12.11.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 330/11

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investment survey in Iceland, Montenegro and Sweden,

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construction survey in iceland and montenegro,

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retail trade survey in Iceland, Luxembourg and Montenegro,

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services survey in Iceland, Luxembourg and Montenegro,

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industry survey in Iceland and Montenegro,

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consumer survey in Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta and Montenegro,

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ad hoc surveys on topical economic issues. These ad hoc surveys are by definition more occasional and are carried out in addition to the monthly surveys, using the same established samples as the monthly surveys, to obtain information on specific economic policy issues.

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The monthly surveys must be carried out in the first two weeks of each month and the results must be e-mailed to the Commission at least five working days before the end of the month in accordance with the calendar that will be included in the grant agreement; publication of results is generally on the second-last working day of the month. The deadline for the delivery of consumer survey results is seven working days before the end of the month in accordance with the calendar that will be included in the grant agreement.

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The quarterly surveys must be carried out in the first two weeks of the first month of each quarter (January, April, July and October) and the results must be e-mailed to the Commission at least five working days working days before the end of January, April, July and October respectively and in accordance with the calendar that will be included in the grant agreement.

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The six-monthly surveys of investment must be carried out in March/April and October/November and the results must be e-mailed to the Commission at least five working days working days before the end of April and November respectively and in accordance with the calendar that will be included in the grant agreement.

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In the case of ad hoc surveys, the beneficiary must undertake to adhere to the specific timetables laid down for them.

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The total annual budget available for the period May 2012-April 2013 for these surveys is in the region of EUR 175 000 (one hundred seventy five thousand euro).

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Amounts for the following two years could be increased, subject to budgetary resources available, by about 2 % per year.

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Where, in a proposal, the amount of the services executed by a subcontractor is equal to or exceeds 50 % of the tasks, the subcontractor must provide all the necessary documents for assessing the applicant's proposal as a whole with regard to the exclusion, selection and award criteria (see points 5, 6 and 7 below). This implies that the subcontractor has to prove that he fulfils the exclusion criteria, and that the combined capacity of the subcontractor and the applicant will be considered with regard to the selection and award criteria.

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The applicant for the grant shall award contracts to tenderers offering the best price-quality ratio, while taking care to avoid any conflict of interest. In case subcontracting exceeds EUR 60 000, the applicant will have to document, once selected, that the subcontractor has been chosen on the best price-quality ratio basis.

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assume the overall responsibility for the partnership vis-à-vis the Commission,

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monitor the activities of the other participating member(s),

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ensure the overall coherence and timely submission of survey results,

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centralise the signature of the contract and deliver the contract duly signed by all participants to the Commission (proxy is possible),

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centralise the Commission's financial contribution and disburse payments to participants,

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collect supporting documents of expenditure incurred by each participant and present them in a single submission.

(a)

they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the courts, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, are the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations;

(b)

they have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment which has the force of res judicata;

(c)

they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authority can justify;

(d)

they have not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established or with those of the country of the contracting authority or those of the country where the contract is to be performed;

(e)

they have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity detrimental to the Union' financial interests;

(f)

following another procurement procedure or grant award procedure covered by the Union budget, they have been declared to be in serious breach of their obligations;

(g)

they are subject to a conflict of interest;

(h)

they are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required or fail to supply this information.

(a)

cases of fraud as referred to in Article 1 of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests drawn up by the Council Act of 26 July 1995 (2);

(b)

cases of corruption as referred to in Article 3 of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of Member States of the European Union, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 May 1997 (3);

(c)

cases of involvement in a criminal organisation, as defined in Article 2(1) of Joint Action 98/733/JHA of the Council (4);

(d)

cases of money laundering as defined in Article 1 of Council Directive 91/308/EEC (5).

1.

Without prejudice to the application of penalties laid down in the contract, candidates or tenderers and contractors who have made false declarations, have made substantial errors or committed irregularities or fraud, or have been found in serious breach of their contractual obligations, may be excluded from all contracts and grants financed by the Union budget for a maximum of five years from the date on which the infringement is established, as confirmed following an adversarial procedure with the contractor.

That period may be extended to ten years in the event of a repeated offence within five years of the date referred to in the first subparagraph.

2.

Tenderers or candidates who have made false declarations, have committed substantial errors, irregularities or fraud, may also be subject to financial penalties representing 2 % to 10 % of the total estimated value of the contract being awarded.

Contractors who have been found in serious breach of their contractual obligations may be subject to financial penalties representing 2 % to 10 % of the total value of the contract in question.

That rate may be increased to 4 % to 20 % in the event of a repeat infringement within five years of the date referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1.

1.

In the case referred to in point 5.2(c), the candidates or tenderers shall be excluded from all contracts and grants for a maximum of five years from the date on which the infringement is committed or, in the case of continuing or repeated infringements, the date on which the infringement ceases.

2.

In the cases referred to in points 5.2(b) and (e), the candidates or tenderers shall be excluded from all contracts and grants for a maximum of five years from the date of the judgment having the force of res judicata.

Those periods of exclusion may be extended to ten years in the event of a repeat offence within five years of the dates referred to in points 1 and 2 above.

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the capacity of the applicant to comply with formalised business processes and international quality management standards, especially in conducting surveys,

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at least 3 years of proven experience in preparing and carrying out monthly or quarterly surveys. The applicant's track record, as well as experience and qualifications of the experts and the managers, will be considered,

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capacity of the applicant to complete the survey and to deliver the data each month (or if appropriate each quarter) in due time (e.g. on the basis of resources at its disposal and of evidence of relevant experience).

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quality of the proposed survey methodology based on the technical specifications (sample design, survey mode, coverage rate, representativeness of results). The following further information will be considered:

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the degree of experience and expertise in developing survey methodology, in constructing indicators based on survey results and in using survey results for cyclical and economic analysis and research, including analysis by sector,

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efficiency of the tenderer’s logistics and work organisation in terms of infrastructure, facilities and qualified staff for the execution of the tasks as specified in point 2.2,

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the candidate's degree of compliance with formalised business processes and international quality management standards, especially in conducting surveys.

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administrative proposal,

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technical proposal,

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financial proposal.

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grant application form,

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legal entity form,

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financial identification form,

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declaration of honour (with respect to the exclusion criteria),

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declaration indicating willingness to sign the framework partnership agreement and the specific grant agreement,

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declaration concerning the publication, release and use of data,

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form for the description of the survey methodology,

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form regarding subcontracting,

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budget statement for providing estimates of the survey costs and financing plan,

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aide-memoire for drawing up financial estimates and financial statements,

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model of the framework partnership agreement,

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model of the specific annual grant agreement.

(a)

by downloading them from the following Internet address:

http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/procurement_grants/grants/proposals/index_en.htm

(b)

in case the previous option is not possible, by writing to the Commission at:

Please mention ‘Call for proposals — ECFIN/A4/2011/014’.

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a duly signed standard grant application form,

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a duly completed and signed standard legal entity form and the requested supporting documentation proving the legal status of the body or institute,

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a duly completed and signed standard financial identification form,

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a duly signed standard declaration of honour (with respect to the exclusion criteria),

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a duly signed standard declaration indicating willingness to sign the framework partnership agreement and the specific grant agreement, if selected,

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a duly completed and signed standard declaration concerning the publication, release and use of data in relation to the European Commission's business and consumer surveys,

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the organisation chart of the body or institute, showing the names and positions of the management and of the operational service responsible for conducting the survey(s),

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proof of sound financial situation: balance sheets and profit and loss accounts, certified by auditors, from the last two financial years for which the accounts have been closed. This provision does not apply to public bodies and international organisations,

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a declaration identifying the member acting as coordinator, signed by each participating member, in case of a joint proposal.

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a description of the activities of the body or institute, enabling the assessment of its qualifications and the scope and duration of its experience in the requested areas under point 6.2. This should mean any relevant studies, service contracts, consultancy work, surveys, publications or other work previously carried out, indicating the name of the client and stating which, if any, were done for the European Commission. The most relevant studies and/or results should be attached,

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a detailed description of the operational organisation for carrying out the surveys. Relevant documentation should be attached regarding the infrastructure, facilities, resources and qualified staff (concise cv’s of the staff the most involved in carrying out the survey(s)) at the applicant’s disposal,

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a sample questionnaire in English, as well as in the language in which the survey will be conducted,

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duly completed standard form(s) providing a detailed description of the survey methodology,

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a duly completed standard form regarding subcontractors involved in the action, including a detailed description of the tasks to be subcontracted.

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a duly completed and detailed standard budget statement (in euro and exclusive of VAT), covering a period of 12 months, for each survey, containing a financing plan for the action and a detailed breakdown of the estimated total and unit eligible costs for conducting survey(s), including subcontracting costs. For non-public bodies this budget may exceptionally include VAT, provided that a certificate issued by the appropriate tax authorities certifies that the beneficiary is unable to recover VAT. For public bodies, VAT is never eligible,

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a signed document certifying the financial contribution(s) from external organisation(s)/sponsor(s) (co-financing), if applicable.

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The Commission may inform interested parties of any error, inaccuracy, omission or any other clerical error in the text of the call for proposals as well as any additional information by means of posting the information on its web address:

http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/procurement_grants/grants/proposals/index_en.htm

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At the request of the applicants, the Commission may provide additional information solely for the purpose of clarifying aspect of the call for proposals. Any requests for additional information must be made, in writing only, to ecfin-bcs-mail@ec.europa.eu mentioning clearly in the subject line of the e-mail the following reference: ‘Call for proposals — ECFIN/A4/2011/014’. Requests for additional information received less than five working days before the final date for submission of proposals may not be processed.

(a)

either by post or delivery service sent no later than 19 December 2011. The evidence of the date of dispatch shall be constituted by the postmark or the date of the deposit slip of the delivery service at the following address:

by post:

by delivery service:

(b)

or by delivery by hand to the following address:

no later than 19 December 2011, 16.00 (Brussels time). In this case, proof of submission will be by means of a dated and signed receipt issued by the receiving official in the abovementioned department. The department is open from 8.00 to 17.00 Monday to Thursday, and from 8.00 to 16.00 on Fridays. It is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and Commission holidays.