8.10.2005   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 250/15

1.

In accordance with the Council Decision of 3 June 2002 concerning the sixth framework programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) for nuclear research and training activities, also contributing to the creation of the European Research Area (2002 to 2006) (1), the Council adopted on 30 September 2002 the specific programme (Euratom) for research and training in the ‘nuclear energy’ field (2002-2006) (2) (referred to as ‘the specific programme’).

In accordance with Article 5(1) of the specific programme, the Commission of the European Communities (referred to as ‘the Commission’) has adopted on 6 December 2002 a work programme (3) (referred to as ‘the work programme’) setting out in greater detail the objectives and priorities of the specific programme, the timetable for implementation and the instruments to be used.

In accordance with Article 9(1) of the Council Regulation of 5 November 2002 concerning the rules for the participation of undertakings, research centres and universities in the implementation of the sixth framework programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) (2002 to 2006) (4) (referred to as ‘the rules for participation’), proposals for indirect RTD actions should be submitted under the terms of calls for proposals.

2.

The present call for proposals for indirect RTD actions (referred to as ‘the call’) comprises the present general part and the specific conditions that are described in the annex. The annex indicates in particular, the date of closure for the submission of proposals for indirect RTD actions, an indicative date for the completion of the evaluations, the indicative budget, the instruments and the areas concerned, the evaluation criteria for the evaluation of proposals for indirect RTD actions, the minimum number of participants, and any applicable restrictions.

3.

Natural or legal persons fulfilling the conditions stated in the rules for participation and not falling under any of the exclusion cases in the rules for participation or in Article 114(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (5) (referred to as ‘the proposers’) are invited to submit to the Commission proposals for indirect RTD actions, subject to the conditions in the rules for participation and in the call being fulfilled.

The proposers' fulfilment of the conditions for participation will be verified in the course of the negotiations on the proposal for an indirect RTD action. Proposers must previously have signed a declaration on their honour that they are not in one of the situations referred to in Article 93(1) of the Financial Regulation. They must also have sent the Commission the information listed in Article 173(2) of Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (6).

The European Community has adopted an equal opportunities policy and, on this basis, women are particularly encouraged either to submit proposals for indirect RTD actions or to participate in the submission of proposals for indirect RTD actions.

4.

The Commission makes available to proposers a guide for proposers relating to the call which contains information on the preparation and the submission of a proposal for an indirect RTD action. The Commission also makes available Guidelines on Proposal Evaluation and Selection Procedures (7). These guides and guidelines, as well as the work programme and other information relating to the call, can be obtained from the Commission via the following addresses:

5.

Proposals for indirect RTD actions are invited to be submitted only as an electronic proposal via the web-based Electronic Proposal Submission System (EPSS (8)). In exceptional cases, however, a coordinator may request permission from the Commission to submit on paper in advance of a call deadline. This should be done by writing to one of the following addresses:

The request must be accompanied by an explanation of why the exception is being sought. Proposers wishing to use paper submission take the responsibility for ensuring that such requests for exemption and the associated procedures are completed in time for them to meet the call deadline.

All proposals for indirect RTD actions must contain two parts: the forms (Part A) and the content (Part B).

Proposals for indirect RTD actions may be prepared off-line or on-line and submitted on-line. Part B of proposals for indirect RTD actions can only be submitted in PDF (‘portable document format’, compatible with Adobe Version 3 or higher with embedded fonts). Compressed (‘zipped’) files will be excluded.

The EPSS software tool (for off-line or on-line usage) is available via the Cordis website www.cordis.lu.

Proposals for indirect RTD actions that are submitted on-line and which are incomplete, illegible or contain viruses will be excluded.

Versions of proposals for indirect RTD actions submitted on a removable electronic storage medium (eg, CD-ROM, diskette), by email or by fax will be excluded.

Any proposal for indirect RTD actions that has been allowed to be submitted on paper and which is incomplete will be excluded.

Further details on the various proposal submission procedures are given in Annex J of the Guidelines on Proposal Evaluation and Selection Procedures.

6.

Proposals for indirect RTD actions have to reach the Commission at the latest on the closure date and at the time specified in the call concerned. Proposals for indirect RTD actions arriving after this date and time will be excluded.

Proposals for indirect RTD actions not satisfying the conditions relating to the minimum number of participants indicated in the call concerned will be excluded.

This also applies regarding any additional eligibility criteria given in the work programme.

7.

In the case of successive submissions of the same proposal for an indirect RTD action, the Commission will examine the last version received before the closure date and time specified in the call concerned.

8.

If foreseen in the relevant call, proposals for indirect RTD actions could be evaluated in the framework of a future evaluation.

9.

In all correspondence relating to a call (e.g. when requesting information, or submitting a proposal for an indirect RTD action), proposers are invited to cite the relevant call identifier.