in the fields of exploration, production, processing and marketing of natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons in Russia,

—	for Yamal LNG: active in the development and (future) exploration of hydrocarbon raw materials at the South Tambeyskoye gas and condensate field on the Yamal peninsula in Russia.

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.

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.7066 — CNODC/Novatek/Total EPY/Yamal LNG, to the following address:

European Commission

Directorate-General for Competition

Merger Registry

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’).

22.11.2013

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/9

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case COMP/M.7035 — Austevoll Seafood/Kvefi/JV)

(Text with EEA relevance)

2013/C 342/07

On 15 November 2013, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which the undertakings Austevoll Seafood ASA (‘AUSS’, Norway) and Kvefi AS (‘Kvefi’, Norway) controlled by Kverva AS acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of a newly created company constituting a joint venture (‘JV’, Norway) by way of purchase of shares.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—	for AUSS: production and sale of seafood, fishmeal and fish oil,

—	for Kvefi: production and sale of seafood, fishmeal and fish oil,

—	for JV: primary and secondary processing of pelagic fish, production and sale of fishmeal and fish oil.

3.	On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope the EC Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved.

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 e-mail to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference number COMP/M.7035 — Austevoll Seafood/Kvefi/JV, to the following address:

European Commission

Directorate-General for Competition

Merger Registry

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

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

22.11.2013

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/10

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case COMP/M.7073 — KKR/Arle Capital/Hilding Anders)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

2013/C 342/08

On 15 November 2013, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which the undertakings KKR & Co. LP (‘KKR’, USA) and Arle Capital Partners Limited (‘Arle Capital’, UK) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the undertaking Hilding Anders Midco AB (‘Hilding Anders’, Sweden), previously solely controlled by Arle Capital, by other means.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—	for KKR: provision of a broad range of alternative asset management services to public and private market investors and capital markets solutions for the firm, its portfolio companies and clients,

—	for Arle Capital: a private equity firm that manages a diversified portfolio of investments headquartered in Europe,

—	for Hilding Anders: development, manufacture and marketing of beds, mattresses and related products.

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.7073 — KKR/Arle Capital/Hilding Anders, to the following address:

European Commission

Directorate-General for Competition

Merger Registry

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’).

22.11.2013

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/11

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case COMP/M.7099 — ARX/Darby/Gramex/GFI)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

2013/C 342/09

On 18 November 2013, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which the undertakings ARX CEE III LP (‘ARX’, Jersey) and Darby Converging Europe Fund III (SCS) SICAR (‘Darby’, Luxembourg), the latter belonging to Franklin Resources Inc. (‘Franklin Templeton Group’, United States), acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the undertakings Gramex 2000 Kereskedelmi Korlátolt Felelősségű Társaság (‘Gramex’, Hungary) and GF Investment Korlátolt Felelősségű Társaság (‘GFI’, Hungary) by way of purchase of shares.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—	for ARX: private equity fund active in Central and Eastern Europe,

—	for Darby: private equity fund focusing on mezzanine investments active in Central and Eastern Europe and Turkey,

—	for Gramex: manufacture and distribution of non-alcoholic beverages, including carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks,

—	for GFI: bottling services for private label manufacturers and distributors, including non-alcoholic beverages.

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.7099 — ARX/Darby/Gramex/GFI, to the following address:

European Commission

Directorate-General for Competition

Merger Registry

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’).

		ISSN 1977-091X doi:10.3000/1977091X.C_2013.342.eng
Official Journal of the European Union		C 342

English edition	Information and Notices	Volume 56 22 November 2013

Notice No	Contents	page
	I Resolutions, recommendations and opinions
	RECOMMENDATIONS
	European Central Bank
2013/C 342/01	Recommendation of the European Central Bank of 15 November 2013 to the Council of the European Union on the external auditors of Latvijas Banka (ECB/2013/42)	1

	IV Notices
	NOTICES FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES
	European Commission
2013/C 342/02	Euro exchange rates	2

	V Announcements
	ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
	European Commission
2013/C 342/03	Call addressed to individuals for the establishment of a database of prospective independent experts to assist Commission services with tasks in connection with Horizon 2020 — the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation	3

2013/C 342/04	Call addressed to relevant organisations such as research agencies, research institutions, universities, standardisation organisations, civil society organisations or enterprises for the establishment of a database of prospective independent experts to assist Commission services with tasks in connection with Horizon 2020 — the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation	4

2013/C 342/05	Call for proposals — EACEA/18/13 — Erasmus Mundus 2009-13 action programme — Implementation in 2014	5

	PROCEDURES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPETITION POLICY
	European Commission
2013/C 342/06	Prior notification of a concentration (Case COMP/M.7066 — CNODC/Novatek/Total EPY/Yamal LNG) — Candidate case for simplified procedure ( 1 )	8

2013/C 342/07	Prior notification of a concentration (Case COMP/M.7035 — Austevoll Seafood/Kvefi/JV) ( 1 )	9

2013/C 342/08	Prior notification of a concentration (Case COMP/M.7073 — KKR/Arle Capital/Hilding Anders) — Candidate case for simplified procedure ( 1 )	10

2013/C 342/09	Prior notification of a concentration (Case COMP/M.7099 — ARX/Darby/Gramex/GFI) — Candidate case for simplified procedure ( 1 )	11