EXTERNAL BORDERS FUND “COMMUNITY ACTIONS” 2007 … · EXTERNAL BORDERS FUND “COMMUNITY...

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FREEDOM, SECURITY and JUSTICE,

EXTERNAL BORDERS FUND “COMMUNITY ACTIONS” 2007

GUIDE for APPLICANTS

CORRIGENDUM1

1 See Section I.2, page 4.

EBF Community Actions 2007

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TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................. 3

I.1. PREAMBULE ................................................................................................................................ 3 I.2. PURPOSE OF THE GUIDE ........................................................................................................... 3

II. THE EBF COMMUNITY ACTIONS................................................................................................ 5

III. GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS................................................................................................. 6 III.1.HOW TO APPLY?......................................................................................................................... 6 III.2.DEFINITION OF TERMS FREQUENTLY USED....................................................................... 7 III.3.GUIDELINES CONCERNING THE PRESENTATION OF THE PROPOSAL .......................... 9

III.3.B. Introduction........................................................................................................................... 9 III.3.B. General guidance to complete the second part of the application form ............................. 10

III.4.GENERAL REMARKS REGARDING THE EXPENDITURE.................................................. 16 III.4.A. Information on the budget. .................................................................................................. 16 III.4.B. Rules concerning eligible expenditure ................................................................................ 17 III.4.C. Contribution in Kind ........................................................................................................... 26 III.4.D. ................................................................................................ Non-eligible costs 27

III.5. INCOME OF THE ACTION....................................................................................................... 27 III.6. EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF PROJECTS ................................................................. 27

III.6 A. General Principles.............................................................................................................. 27 III.6.B. Exclusion and eligibility criteria ........................................................................................ 28 III.6.C. Selection criteria ................................................................................................................. 28 III.6.D.Award criteria ..................................................................................................................... 29 III.6.E. Decision of the Contracting Authority ................................................................................ 29 III.6.F. Revised Budget estimated.................................................................................................... 30 III.6.G.Signature of the Grant Agreement....................................................................................... 30

IV. GUIDELINES FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT....................................................................... 31 IV.1. OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................... 31

IV.1.A. General remarks ................................................................................................................. 31 IV.1.B. Management style ............................................................................................................... 31 IV.1.C. European added value and Community funding visibility .................................................. 31

IV.2. ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT AND REPORTING TO THE COMMISSION ........... 32 IV.2.A. Amendments to the Grant Agreement. ................................................................................ 32 IV.2.B. Final narrative report ......................................................................................................... 33 IV.2.C. Examination and acceptance of the reports ........................................................................ 33

IV.3.FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & INVOICING......................................................................... 34 IV.3.A. Bank account ....................................................................................................................... 34 IV.3.B. Accounting system/internal control..................................................................................... 34 IV.3.C. VAT, customs duties and other taxes on goods and services .............................................. 34 IV.3.D. Terms of payment................................................................................................................ 35 IV.3.E. Justifications and proofs to be submitted with the request for final payment ..................... 35

IV.4. MONITORING, AUDIT AND EVALUATION ........................................................................ 38 IV.4.A. Evaluation. .......................................................................................................................... 38 IV.4.B. Audit. ................................................................................................................................... 38

ANNEX I DECLARATION BY PARTNER AUTHORITY/ORGANISATION.............................. 40

ANNEX II DECLARATION BY OTHER CO-FINANCING THIRD PARTIES............................ 43


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I. INTRODUCTION

I.1. PREAMBULE The content of this Guide does not supersede the rules and conditions laid out in the following documents:

• Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 20022 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities, as last amended by Council Regulation No 1995/2006 of 13 December 20063 referred to in this document as the Financial Regulation;

• Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002

laying down detailed rules for the implementation of the Financial Regulation4 as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 478/2007 of 23 April 20075 referred to in this document as the Implementing rules of the Financial Regulation;

• Decision No 574/2007/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

establishing the External Borders Fund for the period 2007 to 2013 as part of the General Programme 'Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows'6 referred to in this document as Decision No 574/2007/EC;

• Commission Decision C(2007)6437 adopting the work programme for 2007 for

the External Borders Fund Community actions referred to in this document as the 2007 Work programme;

• 2007 Call for proposals – External Borders Fund community actions referred to in

this document as 2007 Call for proposals;

• Grant agreement templates referred to in this document as the grant agreement.

I.2. PURPOSE OF THE GUIDE The purpose of this Guide is twofold:

a) to offer you a user-friendly tool that guides you through the application procedure and the application form. It also serves as a reference tool and can be used as a quick guide to answer any questions you may have when preparing your application

and

2 OJ L 248, 16.09.2002, p. 1. 3 OJ L 390, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 4 OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p.1. 5 OJ L 111, 28.04.2007, p. 13. 6 OJ L 144, 6.6.2007, p. 22.


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b) to provide public authorities, whose projects have been selected, with operational,

administrative and financial management guidelines necessary for a successful implementation.

The application form has to be filled in by the applicant, in close cooperation with the partners which would receive EC contribution (identified as co-beneficiaries in the grant agreement). Filling in this form can take some time. Please make sure that you have allocated a sufficient number of hours to carry out this work and you have all the necessary documents at your disposal. This guide is updated annually to make it as user-friendly as possible. You are more than welcome to share with the Commission your comments and suggestions on how to further improve the guide by sending an e-mail to [email protected] Before you start: Read carefully the 2007 Call for proposals and the 2007 Work programme to find out which actions may be funded, this year's priorities, the conditions to apply, the evaluation and award criteria and how to submit your proposal. Investigate the state-of-the-art and try to build on previous relevant projects co-financed by the Community and/or projects foreseen within the context of the national annual programme. Find suitable project partners (if required). Please bear in mind that:

a) projects for the categories 1 and 2 under this call for proposals must be presented by public authorities;

b) these projects must include participation of at least 2 Member States. Please see also the specific conditions concerning the countries associated with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis, Romania, Bulgaria, Ireland and the United Kingdom, as well as entities other than public authorities of participating Member States. If you cannot find the answer to your question in the guide or among the FAQ, you may send your questions in writing (by e-mail) to the [email protected] which has been set up for that purpose.

mailto:[email protected]





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II. THE EBF COMMUNITY ACTIONS Decision No 574/2007/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council established the External Borders Fund (EBF) as part of the General Programme 'Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows' (hereafter referred to as 'the Decision'). The objective of the Fund is to contribute to the development of a European common integrated border management system. To that end, it establishes a financial solidarity mechanism to support the states who endure, for the benefit of the Community, a lasting and heavy financial burden arising from the implementation of common standards on control and surveillance of external borders and visa policy. The Fund is part of a policy mix of instruments and measures available to the Community for integrated management of the external borders of the Member States of the European Union and the implementation of common visa policy. As such, it operationally complements the European Agency for the management of operational cooperation at the external Borders (FRONTEX Agency). The bulk of resources available for the Fund will be allocated to the Member States each year (shared management), in order to support actions relating to the general objectives defined in Article 3 of the Decision. Amounts have been reserved for direct management by the Commission services in Article 7 (Community actions) and Article 19 (Specific actions). In accordance with Article 7(1) of the Decision, the Commission may use up to 6% of the Fund's available resources to finance "transnational actions or actions of interest to the Community as a whole" (hereinafter referred to as "Community actions"). The Commission adopted on 18 December 2007 the Annual Work Programme for the Community Actions 20077. The relevant Call for Proposals for the year 2007 is published on the DG JLS website; this call for proposals defines the general objective, priorities, eligible actions and criteria for selection and award of grants for the year 2007.

7 COM(2007)6437.


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III. GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS

III.1. HOW TO APPLY?

General Guidelines Only carefully prepared proposals will be considered for financing. To summarise:

• The first phase, prior to the formulation of the project, should consist in identifying the issue to be addressed.

• Once this is done, the objective of the project must be set. This should directly address the problems identified and should be precise and clearly set out.

• The next step is to identify the results of the projects that are to be achieved in order to meet the objective. Wherever possible, these should be set out in quantifiable terms.

• Next, consider which actions are needed to obtain there results. For each action clearly identify how, where and when it will be undertaken, who will do it and how much it will cost. Any action that does not contribute directly to the objective must be discarded.

• Carefully plan how the project will be organised and managed, who is responsible for carrying out which actions, who reports to whom and what kind of management structured is needed.

• Consider at each stage of writing the application, which assumptions you are making. External factors (authorisation of measures by other public authorities) are essential for the success of the project and should be fully identified and described, as should any potential difficulties that might arise.

• Establish how the planned actions and expected results can be verified. This will make it possible to monitor the project.

• A simple procedure must be provided to evaluate the results in relation to the initial objective, both during implementation and at the end of the project.

• Useful lessons that could be passed on other past projects should be identified; the experience of similar projects should be used during the preparation of the project.

• Make sure the budget is consistent with the actions proposed and that human and financial resources will be available when needed.

Conditions

1. Use the official grant application form, otherwise the application will not be eligible. The application form and others documents can be downloaded from:

http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/funding/borders/funding_borders_en.htm

2. The form must be completed, printed, each page initialled and last page signed and sent with all the other documents necessary for an application.

3. The submission of proposals must comply with the Call for proposals.

4. All partners in the project must complete and sign a 'Declaration by Partner public authority/organisation' (see annex 1 of this Guide) indicating their role and possible financial contribution to the project. This declaration also certifies, where applicable (not the case for public authorities), that they are not in one of


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the situation mentioned in the financial regulation for exclusion. In addition, they shall fill-in the legal entity sheet. Moreover, they will have to give a mandate to the applicant (co-ordinator as called in the grant agreement) before the signature of the grant agreement.

5. All co-financing third parties must complete and sign a 'Declaration by other Co-financing Third Party' (see annex 2 of this Guide) indicating their financial contribution to the project.

6. Each proposal must contain 2 paper copies (one original and one copy) of the requested documents.

Each proposal must also contain a CD-ROM, readable and not corrupted containing an electronic version of the following documents: – the Grant Application Form “EBF – Community Actions 2007 ” duly filled in; – the “Detailed forward budget estimate” form duly completed; – the “Staff costs analysis” form duly completed; – the "Financial capacity evaluation sheet" duly completed.

7. Proposals must be sent by registered mail or by express courier, posted no later than 20 JUNE 2008.

When the information of this Guide does not comply with the 2007 Call for Proposals, the applicant must follow the information provided in the Call for Proposals.

III.2. DEFINITION OF TERMS FREQUENTLY USED

Please note that there will be two kinds of grant agreement signed depending of the structure of the project. – When the project will only be implemented by the applicant (and subcontractors under

specific conditions), a grant agreement has to be signed. In this agreement, the term "applicant public authority" will be replaced by "beneficiary''.

– When the project will be implemented by the applicant and several partners, a grant agreement with multi-beneficiaries has to be signed. In this agreement, the term "applicant public authority" will replaced by "co-ordinator''. For the purpose of the grant agreement, the 'partners' receiving EC contribution will be considered as co-beneficiaries, they have to sign a mandate to the applicant (co-ordinator) and they are bond by the terms of the grant agreement. Please note all references to Articles of the grant agreement refer to the draft grant agreement for an action with multiple beneficiaries.

Applicant public authority (beneficiary or co-ordinator): any public authorities with responsibilities in the field of visa policy, external borders control and immigration controls which are registered in the Member States, as follows:

the 22 Member States which are participating in the Fund in 2007 (Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Austria, Portugal, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden); and


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Denmark, as Denmark has notified by letter of 19 June 2007 that it has decided to implement Decision 574/2007/EC in its national law.

For the purpose of the call for proposals, the term "Member States" covers the above mentioned 23 mentioned Member States and excludes the United Kingdom, Ireland, Romania and Bulgaria. Whenever reference is made to "Member States" in this guide for applicants, this group of 23 states is covered.

There is only one applicant per project. The applicant is the only interlocutor of the Commission. The responsibilities of the potential beneficiary and/or co-ordinator are defined in the draft grant agreements. Partners (co-beneficiaries): 1. The project should involve at least one partner Member State. 2. Besides at least one partner Member State, partners may also include:

the countries associated with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis as they are not participating in the Fund in 2007 (Norway and Iceland);

Romania and Bulgaria as they are not participating in the Fund in 2007-20098;

Ireland and the United Kingdom as they are not participating in the Fund.

For these partners the cost of their participation shall not be covered by the Community contribution (no-costs basis).

3. Moreover, besides at least one partner Member State, partners may also include

Community Agencies, International Organisations, private bodies and Non-Governmental Organisations registered in the 23 Member States mentioned above, as well as in the countries not participating in the Fund (the two associated countries, Romania, Bulgaria, Ireland and the United Kingdom), provided that they all work on a strictly non-profit basis and have proven experience and expertises in the fields covered.

In the case of organisations in the two associated countries, their participation shall not be covered by the Community contribution (no-costs basis).

Attention has to be paid to ensure optimal synergy with programmes carried out at Community and national level by the FRONTEX Agency, the Member States and international organisations. This will require effective information sharing about the activities so that the necessary contacts and connections can be made. The partners shall actively participate in the technical implementation of one or more tasks of the project, for which their costs are borne and to which they could contribute financially. Partners from at least one other Member State are required (see point 4 of the 2007 Call for proposals). The Member State where the applicant is registered counts for the compliance with the minimum number of Member States involved. 8 Paragraph 19 of the preamble of the Decision No 574/2007/EC.


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The applicant public authority and its partners shall agree upon appropriate arrangements between themselves for the proper performance of the action. The partners of the project must sign a 'Declaration by Partner public authority/organisation' by which they agree to actively contribute to the implementation of the project, as described in the grant application (see annex I of this guide). They shall grant power of attorney to the applicant public authority to act in their name and in their behalf in signing the possible grant agreement and its possible subsequent riders with the European Commission The responsibilities of the potential co-beneficiaries are defined in the draft grant agreements. Co-financing third parties: any public authority/organization financing the project and not benefiting from the Community contribution. Other co-financing third parties are not required to be directly involved in the technical implementation of the project. They only support financially the project. The other co-financing third parties must sign a declaration by which they agree to finance the project (see annex II of this guide). Subcontractor(s): subcontractors are service providers to the beneficiary or to a partner who fully funds (100%) their activity. The applicant and the partners are expected to have the resources necessary to carry out the work required by the project. Nevertheless, in certain circumstances subcontracting some aspects of the work may be more cost effective or efficient. Subcontracting may under no circumstances be taken for applicants and/or partners. Their cost shall be borne by the applicant and/or the partners. Subcontractors do not contribute financially to the project and therefore do not benefit from any intellectual property rights arising from the achievements of the project. There shall be no statutory link between subcontractors and applicant, partners and their representatives, situation which could lead to potential conflicts of interest and circumvention of the principle of non-profit. In the latter case, Commission shall be informed and give its prior approbation. The award of sub-contracts by a public applicant and/or partners must comply with the applicable rules on public tendering and be in conformity with Community Directives on public tendering procedures. Private applicants/partners should be able to prove that they have prospected the market in order to obtain best value for money.

III.3. GUIDELINES CONCERNING THE PRESENTATION OF THE PROPOSAL

III.3.B. Introduction

The application form has been structured in a sequential way and once completed should contain all the information relevant to the evaluation of the proposal. In principle, project proposals may be submitted in any official language of the European Union but preferably in English or French because the time needed for translation is long. However, in order to facilitate assessment by evaluators, English or French translations should accompany any proposal written in other languages. While completing the application form it is important to:


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• be precise; • provide detailed and clear information, while remaining concise; • concentrate on the key features, objectives and results of the project. The evaluators will judge the project in relation to the exclusion, eligibility, selection and award criteria contained in the Call for Proposals.

III.3.B. General guidance to complete the second part of the application form

Point 2.1.1: Project title Define a title that characterises your action well without being too long. Point 2.1.2: Acronym/Short title The acronym is the most frequently used identifier of the action. Please stick to 30 characters maximum. Point 2.1.3: Duration The duration of projects to be co-funded must not exceed the maximum duration of 18 months. Mention the duration in months (see 2007 Call for proposals, point 8). Point 2.1.4: Start date of the project Please indicate the starting date of the project. Refer to point 8 of the 2007 Call for proposals: a grant may be awarded for an action which has already started only where the applicant can demonstrate the need to start the action before the grant agreement is signed. In such cases, expenditure eligible for financing may not have been incurred prior to the date of submission of the grant request; following publication of the call. The indicative starting date of the projects should be before 1 October 2008. Point 2.1.5: End date of the project Estimated end date of the project. Point 2.1.6: Date(s) of main event(s) (if applicable) Please detail (if applicable). Point 2.1.7: Location(s) where the project will be implemented Please detail. Point 2.1.8: Summary of the project The summary should provide the reader with a clear understanding of the proposal's objective and action, with which activities the objective and action will be achieved and what will be the major output and results at the end of the project. The summary shall contain the essential elements of your project and should respond to the following questions: • WHAT is the type of activity? • HOW many people are involved and what is their role? • WHAT is the exact content? • WHAT are the expected outputs and deliverables?


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If the project is selected for co-financing, this summary will be put on the EBF website for dissemination purpose. Point 2.1.9: Specification of the content of the project Make sure you tick the appropriate box, by selecting the description most relevant to the project. Refer to point 2, 4 and 5 of the 2007 Call for proposals. For “objectives” and “actions” only one selection is allowed. Point 2.1.10: Other projects directly related to this proposal Please give details on projects financed within this programme or under other Community programmes/initiatives in the last five years and directly related to the present proposal. Point 2.1.11: List of partners involved in this project It is important to list all the partners participating in the operation and to attach the declaration of partnership for each partner. Point 2.2.1: What specific problem/question does your project address? The project must be a way to solve or reduce a specific problem. Explain clearly the problem and the main ideas that led you to propose this project. Applicants are requested to focus on clear targets. General statements on policies or overarching objectives must be avoided. Point 2.2.2: Objectives of the project - Impacts of the action A precise description of general objectives and, if possible, indicators, should be included, as well as a definition of target beneficiaries (people directly benefiting from the project). The general objective is a general indication of the project's contribution to target groups in terms of its long-term benefit. Please bear in mind that general objective is expected to go beyond the immediate results of your proposed action. It is your projections into the future – based on an extrapolation of the results of your action in to the future. Please shortly explain your predictions and explain how the measurements of your impacts will allow your predictions to be confirmed. The general objective has to correlate with the specific objective of the project. The specific objective is a concrete statement describing what the project is trying to achieve in order to reach its general objective. It should be specific, measurable, acceptable for the target group, realistic and time-bound. The general objective of the project can be self-contained or form part of a larger strategy to improve knowledge, skills, co-operation processes at the level of the applicant public authority, country, and partner public authorities. Please remember that specific objectives should be achieved by the end of your project. You are asked to formulate your performance indicators that will illustrate when you consider your project to be successful. Please look at the visual illustration of the approach to consider:


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Action Objective

Project outputs

Results

Result Indicators Impact Indicators

Project Lifetime Beyond Project Lifetime

Performance indicators

PROJECT

Results Impacts

Performance indicators provide an important framework for assessing the project's results and potential impacts.

• Result indicators measure the achievements against your specific objective; • Impact indicators project the projected impact against your general objective.

They will serve as target to assess progress toward achieving them and as an early-warning-system so that corrective action can be taken. Point 2.2.3: Please demonstrate your knowledge of the most recent developments on the subject of your proposal Applicants should demonstrate that they are aware of the main developments in the field concerned and have clear views on the specific role of the project in this context. They have to produce relevant evidence on which the project bases itself. Point 2.2.4: How is your project relevant to the general objective of the programme? Please detail the degree to which the proposal effectively meets the general objective and the chosen activity. Point 2.2.5: Is your project innovative compared to the practice in the relevant Member State? How? You must clearly identify the progress the project intends to accomplish within the field in relation with the state-of-the-art and ensure that there will be neither inappropriate duplication nor overlap, whether partial or total, between projects and activities already carried out at European and international level. The innovative nature of the project can be documented using an analysis of the-state-of-the-art in order to demonstrate that a project adds to what is already available, addresses the existing shortcoming and represents an improvement in comparison with the current situation. Point 2.2.6: What is the added value of your project at European level? Projects funded within the EBF programme are expected to contribute to solving problems at the European level, and the expected impact of co-ordinating the work at European level should be greater than the sum of the impacts of national activities.


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The specific added value for the applicant public authority and the partners should be clearly explained. The EU added value encompasses the impact of the project on the target groups and the reinforcement of relations between participants to the project.

Point 2.2.7: Approach and methodology Please include a detailed description of: - methods of implementation, - reasons for the proposed methodology, - how the project intends to build on a previous project or previous activities (where applicable), - procedures for internal evaluation, - level of involvement and activity of other participants in the project. Point 2.2.8: Activities to be undertaken, means to be used To achieve its objectives and bring about the intended changes, a project foresees a number of activities. These activities need to be described to serve as a guideline for the project implementation. All activities must be presented in a realistic timetable, taking into account the fact that some activities must be completed before others may start. Point 2.2.9: Organisation, implementation procedures Describe how the project will be organised. You should describe the tasks you propose to perform during the course of the action and outputs performed/deliverables produced. It will be important that you keep in mind the objectives and the actions of your proposal and that you describe the steps and tasks that you propose in order to achieve those. List also the critical steps/moments where the project could fail. It is important to break down the tasks to a level that allows the Commission to assess the maturity of the project in terms of planning and preparation. You should avoid a description that is too general. The task breakdown should list the actions and each participant's responsibilities as well as the expected results, please address the following important questions: - how will you work together – internally with the partners and externally with the relevant target group? - how will the quality of the work and of the outcomes be reviewed and assured? And how will you monitor the progress in relation to each of the performance indicators? - how will you ensure the real trans-national cooperation takes place? - how will you communicate with other partners and how will you maintain good communications between the project meetings? - what exactly do you plan to communicate and disseminate? What is your message? Which format and at what level of detail? - who are the specific target groups you need to inform and communicate with? Who needs to be actively involved in your information/dissemination activities? - through which means and media do you plan to disseminate your outputs and to communicate with your target groups? What is the appropriate level: local, regional, national or European level? Is it really necessary to organise separate events or wouldn't be more effective to take advantage of existing meetings of the target groups to spread the message/product? At which stage of the project will you do that? - how do you plan to measure and address the effectiveness of your information/dissemination activities? How would you adapt your actions if do not achieve what you want?


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Please, take particular care in choosing the technologies, consumables and equipment necessary for the production of awareness-raising material. Environmentally-friendly products/technologies should be favoured. Note that all the material must bear a clear reference to the Community's financial support. Point 2.2.10: Potential risks and difficulties and possible favourable factors (please answer both) Even in the best-planned projects there are uncertainties and unexpected events can occur. A risk analysis at the start of the project will help to predict the risk that could prevent the project from delivering on time or even failing. A risk is an uncertainty of outcome of an action or event. A risk analysis addresses the question on what could possibly go wrong, what is the likelihood of it happening, how it may affect the project and what can be done about it. Point 2.2.11: Timetable for implementation (comments on table provided with the application form) Please indicate the duration of the project in months (maximum duration is 18 months – see 2007 Call for proposals – point 8). The indicative plan of action should not mention actual dates but should start with month 1, month 2 etc. Applicants are advised to foresee a security margin in the proposed plan of action. The plan of action should not contain detailed description of activities but only their titles. Please take into consideration that the final report should be written during the contract period, if the costs of its preparation are to be considered eligible. Note that the EBF grant agreement allows you to submit your final report at the latest 2 months after the end of your project duration, however no cost incurred after the contract period (= project duration) can be claimed for EBF funding. Schedule carefully, taking into account of time needed to work at international level, holiday periods and language obstacles. Points 2.2.12, 2.2.13 and 2.2.14: Profile of the people involved in the project Applicants must have the operational (technical and management) capacity to complete the action to be supported. In particular the team responsible for the action must have adequate professional qualifications and must have proven and documented experience in the field of visa policy, external borders control or immigration controls. Curriculum vitae -CV- (or job description) and particulars of involvement in actions and activities for key staff working on the project of the applicant and of the partners must be provided.

Point 2.3.1: Expected results (outputs and deliverables) of the operation (at short and medium term)

Outputs and deliverables build the basis for the performance indicators of your action (see point 2.2.2):

- outputs are essentially the services and outcomes of your tasks. Please be specific as to the scope and the level of ambition. Use quantitative descriptions where appropriate (examples of outputs: 1 common visa application centre established, 100 hours of training for public officials in charge of visa application, 5 regional ILO meetings with 10 participants each, 50 hours of training for 10 ILOs).

- deliverables are the concrete products produced (examples are training manual for external borders and/or immigration authorities, production of CD-ROM, website, software, videos, project presentations and background material, final report on the project).


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Please include information on how the project will improve:

a) the activity common visa application centres and the awareness on their existence of the in a given host country;

b) the managerial and technical capacities within common visa application centres (where applicable);

c) the exchange of information between ILOs;

d) training activities of ILOs of the same network.

Point 2.3.2 Describe how the results will be sustainable (and possible medium and long-period impacts)

Please distinguish between the following aspects of sustainability: - financial sustainability (how will the activities be financed after the EC funding ends?) - institutional sustainability (will structures allowing the activities to continue be in place at the end of the present project? Will there be local 'ownership' of project outcomes?) - sustainability at the policy level (where applicable) (what will be the structural impact of the project – e.g. will it lead to improved legislation, codes of conduct, methods?).

Point 2.3.3: Describe how, and to whom, the results will be used and disseminated

The usefulness of the expected results, the dissemination of results, lessons learned, acquired know-how should be detailed.

Applicants must clearly illustrate the adequacy of envisaged strategy and methodology proposed to ensure transferability of results and sustainability of the dissemination. Dissemination refers to the process of making the results and deliverables of the project available to the stakeholders and a wider audience. A dissemination plan should be elaborated, explaining how the project plans to share outcomes with stakeholders, relevant institutions and organizations. Specifically, the dissemination plan should illustrate what will be disseminated (key message), to whom (audience), why (purpose) how (method) and when (timing).

Although a project is by definition limited in time, the purpose is to make the results and outcomes sustainable. The dissemination strategy should therefore pay attention to the transfer of knowledge and to the processes needed for embedding and future take-up.

Point 2.3.4: Internal evaluation

Applicants must clearly explain the kind and adequacy of methods proposed and indicators chosen.

This concerns the project own internal evaluation, a systematic appraisal of the quality of the project (e.g. whether the project outcomes are useful and meet the user needs), and its effects (e.g. whether the project achieved its objectives and had an impact). The evaluation methodology should be adequate (formulation of specific evaluation questions and for each evaluation question, methods to collect data), inferred from an evaluation plan, specifying purpose, questions, design, method, measurement instruments, and the task, responsibilities and timing of the evaluation and based on indicators which are variables measuring the performance of a project and the level to which the set objectives are reached.

Point 2.3.5: External evaluation


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Please give details if the project will be externally evaluated.

Point 2.3.6: Visibility of the EC funding

Note that any communication or publication by the beneficiary about the action, including at a conference or seminar, shall indicate that the action has received funding from the Community. Any communication or publication by the beneficiary, in any form and medium, shall indicate that sole responsibility lies with the author and that the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

Please describe briefly how you intend to ensure correct visibility of the EC funding.

Point 3.6 Explain how the budget complies with the principle of good value for money

Costs must be reasonable and justified and they must accord with the principles of sound financial management, namely in accordance with the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

The principle of economy requires that the resources used for the pursuit of the activities shall be made available in due time, in appropriate quantity and quality and at the best price.

The principle of efficiency is concerned with the best relationship between resources employed and results achieved.

The principle of effectiveness is concerned with attaining the specific objectives set and achieving the intended results.

The concept of correctly matching estimated costs and expected achievements is a fundamental criterion: the beneficiary must be able to justify the resources used to attain the objectives.

III.4. GENERAL REMARKS REGARDING THE EXPENDITURE

NB: For a full understanding of the budgetary concepts of a grant application and of the eligible categories of expenditure, you are asked to consult the standard grant agreements available from the EBF website:

- http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/funding/borders/funding_borders_en.htm

- the grants section, – Title VI, of the Financial Regulation and the Implementing rules of the Financial Regulation

III.4.A. Information on the budget

As part of the application the applicant must provide a detailed forward budget of the project in euros, with information on both planned expenditure and expected income (indicating the amount of co-financing requested from the Commission, own funding and any other funding), the two totals must be balanced. In case of partnership, the detailed forward budget shall identify the expenses, the income and the EC grant received by each partner.


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To this end, it is required to use the ad hoc budget form. Financial contributions from the applicant, partners and other sources must be taken into account in the appropriate headings and must be consistent with the Partnership Declarations and/or Co-financing third parties Declarations. The overall budget must be relevant, appropriate and consistent with the objectives of the project and well distributed among partners, taking into account the respective roles. The Commission’s financial contribution cannot exceed 80% of total eligible costs. You will therefore need to secure funding from other sources to cover the balance. For co-financed projects, Community support is given only if there are other public or private sources of co-financing: partners, sponsors, fees, expenses borne for/by participants. In the latter case, they are mentioned both as an expense and as an income. Co-financing shall be proven by a written declaration of co-financing to be signed by each partner and/or third parties co-financing the project, specifying clearly the amount of financing they will bring to the project (see annexes I and II of this guide). For the applicant, the signature on the application form and the budget form constitute the commitment required in respect of its own contribution. In case projects start before the signature of the grant agreement, applicants should be able to pre-finance their project. However, after signature of the grant agreement, the Commission may make a pre-financing payment to the beneficiary. The budget form provided by the Commission in Microsoft Excel format must be correctly completed. It is important to include precise and detailed information: functions of the staff, units for the calculations (day, trip, book, pages, etc.), number of units, etc. Do not use words such as “lump sum, forfait” in unit description. Give a detailed estimation of each cost: ex. for printing or translation, specify the number of pages, the price by page, etc. For travels specify the number of trains tickets, planes tickets and the price for each, etc. Only contributions from applicant, partners and third parties can be indicated as lump sum. Community funding may under no circumstances give rise to profit. The applicant must confirm that he has not received, and undertakes he will not receive in the future, another grant for the same project from a European Institution. Double financing shall be considered as a failure of the agreement under the provisions of Article II.11.3(f) of the grant agreement. Total recovery of the grants will be carried out in the event of double financing for the same project

III.4.B. Rules concerning eligible expenditure

There are two main categories of expenditure: eligible direct costs and eligible indirect costs (overheads).

1. Eligible Direct Costs

In the context of grants, the costs considered eligible for Community funding are those that satisfy the criteria stated in Article II.14.1 of the grant agreement.


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In particular, the following direct costs are eligible under specific conditions:

- staff working directly on the project (heading A);

- travel and subsistence allowances of staff working directly on the project (heading B);

- equipment, real estate, land and immovable property (heading C);

- consumables and supplies (heading D);

- conferences and seminars (including travel and subsistence costs staff working on the project) (heading E);

- publications and dissemination of information and results of the project (heading F)

- other direct costs related to the implementation of the project (specific evaluation of the action, audits or certification of final accounts by an auditor or chartered accountant, etc.), including the costs of any financial services (especially the cost of financial guarantees) (heading G).

The percentage of European Community funding mentioned in the Grant Agreement is calculated on the total eligible costs of the operation (J = direct eligible costs (H) + Overheads (I)).

A. Staff costs

A1 General rules Direct costs for staff are eligible only for persons that have a key and direct role in the project, such as project managers and other staff operationally involved in the project, for example planning project activities, implementing (or monitoring) operational activities, delivering services to the final recipients of the project, etc. As a general rule, permanent employees (employed by the applicant and/or its partners) cannot be charged to the project for 100% of their time. Costs for other members of staff in the beneficiary public authority/organisation who only provide a supporting role for the public authorities/organisations implementing the project (such as the general manager, accountant, procurement support, human resources support, information technology support, administrative assistant, receptionist, etc.) are ineligible as direct costs and shall be covered by the overheads. Staff costs shall be detailed in the forward budget, indicating functions, number of staff and names. If the names of the persons are not yet known or cannot be disclosed, indication shall be provided of the professional and technical capacities of the persons set to implement the relevant functions/tasks within the project. The cost of staff assigned to the project, i.e. salaries and social security contributions and other statutory costs, shall be eligible, provided that this does not exceed the average rates as regards the beneficiary's usual policy on remuneration. Staff costs must be calculated on the basis of the actual daily salary/fee of the employee/service provider, multiplied by the number of days exclusively devoted to the implementation of the project. Where applicable, this figure may include all the usual contributions paid by the employer, but it must exclude any bonuses, incentive payments or profit-sharing schemes. Levies, taxes or charges (in particular, direct taxes and social security contributions on wages) arising from projects co-financed by


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the EC amount to eligible costs only where they are actually borne by the beneficiary of the grant or its partners.

Staff shall be allocated to the project on the basis of a clear and verifiable method and shall fill in timesheets showing the hour worked for the tasks related to the project.

A2 Specific rules staff cost of public authorities Staff cost of consular and other services of Member States in third countries competent in the management of flows of third-country nationals into the territory of the Member States, such as consular officers, air line officers and immigration liaison officers are considered as direct eligible costs. In addition, the costs corresponding to work carried out by civil servants (employed by the applicant and/or its partners) for tasks that are part of his/her normal routine may be considered as staff costs covered by assigned income under the following conditions:

a) tasks of these civil servants are specifically linked to implementation of the project and do not arise from the statutory responsibilities of the public authority;

b) these civil servants entrusted with implementing a project are seconded by a duly documented decision of the competent authority;

c) the value of these costs can be audited and may not exceed the costs actually borne and duly supported by accounting documents of the public authority;

d) These costs should be covered by the co-financing of the project as regards the contribution from the applicant and its partners and the total cost of these civil servants shall not exceed 50% of the total co-financing given by the applicant and/or its partners.

The amount will appear on sheet A of the budget under a specific sub-heading "costs covered by assigned revenue" and will be also included in the beneficiary / partners contributions.

Please note that according to Article 172a(2)(e) of the Implementing Rules9, administrative expenditure, staff and equipment costs, including the salary costs of personnel of national administrations to the extent that they relate to the cost of activities which the relevant public authority would not carry out if the project concerned were not undertaken may be considered as eligible.

A.3. Practical arrangements

The applicant must provide information on the appropriate form "Staff costs analysis" (Excel file) provided on the EBF website.

The applicant is advised first to fill in the "staff costs analysis" form and afterwards fills in the sheet “A / staff” of the budget file for all the staff working on the project (applicant + 9 Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 478/2007 of 23 April 2007 amending Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities, (OJ L 111 of 28.04.2007).


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partners). The applicant must ensure the consistency of the data between the 2 files: on form “staff costs analysis”, the amount in the top box “total personnel cost proposed” equals the total of the sheet A “staff costs” of the budget. When presenting the staff cost analysis, the applicant must take into account the principle defined in Article 172a2(e) IR. Calculating the number of time units in a year may vary depending on many factors. As an example, the annual number of working days could be calculated in the following way: from the total number of week in a year, i.e. 52, deduct 5 weeks of holidays and 2 weeks of bank (public) holidays, which leaves 45 working weeks. Five working days per week gives 225 working days. This calculation can vary depending on special conditions applicable to the individual beneficiaries. Please note that staff costs cannot include expenditure on translation/interpretation, which must be included in “Conferences” (heading E) or “publications” (heading F) or in “Other direct costs” heading (see letter G below).

B. Travel expenses and subsistence allowances costs (for project staff)

This section concerns costs charged for project staff (declared in sheet A "staff costs" or in sheet K "contribution in kind") and excludes costs related to conferences and seminars, which must be accounted for under the specific “Seminars and conferences” heading E below.

Only travel and subsistence costs directly linked to the project and relating to specific and clearly identifiable activities are eligible for Community funding. Any travel to places other than those where the members of the partnership are located must be shown to be relevant to the project.

Allowable travel costs under the agreement will be the real travel costs. It is required to use the cheapest means of travel, and to make every effort to use the most economical fare.

Expenses for airplane tickets within the EU should be kept to a minimum and should not exceed € 750 for the longest round trips unless duly justified explanation is provided and approved by the Commission in the budget estimate.

Expenses for car travel, where substantiated and where the price is not excessive, will be refunded as follows:

1. For private vehicles: on the basis of the declaration with a maximum corresponding to a 1st class rail fare (only the price of one ticket will be reimbursed, regardless of the number of people travelling in the same vehicle);

2. For hired cars (maximum category B or equivalent) or taxis: the actual cost where this is not excessive compared with other means of transportation.

The Daily Subsistence Allowances (DSA) for staff taking part in the action shall be calculated on the basis of daily allowances or real costs. They should be in line with the beneficiary's usual practices on travel costs. Anyway, they cannot exceed the amounts indicated in the table below.

Subsistence costs (comprising the cost of accommodation, breakfast, 2 daily meals and all other expenses such as taxis, local travel, cost of communications, including fax and internet, and all other sundries) may be co-financed by the project, provided:

1. They are reasonable in light of local prices; 2. They are calculated in accordance with the partner authority's internal rules, which

may be based on the real cost or the daily allowance.


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The subsistence costs shall not exceed:

c) The daily allowance or per diem per person set and applied by the public authority/organisation to which the person travelling belongs.

Or d) The TOTAL maximum daily allowance per person shown below

Country Daily Subsistence Allowance

Per Diem (in Euro)

Hotel ceiling (in Euro)

TOTAL maximum daily allowance

(in Euro) Belgium 92 140 232 Bulgaria 58 169 227 Czech Republic 75 155 230 Denmark 120 150 270 Germany 93 115 208 Estonia 71 110 181 Greece 82 140 222 Spain 87 125 212 France 95 150 245 Ireland 104 150 254 Italy 95 135 230 Cyprus 93 145 238 Latvia 66 145 211 Lithuania 68 115 183 Luxembourg 92 145 237 Hungary 72 150 222 Malta 90 115 205 Netherlands 93 170 263 Austria 95 130 225 Poland 72 145 217 Portugal 84 120 204 Romania 52 170 222 Slovenia 70 110 180 Slovakia 80 125 205 Finland 104 140 244 Sweden 97 160 257 United Kingdom 101 175 276

N.B. The separated amount for accommodation as indicated in the third column above (Hotel ceiling in Euro) is considered un upper limit for the price of hotel room. This amount is to be added to the Daily Subsistence Allowance per Diem when the staff has to spend a nigh in the hotel. For countries not mentioned in the above table, the maximum daily allowances are available or on the website: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/implementation/common_documents/per_diems/perdiem_07_2007.pdf If meals or others expenses are provided for, the daily allowance has to be reduced accordingly.

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/implementation/common_documents/per_diems/perdiem_07_2007.pdf

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/implementation/common_documents/per_diems/perdiem_07_2007.pdf


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The DSA will be paid for each calendar day spent on mission away from the usual place of work (more than 100 Km), provided that the corresponding assignment is a short-term nature. The DSA is to be calculated as follows according to the length of the mission:

• 6 hours or less: reimbursement of actual expenses (on production of supporting documents);

• more than 6 hours but not more than 12 hours: 0,5 DSA; • more than 12 hours but not more than 24 hours: 1 DSA; • more than 24 hours but not more than 36 hours: 1,5 DSA; • more than 36 hours but not more than 48 hours: 2 DSA; • more than 48 hours but not more than 60 hours: 2,5 DSA, and so on.

The length of a mission is calculated from the time of departure of the means of transport used to the time of its arrival on return to the place of employment. Travel must be organised so that the mission lasts as short a time as possible given the means of transport used and is as cost-effective as possible. The daily allowance is to be calculated on the basis of official published timetables, the starting and finishing times of meetings and the means of transport and type of tickets used. If the city or town(s) of departure and/or arrival has more than one station located on the direct itinerary, the duration of the mission will be determined by the most cost effective solution. For calculating mission length, 30 minutes are automatically added to the departure and arrival times for journeys by train and two hours before take-off and after landing for journeys by air.

C. Equipment and real estate

C.1. General rules equipment

Costs pertaining to the acquisition of equipment (based on depreciation of purchased assets, leasing or rental) are only eligible if they are essential to the implementation of the project. Equipment shall have the technical properties needed for the project and comply with applicable norms and standards. Because of the principle that grants may not be awarded retrospectively, items purchased prior to the action, even if they are used for the purposes of the action, cannot be considered eligible direct costs of the action. (The use of existing equipment and the beneficiary's installations is partly covered via the indirect cost). In duly substantiated exceptional cases, it is acceptable that equipment can be purchased before the action starts, but at all events after the grant application has been submitted. The choice between leasing, rental or purchase must always be based on the least expensive option. However, if leasing or renting are not possible, purchase is accepted and the costs related to depreciation, as described below, may be eligible on the basis of national depreciation rules.


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Please note that the authorised overheads (see point 2 below, under eligible indirect costs) includes the depreciation of immovable property. Rental costs of the administrative office of the beneficiary or the partners are not eligible as direct costs.

C.2. Renting and leasing equipment

Expenditure in relation to renting and leasing operations is eligible for co-financing subject to the rules established in the Member State, national legislation and practice and the duration of the rental or lease for the purpose of the project.

C.3. Purchasing equipment

Where equipment is purchased before or during the lifetime of the project, only the portion of equipment depreciation corresponding to the duration of use for the project and the rate of actual use for the project is eligible. Purchase costs of equipment shall correspond to normal market costs and the value of the items concerned is written off in accordance with the tax and accounting rules applicable to the beneficiary. The equipment purchased must be itemised in the organisation in which it is installed and bear an inventory number.

C.4 General rules real estate

Rental of real estate may be considered as direct eligible cost for activities relating to common application centres since the overall arching purpose of the activities is to set up centres common to at least two Member States, be it in an existing consulate or in other premises. Rental of real estate is eligible for co-financing where there is a clear link between the rental and the objectives of the project concerned, under the conditions set out below and without prejudice to the application of stricter national rules:

a) the real estate shall not have been purchased through a Community grant;

b) the real estate should only be used for implementation of the project. If not, only the portion of the costs corresponding to the use for the project is eligible.

c) In duly justified cases, costs linked to rental agreements signed before the start of the project could be considered as eligible costs.

In the case of rental of real estate, it shall have the technical properties needed for the project and comply with the applicable norms and standards.

Purchase, construction or renovation of real estate is not eligible except as contributions in kind.

D. Consumables, supplies and general services

The costs of consumables, supplies and general services are eligible, provided that they are identifiable and assigned to the action. Consumables and supplies are real costs strictly related to the activities of the project.


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Costs such as office supplies as well as all kinds of small administrative consumables (pens, paper, folders, ink cartridges, diskettes, computer software, etc.), supplies, hospitality costs and general services (electricity supply, telephone and postal services, Internet connection time, office cleaning, utilities, insurance, staff training, recruitment, etc.) are to be considered as indirect costs (see Overheads, below). Consumable and supplies related to conferences and seminars must not be included under this heading, they have to be accounted for under the specific “Seminars and conferences” heading (see letter F, below).

E. Conferences and seminars

All costs related to seminars and conferences must be included under this budget heading regardless of their nature (travel, subsistence, translation and interpretation costs, printing, photocopying, consumable and supplies, etc.). A detailed breakdown for such costs must be provided. Indicative prices for conferences and seminars items: - Interpretation : € 600-750/day - Hostess € 180/day - Translating one page € 45/page - “Seminar package” € 90/person/day - Travels by plane within Europe € 750 maximum (less in average) - Lunch € 35/person - Diner € 60/person - Coffee break € 10/person If meals or others expenses are provided for, the daily allowance has to be reduced accordingly.

F. Publications and dissemination

In order to be eligible for Community funding, publications must be produced by and for the use of the project. The type of publication, number of pages, number of copies, translations must be clearly indicated in order to justify the costs of editing and printing.

G. Other direct costs

Other additional costs not falling into any of the above categories may be claimed under the grant agreement, with the consent of the Commission, provided they are considered necessary for the proper performance of the work specified in this agreement. Costs charged to this heading must therefore meet the following criteria:

1. They must not be covered by any other budget heading; 2. They must be necessary for the proper performance of the work; 3. They must not involve any fundamental change in the scope and content of the work; 4. They must be eligible under the agreement; 5. They must be clearly identifiable.

Typical expenses under this heading include:


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• charges for financial services in specific contexts (charges for bank transactions, the risk

of exchange losses is excluded); • costs of services relating to eligible costs; • other costs stemming from obligations under the grant agreement (reports, translations10,

certificates, deposits, bank guarantee, etc.); • external audits or evaluation of the project, if requested by the EC. The costs of external contracting (research, technical feasibility, costs supporting the activity) are to be indicated here. Sub contracting: As a general rule beneficiaries and partners must have the capacity to carry out the work themselves. Subcontracting is a derogation to this general rule and is limited to specific cases:

- subcontracts may relate only to a limited part of the project ;

- core elements of the project can not be subcontracted;

- recourse to the award of contracts must be justified having regard to the nature of the action and what is necessary for its implementation;

- any recourse to award of contracts while the action is under way, if not provided for in the initial grant application, shall be subject to prior written authorisation by the Commission;

- even though certain services may be performed by a sub contractor, the beneficiary or its partners maintain full responsibility for carrying out the project, retains the intellectual property generated, if any, and ensure that certain of provisions of the model grant agreement are reflected in the contract with the subcontractor.

The subcontractor must be legal entity. There shall be no statutory link between the subcontractor and the beneficiary or its partners or members of their staff, situation which could lead to conflicts of interest and circumvention of the principle of non-profit. In the latter case, Commission shall be informed and give its prior approbation. When the applicant or any partners choose a sub contractor, procurement rules must be applied (see article II.9. of the grant agreement). The applicant must ensure a fair and transparent procedure and keep evidences of the procedure. The contract shall be awarded to the bid offering best value for money.

Sub grant: Where implementation of the action requires financial support to be given to third parties, the beneficiary of a Community grant may give such financial support provided that the following conditions are met:

(a) the financial support is not the primary aim of the action;

(b) the conditions for the giving of such support are strictly defined in the grant decision or agreement between the beneficiary and the Commission, with no margin for discretion; the margin of discretion may be considered to be exhausted if the grant decision or agreement also specifies:

10 Except for translations/interpretation related to conferences/seminars or to publications, which should be indicated in the specific budget heading (E).


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(1) the minimum and maximum amounts of financial support that can be paid to a third party and criteria for determining the exact amount;

(2) the different types of activity that may receive such financial support, on the basis of a fixed list.

(c) the amounts concerned are small. The maximum amount of financial support that may be paid to third parties by a beneficiary shall be EUR 100 000, with a maximum of EUR 10 000 per each third party.

2. Eligible Indirect Costs (overheads)

Unlike direct costs, indirect costs (Overheads) relate to categories of expenditure that are not identifiable as specific costs directly linked to and necessary for carrying out the action. If provision is made in Article I.4.2 of the Grant Agreement for flat rate funding in respect of indirect costs, they need not be supported by accounting documents.

Overheads include in particular the following positions: administration and management expenses, depreciation (according to the calculation methods of the national legislation of the beneficiary) of buildings and equipment, maintenance costs, telecommunication, connection costs and postage, heating, water supply, electricity or other forms of energy, office furniture, office stationary, insurance and safety costs, common office equipment such as PC's, laptops, office software.

The global amount for overheads must not exceed 7% of the total eligible direct costs. The Commission reserves its right to reduce the rate of overheads depending on the nature of the applicants and on the nature of the costs planned for the project in particular when staff costs include costs of civil servants or represent a minority share of the total costs.

Organisations receiving an operating grant from the EU budget can not include indirect costs in their forward budget.

The percentage of European Community funding mentioned in the Grant Agreement is calculated on the total eligible costs [J = direct costs (H) + Overheads (I)].

III.4.C. Contribution in Kind

Contributions in kind shall not constitute eligible costs used for the calculation of the EC grant. In the case of contributions in kind, a financial value shall be placed on the income part of the budget and the same amount will be included among the costs of the project (as ineligible cost) [K contribution in kind] and in receipts from the action [S Contribution in kind (+K)]. Contributions in kind are non cash inputs which do not constitute eligible costs, as for instance the free use of an office in premises belonging to a Member State for the benefit of ILOs belonging to a different Member State under the conditions described under Category 2, Eligible actions, point 4 of the Call for proposals. Contributions in kind will be taken into account by the Commission when assessing the "cost-efficiency" of the project.


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III.4.D. Non-eligible costs

The following costs shall not be considered eligible:

a) VAT, except where the final beneficiary can show that he is unable to recover it;

b) return on capital, debt and debt service charges, debit interest, foreign exchange commissions and exchange losses, provisions for losses or potential future liabilities, interest owed, doubtful debts, fines, financial penalties, litigation costs, and excessive or reckless expenditure;

c) entertainment costs exclusively for project staff. Reasonable hospitality costs at social events justified by the project, such as an event at the end of the project or meetings of the project steering group, are permitted;

d) costs declared by the final beneficiary and covered by another project or work programme receiving a Community grant;

e) purchase of land.

III.5. INCOME OF THE ACTION Total income must be identical to total expenditure. The budget form will indicate the grant you are seeking from the Commission (not above 80% of the total eligible costs of the project) as one of your sources of income. The applicant is reminded that the partners and third parties must guarantee co-financing in cash of the remaining 20%. Please give in your provisional budget a detailed breakdown and description of all contributions in cash. Signed declarations of commitment must be provided stating the amount of each contribution in cash as mentioned in the income table of your estimated budget. Please use the relevant Declaration form provided for in this guide.

III.6. EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF PROJECTS

III.6 A. General Principles

Proposals must comply with the following principles: • Co-financing rule: external co-financing from a source other than EU funds is

required, either from the beneficiary and/or from partners' own resources or financial resources from third parties.

• Non-profit rule: the project may not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit for the beneficiary or partners.

• Non-retroactivity rule: expenditure eligible for financing must be incurred after the starting date stipulated in the grant agreement.

• Non-cumulative rule: only one single grant may be awarded for a specific action carried out by a given beneficiary.

All applications will be evaluated and assessed by an evaluation committee set up for that purpose by the concerned department.


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The assessment of each proposal will be based on the information provided by the applicants in the proposal submitted in reply to this call for proposals. In addition, the Commission reserves the right to use any other information from public or specialist sources. All the proposals will be assessed in light of the exclusion, eligibility, selection and award criteria indicated in the Call for proposals. The exclusion, eligibility, selection and award criteria procedure consists of successive stages. Only the proposals meeting the requirements of one stage of the assessment will pass on to the next.

At the end of this evaluation, the evaluation committee draws up a list of proposals, which may be financed, in order of merit, indicating the proposed amount to be financed by Community Funds. The conclusion of the evaluation committee is proposed to the authorising officer. The evaluation committee can also decide to draw up a reserve list of projects to be co-funded in case additional funds become available for the Programme or in case applicants withdraw their (selected) project.

III.6.B. Exclusion and eligibility criteria

A proposal will be excluded if the applicant is in any of the situations mentioned under point 9.1 of the 2007 Call for proposals. If one of the partners is in such a situation, the proposal will not be excluded provided that the project will be implemented without the participation of this partner. In order to be eligible, proposals must meet all the requirements mentioned under point 9.2 of the 2007 Call for proposals.

III.6.C Selection criteria

Following Article 176 of the Implementing Rules of the Financial Regulation, applicants must have stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain his activity throughout the period during which the action is being carried out or the year for which the grant is awarded and to participate in its funding.

Financial capacity shall be verified for the applicant (only) in particular on the basis of an analysis of any of the supporting documents requested in the call for proposals. For this purpose, applicants shall provide their annual accounts for the last financial year as well as the financial capacity evaluation sheet duly filled in. Please note this is not applicable for applicants being public bodies. Applicants (together with their partners) must have the operational (technical and management) capacity to complete the action to be supported. In particular the team responsible for the action must have adequate professional qualifications and must have proven and documented experience in the field of visa policy, external borders control and immigration controls. Curriculum vitae -CV- (or job description) and particulars of involvement in actions and activities for key staff working on the project of the applicant and of the partners must be provided.


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III.6.D. Award criteria

When assessing the award criteria set out in the call for proposals, the evaluation committee generally pays attention to the following elements:

Award criteria Points of the proposal which will be taken into consideration (among others) by the evaluators

Conformity: the extent to which the proposed action falls within the priorities and objectives defined under point 2.2 of the 2007 Call for and the clarity and pertinence of the project's objectives

2.2.2 2.2.4 2.2.6

Added value included in the proposal, such as innovative approaches compared to the current practice in the Member State(s) concerned and the number of Member States involved in the project

2.2.5 2.2.7

Quality of the proposed action: the thoroughness, appropriateness and feasibility of the approach, methodology and timeframe and organisation

2.2.7 2.2.8 2.2.9

Value for money: the adequacy of the forecast budget, sources of financing other than the European Commission, appropriateness of the amount requested as to the expected results

3.6 2.3.1

The impact of the project: the sustainability of the project and/or its results after termination of the grant (where relevant); adequacy of measures proposed to ensure follow-up of project outputs; the dissemination of results, lessons learned and acquired know-how beyond the national level as well as the likelihood of transferability of positive result of actions to other Member States, locations and/or regions

2.3.2 2.3.3

Please note these elements which are indicative and non-exhaustive, are given on the basis of transparency and in order to help applicants to improve their applications.

III.6.E. Decision of the Contracting Authority

On the basis of the list of merit drawn up by the evaluation committee, the authorising officer adopts the final list and allocates the grants. All the applicants will be informed in writing of the Authority's decision concerning their application. Please note that the Commission reserves the right to award a grant lower than the amount requested by the applicant. Grants will not be awarded for an amount higher than the amount requested in the proposal.


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III.6.F Revised Budget estimated

The Commission services may invite applicants to provide a revised budget to ensure compliance with the rules on eligible costs or where the granted amount is different from the amount requested in the application. The Commission reserves the right to reduce the grant requested if the activities are acceptable but considered too expensive, and to reduce individual unit costs if they are judged to be too high. It is important to note that the EC contribution detailed in the grant agreement represents the maximum amount allocated for the grant project. It is calculated as a percentage of the total eligible cost of the project. This same percentage will be used when calculating the real grant to be paid. If the final expenditure turns out to be lower than the expenditure budgeted for, the Commission’s contribution will be calculated on the basis of the percentage indicated in the agreement. If the final expenditure turns out to be higher than the expenditure budgeted, the actual grant can not be increased, and will be limited to the maximum amount mentioned in the agreement.

III.6.G. Signature of the Grant Agreement

Once the Commission services have approved all the elements of the project (the contents of the project and the budget estimate), a Grant Agreement for the co-financing of the selected project will be issued and sent to the beneficiary (in 2 copies). The beneficiary must return both originals of this agreement, initialled, signed and dated by the person responsible. It is recommended to dispatch these documents by registered mail. The Commission services will then countersign both originals of this agreement and will return one signed and dated to the beneficiary. Please note that the signed agreement must be returned to the Commission within two weeks of receipt. If the agreement is not returned within this time limit, the Commission reserves the right to consider that the beneficiary renounces the grant. Candidates submitting a grant application to the Commission services should analyse the standard grant agreement so as to be fully aware of the conditions they are required to accept. The standard grant agreement and related documents can be obtained from DG JLS website at: http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/funding/borders/funding_borders_en.htm


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IV. GUIDELINES FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT

IV.1. OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT

IV.1.A. General remarks

The grant agreement with its Annexes is binding. This means that the beneficiary public authority/organisation, partners involved, key management staff, project location(s), budget, length and schedule of the activity, etc. can not be changed, except for exceptional reasons duly justified and with the prior written approval of the Commission services. Unauthorised changes in any of these key aspects may prompt the Commission services to cancel the grant agreement and request the reimbursement of the pre-financing payments. Emphasis must be placed on achieving the expected results and objectives rather than on the mere implementation of the activities (activities are ways of getting results). If, for any reason, a proposed activity can no longer deliver the expected results or if the results have already been achieved, the activity should not be implemented. Where a change would improve the effectiveness or the efficiency of the project, it should be proposed to the Commission services. In all cases, a motivated request must be sent to the Commission services, which have to authorise the changes before their realisation.

IV.1.B. Management style

Each public authority/organisation has its own management culture that the Commission respects as long as it is not discriminatory or otherwise contrary to the principles and values of the EBF Community Actions rules. Whatever the management system is, a high degree of transparency and accountability is expected.

IV.1.C. European added value and Community funding visibility

The EBF Community Actions can only fund projects that have an European added value. This does not only mean that projects must be implemented in partnership but also that actions must transcend national or local interests to become “European projects”. Projects should propose ways to “replicate” their successful experiences in other European countries, should disseminate and exchange information at European level about their actions (materials, conclusions, lessons learnt, etc.). They should contribute to European policy issues and, conversely, should make sure that their actions are consistent with existing EU policy, etc. The beneficiaries whose projects are selected for funding undertake to ensure adequate visibility of the operation financed by the Community. Specific reference should always be made to the fact that a project is co-financed by the European Community under the External Borders Fund – Community Actions 2007. Any communication or publication by the


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beneficiary, in any form and medium, shall indicate that sole responsibility lies with the author and that the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. During each operation the beneficiary shall do what is necessary to bring the support and financing given by the Community to the attention of the general public and the media and refer to this contribution in its internal and annual reports. Evidence of implementation of activities undertaken in compliance with this requirement will be provided in the final reports. The beneficiary shall ensure that: a. all documents, including any attendance or other certificate, concerning the project include a statement indicating that the project is co-financed by the Fund; b. the equipment and any other material co-financed by the Community display the EU logo, which should be of the same size and have the same prominence as the logo of the beneficiary; c. a permanent prominent plaque of significant size is put up on all infrastructure co-financed by the Community, stating the type and the name of the project and displaying the EU logo. The EU logo can be found at: http://publications.eu.int/code/en/en-5000200.htm. For further information concerning publicity kindly refer to the Grant Agreement, Article II.5. The obligation concerning publicity is also stated in Annex I to the Grant Agreement. Projects benefiting from a grant are expected to give adequate visibility to the European Community funding in all their actions in general and in the materials produced by the project in particular. Note that any communication or publication by the beneficiary about the action, including at a conference or seminar, shall indicate that the action has received funding from the Community. Any communication or publication by the beneficiary, in any form and medium, shall indicate that sole responsibility lies with the author and that the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

IV.2. ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT AND REPORTING TO THE COMMISSION

IV.2.A Amendments to the Grant Agreement.

The contracting public authority shall inform the Commission of any changes in its contact details necessary for good administration of the project. If a request for amendment is made by the contracting public authority, he must send it to the Commission in good time, before it is due to take effect and in all events 1 month before the closing date of the action, except in cases duly substantiated by the beneficiary and accepted by the Commission. Any amendment to the agreement must be the subject of a written supplement to the agreement concluded between the parties. No verbal agreement, content of a progress report or exchange of E-mail may bind the parties to this effect. Any request for amendment covering activities already executed can not be accepted.

http://publications.eu.int/code/en/en-5000200.htm


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Examples of cases where the grant agreement should be amended: • Change of duration of the action and/or of the agreement; • Change of the place of the action and/or of the agreement; • Addition or replacement of one or several partners to the action; • Modification of the forecast budget implying a transfer between headings involving an

increase or decrease of more than 10% of the amount entered under a heading for eligible costs;

• Change of the bank account into which the grant is to be paid; • Change of the name and/or the legal status of the contracting public authority. In addition to these examples, please refer to the grant agreement to see the conditions under which an adjustment of the forecasted budget is not subject to an amendment.

IV.2.B. Final narrative report

The final narrative report (annex 3 to grant agreement) must provide an accurate and detailed picture of the project.

IV.2.C. Examination and acceptance of the reports

For a progress and final report to be accepted and evaluated, the following formal requirements must be satisfied: • the templates provided by the Commission must be used; • the financial statement must be correctly completed according to the existing template,

and presented in a consolidated form; • these documents, duly signed and dated, should also be submitted in electronic format; • the supporting documents must be complete. The Commission will examine the progress/final narrative report and progress/final financial statements. The Commission reserves the right to suspend or reduce the second pre-financing payment or the payment of the balance, or to require refunding of the Community funds, if the form and/or content of the progress/final narrative reports and the progress/final financial statements do not conform to the rules and the grant agreement. In order to allow a correct analysis of the final financial statement, the Commission may require supporting documents, either partially or totally (invoices, staff pay slips, etc.). These supporting documents shoul be sent within 30 calendar days. It should be noted that, when the Commission requires such documents, the normal time delay of 90 days for approval of the financial statement is suspended. Such an interruption occurs also when the submitted final accounts or documents are not correct. The countdown resumes when the Commission has received the requested information. Once the progress/final narrative reports and financial statements have been approved, the Commission will issue, within an additional period of 45 days, the corresponding second pre-financing/final payment order.


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IV.3. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & INVOICING The financial management of a project co-funded by the EBF Community actions must cover the whole of the budget and costs incurred.

IV.3.A. Bank account

The account specified in the agreement and into which the grant will be paid must be: 1. in the name of the contracting public authority (personal accounts are not acceptable

under any circumstances); 2. specific to the project, (in the case of a general account, the contractor must set up an

analytical accounting system allowing both expenditure and revenue connected with the project to be identified);

3. in a country justified by the nationality of the contractor or by the place of implementation of the action;

4. structured in order to make it possible to identify funds paid by the Commission; 5. identified by the IBAN Code. Following Article 5 and 5a of the Financial Regulation, interest generated by pre-financing payments shall be deducted from the payment of the balance of the amounts due to the beneficiary. The accounting methods of the beneficiaries must make it possible to identify the funds paid by the Community and the interest or other benefits yielded by these funds. Please note this is not applicable if the beneficiary is a public body.

IV.3.B. Accounting system/internal control

The contracting public authorities must set up an analytical accounting system or an adequate internal system, which makes it possible to identify: • the sources of project funding; • project expenditure incurred within the duration of the project as defined in the Grant

Agreement. All transactions relating to actual expenditure/income under the project and incurred within the duration of the project as defined in the Grant Agreement must be recorded systematically using a numbering system specific to each European project. The contracting public authority and the partners must keep these accounting records as well as all proofs of expenditure (invoices, receipts) for at least 5 years from the date of payment of the balance or the issue of the recovery order. As far as possible, the person responsible for managing the project should not be the same as the one responsible for its financial management.

IV.3.C. VAT, customs duties and other taxes on goods and services

The contracting public authority must ascertain from the competent national authorities the provisions, rules and legislation governing taxation in their countries. VAT cannot be charged to the project unless it is a final charge, i.e. a charge that is not deductible and cannot be recovered by the contracting public authority or the partners.


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IV.3.D. Terms of payment

Payment arrangements and dates will be laid down in the agreement. However, for beneficiaries' information and to allow for the planning of their budgets, it can be indicated that for a standard project grant transfers will typically be made as follows: • A pre-financing payment within 45 days from the date of the signature of the agreement

by both parties; • Second pre-financing if the beneficiary requests it and if at least 70% of the first pre-

financing payment has been used up and progress narrative report and progress financial statement submitted and approved by the Commission;

• The payment of the balance after receipt of a formal request and approval by the

Commission of a final report and a final statement of expenditure (to be sent within 2 months of completion of the project).

If the authorising officer considers it necessary based on the financial accounts of the beneficiary, measures of financial protection (bank guarantee, smaller pre financing, etc) may be adopted. Documents to be submitted are indicated in Annex III of the standard grant agreement. When applying for the payment of either the second pre financing or payment of the balance, beneficiaries are required to submit the following documents, all of which must be signed and dated: • A narrative report on the implementation of the project (models provided in Annex III to

the Grant Agreement); • A statement of expenditure in euros (model provided in Annex III to the Grant

Agreement); • In the case of final payment, a summary of maximum two pages in English or French

explaining the objectives, the context, the target groups, and the achievements of the project (to be put on the EBF website for dissemination purposes);

• A formal request for payment.

IV.3.E Justifications and proofs to be submitted with the request for final payment

The standard form for statement of expenditure must be filled with details of all supporting documents for the declared expenditure. When examining the final statement of expenditure, the Commission may request justifying documents for the declared costs. Supporting documents that are not submitted as originals further to this request shall be marked as certified copies. Only invoices relating to the period defined in Article I.2 of the grant agreement shall be accepted. If an invoice is dated after this period, the beneficiary must prove that the contract order (for a purchase, service) was undertaken during the duration of the activity. This facility can only be used for certain supplies, translations and publications costs, whereas staff costs, travel and subsistence expenses must have occurred during the activity period. Documents submitted shall be numbered (same number as indicated in the financial report).


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1. Personnel costs

To be eligible, staff costs must respect conditions indicated in section III.5B (A). Documents to be provided: - a copy of the employment contract with the person specifically recruited for the project, indicating duties, working hours and salary; - time sheets, indicating working hours and activity/tasks performed, signed and dated by employee and employer; - a copy of salary slips of the person for the months they worked on the project (indicating the amount charged to the project) and proofs of payment through bank account. For officials/permanent staff of public authority/organisation (where applicable): - proof of the assignment of the person to the project (internal note in the case of persons employed in a permanent way within the public authority/organisation), with indication of working hours and tasks; - a copy of the contract for the person replacing the official/person assigned to the project (public authorities); - a copy of salary slips of the person assigned to the project. A proof of payment is not requested from public authorities; - proofs of payment of extra-working hours/overtime (where applicable) (payment through bank account). A proof of payment is not requested from public authorities. External personnel (consultant, interpretation, hostess, researcher): - a copy of the contract or invoice indicating task, date and hours, rates and amount to be paid; - payment through bank account).

2. Travel expenses

Documents to be provided: - a copy of the invoice of plane or rail tickets; or - a copy of flight or rail tickets, including boarding passes; - travel expenses by private car: a copy of the reimbursement claim made to the applicant public authority, and with a maximum of a first-class rail fare. The applicant is asked to indicate the equivalent rail fare for this journey; - proof of payment or of reimbursement to the participant, if the ticket was bought directly by him (payment through bank account, except if the Commission has authorised other payment forms). If travel expenses are paid by the participants - a copy of the tickets. The tickets must bear the name, the date and the price. Or a copy of the invoice; - a copy of the attendance list (signed and dated).

3. Subsistence expenses

A. Reimbursement on the basis of a fixed daily allowance:

a. For Public authorities (including universities):


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The daily allowance includes all costs (hotel, meals, and local transport) and must be within the limit of the beneficiary authority/organisation rules with a maximum of the amount indicated in the table (section III.5.B(B)). The applicant public authority may use its own system, but needs to provide the following documents: - a copy of expenses reimbursement claim from staff member (mission expenses reimbursement claim) indicating place, date and time, signed and dated by employee and employer/person authorising the expenditure; - the attendance list of the meeting organised, with signature of all participants; - proof of payment of the daily allowance (payment through bank account) may be requested. b. For other public authorities The daily allowance includes all costs (hotel, meals, local transport) and must be within the limit of the beneficiary authority/organisation rules with a maximum of the amount indicated in the table (section III.5.B.(B)). The following documents must be provided: - copy of expenses reimbursement claim from staff member (business trip expenses reimbursement claim) indicating place, date and time, signed and dated by employee and employer/person authorising the expenditure; - attendance list at the meeting organised, with signature of participants; - for contacts/visits: copy of the minutes of the meeting or business trip report; - proof of payment of the daily allowance (payment through bank account, or signature by participant of a document that he received the indicated amount, if prior agreement from the Commission); - the daily allowance cannot exceed the rates indicated in section III.5.B.(B). c. If participants/their public authorities/organisation cover the expenses themselves: - mission order from the participating authorities/organisation; - attendance list with name of the participant; Please note - in this case- the amount must appear also in the section "income".

B. Reimbursement on the basis of actual cost:

a. If the expenditure is made by the organiser of the project: - invoices (with name of the person, if hotel invoice); - invoices (with number of meals, if restaurant); - all receipts for local travel (taxi, train, bus), parking, food and sundries; - always a proof of reimbursement (payment through bank account). b. If participants/their public authorities/organisation cover the expenses themselves: - mission order from the participating public authorities/organisation; - attendance list with name of the participant; Please note - in this case- the amount must appear also in the section "income".


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4. All other expenses

Documents to be provided: - copy of invoices; - copy of proofs of payment through bank account except if Commission has authorised other payment forms. Translation: always specify target language(s) and length of the text translated (words/ lines or pages) in the invoice. Interpreters: number of interpreters, language covered, duration, rate per day/or hour. Equipment: - invoice; - application of the depreciation rate (generally 3 years for computer and technical equipment, or rate used by your country's fiscal authority, if more favourable (in this case, attach a copy of the national rule). The date of purchase determines the eligible period of depreciation.

5. Indirect eligible expenses (Overheads)

You will not need to justify the amount, but remember that the type of costs covered through overheads (general administrative costs) cannot be claimed under any other heading. Indicate the percentage agreed in the contract and apply it to the total eligible costs.

IV.4. MONITORING, AUDIT AND EVALUATION

In addition to the possible internal monitoring and evaluation activities carried by the implementing public authorities themselves and described in the project proposal, the Commission may organise external monitoring, evaluation missions or audit to the projects co-funded by the Commission under EBF Community Actions.

IV.4.A. Evaluation

As part of the evaluation of the European Refugee Fund, the Commission may proceed with evaluation of the projects. The launching of these evaluations is the responsibility of the Commission, but promoters are requested to participate in the inquiries or studies conducted.

IV.4.B. Audit

Annually, the Commission services decide to carry out audits on subventions selected by random sampling (or when an audit is considered necessary). The Commission’s accounting department carries out these audits. As in the case of the monitoring missions, audits generally involve an on-site visit to the project. Audits may take place any time within the five years following the end of the Grant Agreement. Therefore, all expenditure supporting documents should be carefully kept during this period.


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Essentially, audits aim to obtain sufficient evidence that the systems in place were adequate to ensure the regularity of expenditure and the accuracy and completeness of the financial and other information that led the Commission services to award the grant and make the subsequent payments. Furthermore, audits ensure that expenditure claimed is indeed eligible and in accordance with the financial plan. This testing usually involves documenting systems through interviews with relevant staff and reviews of documentation, together with tests of how the systems operate. The main conclusions of the audit mission, the possible weaknesses identified and the recommendations to address them are contained in the audit report. Major errors or system weaknesses are discussed with the contractor during the audit, both to alert of the need to take urgent action to correct matters and to allow discussion of the action needed.

Monitoring or auditing missions may reveal that an operation has not been carried out, or not in accordance with the grant agreement, and hence that some, at least, of the Community funds unduly paid to the beneficiary ought to be recovered. In this case, the Commission could request the total or partial reimbursement of the amounts already paid to the contractor.


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ANNEX I DECLARATION BY PARTNER PUBLIC

AUTHORITY/ORGANISATION [on letterhead paper of the public authority/organisation] (Each « partner » in the project - must fill in a copy of this declaration) 1. Title of 2007 EBF Community Actions project: 2. Name of the public authority proposing this project (coordinator): 2. Name of partner public authority/organisation (Full legal name, address, tel): 3. Role, contribution, activities of the public authority/organisation in the project (maximum 10 lines) 4. Amount of co-financing11 for the project provided by the partner: EUR ……………… I certify that the information in this proposal about the public authority/my organisation is accurate and complete. I declare I have read and accept the rules governing this call for proposals. I will grant power of attorney in the terms set out in the annex IV of the grant agreement to the applicant (co-ordinator) mentioned above, to act in my name and on my behalf in signing the possible grant agreement and its possible subsequent riders with the European Commission. I declare that I am aware and agree that in case of a successful evaluation, the Commission shall, subject to payment arrangements, pay the grant in full to the coordinator which is entitled to receive funds from the Commission and distribute the amounts corresponding to the partners' participation in the action. I declare that I am aware that, except in cases of force majeure, I shall make good any damage sustained by the Commission as a result of the execution or faulty execution of my obligations. In particular, I accept in advance on-the-spot checks and inspections by

11 This amount should be consistent with « budget estimate » heading N


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Commission departments, the European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Court of Auditors I, the undersigned, certify on my honour that: The partner public authority/organisation is not in one of the situations which would exclude it from taking part in a Community grant programme and accordingly declare that the public authority/organisation:

• is not bankrupt or being wound up, is not having its affairs administered by the courts, has not entered into an arrangement with creditors or suspended business activities, and is not in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations;

• has not been convicted of an offence concerning its professional conduct by a judgment which has the force of res judicata;

• is not guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authority can justify;

• has met its obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or taxes under the legislation of the country in which it is established or with those of the country of the contracting authority or those of the country where the contract is to the performed;

• has not been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity detrimental to the Communities' financial interests;

• is not currently subject to an administrative penalty; • has not been declared to be in serious breach of contract for failure to comply with its

contractual obligations subsequent to another procurement procedure or grant award procedure financed by the Community budget.

I have been informed that, under the Financial Regulation of 25 June 2002 as last amended by Council Regulation No 1995/2006 of 13 December 200612 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities,13 contracts may not be awarded to candidates who, during the procedure:

• are subject to a conflict of interest; • are guilty of serious 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.

Authorised signatory of the partner a public authority/organisation :

Title (Mr, Mrs, Pr, etc.)

Name and Surname

Position in the partner public authority/organisation Date :

12 Official Journal L 390, 30.12.2006, p. 1.

13 Official Journal L 248, 16.9.2002.


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Signature :


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ANNEX II DECLARATION BY OTHER CO-FINANCING

THIRD PARTIES [on letterhead paper of the public authority/organisation] 1. Title of 2007 EBF Community Actions project: 2. Name of the public authority proposing this project (co-ordinator): 2. Name of the co-financing third party public authority/organisation (Full legal name, address, tel): Link to the applicant/partner/project: 3. Amount of contribution14 for the project provided by the co-financing third party public authority/organisation: EUR ……………… Signed by the authorised signatory legally representing the co-financing third party public authority/organisation: Mr Title Date

14 This amount should be consistent with « budget estimate » heading O

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