Guide on procurement by

project beneficiaries using

PRAG in the ENI CBC Black Sea
Basin programme
Applicable rules, templates, tips and recommendations
Update June 2021

DISCLAIMER

This non-binding document has been developed by

the TESIM project and adapted by the Black Sea Basin
programme. It does not necessarily reflect the views of
the European Commission on the topic, and is
presented to programme and project practitioners for
illustrative purposes only.

In case the document is endorsed by an ENI CBC

programme and renders it compulsory for use by
project beneficiaries, neither TESIM experts nor the
TESIM consortium members shall be held liable for its
contents, in particular as far as audit findings on the
eligibility of expenditure are concerned.

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 Table of contents
QUICK-REFERENCE TO THIS GUIDE ........................................................................... 5
Type of procedures and thresholds .................................................................... 6
Services .............................................................................................................. 6
Supplies .............................................................................................................. 6
Works .................................................................................................................. 6
1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 8
1.1. Aim and scope ........................................................................................... 8
1.2. Main challenges in procurement .............................................................. 9
1.3. Structure of the guide .............................................................................. 10
1.4. Terminology ............................................................................................... 11
2. Applicable legal provisions ........................................................................ 12
2.1. Provisions in the ENI CBC Implementing Rules .................................... 12
2.1.1. General principles .............................................................................. 12
2.1.2. Conversion of thresholds from Euro to national currency .............. 13
2.1.3. Procurement procedures and thresholds ........................................ 14
2.1.4. Use of negotiated procedure ........................................................... 15
2.2. Procedures up to 60.000€ ........................................................................ 16
3. Basic rules ........................................................................................................... 17
3.1. Key principles ............................................................................................... 17
3.2. Eligibility, exclusion, selection and award criteria ................................. 18
3.2.1. Eligibility and exclusion criteria.......................................................... 19
3.2.2. Selection criteria ................................................................................. 19
3.2.3. Award criteria ..................................................................................... 21
3.3. Grounds for exclusion ............................................................................... 22
3.3.1. Exclusion criteria for participation in any procurement procedure
22
3.3.2. Exclusion criteria applicable in a given procurement procedure 25
3.3.3. Verification of non-exclusion situation ............................................. 25
3.4. Administrative and financial penalties ................................................... 27

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 3.5. Use of languages ...................................................................................... 28
3.6. Procedures with a suspension clause ..................................................... 28
3.7. Cancellation of procurement procedures ............................................ 29
3.8. Complaints ................................................................................................ 30
3.9. Modifying contracts ................................................................................. 30
3.10. Procurement plan.................................................................................. 31
3.11. Artificial split ............................................................................................ 32
3.12. Failure or errors in procurement procedure ........................................ 32
4. Which type of procedure? ................................................................................ 34
4.1. Basic definitions...................................................................................... 34
4.2. Financial thresholds and related tendering procedures ...................... 35
4.3. Payment against invoice without prior acceptance of a tender ....... 36
4.4. Single tender procedures ........................................................................ 38
4.4.1. Content of tender dossier for single tenders ................................... 38
4.4.2. Evaluation documents and reports for single tenders .................... 39
4.5. Simplified procedure (previously known as competitive negotiated
procedure) .......................................................................................................... 41
4.5.1. Tender dossier for services ................................................................. 42
4.5.2. Tender dossier for supplies ................................................................. 42
4.5.3. Tender dossier for works ..................................................................... 42
4.5.4. Evaluation process for simplified procedure ................................... 42
5. Nature of contracts ......................................................................................... 44
5.1. Service contracts ................................................................................... 44
5.1.1. What is a service contract? ........................................................... 44
5.1.2. Types of service contracts .............................................................. 44
5.1.3. Key challenges and recommendations for service contracts ... 46
5.2. Supply contracts .................................................................................... 47
5.2.1. What is a supply contract? .................................................................. 47
5.2.2. Key challenges and recommendations for supply contracts .... 48
5.3. Works contracts ..................................................................................... 48
5.3.1. What is a works contract? .............................................................. 48
5.3.2. Key challenges and recommendations for works contracts ..... 49

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 Glossary of terms and acronyms ......................................................................... 51
Annex 1: Declaration on honour .......................................................................... 59

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 QUICK-REFERENCE TO THIS GUIDE
What to do when YOU are the CONTRACTING AUTHORITY?
How should you procure works, supplies and services

You will find in this guide:

GO TO
KEY INFORMATION
SECTION
Conversion to Euro 2.1.2
Criteria for selection of providers 3.2
Definition of the different types of procedures 4.1
Thresholds for each type of procedure 4.2
Direct award (payment against invoice) < 2.500€ 4.3
Low-value contracts up to 20.000€ (single tender
4.4
procedure)
Simplified procedure 4.5
What is a service contract 5.1
What is a supply contract 5.2
What is a works contract 5.3
What if I get lost with the technical words Glossary
Adapted declaration of honour for bidders Annex 1

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 Type of procedures and thresholds
Services
Range of Type of Go to
Main features
amounts procedure section
Direct award or Payment against invoice without prior
Up to 2.500€ 4.3
order acceptance of a tender
Award on the
From 2.501€ to Invitation to tenderers with clear pre-set
basis of single 4.4
20.000€ requirements
tender
Competitive
negotiated Invitation to tenderers with clear pre-set
From 20.001€ to
procedure requirements. At least three offers must be 4.5.1
299.999€
(simplified consulted.
procedure)
International Two-steps procedure with international
From 300.000€
restricted tender publication of tender
Supplies
Range of Type of Go to
Main features
amounts procedure section
Direct award or Payment against invoice without prior
Up to 2.500€ 4.3
order acceptance of a tender
Award on the
From 2.501€ to Invitation to tenderers with clear pre-set
basis of single 4.4
20.000€ requirements
tender
Competitive
negotiated Invitation to tenderers with clear pre-set
From 20.001€ to
procedure requirements. At least three offers must be 4.5.2
99.999€
(simplified consulted.
procedure)
Open tender Tender must be published not only in the
From 100.000€
procedure in country of the beneficiary, but in the
to 299.999€
programme area whole programme area
International One-step procedure with international
From 300.000€
open tender publication of tender
Works
Range of Type of Go to
Main features
amounts procedure section
Direct award or Payment against invoice without prior
Up to 2.500€ 4.3
order acceptance of a tender
Award on the
From 2.501€ to Invitation to tenderers with clear pre-set
basis of single 4.4
20.000€ requirements
tender
Competitive Invitation to tenderers with clear pre-set
From 20.001€ to
negotiated requirements. At least three offers must be 4.5.3
299.999€
procedure consulted.

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 (simplified
procedure)
Open tender Tender must be published not only in the
From 300.000€
procedure in country of the beneficiary, but in the
to 4.999.999€
programme area whole programme area
International One-step procedure with international
From 5.000.000€
open tender publication of tender

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 1. Introduction
1.1. Aim and scope
The implementation of projects in the framework of ENI CBC requires the
procurement of works, supplies and/or services by the project beneficiaries, so
called “secondary procurement”.

During the programming period 2007-2013 ENPI CBC projects were obliged by
the applicable EU Regulation to use the procedures of the “Practical Guide to
Contract procedures for EC external actions” (PRAG). This obligation has not
been included in the ENI CBC Implementing Rules (EC Regulation 897/2014),
hereinafter ENI CBC IR, which is applicable for the period 2014-2020.

On top of the provisions included in the above-mentioned Regulation, the new

regulatory framework allows for the use of national legislation and programme
specific rules, including the use of PRAG, if so decided.

The Black Sea Basin programme decided the use of Procurement and Grants
for European Union external actions – A Practical Guide (PRAG) supplementing
the ENI CBC IR. For the types of beneficiaries required to use PRAG, please
check the programme website: https://blacksea-cbc.net/news/archive-
news/procurement-rules-national-legislation-or-prag/.

The present guide aims to describe the main elements of the applicable rules
and procedures, as well as to offer tips and recommendations for awarding
contracts related to works, supplies and services. For full applicable rules and
procedures, please check PRAG provisions.

Find PRAG in https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/funding/about-funding-and-

procedures/procedures-and-practical-guide-prag_en

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 Please make sure to use the PRAG version in force at the moment of the launch
of the procurement procedure. The present Guide takes into account the 2020
version.

Please be reminded that PRAG is a supplement to the provisions set out in art.
52.2 to 56 of the ENI CBC IR, which are to be followed as well.

1.2. Main challenges in procurement

This guide has been developed considering the potential extensive and time-
consuming administrative burden of the procurement procedures, as well as
the high risk of ineligibility due to mismanagement or low understanding of the
rules. A proper balance must be established between the necessary formal
and legal requirements and the capabilities and interest of the project
beneficiaries.

This guide also has in mind the perspective of the programme bodies, namely
Managing Authorities (MAs) and National Authorities (NAs), who have the
responsibility for preventing, detecting and correcting irregularities, including
fraud and corruption. A clear ground for the secondary procurement is a key
prevention measure.

The two perspectives of both project beneficiaries, MAs & NA are considered:

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 1.3. Structure of the guide
This guide is adapted to the concrete needs of the beneficiaries and it is
structured by type of procedure. Following a general introduction on the
thresholds and principles, the guide describes the following key elements for
the procurement procedures most encountered BSB projects (simplified
procedures, single tender procedures, payment against invoice without prior
acceptance of a tender):
• Definition of the nature of the procedure
• Procedures overview for publication/invitation and submission of tenders
• Tender dossiers, including standard format documents
• Procedure for evaluation of submitted bids

PRAG gives extensive information on the procedures identified in the ENI CBC
IR (competitive negotiated procedure - simplified procedure according to
PRAG 2020, restricted and open tenders), but little details on the most frequent

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 procedures in CBC projects, which are the single tender. For these ones, the
guide provides specific recommendations to beneficiaries.

1.4. Terminology
For the purpose of improved understanding of the necessarily complex
framework, this guide includes a comprehensive glossary of the main
technical terms related to procurement.

A key issue: any grant beneficiary becomes the entity carrying out the
contracting of the part of the budget under its responsibility. The term used
in PRAG for the beneficiaries performing secondary procurement is
“contracting authority”. From now onwards in this guide, whenever this term
is used, it is meant in this sense.

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 2. Applicable legal provisions
2.1. Provisions in the ENI CBC Implementing Rules
Section 1 of the chapter 4 of the ENI CBC Implementing Rules (hereinafter ENI
CBC IR) regulates procurement. The articles relevant to beneficiaries in CBC
partner countries are as follows:

Article Content
52.2 General principles
52.3 Rules of nationality and origin
53 Procedures and thresholds for service contracts
54 Procedures and thresholds for supply contracts
55 Procedures and thresholds for work contracts
56 Use of negotiated procedure

2.1.1. General principles

Article 52.2 stipulates that:

a) The contract is awarded to the tender offering the best value for money, or as
appropriate, to the tender offering the lowest price, while avoiding any conflict
of interest;
b) For contract with a value of more than 60.000€, the following rules shall apply:
i. An evaluation committee shall be set up to evaluate applications and/or
tenders on the basis of the exclusion, selection and award criteria published
by the beneficiary in advance in the tender documents. The committee
must have an odd number of members with all the technical and
administrative capacities necessary to give an informed opinion on the
tenders/applications;
ii. Sufficient transparency, fair competition and adequate ex-ante publicity
must be ensured;
iii. Equal treatment, proportionality and non-discrimination shall be ensured;
iv. Tender documents must be drafted according to the best international
practice;
v. Deadlines for submitting applications or tenders must be long enough to
give interested parties a reasonable period to prepare their tenders;

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 vi. Candidates or tenderers shall be excluded if they fall within one of the
situations described in articles 136 and 141 of Regulation 2018/1046 […1].

These principles are further detailed later on in the guide.

Regardless of threshold, the beneficiary must be able to justify why and how
either best value for money or lowest price criterion was applied. This is an
underlying principle behind all the requirements for each procedure chosen.

2.1.2. Conversion of thresholds from Euro to national currency

A preliminary consideration: the amounts indicated in the ENI CBC IR and in

the programme rules are all in EUR, while in the actual procurement
procedures, mainly national currency will be used. So, which exchange rate
should be used to verify if a procedure is above or below the threshold?

Article 8 of the General Conditions of the Financing Agreements stipulates that:

“[…] in case of procedures in currencies other than Euro, the amount shall
be converted to Euro using the exchange rate method mentioned in the
Programme […].”

As the Programme does not mention an exchange rate for procurement, the
exchange rate may be the “monthly accounting rate of the Commission”,
which can be found in the Inforeuro website at the following URL
address:http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/infor
euro/index_en.cfm

Exchange rate fluctuations are expected during the project cycle, from the
development of the budget during the submission of the project proposal to
the beginning of the project implementation period (when the procurement
plan has to be prepared) and to the actual moment of the launching of the
procedures.

1 The ENI CBC IR mentions articles 106 and 107 of Regulation 966/2012, which has been substituted by
Regulation 2018/1046

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 Tip #1. Check the threshold in national currency and EUR twice!
You need to ensure the use of the right procurement procedure, in
accordance with the threshold in Euro indicated later on in this guide. Please
check the conversion to national currency when preparing your
procurement plan and again before launching the procedure.
We strongly recommend to indicate the conversion rate in the tender
documents to facilitate the work of the auditors carrying out the expenditure
verification, as well as the programme and national bodies responsible for
control.

Additional fluctuations may take place during the project implementation,

once the procurement contracts are awarded.

Please remark that the rate used to check the compliance with the
thresholds for the type of procedure will NOT be the same one than the
reporting of the expenditure.

In accordance with the programmes rules, the exchange for reporting will
be “the monthly accounting exchange of the Commission of the month
during which the expenditure was submitted for examination” to the auditor
carrying out the Expenditure Verification Report.

2.1.3. Procurement procedures and thresholds

Articles 53 to 55 of the ENI CBC IR define the type of procedure and thresholds
for services, supplies and works, as follows:

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 In the cases where the tender needs to be published in the programme area,
the publication should be in English, so that the potential contractors from
other countries may have equal opportunity to participate. The
specific/additional requirements regarding publication included in the
programme grant contract should also be checked.

This guide does not focus on the restricted and open tender procedures, as
they would be exceptional, considering the size of the grants in the Black
Sea Basin programme.

2.1.4. Use of negotiated procedure

Article 56 of the ENI CBC IR stipulates that:

“The beneficiary may decide to use negotiated procedure on the basis of
a single tender in the cases referred to in points 11 of Chapter 1 and 39 of
Chapter 3 of Annex I of the Regulation 2018/10462.”

This article provides a list of reasons for justified use of the negotiated
procedure, which needs to be complemented with the instructions and
thresholds stipulated in section 2.6.8. of PRAG 2020.
“Negotiated procedures” should not be confused with the “Competitive
negotiated procedure” mentioned in article 53 to 55.

A non-exhaustive list of the cases referred in Article 56 of ENI CBC IR is:

• Extreme urgency,
• Additional delivery of original supplies as replacement of normal supplies,
• Contract following a contest,

2 The ENI CBC IR mention article 266 of the Delegated Regulation 1268/2012, which has been
substituted by article 178 of Regulation 2018/1046. This article refers to the above-mentioned points in
the annex of the Regulation.

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 • The tender procedure has been unsuccessful,
• Where for technical reasons, or for reasons connected with the protection
of exclusive rights, the contract can be awarded only to a particular
provider,
• Where a new contract has to be concluded after early termination of an
existing contract.

2.2. Procedures up to 60.000€

There is no specific reference in the ENI CBC IR on the procedures with a value
up to 60.000€. The grant contract, art. 9.3, imposes the use of PRAG provisions
regarding the templates and details for the types of the procedures.

In case there are any applicable internal rules of the organisation, these shall
be used as well, on the condition that they are not in conflict with the
programme rules.

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 3. Basic rules
3.1. Key principles
There are five basic principles to be respected in any procurement procedure,
regardless of the value:

Principle Description

Transparency The beneficiaries have to work as openly as possible in the

implementation of the budget, so that stakeholders and
citizens are able to know where, and for what purpose,
funds are spent. This principle should be achieved by the
publication, preferably using modern communication tools,
of relevant information concerning contractors, while
considering such contractors’ legitimate interests of
confidentiality and security and, as far as natural persons
are concerned, their right to privacy and the protection of
their personal data.

Fair Publication of certain information after the contract has

competition been awarded would hinder application of the law, would
be contrary to the public interest, would harm the legitimate
business interests of public or private undertakings and,
therefore, might distort fair competition between them. The
Contracting Authority needs to ensure adequate ex-ante
publicity, that is, adequate publication, in reasonable time,

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 of the prior information notices, contract notices and award
notices, as well as sufficient information in the invitations to
tenders on the award and contract criteria and
requirements.
Additionally, the contracting authority needs to ensure the
absence of any conflict of interest3 during the procedure.

Equal All participants in a procurement procedure need to have

treatment equal rights and obligations.

Proportionality The complexity of the procedure and the measures taken to

ensure the compliance with all the principles has to respect
the proportionality between the importance of the amount
to be awarded and the need to control the best use of the
funds.

Non- Removal of any discriminatory practice or technical

discrimination specifications liable to hamper wide participation on equal
terms by all natural or legal persons.

3.2. Eligibility, exclusion, selection and award criteria

The procurement procedures need to draw up clear eligibility (for formal
submission), exclusion, selection and award criteria4, following the above-
mentioned principles.

3 See the definition of conflict of interest in the glossary

4 See the meaning of these terms in the glossary

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 3.2.1. Eligibility and exclusion criteria

There are three types of eligibility and exclusion criteria:

• Exclusion criteria for the participation in any procurement procedure
• Exclusion criteria for the participation in a given procurement procedure
• Formal requirements for eligibility in a given procurement procedure

The first two types are described in detail in the following section. The formal
eligibility requirements for participation have to be clearly detailed in the
tender dossier or the invitation to submit a tender.

Tip #2. Examples of potential formal criteria for eligibility:

• Deadline for submission respected
• Amount offered below the maximum amount indicated in tender
dossier or invitation
• Original signature by duly authorised legal representative
• Submission of all requested documents
• Documents submitted in the requested language

3.2.2. Selection criteria

They are thoroughly described in section 2.6.11. of PRAG 2020. Find the main
indications below, but consult PRAG for further details.

Regardless of the type of procurement procedure used, the capacity of the

tenderer to implement the contract is always assessed on the basis of objective
selection criteria.

The contracting authority needs to check that the tenderer has sufficient
financial, economic, technical and professional capacity to implement the
tasks of the contract. The chosen criteria shall be proportionate and may not
go beyond the scope of the contract.

Tip #3. Examples of potential selection criteria:

• Minimum average annual turnover of the bidder during the last 3 years;
• Minimum average number of technical staff in the last 3 years;
• Minimum number of previous contracts of similar nature and size during
a period of time;

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 • Specific educational and professional qualifications of the team
proposed by the service provider or contractor.

Tip #4. Examples of selection criteria NOT to use:

• disproportionate annual turnover, number of staff, number of previous
projects etc. as regards the amount of the contract;
• imprecise terms such as 'sufficient', 'major', 'relevant' as it is not
absolutely clear what these words mean in the context, or whether a
proposed experience fulfils the criterion;
• a percentage of the staff working in specific fields, as this may be
discriminatory for large companies;
• technical experience relating to EU-funded projects only, as this may in
general be regarded as discriminatory;
• prior experience in the country, region or town, unless specific
justification is provided, as this could in general be regarded as
discriminatory;
• technical experience in an overly prescriptive manner which effectively
restricts the number of eligible candidates to one or a few firms
• requirements for technical capacity of the staff of the tenderer
overlapping with the award criteria defined for key experts of the team.

The selection criteria must be specified in the contract notice, instructions to

tenderers and/or invitation to tender and applied by the contracting authority
without modification unless a corrigendum is published.

Example #1. Selection criteria for a service contract providing expertise on

environment:

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 1) Economic and financial capacity of candidate The reference period which will be taken into
account will be the last three years for which accounts have been closed. Criteria for legal and
natural persons:
1. The average annual turnover of the tenderer over the last three financial years must exceed
EUR 300,000 (three hundred thousand euro);
2. Current ratio (current assets/current liabilities) in the last year for which accounts have been
closed must be at least 1.
2) Professional capacity of candidate (based on items 4 and 5 of the application form). The
reference period which will be taken into account will be the last five years from submission
deadline.
Criteria for legal and natural persons:
1. At least 10 staff members currently work for the candidate in fields related to this contract;

3) Technical capacity of candidate (based on items 5 and 6 of the application form). The
reference period which will be taken into account will be the last five years from submission
deadline.
Criteria for legal and natural persons:
The candidate has provided services under at least one other contract with a total budget of at
least EUR 100,000 (One Hundred Thousand) in technical assistance to […]

3.2.3. Award criteria

The contract is awarded to the tender offering the most economically

advantageous tender, either:
• under the best price-quality ratio, the contracting authority takes into
account the price and other quality criteria linked to the subject matter
of the contract, and apply a weighting formula 20% to price and 80% to
technical quality;
• under the lowest price, provided the tender satisfies the minimum
requirements laid down, that is, the tender is technically compliant. It is
often used for supplies and works.

Example #2. Award criteria for a service contract providing expertise on

environment:
Best price-quality ratio:
1. Price: 20%
2. Technical quality: 80%

Tip #5. Evaluation grids available

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 You may use the standard evaluation grids for the assessment of the best-
quality price ratio available as annexes of PRAG (see templates b12a & b12b
for services).

The goal of the procurement is not only efficiency, that is maximizing the
impact with the given funds, but also enhancing the project effectiveness, that
is contributing to the achievement of the project expected results.

EC gives a much higher importance to quality criteria than the price in the
case of service contracts.

For supplies and works, the lowest price is to be used. Nevertheless, also in the
case of supplies and works there may be exceptional circumstances where
best quality-price may be acceptable, such as, for supplies, post-sales service,
training to users.

Tip #6. What to do in case of abnormally low tenders?

Abnormally low tenders may be rejected. See further details in PRAG 2020 in
points 3.4.4. for services, 4.3.9.6. for supplies and 5.3.9.6. for works.

3.3. Grounds for exclusion

3.3.1. Exclusion criteria for participation in any procurement procedure

A tenderer will be excluded from participation in the procurement procedures

if (see section 2.6.10.1 in Prag 2020):
a) it is bankrupt, subject to insolvency or winding-up procedures, where its
assets are being administered by a liquidator or by a court, where it is in
an arrangement with creditors, where its business activities are
suspended, or where it is in any analogous situation arising from a similar
procedure provided for under national laws or regulations;
b) it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative
decision that the economic operator is in breach of its obligations relating
to the payment of taxes or social security contributions in accordance
with the applicable law;
c) it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative
decision that the economic operator is guilty of grave professional
misconduct by having violated applicable laws or regulations or ethical

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 standards of the profession to which the economic operator belongs, or
by having engaged in any wrongful conduct which has an impact on its
professional credibility where such conduct denotes a wrongful intent or
gross negligence, including, in particular, any of the following:
i) fraudulently or negligently misrepresenting information required for
the verification of the absence of grounds for exclusion or the
fulfilment of selection criteria or in the performance of a contract;
ii) entering into agreement with other economic operators with the
aim of distorting competition;
iii) violating intellectual property rights;
iv) attempting to influence the decision-making process of the
contracting authority during the procurement procedure;
v) attempting to obtain confidential information that may confer
upon it undue advantages in the procurement procedure;
d) it has been established by a final judgment that the economic operator is
guilty of any of the following:
i) fraud, within the meaning of Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2017 on the
fight against fraud to the Union's financial interests by means of
criminal law and Article 1 of the Convention on the protection of
the European Communities' financial interests drawn up by the
Council Act of 26 July 1995;
ii) corruption, as defined in Article 4(2) of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 and
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, and in Article 2(1) of Council Framework Decision
2003/568/JHA of 22 July 2003 on combating corruption in the
private sector, as well as corruption as defined in the law of the
country where the contracting authority is located, the country in
which the economic operator is established or the country of the
performance of the contract;
iii) conduct related to a criminal organisation referred to in Article 2 of
Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA of 24 October 2008 on
the fight against organised crime;
iv) money laundering or terrorist financing within the meaning of Article
1(3), (4) and (5) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European

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 Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of
the use of the financial system for the purposes of money
laundering or terrorist financing, amending Regulation (EU) No
648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and
repealing Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council and Commission Directive 2006/70/EC (Text with EEA
relevance) of the European Parliament and of the Council;
v) terrorist-related offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, as
defined in Articles 1 and 3 of Council Framework Decision of 13 June
2002 on combating terrorism, respectively, or inciting or aiding or
abetting or attempting to commit such offences, as referred to in
Article 4 of that Framework Decision;
vi) child labour or other forms of trafficking in human beings as defined
in Article 2 of Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating
trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and
replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA;
e) the economic operator has shown significant deficiencies in complying
with main obligations in the performance of a contract financed by the
EU, which has led to the early termination of a legal commitment or to the
application of liquidated damages or other contractual penalties or
which has been discovered following checks and audits or investigations
by an authorising officer, OLAF or the Court of Auditors;
f) it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative decision
that the economic operator has committed an irregularity within the
meaning of Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95
of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities
financial interests.
g) it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative
decision that the person or entity has created an entity under a different
jurisdiction with the intent to circumvent fiscal, social or any other legal
obligations of mandatory application in the jurisdiction of its registered
office, central administration or principal place of business.
h) it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative
decision that an entity has been created with the intent provided for in
point (g).

A project funded by the European Union 24 Implemented by a consortium led by

 The contracting authority must exclude the economic operator where:
- a natural or legal person who is member of the administrative,
management or supervisory body or has power of representation,
decision or control on the economic operator is in a situation listed in
points c) to h);
- a natural or legal person that assumes unlimited liability for the debts of
that economic operator is in a situation listed in points a) or b);
- a natural or legal person who is essential for the award or for the
implementation of the legal commitment and is in a situation referred to
in point c) to h).

For full information on exclusion criteria, please check PRAG.

3.3.2. Exclusion criteria applicable in a given procurement procedure

Contracts may not be awarded to candidates, applicants or tenderers who,

during the procurement procedures:
a) are subject to a conflict of interest;
b) are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the
contracting authority as a condition of participation in the contract
procedure or fail to supply this information;
c) find themselves in one of the exclusion situations established under section
2.6.10.1.1 of PRAG.

3.3.3. Verification of non-exclusion situation

A detailed explanation on the documentary evidence needed for the

verification of non-exclusion situation is available in section 2.6.10.1.3. of PRAG
2020. The main elements are described below.

Tenderers must sign a declaration together with their applications, certifying

that the entity does not fall into any of the above-mentioned exclusion
situations.

Information on the ownership/management, control and power of

representation of the entity and a certification that they do not fall into the
relevant exclusion situations must be provided where specifically requested by
the contracting authority. This may be the case where there are doubts about

A project funded by the European Union 25 Implemented by a consortium led by

 the personal situation and in consideration of the national legislation of the
country in which the tenderer, candidate or applicant is established.

However, for procurement contracts with a value of 15.000€ or less, the

contracting authority may refrain from requiring a declaration depending on
its risk assessment5.

Following the notification of award, tenderer(s) to which the contract is to be

awarded (including consortium members), must supply evidence that they do
not fall into the exclusion situations, unless such evidence has already been
submitted earlier in the procedure. The contracting authority may waive this
requirement in the case of lower value tender, upon its judgement.

As satisfactory evidence that the tenderer is not in one of the situations

described in (a), (b) or (e) exclusion criteria applicable for participation in
procurement procedures (point 3.3.1), the contracting authority will accept a
recent extract from the judicial record or, failing that, a recent equivalent
document issued by a judicial or administrative authority in the country of origin
or provenance showing that the requirements are satisfied. For (d), the
contracting authority will accept a recent certificate issued by the competent
authority of the State concerned. Where the certificate is not issued in the
country concerned it may be replaced by a sworn/solemn statement made
before a judicial authority or notary or, failing that, a solemn statement made
before an administrative authority or a qualified professional body in the
country of establishment.

Tip #7. Declaration on honour.

The tender submission form includes a tenderer’s statement which among

other confirms that the tenderer is not in any of the above situations. The
statement should be included in the tender dossier. The format of the
declaration of honour provided in this guide is adapted to the specific
requirements of the ENI CBC IR.

5 The decision of the contracting authority needs to be duly documented

A project funded by the European Union 26 Implemented by a consortium led by

 Tip #8. Documentary evidence.

Except for the contracts with a value equal or greater than the international
thresholds6, The contracting authority should decide on case-by-case basis
which of the above situations should be confirmed by documentary
evidence. For example, the evidence could be asked for larger tenders or in
cases where the exclusion criteria directly jeopardize the delivery of the
contract. Please bear in mind that obtaining of the documentary proof
means additional cost and effort for the tenderers. The documents could
possibly be asked only from successful tenderer before the signature of the
contract.

3.4. Administrative and financial penalties

Tenderers falling into a situation set out in Section 2.6.10.1. (exclusion criteria)
of PRAG 2020, are not entitled to participate in the tender procedure or be
awarded a contract. Should they do so, their tender will be considered
unsuitable or irregular respectively. Tenderers guilty of making false
declarations may also incur financial penalties up to 10% of the total value of
the contract and exclusion, in accordance with the Financial Regulation in
force.

Tenderers included in the lists of EU restrictive measures (see Section 2.4. of the
PRAG) at the moment of the award decision cannot be awarded the
contract.

Where the award procedure proves to have been subject to substantial errors,
irregularities or fraud, the contracting authority must suspend the procedure
and may take whatever measures are necessary, including cancellation.
Consequently, any attempt by a tenderer to obtain confidential information,
enter into unlawful agreements with competitors whose aim or effect is to
impede, restrain or distort competition, or influence the evaluation committee
or the contracting authority during the process of examining, clarifying,
evaluating and comparing tenders and applications will lead to the rejection
of its tender. See further details on ethic clauses in point 2.5.6 of PRAG 2020.

6 services ≥EUR 300 000, supply ≥ EUR 300 000, works ≥ EUR 5 000 000

A project funded by the European Union 27 Implemented by a consortium led by

 Where, after the award of the contract, the award procedure or the
performance of the contract prove to have been subject to substantial errors,
irregularities or fraud, the contracting authority may, depending on the stage
reached in the procedure, refrain from concluding the contract or suspend
performance of the contract or, where appropriate, terminate the contract.
Please inform the MA and the NA as soon as possible.

After the contract signature, the contractor who is guilty of grave professional
misconduct, has committed irregularities or has shown significant deficiencies
in complying with the main obligations in the performance of the contract or
has been circumventing fiscal, social or any other applicable legal
obligations, including through the creation of an entity for this purpose, may
be excluded from all contracts financed by the EU, after an adversarial
procedure in line with the applicable Financial Regulation. The duration of the
exclusion shall not exceed the duration set by final judgement or final
administrative decision or, in the absence thereof, three years.

Also, the contractor who is guilty of fraud, corruption, participation in a

criminal organisation, money laundering, terrorist-related offences, child
labour or trafficking in human beings, may be excluded as well. The duration
of the exclusion shall not exceed the duration set by final judgement or final
administrative decision or, in the absence thereof, five years.

In addition or in alternative to the sanction of exclusion, the contractor may

also be subject to financial penalties up to 10% of the contract price in case
of services and supplies and of 2-10% in case of works.

3.5. Use of languages

Though the use of the languages is not defined in applicable Regulations it
would be recommended to use English for secondary procurement
procedures above 20.000€. For single tender procedures below 20.000€ the
contracting authority might decide to use only the national language.

3.6. Procedures with a suspension clause

In duly justified cases, tender procedures may be published with a suspension
clause. Article 48.2(a)(iv) of ENI CBC IR stipulates that:

A project funded by the European Union 28 Implemented by a consortium led by

 “procedures to award contracts […] may have been initiated and contracts
may be concluded by the beneficiary(ies) before the start of the
implementation period of the project […]”.

Because of its implications, the contract notice or invitation to tender must

explicitly state that there is a suspension clause.

Tip #9. Time flies!

Implementation periods usually run faster than expected when writing the
project proposals and delays occur very often. Use the time between the
notification of the award of the grant and the actual signature of the grant
contract (contracting period) to start the most urgent procurement
procedures, as well as the recruitment ones. That way, you will be ready for
a timely project launching at the beginning of the implementation period.

We do not recommend to launch any procurement procedure before the

notification of the award of the grant.

3.7. Cancellation of procurement procedures

The contracting authority may, before the contract is signed, cancel the
procedure without the tenderers being entitled to claim any compensation.
Cancellation may occur, for example, if:
• the tender procedure has been unsuccessful, i.e., no suitable, qualitatively
or financially acceptable tender has been received or there is no valid
response at all;
• the economic or technical data of the project have fundamentally
changed;
• exceptional circumstances or a force majeure render normal performance
of the contract impossible;
• all technically acceptable tenders exceed the financial resources
available;
• there have been a breach of obligations, irregularities or frauds in the
procedure, in particular where these have prevented fair competition;
• the award is not in compliance with sound financial management i.e. does not
obey the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness (e.g. the price

A project funded by the European Union 29 Implemented by a consortium led by

 proposed by the tenderer to whom the contract is to be awarded bears no
relation to the market price).

See further details in point 2.6.13 of PRAG 2020.

3.8. Complaints
Where a tenderer believes that she/he has been adversely affected by an
error or irregularity allegedly committed as part of a procurement procedure,
or that the procedure was vitiated by any maladministration, she/he may file
a complaint to the contracting authority who will endeavour to investigate the
complaint and respond within a number of days specified in the tender dossier.

The complaint shall be substantiated and its sole subject shall not be to obtain
a second evaluation for no reason other than the complainant disagrees with
the final award decision.

It is recommended to set up the complaint committee, which members should

be different from those involved in procurement.

3.9. Modifying contracts

Contracts may need to be modified during their duration if the circumstances
affecting project implementation have changed since the initial contract was
signed.

Contract modifications must be formalised through an administrative order or

an addendum to the contract in accordance with the provisions of the
General Conditions of the contract. Substantial modifications to the contract
must be made by means of an addendum. Such an addendum must be
signed by the contracting parties. Changes of address and changes of bank
account may simply be notified in writing by the contractor to the contracting
authority, although this does not affect the right of the latter to oppose the
contractor's choice of bank account.

No changes to the contract may alter the award conditions prevailing at the
time the contract was awarded.

Following this logic, major changes, such as a fundamental alteration of the

Terms of Reference/Technical Specifications, cannot be made by means of
an addendum or an administrative order.

A project funded by the European Union 30 Implemented by a consortium led by

 A request for contract modifications should not automatically be accepted
by the contracting authority. Major changes in the technical specifications or
other parameters of the procurement after the grant contract has been
signed might lead to the breach of the equal treatment principle (other
tenderers who might have had better offers if the new conditions would be
known in advance). This in turn might render the costs reported by the
beneficiary to the programme bodies ineligible.

There must be justified reasons for modifying a contract. The contracting

authority must examine the reasons given and reject requests which have little
or no substantiation. Contracts can only be modified within the execution
period of the contract. The purpose of the addendum or administrative order
must be closely connected with the nature of the project covered by the initial
contract.

Requests for contract modifications must be made (by one contracting party
to the other) well in advance to allow for the addendum to be signed by both
parties before the expiry of the execution period of the contract.

The contract modification may take place in some cases, such as:
• the value of the modification is limited to 10 % of the initial contract value
for service, and supply contracts, and 15 % of the initial contract value for
works contracts and
• the net cumulative value of several successive modifications does not
exceed the thresholds indicated above.

See further details in point 2.11.1 of PRAG 2020.

3.10. Procurement plan

The secondary procurement procedures represent a significant challenge for
the grant beneficiary, the Lead Beneficiary and the programme and national
bodies from the perspective of monitoring. Significant volume of procedures
makes it difficult for them to follow closely the developments, what often results
in procurement delays and discrepancies, as well as delays at the project
level.

A possible way to facilitate the monitoring is the use of procurement plans. The
grant beneficiaries are encouraged after the communication of the award of

A project funded by the European Union 31 Implemented by a consortium led by

 their project to develop a list of all procurement procedures within their
projects, with indication of budget line, procedure and key milestones. The
procurement plans are extremely useful to identify delays, as well as
discrepancies between the foreseen and the actual procedure. The
procurement plan can also be used for cross-checks, for example if proper
procedure is used depending on the financial threshold.

A procurement plan shall be provided in the first progress report of the project
and an update at each following report, according to the template provided
in the Project Implementation Manual.

3.11. Artificial split

Artificial splitting of contracts is the splitting of contracts which serve to achieve
the same objective into smaller contracts to avoid the competitive tendering
procedure or to circumvent the rules which apply to certain procurement
procedures or above a certain threshold.

3.12. Failure or errors in procurement procedure

Having in mind that “each beneficiary shall be legally and financially
responsible for the activities that it is implementing and for the share of the
Union funds that it receives7”, including the awards of contracts to the third
parties, failures or errors in secondary procurement procedures or
discrepancies in deliveries could mean financial losses, as the expenditure may
be considered as partially or fully ineligible by the Managing Authority.

Some potential cases of failures, errors or discrepancies in awarding

contracts to third parties (secondary procurement):
• Failure of delivery by provider/supplier of the agreed services, supplies or
works;
• Changes in the agreed technical specifications that might render the
contract ineligible;
• Delays in delivery of services, supplies or works, having negative impact
on overall timing of the grant financed project and/or in the
achievement of its results;

7 Article 46.2 of the ENI CBC IR

A project funded by the European Union 32 Implemented by a consortium led by

 • Provision of inadequate quality or specifications of services, supplies or
works by the provider/supplier;
• Arguments in relation to the price of agreed/delivered services, supplies
or works.

In order to avoid any of the situations above, it is of the best interest of the
grant beneficiary:
• to establish transparent and secure relations with the providers/suppliers
by defining conditions and relations in written form, with clearly set
obligations for both parties involved in the matter;
• to prepare carefully all the procurement procedures before contracting,
so to ensure their correspondence with the project proposal and their full
compliance with the applicable rules;
• to carry out a thorough and documented follow-up of the performance
of the suppliers/providers and;
• to ensure that the final acceptance of services/supplies/goods is in line
with the specifications of the tender documentation.

A project funded by the European Union 33 Implemented by a consortium led by

 4. Which type of procedure?
4.1. Basic definitions
Which procedure is applicable depends on the nature of the acquisition
(works, supplies, services or mixed8) and the value of the contract.

The main procedures identified in the ENI CBC IR are thoroughly described in
PRAG. The current guide is focused on simplified procedure, single tender
procedure and payment against invoice without prior acceptance of a
tender, for which PRAG has fewer provisions, but have high chances to be
applied in the Black Sea Basin programme, considering the grant values.

The types of procedure usually applied in ENI CBC projects are9:

Type of Definition
procedure

Open tender Procedure in which any natural or legal person or group may
procedure submit a tender in response to a procurement notice.
The procedure follows one step process where open
invitation for submission of tenders is published either at
international level or at the programme area. The prior
information notice and/or the contract notice are to be
published in all appropriate media.

Restricted Procedure in which, after publication of a procurement

tender notice, all economic operators may ask to take part but only
procedure candidates satisfying the selection criteria and invited
simultaneously and in writing by the Contracting Authority
may submit a tender (two steps process).
In the first step, the contracting authority issues a
procurement notice for submission of expression of interest.
These are reviewed and a short-list of tenderers is formed. In

8 See definition of “mixed contract” in the glossary

9 See section 2.6 of PRAG 2020 for further details and full list of procedures

A project funded by the European Union 34 Implemented by a consortium led by

 the second step, only the short-listed tenders are invited to
submit a full offer.

Simplified The contracting authority invites at least 3 candidates of its

procedure10 choice to submit tenders.

Single tender The contracting authority invites at least one candidate to

submit offer.

Payment Payments against invoice without a prior tender may be

against accepted for low-value purchases (up to 2.500€). An invoice
invoice from one provider/supplier will be accepted, if duly justified.
without prior
acceptance
of a tender

4.2. Financial thresholds and related tendering procedures

The thresholds are as follows:

International open International Open tender in

tender restricted tender programme area
Services Not applicable ≥ 300.000€ Not applicable
Supplies ≥ 300.000€ Not applicable ≥ 100.000€ < 300.000€
≥ 5.000.000€ ≥ 300.000€ <
Works Not applicable
5.000.000€

The thresholds for lower amounts are as follows. Please consider that the
programme has decided to request use of PRAG for any contract not
exceeding 60.000€, as articles 53 to 55 of ENI CBC IR set certain procedures
only over 60.000€. The thresholds indicated below are compulsory.

10 Previously known as “Competitive negotiated procedure” in PRAG

A project funded by the European Union 35 Implemented by a consortium led by

 Payment against
Single tender invoice without prior
Simplified procedure
procedure acceptance of a
tender
Services > 20.000€ < 300.000€ > 2.500€ ≤ 20.000€ ≤ 2,500€
Supplies > 20.000€ < 100.000€ > 2.500€ ≤ 20.000€ ≤ 2.500€
Works > 20.000€ < 300.000€ > 2.500€ ≤ 20.000€ ≤ 2.500€

Note that tenders must not be split artificially to circumvent the procurement
thresholds.

Irrespective the amounts concerned, all procurements must be awarded to

the tender offering best value for money, or as appropriate, to the tender
offering the lowest price and respect the general principles of avoidance of
conflict of interest, transparency, fair competition, equal treatment,
proportionality and non-discrimination, as indicated in the previous chapter.

4.3. Payment against invoice without prior acceptance of a tender

Even though it is possible to accept payments up to 2.500€ against invoice
without prior formal acceptance of a tender, the beneficiary may follow some
internal procedures, in order to prove that the basic principles are respected.

Tip #11. Basic recommendations for lowest-value procurement

• Since any procurement has to either demonstrate the best value for
money, or as appropriate, the lowest price (article 52.2(a) of ENI CBC IR),
whenever possible, have more than one offer, even if only by e-mail. It is
not compulsory, but highly recommended. If you have only one offer or
even no offer at all, please provide an explanation of the reasons for the
choice and how ‘best value for money’ or ‘the lowest price’ principles
were observed;
• Each organisation has its own procedure for acquisition of
services/supplies/works, even for very low value ones. Keep the
documents describing this procedure;
• Ensure the compliance with internationally accepted standard for
internal control, such as adequate segregation of functions (request of
procurement, authorization of acquisition, accounting and payment by
different persons); code of ethics known and formally accepted by

A project funded by the European Union 36 Implemented by a consortium led by

 employees, written procedures, organizational chart and job description
of concerned persons (even for volunteers), etc.;
• Sometimes, the description of low-value invoices may not be project-
specific (e.g. the acquisition of a computer). In such cases, attach a
short memo describing the relationship with the project (e.g. acquisition
of a computer for the project manager recruited for the project).

If you have little experience in managing EU funds, or you faced difficulties

in the past, we strongly recommend you to read the FINANCIAL
MANAGEMENT TOOLKIT developed for recipients of EU external funds.

Read carefully its approach to understand EU’ perspective and use the tools
offered, especially the check-lists, such as the one on internal control or
accounting.

As a general rule, the payments should take the form of bank transfers or
checks, but petty cash expenses may be paid in cash. The toolkit includes
recommendations on the petty cash payments.

Where to find it? Find below the URL or google the name of the toolkit:

https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/financial-management-
toolkit_en

Please note that the budgetary commitment against which the invoice is paid
has to be validated before the contracting authority enters into the
corresponding 'legal commitment'. In this context, such legal commitment
may take the form, inter alia, of an agreement, a pro-forma invoice, a written
acceptance of a quotation, a booking confirmation, an order form, etc.

The payment against invoice is clearly the simpler procedure of all the ones
described in this guide, but does it mean it is the less risky one?

A simple procurement procedure may also have a high risk of inadequate

supporting documents to prove the eligibility of the cost.

A project funded by the European Union 37 Implemented by a consortium led by

 4.4. Single tender procedures
PRAG stipulates that the Contracting Authority may award contracts of a
value of EUR 20.000 or less on the basis of a single tender. Further details about
the procedure are found in section 2.6.8 of PRAG 2020.

4.4.1. Content of tender dossier for single tenders

The tender dossier should contain the minimum information necessary to

communicate the requirements of the grant beneficiary as the contracting
authority. At the same time, the documentation should be kept simple to
ensure that secondary providers/suppliers remain interested and motivated to
provide their offer.

The tender dossier shall include at least the invitation letter, contract notice
with the selection and award criteria, instructions to tenderers, the standard
draft contract and the relevant annexes and the terms of reference/technical
specifications. A negotiation report (annex A10b of PRAG 2020) must be
produced, explaining how participant(s) in the negotiations were chosen, how
they met the selection criteria, how the price was set, and the grounds for the
award decision.

In case of services (see section 3.3.3 of PRAG 2020), the specific annexes for
simplified tenders must be used (administrative compliance grid, contract,
contract notice, invitation letter, instructions to tenderers, terms of reference
and tender form) for this procedure. They can be adjusted to the procedure,
including deleting non-relevant sections, without this requiring derogation.

In case of supplies and works, however, no specific references are made to

the annexes to be used. Therefore, it is recommended that the PRAG regular
annexes for higher value procedures are used, adjusted to the procedure,
including deleting non-relevant sections.

It can be expected that the ENI CBC projects will have a significant number of
procedures up to the threshold of 20.000€, so it is of utmost importance to set
clear rules and instructions.

A project funded by the European Union 38 Implemented by a consortium led by

 The goal of these instructions for procedures with little description in PRAG is
two-fold:
• To provide clear rules to the project beneficiaries, so the risk of ineligible
expenditure is reduced;
• To facilitate the control tasks of the programme and national bodies by
ensuring coherence in the procedures applied by all concerned
beneficiaries.

Tip #13. Recommended approach for single tender procedures

• Clear definition of the requirements for services, supplies or works in the

tender dossier, with adequate technical specifications and time frame;
• Good communication of requirements to tenderers in written
standardized form;
• Submission of tenders in standardized form;
• Thorough verification of the compliance of the received tenders with the
original requirements;
• Preparation of a negotiated report;
• Signature of contract with the successful tenderer.

The tenderers should be given sufficient time for submission of their offers. A
reasonable period would be for example 10 working days for supply and
services and 15 working days for works.

Be extremely careful with the choice of companies to invite and make sure to
explain how participant(s) in the negotiations were chosen. Please also check
tip no 14 below.

4.4.2. Evaluation documents and reports for single tenders

The evaluation procedure needs to follow a similar logic as in the simplified

procedure, that is, the contracting authority assesses which of the received
tenders provides the best option, either best value for money for services or
lowest price for technically compliant offers in case of supply and works.

A project funded by the European Union 39 Implemented by a consortium led by

 The recommended set of documents for evaluation is11:

Name of document PRAG reference

Forms for the evaluation process

Declaration of impartiality a4_decl_imp_conf_en.doc
and confidentiality

Administrative Compliance b8o1_admingrid_simp_en.doc (services);

Grid c4j_admingrid_en.doc (supplies);
d4l_admingrid_en.doc (works)

Evaluation grid Annex B8m1_evalgrid_fees_en.doc (services

fee-based);
B8m2_evalgrid_global_en.doc (services global
price);
c4k_evalgrid_en.doc (supplies);
d4m_evalgrid_en.doc (works)

Negotiation report for a10b_singeltenderreport_en.doc

single tenders

Notification Letter to b13a_notification_letter_en.doc (services);

awarded tenderer c8a_notifletter_supply_en.doc (supplies);
d8a_notifletter_works_en.doc (works)

Letter to second best b13b_lettersecond_best_en.doc (only for

tenderer (if more than 1 services)
offer available)

Letter to unsuccessful b13c_letterunsuccessful_en.doc (services);

tenderer (if more than 2 c8b_letterunsuccessful_en.doc (supplies);
offers available in case of d8_ letterunsuccessful_en.doc (works)
services and if more than 1
offer available in case of
supplies and works)

11 We provide a set of recommended documents, but remember to check the compulsory templates
according to PRAG

A project funded by the European Union 40 Implemented by a consortium led by

 4.5. Simplified procedure (previously known as competitive
negotiated procedure)
It applies for the tenders between 20.000€ and 300.000€ (for services and
works) or 100.000€ (for supplies). These thresholds for procurement without call
for tender (open or restricted) are very high; be extremely careful with the
choice of companies to invite and make sure to justify this choice.

REMEMBER: even simple procurement procedures have a high risk of

inadequate supporting documents to prove the eligibility of the cost.

Tip #14. The choice of invited companies

The choice of the invited companies has to be duly justified, in order to prove
the respect of the basic procurement principles, in particular, the absence
of conflict of interest.

As explained in the section 4.3 above, the solidity of internal control is a key
factor for the proof of the respect of the principles.
Also, please note that, in accordance with the guidelines for determining
financial corrections to be made to expenditure financed by the Union for
non-compliance with the applicable rules on public procurement12, the
gravity of an irregularity is assessed taking into account in particular the
following factors: level of competition, transparency and equal treatment.

The evaluation (including the use of an evaluation committee) and the award
of the contract follow the rules of the open procedure.

Please remember that the contract notice is not published, but it is included in
the tender dossier as it contains important information for those service providers
that are invited to tender, notably the selection criteria. Regarding the template
for the Declaration on honour, it is recommended to use the one included in this
guide.

12 Commission Decision of 14.5.2019 laying down the guidelines for determining financial
corrections to be made to expenditure financed by the Union for non-compliance with the
applicable rules on public procurement, C(2019) 3452

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 4.5.1. Tender dossier for services

The PRAG specific annexes for simplified tenders (b8) are to be used. For any
other document of the tender dossier, the regular service annexes must be
used.

The contracting authority has to evaluate all tenders according to the best
value for money award criterion, by establishing best quality-price ratio and
weighing technical quality against price on an 80/20 basis.

4.5.2. Tender dossier for supplies

Although not expressly mentioned in PRAG for this procedure, the regular
supply annexes should be used.

4.5.3. Tender dossier for works

The PRAG tender dossier for the simplified procedures is to be used (annex
DS1). Although not expressly mentioned in PRAG for this procedure, for any
other necessary template, the works annexes should be used.

4.5.4. Evaluation process for simplified procedure

The evaluation of the tenders has to be carried out by an evaluation

committee appointed by the grant beneficiary in its role of the contracting
authority.

The key criteria for the appointment of the members of the evaluation
committee are:
• Absence of conflict of interest
• Respect of confidentiality
• Capacity to give an informed opinion on the tender, that is,
o Technical skills on the subject of the contract
o Administrative skills on the knowledge of the procedural
requirements and applicable legal framework
• Command of the language in which the tenders are submitted

The composition of the evaluation committee must consist of: an odd number
of members (minimum 3), a non-voting secretary and a non-voting

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 chairperson. See section 2.9 of PRAG 2020 for more details on the basic
requirements of the committee.

The main steps in the evaluation process are:

Tip #15. First things first

Technical evaluation must take place BEFORE opening the financial offers.
Therefore, the financial offers have to be submitted in separate envelopes
and be kept SEALED until the assessment of the technical offers is finalized.

Check the relevant section in PRAG for further details on the evaluation
procedures for the different types of tenders (services, supplies and works).

A project funded by the European Union 43 Implemented by a consortium led by

 5. Nature of contracts
5.1. Service contracts
5.1.1. What is a service contract?

Service contracts comprise study and technical assistance contracts. These

contracts are intended to engage support or to gain from exterior knowledge
in the areas which are not covered internally (within the partnership or project
team) and require additional external support.

Service contracts, which include studies such as

expenditure verification, feasibility studies, economic
Study contracts and market studies or technical studies. They imply a
concrete final deliverable in form of a report or a set
of reports.

Service contracts where a service provider is called

on to play an advisory role, to manage or supervise
Technical assistance a project, or to provide the expertise specified in the
contracts contract, but can also cover very simple and
straightforward services, such as printing, venue
rental for an event, catering or transport services.

5.1.2. Types of service contracts

In global price contracts, payments might be totally or partially withheld if the

contractual results have not been reached. Partial payments have to be

A project funded by the European Union 44 Implemented by a consortium led by

 determined according to the partial implementation of the outputs, and are
subject to a price breakdown based on outputs/deliverables.
The tenderer must announce its intention in terms of mobilization of means in
its tender. Nevertheless, the technical and operational means used by the
provider during the implementation of the contract in order to achieve the
outputs is irrelevant for the contracting authority.

Therefore, the budget is prepared as a global figure, without further

breakdown (except for the price breakdown based on the
outputs/deliverables from the terms of reference, if so the case) and the
contracting authority monitors the delivery of outputs.

In case of fee-based contracts the tenderers’ budget is prepared in a manner

of budget breakdown. Budget lines are presented per expert (see PRAG
standard annex b8i2). In the implementation phase the inputs by experts
provide a basis for monitoring and approval of payments. Signed time-sheets
are required by experts to confirm the inputs. The contract may also include
incidental expenditure13, such as travel costs.

How relevant is the team of experts participating in the service contracts?

Fee-based Global price

• List and CV’s of experts must be • List and CV’s of experts and
included in the tender statements of availability and
• Statements of availability and exclusivity are required for the
exclusivity are compulsory for all tender where it is needed for the
experts particularities of the project
• If key experts are defined, they
are evaluated as part of the
strategy14.

13 See definition in Glossary

14 See indications on evaluation grids in section 3.2.3.

A project funded by the European Union 45 Implemented by a consortium led by

 Tip#16. Which is the best choice?

Each beneficiary has to decide which type of contract best suits its needs
for each procurement.
• Global contracts are easier to monitor, as only the delivery of outputs is
relevant for payments and acceptance of the work. The absence of
requirement to identify experts makes it easier for the provider to change
them, if needed be. Consider them in cases of easy-to-check
deliverables and low amounts (i.e. single tender)
• Fee-based are needed when the quality of the performance of the
experts is essential for the achievements of the goals of the contract. It
requires more work in the monitoring and the payment process, but it
gives full control to the contracting authority on the team of the provider.
Consider it in complex and lengthy contracts with a mix of experts’ time
and incidental expenditure.

Tip #17. The risk of inefficiency

The compliance with the requirements of sound financial management, in

particular regarding economy and efficiency is a key eligibility criterion.

Make sure that the outputs (both for global price and fee-based) and the
amount of work devoted (for fee-based) respect an adequate quality-price
ratio, both when preparing the procedure and when accepting the final
delivery of the services. Inadequate proof of delivery of the services with
respect of the efficiency principle is one of the key risks for eligibility of
expenditure.

5.1.3. Key challenges and recommendations for service contracts

Challenges Recommendations

Poor quality of the terms of reference The ToR must include adequate level
(ToR) may lead to a higher risk of of details on the expected services.
failure in delivery and potential
disagreement between the
contracting authority and the service
provider in the final acceptance.

A project funded by the European Union 46 Implemented by a consortium led by

 Restrictive conditions in the selection Ensure that the formulation of the
criteria, which might contain requirements is specific enough to
formulation limiting fair competition, maximise the impact of the contract,
e.g. request of very narrow but not so restrictive that a very
qualifications of very specific skills for limited number of potential tenderers
experts. or experts comply with them.

Splitting of contracts to avoid more Prepare a detailed procurement

complex procedures. plan to identify all the services
needed for the project
implementation and verify that the
type of procedure is the one
requested by PRAG, in accordance
with the nature and size of the
contract.

Lack of sufficient number of quality or Organize clarification / information

compliant offers, either due to the meetings with all potential tenderers,
low capacity of the invited tenderers, if needed be and establish a
too restrictive requirements or “Questions and answers” document
inadequate publication available to all of them; ensure not
too restrictive requirements (see
above) and wide publication of
tenders. In case of simplified
procedure, consider inviting more
than 3 tenderers.

5.2. Supply contracts

5.2.1. What is a supply contract?

Supply contracts cover the purchase, leasing, rental or hire purchase (with or
without option to buy) of products. A contract for the supply of products and,
incidentally, for sitting and installation shall be considered a supply contract.

Supply contracts usually include complementary services, such as installation

or training of users, that is, the contracts are often mixed. As the key element
of the contract is the supply of goods, the procedures to use are the ones
described in this chapter.

A project funded by the European Union 47 Implemented by a consortium led by

 5.2.2. Key challenges and recommendations for supply contracts

Challenges Recommendations

Poor quality of the technical (see table in previous section)

specifications (see table in previous
section)

Restrictive conditions (see table in (see table in previous section)

previous section)

Splitting of contracts (see table in (see table in previous section)

previous section)

Lack of sufficient number of quality or (see table in previous section)

compliant offers (see table in
previous section)

Inadequate quality of goods Carefully check the supplies upon

delivered, not matching with the delivery and issue an acceptance
technical specifications document proving that this
verification was done.
Use the PRAG template for
provisional and final acceptance
(c11_provfinalaacept_en.doc)

5.3. Works contracts

5.3.1. What is a works contract?

Works contracts cover either the execution, or both the execution and design,
of works or a work related to one of the following activities:
• Design of the executive architectural project
• Building site preparation,
• Building of complete constructions or parts thereof; civil engineering,
• Building installation,
• Building completion,
• Renting of construction and demolition equipment (normally forming a
part of the overall works contract)
• Works supervision.

A project funded by the European Union 48 Implemented by a consortium led by

 A 'work' means the outcome of building or civil engineering works taken as a
whole that is sufficient of itself to fulfil an economic or technical function.

The technical specifications are essential for an adequate delivery of the

executed works by the contractor. They need to make a thorough
description of, at least:
• Current situation of the site (land of building) and needed preparation
works
• Exact nature and characteristics of the civil engineering work to be
performed
• Detailed equipment and installations
• Indication of any specific legal requirements applicable for the type
of building (e.g. cross-border points or schools usually have very
specific rules to follow)
• Detailed services (architect, quality control, etc.)

As the construction works often imply the acquisition and installation of

supplies, as well as complementary services, the contracts are usually mixed.
Remember the possibility of splitting the tender in lots, if the nature of the
requirements is very different.

5.3.2. Key challenges and recommendations for works contracts

Challenges Recommendations

Poor quality of the tender dossier, Dedicate particular attention to the

including the technical preparation of the technical
specifications, which may lead to a specifications. Describe in detail the
higher risk of failure in delivery and bill of quantities, exact situation of the
potential disagreement between the site and the required specifications,
contracting authority and the as well as any complementary
supplier in the final acceptance. equipment (supply) and service.

Availability of support documents, Check that your project work-plan

including building permit, which and the procurement plan are
need to be available at the time of consistent and the legal
signature of the contract. Failure in requirements will be available in time
availability of such documents may not to hamper the start of the works.
lead to delays in the whole project Ideally, it is recommended to launch
implementation or even in the the procedure for ready-to-go
impossibility to achieve the expected building projects.
results.

A project funded by the European Union 49 Implemented by a consortium led by

 Complexity of procedure for works. Devote enough time and
Even the simplified procedure is professional expertise for the
complex and need careful preparation of the tender dossier.
preparation. Consider the possibility of
contracting an external service
provider, if needed be15.

Lack of sufficient number of quality or Organize clarification / information

compliant offers, either due to the meetings with all potential tenderers,
low capacity of the invited tenderers, if needed be and establish a
too restrictive requirements or “Questions and answers” document
inadequate publication available to all of them; ensure not
too restrictive requirements (see
above) and wide publication of
tenders. In case of simplified
procedure, consider inviting more
than 3 tenderers.

Inadequate quality of works and Appoint a competent supervisory

supervision, which may lead the architect or engineer, with proved
contractor to fail in the delivery. independence from the works
contractor.

Non-respect of the deadlines for Timing for the works should be

implementation, due to unforeseen carefully planned and supervised
difficulties in the work or lack of during implementation. Consider the
adequate input by the contractor possibility to include penalty clauses
in the contract in case of delays due
to the contractor.

Additional works, due to unexpected Plan a contingency amount in the

situations, which may delay or contract and the conditions for its
increase the cost of the works use by the contractor. This reserve
execution. should not be higher than 10% of the
contract value.

15 A service provider (or related company) participating in the preparation of the tender dossier may
not be able to participate in it. Please see section 2.5.4.3. of PRAG 2020

A project funded by the European Union 50 Implemented by a consortium led by

 Glossary of terms and acronyms
Term or Definition
acronym

A document modifying the terms and conditions of a

Addendum
contract.

All related services which the contractor is required to

implement in a supply contract in addition to deliver the
goods procured. Where they are necessary they are
specified in the contract and may include for example
Ancillary
services such as unloading, installation, testing,
services
commissioning, provision of expertise, supervision,
maintenance, repair, training and other such obligations
connected with the goods to be provided under the
contract.

Appropriate Please see section 2.1.3. of this guide

media

The contracting authority must draw up precise, non-

discriminatory and not prejudicial to fair competition
Award criteria
criteria, which determine the award decision during the
evaluation procedure.

Natural or legal person with whom a grant contract has

been signed. Amongst the project beneficiaries, one of
Beneficiary them is selected as Lead Beneficiary before submitting the
proposal. The Lead Beneficiary is the counterpart of the
grant Contracting Authority.

Best value for Best price-quality ratio. See “most economically

money advantageous tender”

Offer, tender (see definitions for tender, financial and

Bid
technical offer in this glossary)

Bidder See definition of tenderer in this glossary

Any event influencing the capacity of a tenderer or

Conflict of contractor to give an objective and impartial professional
interest opinion, or preventing it, at any moment, from giving priority
to the interests of the Contracting Authority. Any event that

A project funded by the European Union 51 Implemented by a consortium led by

 compromises the impartial and objective exercise of the
functions or the Contracting Authority, or the respect to the
principles of competition, non-discrimination or equality of
treatment of tenderers with regards to the award
procedure or contract. Any consideration relating to
possible contracts in the future or conflict with other
commitments, past or present, of a tenderer or contractor.
These restrictions also apply to any sub-contractors and
employees of the contractor.
There is also a conflict of interests where the impartial and
objective exercise of the functions of a player in the
implementation of a contract is compromised for reasons
involving family, emotional life, political or national affinity,
economic interest or any other shared interest with other
concerned parties.

A grouping of eligible natural and legal persons which

submits a tender under a tender procedure. It may be a
Consortium permanent, legally-established grouping or a grouping
which has been constituted for a specific tender
procedure.

Contract Procedure followed by the Contracting Authority to identify

award a service provider/supplier/construction firm and conclude
procedure a contract

In the context of procurement of services, supplies and

works by granted projects, the Contracting Authority is the
party launching and concluding the procedure, that is, the
Contracting concerned project beneficiary
Authority In the context of a grant in ENI CBC BSB programme, the
Contracting Authority is the public entity concluding the
grant contract as provided for in the Joint Operational
Programme (JOP). It is Managing Authority (MA).

Contractor Natural or legal person with whom a procurement contract

(services/supplies/works) has been concluded. It is the
counterpart of the procurement Contracting Authority

Contradictory In case of administrative and/or financial penalties, the

or adversarial contradictory or adversarial procedure requires the
procedure opposing side (the contractor) to bring out pertinent

A project funded by the European Union 52 Implemented by a consortium led by

 information, which can be cross-examined by the
contracting authority before taking a final decision.

Corrigendum Correction of a procurement notice or tender documents

already published in appropriate media, before the set
deadline for submission of tenders.

Defects In the context of works contracts, the period stated in the

liability period contract immediately following the date of provisional
acceptance, during which the contractor is required to
complete the works and to remedy defects or faults as
instructed by the Supervisor of the Contracting Authority.

Eligibility A set of conditions for a candidate to take part in a tender.

criteria

ENI CBC Cross-border cooperation strand of the European

Neighbourhood Instrument

ENI CBC IR Implementing Rules of ENI CBC, that is COMMISSION

IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 897/2014

Evaluation A committee made up of an odd number of voting

committee members, appointed by the Contracting Authority. The
members of the committee must possess the necessary
technical, linguistic and administrative capacities to
evaluate the submitted tenders.

Ex-ante “Ex-ante” is a Latin expression meaning “before the event”.

publicity In the context of procurement, ex-ante publicity means the
information published before the submission of the tenders
by the bidders.

Exclusion Formal admissibility criteria, which have to be respected by

criteria the tenderers, so that their offer is considered as eligible for
the evaluation procedure.

Execution The period from contract signature until final payment for
period services, or until release of the performance guarantee after
final acceptance for supplies and works.

Expert A natural person employed or otherwise legally contracted

by an eligible contractor, or where applicable
subcontractor, engaged to provide the expertise required
for the proper performance of a contract.

A project funded by the European Union 53 Implemented by a consortium led by

 Fee-based A contract under which the services are provided on the
contract basis of fixed fee rates for each day worked by experts.

Final Certificate(s) issued by the supervisor (for works) or relevant

acceptance person (for supplies) to the Contractor at the end of the
certificate defects liability period (for works) or warranty period (for
supplies) stating that the Contractor has completed its
obligations.

Financial offer The part of the tender which contains all financial elements
of a tender, such as the summary budget or the detailed
price breakdown.

General The general contractual provisions setting out the

Conditions administrative, financial, legal and technical clauses
governing the execution of contracts

Global price A contract under which the services provided are paid on
contract the basis of the delivery of the specified outputs.

Grant A direct payment of a non-commercial nature by the

Managing Authority to a Lead beneficiary and its partner
beneficiaries, in order to implement project awarded by the
Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC).

Grant contract Contract between the MA and the Lead Beneficiary (also
called Lead Partner), stipulating the technical, legal and
financial conditions for the implementation of the project.

Incidental The provision for incidental expenditure covers the non-fee

expenditure expenditure incurred under a service contract, such as
travel and subsistence costs or the logistics of the
organisation of an event. It cannot be used for costs which
should be covered by the contractor as part of its fee rates,
such as equipment or office costs for the experts.

Invitation to Letter sent to shortlisted candidates in a restricted

tender procedure or competitive negotiated procedure inviting
them to submit a tender.

Lot One of the main choices in public procurement is to

determine whether the works, supplies or services that are
the subject matter of the procurement are to be acquired
by using one contract or by using a number of separate

A project funded by the European Union 54 Implemented by a consortium led by

 contracts or “lots”, which may be awarded and performed
by different economic operators. The different “lots” are
part of a same tender procedure, where there may be
several successful tenderers.

Managing Authority or body appointed by the participating countries

Authority (MA) as responsible for managing of each ENI CBC programme,
located in a Member State.

Mixed A contract between the Contracting Authority and a

contract service provider, supplier or construction firm covering two
or more of the following: works, supplies and services.

Most The tender proposal judged best in terms of the criteria laid
economically down for the contract in one of the following ways:
advantageous • Under the best price-quality ratio (e.g., quality criteria,
tender technical merit, aesthetic and functional characteristics,
after-sales service or technical assistance);
• Under the lowest price

Negotiated Procurement procedure without prior publication of

procedure procurement notice, in which the Contracting Authority
consults the candidate or candidates of its choice and
negotiates the terms of the contract with one or more of
them. This procedure is used only in exceptional cases.

Open tender Please see section 4.1. of this guide.

procedure

PRAG “Procurement and Grants for European Union external

actions – A Practical Guide”.

Public It is the procurement (acquisition) of services, supplies and

procurement works by a public body or by a private body with public
money, as it is the case of ENI CBC beneficiaries.

Restricted Please see section 4.1. of this guide.

tender
procedure

Rule of It defines in which countries the tenderers and contractors

nationality have to be registered.

A project funded by the European Union 55 Implemented by a consortium led by

 Rule of origin It is used to determine the country of origin of a product
(supplies or equipment).

Secondary Procurement of services, supplies or works carried out by a

procurement grant beneficiary for the purpose of implementing the grant
for which the grant is received.

Selection The contracting authorities must draw up clear and non-

criteria discriminatory selection criteria for the purpose of assessing
that the tenderer has sufficient financial, economic,
technical and professional capacity to implement the tasks
of the contract. The chosen criteria shall be proportionate
and may not go beyond the scope of the contract.

Service A contract between a service provider and the Contracting

contract Authority for the provision of services such as studies or
expertise.

Service Any natural or legal person or public entity or consortium of

provider such persons and/or bodies offering services.

Simplified Please see section 4.1. of this guide.

procedure
(competitive
negotiated
procedure)

Single tender Please see section 4.1. of this guide.

procedure

Special Clauses specific to a contract laid down by the Contracting

conditions Authority as an integral part of the contract, including
eventual amendments to the general conditions

Supervisor The legal or natural person responsible for monitoring the

(Engineer as execution of the contract on behalf of the Contracting
per FIDIC Authority in the context of a works contract.
rules)

Supplier Any natural or legal person or public entity or consortium of

such persons and/or bodies offering to supply products.

Supply A contract between the supplier and the Contracting

contract Authority for the purchase, lease, hire or hire-purchase (with

A project funded by the European Union 56 Implemented by a consortium led by

 or without option to buy) of goods. It may also cover tasks
such as installation, servicing, repairs, training and after-
sales service.

Technical offer The part of the tender which contains all non-financial
elements of the tender dossier.

Technical Document drawn up by the Contracting Authority setting

specification out the requirements and/or objectives in respect of the
provision of supplies or works.

TED Tenderers Electronic Daily – Database of all public

procurement under obligation to be published in the
Official Journal of the European Union
(http://ted.europa.eu ).

Tender A written formal offer to supply goods or to perform services

or works at an agreed price under certain conditions
specified in the tender dossier documents

Tenderer Any natural or legal person or group of such persons

submitting a tender with a view to concluding a contract

Tender dossier Set of documents compiled by the Contracting Authority,

including the requirements of the tender and related
information, as well as the set of documents needed by the
tenderers to submit their tender.

Tender The overall process of putting a contract out for tender,

procedure starting with the publication of the tender notice and
finalizing with the award of a contract. There are various
types of tender procedures: open, restricted, local,
international, negotiated or simplified

ToR Terms of Reference – in case of service contract

procedures, this document drawn up by the Contracting
Authority defines the tasks required of a contractor and
includes relevant project background (objectives, planned
activities, etc.)

Works A contract between a construction firm for the execution,

contract or both the design and execution, of works. A 'work' means
the outcome of building or civil engineering works taken as

A project funded by the European Union 57 Implemented by a consortium led by

 a whole that is sufficient of itself to fulfil an economic or
technical function.

A project funded by the European Union 58 Implemented by a consortium led by

 Annex 1: Declaration on honour
DECLARATION ON HONOUR ON EXCLUSION CRITERIA AND SELECTION CRITERIA

The undersigned [insert name of the signatory of this form], representing:

(only for natural persons) (only for legal persons) the following legal person:
himself or herself

ID or passport number: Full official name:

Official legal form:

(‘the person’) Statutory registration number:

Full official address:

VAT registration number:

(‘the person’)

The person is not required to submit the declaration on exclusion criteria if the
same declaration has already been submitted for the purposes of another
award procedure of the same contracting authority, provided the situation
has not changed, and that the time that has elapsed since the issuing date of
the declaration does not exceed one year.

In this case, the signatory declares that the person has already provided the
same declaration on exclusion criteria for a previous procedure and confirms
that there has been no change in its situation:

Date of the declaration Full reference to previous procedure

I – SITUATION OF EXCLUSION CONCERNING THE PERSON

(1) declares that the above-mentioned person is in one of the YES NO

following situations:

(a) it is bankrupt, subject to insolvency or winding up procedures, its

assets are being administered by a liquidator or by a court, it is in an

A project funded by the European Union 59 Implemented by a consortium led by

 arrangement with creditors, its business activities are suspended or it is
in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided
for under national legislation or regulations;

(b) it has been established by a final judgement or a final

administrative decision that the person is in breach of its obligations
relating to the payment of taxes or social security contributions in
accordance with the applicable law;

(c) it has been established by a final judgement or a final

administrative decision that the person is guilty of grave professional
misconduct by having violated applicable laws or regulations or
ethical standards of the profession to which the person belongs, or by
having engaged in any wrongful conduct which has an impact on its
professional credibity where such conduct denotes wrongful intent or
gross negligence, including, in particular, any of the following:

(i) fraudulently or negligently misrepresenting information required for

the verification of the absence of grounds for exclusion or the
fulfilment of eligibility or selection criteria or in the performance of a
contract or an agreement;

(ii) entering into agreement with other persons with the aim of
distorting competition;

(iii) violating intellectual property rights;

(iv) attempting to influence the decision-making process of the

contracting authority during the award procedure;

(v) attempting to obtain confidential information that may confer

upon it undue advantages in the award procedure;

(d) it has been established by a final judgement that the person is

guilty of any of the following:

(i) fraud, within the meaning of Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2017/1371

and Article 1 of the Convention on the protection of the European
Communities' financial interests, drawn up by the Council Act of 26
July 1995;

(ii) corruption, as defined in Article 4(2) of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 or

active corruption within the meaning of 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,

A project funded by the European Union 60 Implemented by a consortium led by

 drawn up by the Council Act of 26 May 1997, or conduct referred to
in Article 2(1) of Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA, as well as
corruption as defined in other applicable laws, including as defined in
Article 1416 of the General Conditions of the Financing Agreement for
ENI CBC between the partner countries and the European
Commission;

(iii) conduct related to a criminal organisation, as referred to in Article

2 of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA;

(iv) money laundering or terrorist financing, within the meaning of

Article 1(3), (4) and (5) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European
Parliament and of the Council;

(v) terrorist offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, as defined

in Articles 1 and 3 of Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA,
respectively, or inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to commit
such offences, as referred to in Article 4 of that Decision;

(vi) child labour or other offences concerning trafficking in human

beings as referred to in Article 2 of Directive 2011/36/EU of the
European Parliament and of the Council;

(e) it has shown significant deficiencies in complying with the main

obligations in the performance of a contract or an agreement
financed by the Union’s budget or by the national public budget,
which has led to its early termination or to the application of
liquidated damages or other contractual penalties, or which has
been discovered following checks, audits or investigations by a
contracting authority, the national competent authorities, the
Delegation of the European Union in the partner countries, any
Managing Authority of ENPI CBC or ENI CBC, Audit Authorities of ENI
CBC, the European Commission, the European Anti-Fraud Office
(OLAF) or the European Court of Auditors;

16 "Passive corruption" shall mean the deliberate action of an official, who, directly or through an
intermediary, requests or receives advantages of any kind whatsoever, for himself or for a third party,
or accepts a promise of such an advantage, to act or refrain from acting in accordance with his duty
or in the exercise of his functions in breach of his official duties, which has, or would have, the effect
of harming the Union financial interests.
"Active corruption" shall mean the deliberate action of whosoever promises or gives, directly or
through an intermediary, an advantage of any kind whatsoever to an official, for himself or for a third
party, to act or refrain from acting in accordance with his duty or in the exercise of his functions in
breach of his official duties, which has, or would have, the effect of harming the Union financial
interests.

A project funded by the European Union 61 Implemented by a consortium led by

 (f) it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative
decision that the person has committed an irregularity within the
meaning of Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No
2988/95;

(g) it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative

decision that the person has created an entity under a different
jurisdiction with the intent to circumvent fiscal, social or any other legal
obligations in the jurisdiction of its registered office, central
administration or principal place of business.

(h) (only for legal persons) it has been established by a final judgment
or final administrative decision that the person has been created with
the intent provided for in point (g).

(i) for the situations referred to in points (c) to (h) above the person is
subject to:

i. facts established in the context of audits or investigations carried out

by the European Public Prosecutor's Office after its establishment, the
European Court of Auditors, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) or
the internal auditor, or any other check, audit or control performed
under the responsibility of an authorising officer of an EU institution, of
a European office or of an EU agency or body, Managing Authority or
Audit Authority, the competent national authorities or any other
competent body;

ii. non-final judgments or non-final administrative decisions which may

include disciplinary measures taken by the competent supervisory
body responsible for the verification of the application of standards of
professional ethics;

iii. facts referred to in decisions of entities or persons being entrusted

with EU budget implementation tasks;

iv. information transmitted by Member States implementing Union

funds;

v. decisions of the Managing Authority, the National Authority

appointed for the participating country, the European Commission or
a national competent authority relating to the infringement of Union
or national competition law; or

A project funded by the European Union 62 Implemented by a consortium led by

 vi. decisions of exclusion by an authorising officer of an EU institution,
of a European office or of an EU agency or body or of the Contracting
Authority.

II – SITUATIONS
OF EXCLUSION CONCERNING NATURAL OR LEGAL PERSONS WITH POWER OF
REPRESENTATION, DECISION-MAKING OR CONTROL OVER THE LEGAL PERSON AND BENEFICIAL
OWNERS

Not applicable to natural persons, Member States and local authorities

(2) declares that a natural or legal person who is a member of the YES NO N/A
administrative, management or supervisory body of the above-
mentioned legal person, or who has powers of representation,
decision or control with regard to the above-mentioned legal
person (this covers e.g. company directors, members of
management or supervisory bodies, and cases where one natural
or legal person holds a majority of shares), or a beneficial owner of
the person (as referred to in point 6 of article 3 of Directive (EU) No
2015/849) is in one of the following situations:

Situation (c) above (grave professional misconduct)

Situation (d) above (fraud, corruption or other criminal offence)

Situation (e) above (significant deficiencies in performance of a

contract )

Situation (f) above (irregularity)

Situation (g) above (creation of an entity with the intent to

circumvent legal obligations)

Situation (h) above (person created with the intent to circumvent

legal obligations)

Situation (i) above

III – SITUATIONS OF EXCLUSION CONCERNING NATURAL OR LEGAL PERSONS ASSUMING

UNLIMITED LIABILITY FOR THE DEBTS OF THE LEGAL PERSON

(3) declares that a natural or legal person that assumes unlimited YES NO N/A
liability for the debts of the above-mentioned legal person is in one
of the following situations [If yes, please indicate in annex to this
declaration which situation and the name(s) of the concerned
person(s) with a brief explanation]:

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 Situation (a) above (bankruptcy)

Situation (b) above (breach in payment of taxes or social security

contributions)

IV – GROUNDS FOR REJECTION FROM THIS PROCEDURE

(4) declares that the above-mentioned person: YES NO

Was previously involved in the preparation of the procurement

documents used in this award procedure, where this entailed a breach
of the principle of equality of treatment including distortion of
competition that cannot be remedied otherwise.

V – REMEDIAL MEASURES

If the person declares one of the situations of exclusion listed above, it must
indicate measures it has taken to remedy the exclusion situation, thus
demonstrating its reliability. This may include e.g. technical, organisational and
personnel measures to prevent further occurrence, compensation of damage
or payment of fines or of any taxes or social security contributions. The relevant
documentary evidence which illustrates the remedial measures taken must be
provided in annex to this declaration. This does not apply for situations referred
in point (d) of this declaration.
VI – EVIDENCE UPON REQUEST

Upon request and within the time limit set by the Contracting Authority the
person must provide information on natural or legal persons that are members
of the administrative, management or supervisory body or that have powers
of representation, decision or control, including legal and natural persons
within the ownership and control structure and beneficial owners.

It must also provide the following evidence concerning the person itself and
the natural or legal persons on whose capacity the person intends to rely, or a
subcontractor and concerning the natural or legal persons which assume
unlimited liability for the debts of the person:

For situations described in (a), (c), (d), (f), (g) and (h), production of a
recent extract from the judicial record is required or, failing that, an
equivalent document recently issued by a judicial or administrative
authority in the country of establishment of the person showing that those
requirements are satisfied.

For the situation described in point (b), production of recent certificates

issued by the competent authorities of the State concerned are required.

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 These documents must provide evidence covering all taxes and social
security contributions for which the person is liable, including for example,
VAT, income tax (natural persons only), company tax (legal persons only)
and social security contributions. Where any document described above
is not issued in the country concerned, it may be replaced by a sworn
statement made before a judicial authority or notary or, failing that, a
solemn statement made before an administrative authority or a qualified
professional body in its country of establishment.

The person is not required to submit the evidence if it has already been
submitted for another award procedure of the same contracting authority. The
documents must have been issued no more than one year before the date of
their request by the contracting authority and must still be valid at that date.

The signatory declares that the person has already provided the documentary
evidence for a previous procedure and confirms that there has been no
change in its situation:

Document Full reference to previous procedure

Insert as many lines as necessary.

VII – SELECTION CRITERIA

(1) declares that the above-mentioned person complies with the YES NO N/A
selection criteria applicable to it individually as provided in the
tender specifications:

(a) It has the legal and regulatory capacity to pursue the

professional activity needed for performing the contract as
required in section [insert] of the contract notice/Instructions to
tenderers;

(b) It fulfills the applicable economic and financial criteria

indicated in section [insert] of the contract notice/Instructions to
tenderers;

(c) It fulfills the applicable technical and professional criteria

indicated in section [insert] of the contract notice/Instructions to
tenderers.

The contracting authority must adapt the table above to the criteria indicated
in the tender documents (i.e. insert extra rows for each criterion or delete
irrelevant rows).

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 (2) if the above-mentioned person is the sole tenderer or the YES NO N/A
leader in case of consortium, declares that:

(d) the tenderer, including all members of the group in case of

consortium and including subcontractors if applicable, complies
with all the selection criteria for which a consolidated assessment
will be made as provided in the tender specifications.

VIII – EVIDENCE FOR SELECTION

The signatory declares that the above-mentioned person is able to provide the
necessary supporting documents listed in the relevant sections of the tender
documents and which are not available electronically upon request and
without delay.

The person is not required to submit the evidence if it has already been
submitted for another procurement procedure of the same contracting
authority. The documents must have been issued no more than one year
before the date of their request by the contracting authority and must still be
valid at that date.

The signatory declares that the person has already provided the documentary
evidence for a previous procedure and confirms that there has been no
change in its situation:

Document Full reference to previous procedure

Insert as many lines as necessary.

The above-mentioned person must immediately inform the contracting

authority of any changes in the situations as declared.

The above-mentioned person may be subject to rejection from this procedure

and to administrative sanctions (exclusion or financial penalty) if any of the
declarations or information provided as a condition for participating in this
procedure prove to be false.

Full name Date Signature

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