(a)

the annual Work Plan for the implementation of the Programme, setting out:

(b)

selection, award and other criteria for financial contributions to the actions of the Programme in accordance with Article 4.

—

the total for the operating budget is estimated at EUR 46 984 640,

—

the total for the administrative budget is estimated at EUR 1 440 280.

—

meet the criteria specified in point 3.1, and

—

consist of the participation of bodies from at least 10 participating countries, or in the participation of bodies from 3 participating countries, where the action is proposed by a body from a Member State which has acceded to the European Union since 1 May 2004 or by a candidate country.

—

directly correspond with one of the topics described in sections 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4, even if a different financing mechanism is mentioned,

—

have a wide European Union dimension, with participants from at least 10 countries participating in the second Health Programme,

—

are organised by a public body or a non-profit-making body, established in a country participating in the second Health Programme and which has relevant experience in cooperation at EU level.

—

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),

—

World Health Organisation (WHO),

—

European Observatory on Health Policies and Health Systems,

—

The Council of Europe (CoE),

—

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

—

organisation of workshops and expert meetings, including seminars organised at national level among groups of experts to exchange best practices in the areas of the annual Work Plan,

—

publications and various communication initiatives to promote the second Health Programme,

—

Contribution to

—

Involvement of new (non-traditional) actors for health in sustained, cooperative and ethically sound actions, both at regional or local level and across participating countries. This includes the public sector, the private sector and stakeholders among wider civil society whose primary aims are not limited to public health (for example among the youth, ethnic groups and other public interest spheres such as environment and sport).

—

At least 60 % of the total budget of the action must be used to fund staff. This criterion is intended to promote capacity building for development and implementation of effective public health policies.

—

At least 25 % of the budget of the proposed action must be allocated to Member States with a GDP per capita (as published by Eurostat in its latest statistical report) in the lower quartile of all EU Member States This criterion is intended to contribute to the reduction of health inequalities among EU Member States.

—

A score of at least 5 out of 8 marks must be achieved for all the award criteria of the policy relevance block mentioned in Annex II. This criterion aims at promoting the improvement of the health of European citizens, in the sense of enhancing policy relevance.

—

At least 10 % of the budget must be allocated to organisations that have not received any funding under the Health Programme of the European Community in the past 5 years. This criterion is intended to promote the involvement of new actors for health.

—

At least 60 % of the total budget of the action must be used to fund staff. This criterion is intended to promote capacity building for development and implementation of effective public health policies.

—

At least 25 % of the budget of the proposed action must be allocated to Member States with a GDP per capita (as published by Eurostat in its latest statistical report) in the lower quartile of all EU Member States This criterion is intended to contribute to the reduction of health inequalities among EU Member States.

—

A score of at least 5 out of 8 marks must be achieved for all the award criteria of the policy relevance block mentioned in Annex IV. This criterion aims to promote the improvement of the health of European citizens, in the sense of enhancing policy relevance.

—

At least 10 % of the budget must be allocated to organisations that have not received any funding under the Health Programme of the European Community in the past 5 years. This criterion is intended to promote the involvement of new actors for health.

—

Bodies from at least 10 participating countries or bodies from 3 participating countries, where the action is proposed by a body from a Member State which has acceded to the European Union since 1 May 2004 or by a candidate country should participate in the joint action.

—

At least 25 % of the members or candidate members of the non-governmental bodies or organisations forming the specialised network come from Member States with a GDP per capita (as published by Eurostat in its latest statistical report) in the lower quartile of all EU Member States.

—

The reduction of health inequalities at EU, national or regional level is manifested in the mission as well as the annual work programme of the applicant organization/specialised network.

—

the management of risks linked to communicable diseases (CDs) on the basis of risk assessment carried out by European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) (11),

—

the activities being developed by the Health Security Committee (HSC) (12) on health security preparedness, response capacity and planning of the Member States against biological, chemical and radiological agent attacks.

—

the prevention and the control of existing or emerging communicable diseases,

—

the preparedness for health emergencies,

—

the response capacity against CBRN attacks.

—

Prevention activities, including communication campaigns on specific diseases (tuberculosis, hepatitis, seasonal influenza, H1N1) and on vaccination issues aimed at the general public and professionals. The aim is to increase general and professional knowledge about the main issues related to the prevention of communicable diseases, including those which are vaccine preventable and identification of best practices on managing and control of these issues at Member State level, such as the improvement of services and improved allocation of resources. This should help in the adoption of relevant prevention responses and thereby contribute to a better implementation of national plans on tuberculosis, hepatitis and immunisation. The evaluation of these activities will contribute to improving prevention approaches aimed at, in particular, hard-to-reach populations and minority/marginalised groups.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Training on specific diseases (tuberculosis, hepatitis, seasonal influenza, H1N1) and issues related to vaccination for primary health workers and for ‘non health workers’, such as people working in educational and social fields. The aim is to increase their capacity to take into account the specificities of the hard-to-reach, vulnerable and at risk populations and minority/marginalised groups with regard to communicable diseases and issues related to vaccination, and thereby contribute to a better implementation of national plans on tuberculosis, hepatitis and immunisation. The validated training tools and methods developed under the activity will be disseminated and adapted to national contexts.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Development, implementation and result analysis of a survey aiming at identifying tuberculosis management and service provision within the health system at Member State level. The purpose of the survey is to allow for a descriptive analysis of the different models in the context of programme performance. A detailed description of the tuberculosis services delivery models would enable a more efficient approach to assessing resource allocation and commitment to tuberculosis control by Member States.

[Call for tenders]

—

Setting up a tool kit for immunisation registries, indicating ways of cooperation with ECDC, and examining the conditions of its transfer, adaptation and use in Member States. The aim is to improve national, regional and local reporting systems on issues related to immunisation using a common tool and thereby facilitate comparison between Member States' immunisation coverage.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Envisaged activities include the following: identification and exchange of best practices, drafting of documents, training, issues related to media and communication to the general public and professionals, progressing of modelling schemes and techniques for health emergency planning, reference guidelines on crisis management, training of staff and support staff to deal with the unexpected, training curricula (nature of training, target, content), disseminating key actions identified within the programme of the Health Security Committee and the Global Health Security Initiative (18) (GHSI), evaluation of logistical aspects of managing a crisis situation, including business continuity issues and taking into account the international dimension of events.

[Call for tenders]

—

Organisation of training of staff and conducting exercises at European level as a fundamental element of preparedness.

[Call for tenders]

—

Monitoring information exchange mechanisms for crisis management and communication and linking with international information exchange tools.

[Administrative agreement with JRC]

—

Developing or improving existing innovative information technology tools and networks for health threats detection and analysis, such as a geographical information system, novel early warning and forecasting schemes, modelling and situation awareness and crisis management tools.

[Administrative agreement with JRC]

—

Survey on existing legislation in the Member States on the collection of personal data (19) in particular in public health emergency situations. The aim is to address the issue of data protection under such circumstances. The results should contribute to increasing the coordination of contact tracing activities in order to contain a threat.

[Call for tenders]

—

Developing a strategy relying on assessment of lessons learnt with respect to improving intersectoral collaboration in responding to health emergencies in the surveillance, preparedness and response areas and for alerting systems in all relevant sectors. One area of special concern is cross-border coordination of interoperability and strengthening common responses to the upsurge of health emergencies. The aim is to improve preparedness and response to health emergencies through collaboration with relevant sector(s), for instance with transport, civil protection and security forces services involved in the continuity of activities, and to identify ways for improvement. There is a particular interest in using the results for intersectoral crisis management.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Implementing actions proposed in the document on health impacts of climate change (22) accompanying the EC White Paper with regard to extreme weather conditions, modelling of health effects, training, and considering the impact of climate change on vulnerable groups, and cooperation with ECDC, WHO and neighbouring countries.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Survey and audit of ‘national reference laboratories’ for chemicals and radioactive substances, including a workshop on sharing of abilities and capacities. The aim of the survey is to investigate and provide a rationale for an EU based reference laboratory scheme, providing an analytical overview of the current situation of reference laboratories in different Member States and exploring in detail the relevant evidence in support of the potential benefits and disadvantages of creating an EU reference network. It should address the minimal constitutive elements of an EU reference laboratory system, including critical elements for its development, and national and international networking as a prerequisite for effective action in outbreak investigations and responses.

[Call for tenders]

—

Establishing risk assessment networks of toxic industrial chemicals and radioactive threats and risks. The aim is to develop risk assessment capacity for chemicals and radioactive threats.

[Call for tenders]

—

Developing evidence-based, scientifically validated public health counter-measures. The aim is to develop protocols on rapid threat and risk analysis with regard to chemical and radioactive threats.

[Call for tenders]

—

Supporting the Health Security Committee's (23) priorities for 2010, including Health Security Committee sections and working groups activities.

[Call for tenders]

—

Comparison of approaches, including benchmarking, guidance, exchanges of best practices and organisational models in emergency response and analysis of the conditions for transfer and adaptation to other contexts (24). The aim is to mitigate the impact of mass emergencies and to provide guidelines on which public health measures can be adapted to threats that can spread internationally at e.g. ports and airports. The coordination of the European response is essential for the efficiency of any containment or delaying strategy. This framework is also related to the common application of the WHO International health Regulations (IHR).

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Increasing capacity building for joint law enforcement of security and health authorities' operations on the basis of the EC working paper on Bridging security and health (25). The document focuses on the cooperation between civilian health and law enforcement authorities at national level, between Member States and at EU level, and provides a compilation of good practices that aims at helping Member States to improve their national structures, raise awareness and enhance European cooperation and coordination.

[Joint actions]

—

International conference on global health security (26). The aim is to better define the interdependency between health security and other sectors, to strengthen global links through the exchange of knowledge and good practice on health security issues and to define a number of key areas of health security. The conference will bring together European actors from public health and other relevant policies, international actors such as the Global Health Security Initiative, G8, WHO, defence organisations like NATO, and humanitarian and civil society organisations. It will also provide an opportunity to develop communication on internal and external aspects of health security.

[Call for tenders]

—

Conference on the exchange of best practices and tools in the field of patient safety. The aim is to present the first results of activities and tools developed under the 2009 Call for proposals for projects of the second Health Programme and to define a strategy for dissemination and use. The conference will bring together public health authorities, health professionals, industry and experts in risk assessment. The results of the conference should also facilitate establishing a bridge between the definition of policies on patient safety at national and European level and in the health care field and improving the exchange and training schemes for health professionals especially between cross-border regions.

[Call for tenders]

—

Training for health care professionals and health educators. The aim is to use tools developed within activities financed under the Work Plan 2009 of the second Health programme as common background. Particular attention will be paid to the specificities of prevention, in particular on the good use of antibiotics in hard to reach populations (e.g. regardless of residential status, migrant population, minority/marginalised groups).

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Providing the Commission with high quality, independent advice on health risks. To ensure the functioning of Scientific Committees in accordance with Decision 2008/716/EC: special indemnities. The special indemnities are paid to experts for their work on scientific opinions.

[Scientific Committees]

—

Dialogue on Risk Assessment through a Nano Workshop — Conference. The aim is to bring together scientists, risk assessors, public authorities, industry and consumer and environmental NGO's to examine and discuss the scientific state-of-the art, regulation, international developments, risk governance and communication and to identify appropriate means to strengthen guidance in support of the safe, integrated and responsible development of nanotechnologies.

[Call for tenders]

—

Dialogue on Risk Assessment through a foresight analysis on nanotechnologies. The aim is to identify and discuss the risk assessment issues that come to the fore with the introduction of second and third generation nanotechnologies.

[Administrative agreement with JRC]

—

Dialogue on Risk Assessment through the 2nd International Conference. The aim is to facilitate a global dialogue on risk assessment, among risk assessment practitioners, with the involvement of bodies dealing with risk analysis in the EU and its main partners internationally. It is related to and builds upon the Transatlantic Risk Assessment Dialogue of the European Commission with the US and Canada. It is the second international bi-annual conference on risk assessment, and follows the 1st Conference held on 13-14 November 2008.

[Call for tenders]

—

Risk communication through lay language summaries of scientific opinions. The aim is to prepare web-based texts transcribing selected opinions of the non-food Scientific Committees into a form and language that will allow lay persons to readily understand the issues.

[Call for tenders]

—

Technical assistance to Scientific Committees. The aim is the search and retrieval of scientific critical mass and editorial support for and quality control of scientific opinions. This will allow the Scientific Committees to focus purely on scientific matters and scientific data evaluation.

[Call for tenders]

—

Collaborative advisory reports on risk assessment methodological aspects and on emerging health risks, supporting or complementing the activities of the EU Scientific Committees and Panels, jointly prepared by several science advisory bodies in the Member States.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Risk Assessment Collaboration through workshops on specific or general themes related to risk assessment and the work of the Commission non food Scientific Committees to promote and foster dialogue among experts.

[Call for tenders]

—

Risk communication through publishing the results and the work carried out by the non-food Scientific Committees in scientific journals and other media. The aim is to enhance visibility and recognition of this work, both in academic circles and among the general public.

[Call for tenders]

—

Risk communication through revising and updating the web pages of the Scientific Committees and related web pages (e.g. on Nanotechnologies, Electro Magnetic Fields). The aim is to enhance visibility and improve communication to journalists, stakeholders and the general public.

[Call for tenders]

—

Risk communication through the development of a professional communication strategy, e.g. by organizing a small workshop with journalists working on scientific matters.

[Call for tenders]

—

Assessment of current resources and needs. The aim is to ensure the high-quality functioning of the Scientific Committees (comparative analysis of EU agencies with comparable role).

[Call for tenders]

—

Organisation of training sessions in the field of tissues and cells for a defined number of inspectors. The aim is to achieve a uniform knowledge and way of doing inspections across the EU and to increase the number of trained professionals. This alignment of inspections practices will improve mutual trust and therefore stimulate collaboration among Member States.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Ad hoc cooperation with the Council of Europe on specific matters related to human substances (blood, tissues, cells, organs), in order to further develop and strengthen EU policy actions in this field.

In order to promote and protect human health, the Commission cooperates with the Council of Europe on quality standards for collection/procurement, testing, processing, preservation, storage and distribution of blood components, organs, tissues and cells. This ad hoc cooperation contributes to the implementation of Community legislation and policies in these fields.

[Direct grant agreement with CoE]

(1)

Training health professionals. Priority Actions 1 and 3 give particular emphasis to the role of transplant donor coordinators. The aim is to make sure that Member States put in place such key health professionals and provide them with continuous training. The result should be an increased number of well trained transplant coordinators. It has been demonstrated that key health professionals are elemental in increasing organ donation rates.

[Call for tenders]

(2)

Promoting actions (priority Action 6) and regional cooperation. The idea of the Action Plan is to strengthen cooperation and coordination activities of Member States in respect to organ donation and transplantation. The aim is to facilitate such cooperation between Member States with well developed transplantation systems and Member States that are in the process of improving or developing their transplantation systems. Through this mutual learning process the efficiency and accessibility of transplantation systems will be strengthened.

[Joint actions and Operating grants]

(3)

Funding a workshop with a view on how to improve the information to the general public and health professionals about new developments in the field (Priority Action 4 + 5). The aim is amongst others to improve the level of information the public receives in respect to organ donation and transplantation. The workshop could address such themes as improving communication skills of health professionals and support groups, and include seminars on ways of managing adverse publicity. This should result in an increased awareness and knowledge of organ donation and transplantation.

[Call for tenders]

—

Study on assessing the economic impact of integrating health in other policies, including the evaluation of the effects on health in general and the distributional impacts on population health. The aim is to identify the added value for European economies and to provide policy makers and other stakeholders with arguments for mainstreaming health. This should indicate prospects for partnerships and synergies with other policies affecting health, e.g. social policies, cohesion policy, competitiveness, transport and environment, thereby creating win–win opportunities.

[Call for tenders]

—

Developing action plans and strategies at national, regional or local level for public health capacity development. The aim is to improve the capacity of European public health systems and organisations including public health systems, civil society, NGOs and universities. The plans should target the development of public health professionals as well as the development of public health skills and knowledge of those who are not full time public health professionals but whose work would benefit from additional public health knowledge (including other health professionals, managers and administrators). They should also address the development of tools, knowledge and systems to support public health practice, including improvement of communication skills. Tasks may include networking and sharing of good practice, training programme development, information systems and public health aspects of public administration.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Developing tools, procedures, good practice and pilot work to improve interaction between public health researchers and policy development at EU level. Focus should in particular be on leadership, infra-structure and capacity in the medium and short-term perspective as well as the development of criteria and key elements. The aim is to support the defining of health policy proposals and development in view to strengthening civil society and NGOs in the field of health in particular in new Member States and central and eastern European countries.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Operating grants to non-governmental European networks and organisations which cover broad horizontal public health issues which are of relevance to developing the EU health agenda and with interest in overall public health policy development. The main aim is to strengthen relevant networks and organisations in order to improve and promote the participation of civil society and NGOs at European, national, regional and local level in the implementation of the health strategy.

[Operating grants]

—

Technical and scientific support to EU Expert Group and associated groups including scientific groups, stakeholder groups and a regional network on health inequalities as well as technical work to include the development of a methodology and implementation of a work programme on health inequality impact assessment for 3 years. The aim is to implement actions in the Commission Communication on health inequalities (29).

[Joint actions]

—

Technical assistance in the preparation of a report on health inequalities in the EU. The aim is to implement actions in the Commission Communication on Health Inequalities.

[Call for tenders]

—

Identifying and evaluating the effectiveness of best practices aimed at:

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Analysing best practices in the provision of services or investment in health promoting activities targeting young people at local level, especially in big urban areas.The Commission intends to use the results of the financed activity for developing its Youth health initiative, integrating the outcome of the Conference on the health of young people which took place in July 2009 in Brussels.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Development and support of good practice in enabling those with chronic illness to stay at work or return to the labour market. This includes rehabilitation programmes and other activities, particularly those which involve collaboration between the health care sector and the employment sector. The aim is to support the Health Strategy and the Community Strategy for health and safety at work 2007-2012. (30)

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Follow-up of the reformulation of manufactured foods — exchange of good practice with regard to the reduction of the levels of fat, saturated and trans fats, salt and sugar in manufactured foods focusing on the technical and economical aspects of reformulations in small and medium sized enterprises. The aim is to support the follow-up of the implementation of the White Paper on a Strategy for Europe on Nutrition, Overweight, and Obesity-related health issues (31).

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Developing and/or implementing good practice on how to promote physical activity in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas through future planning of infrastructure and through recreational policies and whole community actions. The aim is to support the follow-up of the implementation of the White Paper on a Strategy for Europe on Nutrition, Overweight, and Obesity-related health issues and EU Physical Activity Guidelines (32).

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Sharing of know-how on community based initiatives to reduce overweight and obesity. The aim is to support the follow-up of the implementation of the White Paper on a Strategy for Europe on Nutrition, Overweight, and Obesity-related health issues, and feed further policy development and activities.

[Call for tenders]

—

Survey on the knowledge of young people (12 — 17) on sexual and reproductive health across EU Member States. The aim is to improve the knowledge base for discussion about appropriate action at the European level on the sexual health of young people.

[Call for tenders]

—

Identify good practice on the methods and adequate settings for the information of all young people on sexual and reproductive health with a particular emphasis on marginalised and hard to reach groups with the goal to decrease sexually transmitted infections and other measurable effects, such as unwanted teenager pregnancies and sexual violence. The aim is to bring forward discussion and exchange of information on sexual health at EU level for developing further EU policy.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Identify methods used by marketing experts to reach young people and assess whether and how these methods could be used for communicating sexual health to young people. The aim is to support/bring forward discussion on sexual health at EU level for further EU policy.

[Call for tenders]

—

Developing strategies to reach the populations most at risk and to develop, in cooperation with stakeholders, appropriate means of communication whilst respecting specific cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. The aim is to support the implementation of the Commission Communication on HIV/AIDS.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Promoting combined and targeted prevention complemented by a meaningful surveillance, access to state of the art treatment, HIV testing and effective infrastructure. The aim is to support the implementation of the Commission Communication on HIV/AIDS.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Coordinating and facilitating the exchange of good practice and transfer of know-how on HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care among EU Member States and Eastern European neighbouring countries with a particular focus on injecting drug users. The aim is to support the implementation of Commission Communication on combating HIV/AIDS.

[Operating grants]

—

Involving young people in the development and implementation of approaches for integrating mental health promotion and the prevention of mental disorders into educational settings and youth initiatives. The aim is to achieve improved academic, social and health outcomes. This will enable the Community to encourage other actors to engage in similar approaches.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Promoting the creation of regional and local networks and implementation strategies for mental health promotion, mental disorder prevention and suicide prevention, which involve health and other public authorities as well as non-health stakeholders and civil society. This will take into account the fact that decisions and actions taken in regions and municipalities have a key impact on the mental health of the population. The aim is to develop examples of action on mental health, which the Community can highlight as good practices.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Promoting interdisciplinary cooperation between health professionals which addresses the links between mental and physical health and builds on the increasing understanding of their interdependence. Particular focus is put on identifying possibilities for preventing depression in co-morbidity with physical illness. The aim is to identify the benefits from such action for the health and quality of life of patients and the sustainability of health systems. This will enable the Community to support Member States in improving the quality of care and ensuring the sustainability of health systems.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Study, composed of three parts, assessing mental health systems, situations and outcomes in Member States. The aim is to support the Mental Health Pact by procuring further knowledge. The first part describes the mental health systems of the Member States, candidate countries and EFTA/EEA countries, highlighting their differences and similarities; the second part compiles information about levels of mental health and mental illness in these countries; the third part identifies the benefits in terms of health, education, employment and social performance from investing in mental health and its promotion and prevention.

[Call for tenders]

—

Study on availability, accessibility, usage and regulatory environment for new tobacco and nicotine products. The aim is to identify any gaps in the existing EC legislation (e.g. products not covered by tobacco, food or medical legislation).

[Call for tenders]

—

Support in implementation of EU policy on tobacco control, in particular with respect to raising awareness on health risks.

[Call for tenders]

—

Neutral scientific policy support. The aim of this activity is getting strong support for the implementation of the Framework Convention on tobacco control (FCTC). The outcome of the project will be: support to DG SANCO in its role as Key Facilitator for the development of FCTC guidelines for testing and measuring tobacco products and the effective functioning of the European Governmental Tobacco Laboratories Network.

[Administrative agreement with JRC]

—

EU-wide overview of the market and regulation regarding types of alcoholic beverages with particular appeal to minors (alcopops, RTDs, flavoured beers, alcoholic energy drinks as well as other products such as alcoholic gels and ice creams). Mapping of the situation at EU level will contribute to the development and coordination of Member States' activities in the framework of the EU alcohol strategy, with special attention on the protection of children and young people.

[Call for tenders]

—

Further studies on the affordability of alcoholic beverages in the EU, building on the findings regarding links between affordability, consumption and harm presented in a recent study commissioned by DG SANCO (39).

[Call for tenders]

—

Cooperation between the EC and the WHO Regional Office for Europe on further development of joint data gathering and common knowledge base relating to the alcohol situation and alcohol policies in Member States. This is a follow-up to a previous project in which a joint survey of alcohol consumption, harm and policies was carried out in 2008, a.o. for monitoring the implementation of the EU alcohol strategy. Continued cooperation on the development of the survey instrument and presentation of data is essential for supporting and evaluating the implementation of the EU alcohol strategy also in the future. The objective for this project is to improve monitoring of alcohol related developments and indicators in Member States in order to underpin the implementation of the EU alcohol strategy, to avoid overlap in reporting obligations for Member States. WHO is uniquely placed to revise and develop indicators at the European level. A direct grant agreement with the WHO to develop the European system will ensure that the European approach is fully coherent and compatible with the global approach. This will facilitate easy comparative analysis between the EU, its Member States and other parts of the world.

[Direct grant agreement with WHO]

—

Developing, implementing and exchanging good practice guidelines/quality standards for harm reduction interventions and services, taking into account specific needs of drug users (according to gender, cultural background, age and type of drugs), and focusing on synthetic drugs. Synthetic drugs use (e.g. Amphetamine-type Stimulants — ATS) is an increasing trend in the EU (cf. EMCDDA annual report), in particular among young people. The aim is to enhance the quality and effectiveness of demand reduction activities, as requested by the EU Action Plan objective 8, action 17 (44), with the ultimate objective of curbing drug use. The outcome will also feed into the preparatory inventory work of the Commission, with the support of the EMCDDA, foreseen under action 18 of above EU Action Plan. This will help Member States to survey the availability and effectiveness of prevention, treatment, harm reduction and rehabilitation services.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Provide technical support to the Commission for preparing a progress report on the Council Recommendation of 18 June 2003. This action is foreseen in the EU Action Plan on Drugs 2009-2012 (action 23). The aim is to assess the improvement coverage of harm reduction services, based on the first report adopted in 2007, making full use of interventions of proven effectiveness, in particular in prison and reintegration services, for people placed on follow-up care after release from prison. This will enable the Community to consider, together with the Member States, if there is a need for further recommendations.

[Call for tenders]

—

Implementing the Communication on Action against Cancer: European Partnership (45). The overall aim is to support Member States and other stakeholders to more efficiently and effectively work together at European level in addressing the burden of cancer, using innovative cooperation and governance structures. The Partnership, by bringing together European stakeholders with a common objective and commitment to reduce the cancer burden, will provide Member States and other stakeholders with a framework for sharing information, resources, best practise and expertise in cancer prevention and control. It should also help identifying common action at EU level that can provide added-value to national efforts.

[Joint action]

—

Technical, scientific and administrative support to the European Partnership for Action Against Cancer. The Communication on Action Against Cancer: European Partnership identifies specific actions in four areas: prevention and health promotion, healthcare, cancer research, and information and data. The Partnership will identify further actions which will have to be implemented to reach the objectives as set out in the Communication with an overall aim to reduce the burden of the disease in the EU. The aim of this contract is to provide technical support and advice for the European Partnership.

[Call for tenders]

—

In the general context of the European action against cancer, providing high quality data, information and knowledge on cancer, among others in the areas of cancer registration, cancer screening, cancer risk factors and cancer prevention strategies, development of a voluntary European pilot accreditation scheme for breast cancer screening and follow-up based on the European guidelines for quality assurance in breast cancer screening and diagnosis. A widely accepted accreditation/certification scheme based on the European quality assurance guidelines should enable women to recognize which breast units meet the European quality assurance standards and would provide a valuable additional tool for Member States in ensuring that quality standards are met. The aim of the development of a pilot scheme is to explore the potential for using this mechanism to encourage continuous quality improvement in breast cancer care throughout the EU.

IARC's mission is to coordinate and conduct research on the causes of human cancer, the mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and to develop scientific strategies for cancer prevention and control. IARC is the only organisation of its kind in the area of cancer, and it provides high-quality scientific support and technical knowledge in the area of cancer on which DG Sanco relies.

[Direct grant agreement with IARC]

—

Developing European approaches and guidelines to identify strategic good practice approaches across society to address non-communicable diseases, in particular diseases of the heart and circulatory system, with a focus on inequalities and social conditions, linking to a broader strategic approach to address non-communicable diseases. This should include reporting on and analysing of the current situation with regard to cardiovascular and circulatory diseases in the EU. The aim is to use the results for developing Community initiatives on cardiovascular health, building on the initiatives already financed by the Community.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Technical action to support the improvement of collection of better epidemiological data on dementias in Member States, analysis of existing early detection tools for cognitive decline at European and national level in order to define best practices recommendations and establishment of a platform to assess existing practices on rights and to preserve autonomy of persons suffering from dementias as well as promoting the dementia dimension in health determinants actions at EU level in order to define a healthy brain lifestyle set of recommendations. The aim is to implement actions in the Commission Communication on a European Initiative on Alzheimer's disease and other dementias (46).

[Joint action]

—

Implementation of a pilot phase of the European Autism Prevalence Protocol as defined in the European Autism Information System. This is necessary to obtain valid information about ASD prevalence in several European countries as well as to define harmonized methods for planning a more broad ASD prevalence study in Europe. The protocol should try to establish how the public health authorities defined ASD as a condition, whether there were existing protocols on detection, including early recognition, and whether case registries exist and how these are maintained. The aim is to gather initial information in order to provide comparable European information about ASD, building on the needs already identified at European level.

[Call for proposals for project]

—

Launching of a first phase of a European Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Register as transnational MS data collection system in Europe on the basis of pilot projects tested in former EU projects in the field focusing on the development of a minimum dataset, divided into a medical and a socio-economic part under certain conditions (such as a modular structure of the register, allowing input from existing and future national registries). The aim is to support the development of European Multiple Sclerosis registers, in order to provide comparable and reliable information at European level.

[Call for proposals for projects]

—

Support to the creation of networks of action on neurodegenerative or neurodevelopmental diseases not covered by existing EU actions (e.g. Parkinson, epilepsy, etc.). These networks should constitute key instruments to increase stakeholders cooperation and consensus initiatives on best practices and epidemiological knowledge on these diseases and contribute to developing clinical research. The aim is to have better comparable European information in the area of neurodegenerative/neurodevelopmental diseases, following the Communication on Alzheimer's and other dementias.

[Call for proposals for projects]

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Technical action to support the development of the Orphanet database on rare diseases and orphan drugs which is run by a large consortium of European partners and which is the most important rare diseases database in the world. In order to implement the establishment of a dynamic EU inventory of rare diseases it will be necessary to further develop the database. The aim is to implement actions in the Commission Communication and in the Council Recommendation for a European Action in the field of rare diseases (47) by providing a single reference point adding value at European level by bringing together all relevant information on rare diseases.

[Joint action]

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Technical action to support the European Surveillance on Congenital Anomalies (Eurocat) network which is run by a large consortium of European partners in order to create a sustainable prevalence data system for 90 congenital anomaly subgroups which are to be updated annually. The aim is to implement actions identified in the Commission Communication and in the Council Recommendation for a European Action in the field of rare diseases.

[Joint action]

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Creation of a mechanism for the exchange of knowledge between Member States and European authorities on the scientific assessment of the clinical added value for orphan medicines. The aim is to implement actions in the Commission Communication and in the Council Recommendation for a European Action in the field of rare diseases by sharing information in this area between Member States as efficiently as possible.

[Call for tenders]

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Improving and refining definition of rare diseases taking into account incidence aspects as defined in the Commission Communication and in the Council Recommendation for a European Action in the field of rare diseases. The aim is to implement actions in the Commission Communication and in the Council Recommendation for a European Action in the field of rare diseases, reflecting in particular the concerns around the definition of rare diseases expressed during the discussion in the European Parliament.

[Call for proposals for projects]

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Support to the creation of new registers on rare diseases. These registries should constitute key instruments to increase knowledge on rare diseases and develop clinical research. They are the only way to pool data in order to achieve a sufficient sample size for epidemiological research and/or clinical research. Collaborative efforts to establish data collection and maintain them will be considered, provided that these resources are open and accessible. The aim is to implement actions in the Commission Communication and in the Council Recommendation for a European Action in the field of rare diseases as well as in the High level Pharmaceutical Forum recommendations. (47)

[Call for proposals for projects]

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Support to the continuation of existing performing EU networks on information and registers on rare diseases in several areas (e.g. Ercusyn, Regiscar, EuroMyasthenia). The aim is to implement actions in the Commission Communication and in the Council Recommendation for a European Action in the field of rare diseases as well as in the High level Pharmaceutical Forum recommendations.

[Operating grants]

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Exchange of best practices in Member States on the prevention and management of chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Respiratory diseases such as asthma are one of the most common causes of morbidity in children. WHO Europe identified an important increase of asthma rate for children in Europe. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) found an 11,5 % annual average prevalence of self-reported asthma symptoms in children aged 13-14 years in Europe. Current activities try to reduce the exposure of people to know key risk factors, e.g. tobacco and other air pollutants. It is also important to support Member States' work on the prevention and management of chronic respiratory diseases and identifying and disseminating best practice. This would lead to significantly improving the quality of life of affected people by ensuring appropriate management of the disease and ultimately reducing morbidity.

[Call for proposals for projects]

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Pilot project on indoor air quality measurements of key pollutants in different settings in EU Member States to test newly developed monitoring protocols. Some Member States already conduct periodical monitoring of indoor air quality. JRC has developed standard protocols on how to conduct monitoring of key indoor air pollutants. These protocols need to be tested/validated with the help of a field campaign. The aim is to provide Member States with reliable, validated tools to conduct monitoring and to achieve a certain level of harmonisation which should deliver reliable and comparable results across Member States.

[Administrative agreement with JRC]

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Identification of best practices in Member States to improve indoor air quality with reference to heating/cooking and air conditioning systems (maintenance, ventilation etc.). The aim is to provide Member States with good practices on cost benefit measures to improve indoor air quality in homes.

[Call for proposals for projects]

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Implementation of the Child Safety Action Plan (CSAP) in new countries, update of existing information and expanding existing CSAP into national action plans for all age groups. The aim is to target child safety, in particular in new countries and to get 27 countries summaries of Member States' performances with respect to the level of safety provided to children and adolescents, based on over 100 effective prevention strategies and policies at national level. The results of these report card assessments are aimed at ultimately raising the level of all children's health.

[Call for proposals for projects]

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Preparation of an evaluation report four years after the adoption of the Council Recommendation of 2007 (50). In order to determine whether the measures proposed are effective and to assess the need for further action, the aim is to provide technical support to prepare a report on the implementation of this Community policy. Data will be taken from the Injury Database and gaps will be filled in (eg. through scientific review, additional collection of data from Member States and stakeholders). This will enable the Community to consider, together with the Member States, if there is a need for further recommendations.

[Call for tenders]

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Injury prevention and safety promotion through a European Conference. The aim is to assist Member States' governments and other stakeholders in identifying priorities for action at national level as well as to facilitate the development of national plans, infrastructures and capacities for safety promotion at the national, regional and local levels. Participants will represent ministries of health, other relevant government departments and agencies, health professionals, injury prevention and safety promotion practitioners, academics and the private sector. It will show Community commitment for injury prevention, in particular among vulnerable groups. It should provide recommendations for further action, thus helping Member States to implement the Council Recommendation of 2007.

[Conference grant]

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Joint action on injury data and monitoring at European level. Comparable European data and information on accidents and injuries is needed in order to support policy and action in this area and to monitor the implementation of the Council Recommendation. This action aims at building on the Injury Database developed so far in order to expand country coverage, improve the quality, representativity and comparability of data, and laying the ground for integration of the IDB into the European statistical system.

[Joint action]

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The evaluation of health care interventions aims at ensuring that health care systems are working efficiently. The 2009 joint action on health technologies assessment (HTA, which covers pharmaceuticals, medical devices and health care interventions) promotes collaboration at EU level on scientific and methodological HTA related issues. It is now important to accompany this cooperation through the development of HTA capacities in Member States. The aim of this action is to identify the organisational needs of some Member States to set up/develop their HTA capacity and expertise, either at national or at cross-border level. The project should also map the potential sources of Community support, notably from the EU cohesion policy (use of the structural funds).

[Call for proposals for projects]

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Policy dialogues on key fundamental values, and the definition and enforcement of patients' rights across Europe. The aim is to assess together with Member States and EU level stakeholders how patients' rights are developed and enforced. This would feed into discussions on related, current or upcoming Commission initiatives.

These policy dialogues need to involve a broad range of health policy actors and shall provide valuable outcomes for future work at EU level. The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies offers the necessary expertise, human resources and the relevant contacts to cover the intended spectrum, to assemble the targeted audience and to deliver the desired results.

[Direct grant agreement with the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies]

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Conference on Global health. The fourth principle of the Health Strategy is to strengthen the EU's voice in global health. A major conference on this topic in 2010 will reinforce this principle. The aim is to facilitate a dialogue with Member States and key global players and partners dealing with global health with the objectives of identifying priority areas for coordination and action, and feeding into a proposed Commission Communication on Global Health to be adopted later in 2010.

[Call for tenders]

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Maintain and continue developing a European Health and Life Expectancy Information System in order to improve and harmonise calculations for and the development of the Healthy Life Years — HLY — structural indicator. The system is elemental in providing harmonised and reliable data for supporting policy-making with regard to health systems as well as monitoring the implementation and impact of policies. This activity seeks to ensure appropriate technical support for the calculation and further development of this key indicator in the coming years.

[Joint actions]

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Integrate the perinatal health indicators into public health monitoring systems such as ECHIM (European Community Health Indicators Monitoring) and prepare its integration into the work of the European statistical system (Eurostat). Develop capacity at the European level and at national levels in order to achieve high level reporting. The aim is to have data and information on a routine basis on perinatal health, which is essential for complete coverage of the ECHI indicators, and which is an area of particular potential added-value for action at European level given the variations in perinatal health across the EU.

[Call for proposals for projects]

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Impact of Structural Funds investments on health gains. The aim is to evaluate, for a number of pilot countries, how health considerations and impact were taken on board when designing and launching significant investments in other policy areas, such as transport, environment and ICT, over the period 2007/2013. This will help drawing lessons for the preparation of the next programming period 2014/2020 of the structural funds.

[Call for tenders]

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Implementing DG Health and Consumers modules (tobacco, rare diseases, visual health, hearing health, mental health, patient rights) in the Commission survey tools (Eurobarometer).

[Call for tenders]

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Identification and development of tools aiming at facilitating recognition of prescriptions from another Member State. Technical action to support the improvement of collection, assessment and recognition of prescriptions across the borders of the Member States, so as to promote the flow of relevant medical information, increasing the quality and comfort of the treatment of citizens as they move within the European Union. The aim is to develop recommendations on a core set of data, a recognizable layout of information and health professionals' practice to support the transfer and recognition of prescriptions across borders.

[Call for tenders]

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Implementation of the Communication on Telemedicine — a platform for stakeholder involvement (51). Technical action to support the implementation of the Communication on Telemedicine, in particular the participation of health professionals and patients in the design, validation and implementation of eHealth tools, in particular of Telemedicine. This action will be coordinated with the related support of DG INFSO, with the work of the existing Member State governance structures on eHealth and with the Presidency priorities. The aim is to support the technical work of the governance structure, in particular in developing recommendations on how to involve health professionals and patients in eHealth and to address barriers to implementing e-health solutions within Member States.

[Joint actions]

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Web 2.0 applications for patient information and empowerment, patient safety, adverse effect reporting, health systems quality assessment and health systems coordination. Technical action to assess the quality and validity of web-based tools for patient information and empowerment, patient safety, adverse effect reporting, health systems quality assessment and health systems coordination. The usefulness, representativeness, fairness and predictive value should be evaluated in particular for: patient tutorials; social networking tools that report on patient experience, quality of treatment and patient safety; web-based health information repositories. The aim is to prepare to evaluate the potential use of these tools for health systems in general and to disseminate the related best practice.

[Call for proposals for projects]

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Best practice in involving health professionals and patients in designing, validating and implementing eHealth tools. Technical action to support the participation of health professionals and patients in the design, validation and implementation of eHealth tools. These tools should be evaluated as to their capacity to increase the flow of life-saving information and save the time of health professionals, to increase the quality and coordination of treatment and patient safety, and contribute to dynamic health systems. The aim is to evaluate and devise sound and practical ways to involve health professionals and patients in eHealth.

[Call for proposals for projects]

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Cooperation on key areas of work of the Health Committee of the OECD in the following areas: modelling of the labour market impact on health systems' interventions, namely prevention, in particular in the area of obesity; developing information on health workforce, namely on the capital stock available to the healthcare sector; joint publication of an EC/OECD flagship report on health data and analysis; development of ways to improve statistical coding practices (joint training, support tools, validation studies); promoting the participation of Member States and of neighbouring countries which are not members of the OECD in the data collection of the OECD. The data resulting from the cooperation will feed into policy-making, in particular in the areas of health care, health systems and patient safety.

The direct grant with the OECD is necessary so as to ensure the cooperation and expertise of the Health Committee of the OECD in the above areas. The OECD is the only organisation that can provide this, and the activities directly build on previous work.

[Direct grant agreement with OECD]

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Comparisons between health systems. Commission membership of the European Observatory on Health Policies and Health Systems, to support the core work of the Observatory and to strengthen the integration of European and cross-border dimensions into the work of the Observatory, with the aim of making best use of their particular expertise and capacity for the implementation of the European health strategy.

The Observatory is a repository of technical expertise, independent analysis and respected advice, and its work is complementary to the services of the Commission. For the purposes above, it is more effective and efficient to cooperate with the Observatory, contributing to the consistency between the outputs of the Observatory and the objectives of the EC in the domain of public health. These activities cannot be provided by any other institution and they follow up and build on previous work.

[Direct grant agreement with the European Observatory on Health Policies and Health Systems]

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Establishing mechanisms to assemble ‘state of the art’ data, information, evidence and technical advice on specific health topics to support the European Health Information and Knowledge Sharing system. The aim is to provide evidence based data and information to EU citizens, politicians, stakeholders and experts.

[Call for tenders]

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Technical development of the EU Public Health Portal and other ICT tools. The aim is to improve the management of the portal through automated links and content maintenance and to develop IT tools which support the collection and dissemination of health information.

[Call for tenders]

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Promoting the results of the First Public Health Programme (2003 to 2008), including a specific conference and publications. The aim is to disseminate the results of the programme to the general public and stakeholders as well as present best projects as a model to future applicants.

[Call for tenders]

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Supporting activities which aim to promote the Second Health Programme (2008 to 2013) and communicate its outputs in order to foster participation and disseminate programme results; mid-term evaluation of the Programme.

[Call for tenders]

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Organising communication activities, including campaigns and events, such as the EU health journalism prize. The aim is to disseminate information on the results of the Programme and on the implementation of the Health Strategy to citizens and stakeholders.

[Call for tenders]

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Network of European legal, economic and health experts addressing national as well as Community level obstacles and bottlenecks in collecting, analysing and using health information at Community level within relevant areas of ‘Community acquis’. This action aims at providing a first consistent and comprehensive legal, economic and health impact assessment for future policies in health information.

[Call for proposals for projects]

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Additional health reports in such areas as required, in particular under the new Commission. The aim is to enable rapid gathering of information and analysis on particular subjects as necessary, in particular to support development of new policies under the new Commission and in support of the Health Strategy.

[Call for tenders]

1.

2.

3.

These three categories of criteria will be considered consecutively during the evaluation procedure. A project which fails to meet the requirements of one category will not be considered at the next evaluation stage and will be rejected.

4.

1.

Evidence: Candidates shall provide a declaration on their honour, duly signed and dated, stating that they are not in any of the situations listed above.

2.

Each application must contain the documents required in the call for proposals, including the following documents:

Evidence: Application content.

3.

Evidence: The scheduled starting date and duration of the action must be specified in the grant application.

1.

Applicants must have stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain their activity throughout the period during which the activity is being carried out and to participate in its co-funding.

Evidence: Applicants must supply the profit and loss accounts and the balance sheets for the past two complete financial years.

The verification of financial capacity will not apply to public bodies, or to international public organisations created by inter-governmental agreements or to specialist agencies created by the latter.

2.

The applicant must have the professional resources, competences and qualifications required to complete the proposed action.

Evidence: Applicants must supply the organisation's most recent annual activity report including operational, financial and technical details and the curricula vitae of all relevant professional staff in all the organisations involved in the project.

3.

If so requested, applicants must supply an external audit report produced by an approved auditor, certifying the accounts for the last financial year available and giving an assessment of the applicant's financial viability.

1.

2.

3.

Any project failing to achieve the threshold will be rejected.

Following the evaluation, a list is drawn up of proposals recommended for funding, ranked according to the total number of points awarded. Depending on budget availability, the highest ranked proposals will be awarded for co-funding. The remaining proposals recommended for co-funding will be placed on a reserve list.

—

of staff employed by the beneficiary (main and associated beneficiaries) of grants and experts invited by the beneficiary to participate in working groups,

—

when explicitly provided for in service contracts.

—

which are non-profit making and independent of industry, commercial and business or other conflicting interests,

—

which pursue as their primary goal one or more objectives of the Programme,

—

which do not pursue general objectives directly or indirectly contrary to the policies of the European Union or associated with an inadequate image,

—

which have provided to the Commission satisfactory accounts of their membership, internal rules and sources of funding,

—

which are not in any of the situations of exclusion listed in Articles 93 and 94 of the Financial Regulation.

(a)

The direct or indirect holding of more than 50 % of the nominal value of the issued share capital in the legal entity concerned, or of a majority of the voting rights of the shareholders or associates of that entity;

(b)

The direct or indirect holding of decision-making powers, in fact or in law, in the legal entity concerned.

(c)

The direct or indirect holding of more than 50 % of the nominal value of the issued share capital of the applicant organisation or a majority of voting rights of the shareholders or associates of the legal entities is held by the same public body;

(d)

The legal entities concerned are owned or supervised by the same public body.

(a)

All information on funding is to be made available to the public via the applicant's website, broken down by type (core and project funding, contribution in kind) and by funding entity.

(b)

Applicant's existing position statements regarding their requirement on transparency are to be publicly available.

—

A clear, exhaustive and well detailed estimated budget of the expenses in relation to the corresponding activities carried out by each body taking part in the joint project.

—

A copy of the annual accounts for the last financial year for which the accounts have been closed preceding the submission of the application (for non-profit bodies other than public bodies).

1.

2.

3.

—

is non-profit-making and independent of industry, commercial and business or other conflicting interests,

—

has members in at least half of the Member States,

—

has a balanced geographical coverage,

—

pursues as its primary goal one or more objectives of the Programme,

—

does not pursue general objectives directly or indirectly contrary to the policies of the European Union or associated with an inadequate image,

—

has provided to the Commission satisfactory accounts of its membership, internal rules and sources of funding,

—

has provided to the Commission its annual work programme for the financial year and the most recent annual activity report and, if available, the most recent evaluation report,

—

is not in any of the situations of exclusion listed in Articles 93 and 94 of the Financial Regulation.

(a)

The direct or indirect holding of more than 50 % of the nominal value of the issued share capital in the legal entity concerned, or of a majority of the voting rights of the shareholders or associates of that entity;

(b)

The direct or indirect holding of decision-making powers, in fact or in law, in the legal entity concerned.

(c)

The direct or indirect holding of more than 50 % of the nominal value of the issued share capital of the applicant organisation or a majority of voting rights of the shareholders or associates of the legal entities is held by the same public body;

(d)

The legal entities concerned are owned or supervised by the same public body.

(e)

All activities should be published in the applicant's annual report (2).

Applicants working with private sector actors regarded ineligible for example by the nature of their activity which is incompatible with the basic principles of the European Union as stated in Article 2 and 3 of the EC Treaty, can be considered unacceptable.

(f)

All information on funding is to be made available to the public via the applicant's website, broken down by type (core and project funding, contribution in kind) and by funding entity.

(g)

Existing position statements of applicants regarding their requirement on transparency are to be publicly available.

—

attach a copy of the organisation's annual accounts for the last financial year for which the accounts have been closed preceding the submission of the application. If the grant application is from a new European organisation, the applicant must produce the annual accounts (including balance sheet and profit and loss statement) of the member organisations of the new body for the last financial year for which the accounts have been closed preceding the submission of the application,

—

present a detailed forward budget for the organisation, balanced in terms of income and expenditure,

—

attach an external audit report produced by an approved auditor in case of operating grant applications in excess of EUR 100 000, certifying the accounts for the last financial year available and giving an assessment of the applicant organisation's financial viability.

—

the organisation's most recent annual activity report, or, in the case of a newly constituted organisation, the curricula vitae of the members of the management board and other staff and the annual activity reports of the new body's member organisations,

—

any references relating to participation in or applications for actions financed by the European Community, conclusion of grant agreements and conclusion of contracts from Community budget,

1.

2.

3.

Any proposal failing to achieve the threshold will be rejected.

Following the evaluation, a list is drawn up of proposals recommended for funding, ranked according to the total number of points awarded. Depending on budget availability, the highest ranked proposals will be awarded co-funding. The remaining proposals recommended for co-funding will be placed on a reserve list.

1.

Evidence: Candidates shall provide a declaration on their honour, duly signed and dated, stating that they are not in any of the situations listed above.

2.

Each application must contain the documents required according to the call for proposals, including the following documents:

Evidence: Application content.

3.

Evidence: The scheduled commencement date and duration of the action must be specified in the grant application.

1.

Applicants must have stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain their activity throughout the period during which the activity is being carried out and to participate in its co-funding.

Evidence: Applicants must supply the profit and loss account and the balance sheets for the past two complete financial years.

The verification of financial capacity will not apply to public bodies, or to international public organisations created by inter-governmental agreements or to specialist agencies created by the latter.

2.

The applicant must have the professional resources, competences and qualifications required to complete the proposed action.

Evidence: Applicants must supply the organisation's most recent annual activity report including operational, financial and technical details and the curricula vitae of all relevant professional staff in all the organisations involved in the conference.

3.

If so requested, applicants must supply an external audit report produced by an approved auditor, certifying the accounts for the last financial year available and giving an assessment of the applicant's financial viability.

1.

2.

Any proposal failing to achieve the threshold will be rejected.

Following the evaluation, a list is drawn up of proposals recommended for funding, ranked according to the total number of points awarded. Depending on budget availability, the highest ranked proposals will be awarded co-funding. The remaining proposals recommended for co-funding will be placed on a reserve list.