Bg комисия на европейските общности брюксел, 2008 com(2008) 158 окончателен съобщение на комисията до европейския парламент, съвета, европейския икономически и социален комитет и комитета на регионите

Grant applications are eligible if they are presented by organisations having a legal status and established in one of the 27 Member States.

Organisations established in countries other than the countries listed above are not eligible.

5.2. Types of cooperation eligible

The types of cooperation eligible include partnerships. The term partnership/partners implies full or partial active intellectual collaboration in the execution of the project. In no case will financial support alone (sponsorship) be deemed to constitute a partnership. However, any financial support accompanied by active intellectual collaboration in the execution of the project will be accepted as a partnership. In all cases, the purpose of partnership is to add value to the project.

Applicants must certify on their honour, by signing the application form, that they are not in one of the situations mentioned in Articles 93 and 94 of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002), which are listed below.

Applicants will be excluded from participating in this call for proposals if they are in one of the following situations:

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

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

c) they have committed serious professional misconduct recorded by any means that awarding authorities can justify;

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

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

f) following another procurement procedure or grant award procedure financed by the Community budget, they have been declared to be in serious breach of contract for failure to comply with their contractual obligations.

Applicants will not receive financial support if, during the grant allocation procedure:

a) they are subject to a conflict of interests;

b) they are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the European Commission as a condition of participation in the grant award procedure, or fail to supply this information.

In accordance with Articles 93 to 96 of the Financial Regulation, administrative and financial penalties may be imposed on applicants who are guilty of misrepresentation or are found to have seriously failed to meet their contractual obligations under a previous contract award procedure.

To respect these provisions, the applicant and his partners must provide evidence that they are in none of the situations listed in Articles 93 and 94 of the Financial Regulation.

The selection criteria are designed to demonstrate the applicant’s capacity to see the project through to a successful conclusion.

Applicants must provide evidence of stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain the activity throughout the period during which the project is being carried out and/or grant aided, as well as evidence of their financial participation. The applicant must also provide evidence of professional competencies, qualifications and/or experience relevant to the proposed project.

7.1. Technical capacity

Candidates must show that they have the operational (technical and management) capacity needed to complete the proposed action and provide evidence of their capacity to direct a large scale activity corresponding to the dimension of the project for which the grant is requested. Particular attention will be devoted to the capacity for integration in society in the Member States, to the mobilisation of the public and to the analysis of their contributions. The capacity to operate in a large number of Member States (ideally in all of them) would be an advantage.

Applicants must attach to the grant application a curriculum vitae for the project leader and for the personnel of their organisation who will actually do the work. They must also enclose a recent activity report .

7.2. Financial resources

In order to permit assessment of this criterion, applicants must submit with their application the following documents:

• 
  annual accounts for the last complete financial year;
  
• 
  the “financial identification” form (bank details) (Annex III), completed by the beneficiary and certified by the bank (with original signatures).
  

• 
  reject the request for a Community grant;
  
• 
  ask for further information;
  
• 
  ask for the deposit of a guarantee;
  
• 
  propose a grant agreement without a pre financing payment.
  

Where the cost of the project to be financed exceeds €300 000, the grant application must be accompanied by an external audit report produced by an approved auditor.

This report must certify the accounts for the last year available and give an assessment of the applicant’s financial viability.

8. AWARD CRITERIA

Account will also be taken of other Commission programmes such as the European Year for Intercultural Dialogue in 2008, Europe for Citizens and INTI (Integration of Third-Country Nationals).

Eligible projects will be evaluated on the basis of:

a) the consistency of the overall concept of the project with the objectives of Debate Europe, as described at point 2 of the call for proposals;

b) the quality of the work programme and the modus operandi;

c) the dynamics of networking and the establishment of pan European cooperation;

d) the capacity of the project to:

• 
  act in the largest number of Member States as possible, and ideally in all 27;
  
• 
  involve the largest number of citizens as possible;
  
• 
  ensure their diversity of origin and their representativeness;
  
• 
  provide for the use of the largest number of national languages possible;
  
• 
  generate transnational results;
  

f) the system of feedback to European political decision makers and citizens involved, as recommended by Debate Europe;

g) the mechanism for evaluation of the objectives pursued by the project.

9. PUBLICITY

Provided the successful tenderer agrees (unless the publication of information is likely to endanger the successful tenderer’s safety or harm his interests), the Commission will publish the following information in whatever form and on whatever medium it wishes, including the Internet:

• 
  the name and address of each beneficiary;
  
• 
  the subject of the grant;
  
• 
  amount awarded and rate of funding.
  

The text of the call for proposals, the annexes and, for information purposes, a copy of the standard agreement can be obtained from the Europa website at the following address:

Applications must be presented in one of the official languages of the EU.

Since the call is addressed first of all to organisations operating in several Member States, DG Communication would, however, appreciate it if grant applications (which must be made out on the 2006 form devised for the purpose) are accompanied by a version in one of the European Commission’s working languages (French, English or German).

This form can be downloaded from the above Internet address.

Applications must be:

• 
  typed; hand written applications will not be accepted;
  
• 
  duly dated, filled in and signed by the legal representative of the organisation;
  
• 
  sent in quadruplicate (the original, which must be identified as such, plus three copies).
  

Proposals must be submitted on paper:

• 
  by registered post to the following address, for which purposes the relevant date is to be the date of dispatch by post, as evidenced by the postmark or the registered delivery receipt issued by the postal services:
  

  European Commission Directorate General COMMUNICATION Unit A2 (Communication: planning and priorities) Debate EuropeOffice BERL 5/234 B 1049 Brussels Belgium

• 
  by hand delivery or courier service.

  For security reasons, applications submitted personally or conveyed by a courier service can be presented only to the Commission’s Central Mail Department (Rue de Genève 1, 1140 Evere,Belgium), and envelopes must be marked “ DG COMMUNICATION, Unit A2 (Communication: planning and priorities), BERL 05/234 – Debate Europe Project”. In the event of hand delivery, the submission date is the date of receipt. In the event of delivery by a courier service, the submission date is the date of receipt by the mail department.

  
  

No modification of the application will be authorised after the submission of the application and its annexes. However, the Commission reserves the right to request any additional information needed for it to take a final decision on the award of financial support.

Applicants will be informed in writing when their application is received.

Only applications complying with the eligibility and exclusion criteria will be considered for the possible award of a grant.

Applicants whose applications are judged to be ineligible will be notified by mail, with an explanation as to why they were judged ineligible.

Tenderers will be informed, as soon as possible, of the decision taken by

the Commission on their grant application. No information will be released until the Commission's decision on project selection has been taken.

All selected applications will be subject to technical and financial analysis. In this connection the Commission may ask the applicant organisation for supplementary information, or possibly for guarantees.

Any applicant whose application for a Community grant is not accepted will be informed in writing.

10.4. Legal framework

• 
  European commission Communication dated ….March 2008 (Comm ….): "Debate Europe-building on the experience of Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate".
  
• 
  European Commission Communication dated 13 October 2005 (COM(2005) 494 final): The Commission’s contribution to the period of reflection and beyond: Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate
  
• 
  European Commission Communication dated 03 October 2007 (COM(2007) XXX final): Communicating Europe in Partnership
  
• 
  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002 (Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities)
  
• 
  OJ L 357, 31.12.2002 (Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities)
  

Additional information can be obtained by electronic mail or by fax, either at the electronic address COMM-A2@cec.eu.int , or by fax number from ++ 32 2 295 24 69 , indicating clearly the reference of this call for proposals.

On 13 October 2005 the Commission approved its Communication to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions entitled "Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate".

This was a listening exercise to enable the European Union (EU) to act on citizens' concerns. The Commission aimed to stimulate debate and widen recognition for the added value that the EU provides.

It was to be a two way process which:

• 
  informed the public about the EU's role, with examples of its projects and achievements,
  
• 
  identified their expectations for the future in return.
  

On 2 April 2008, the Commission adopted a Communication to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions entitled "Debate Europe - Building on the Experience of Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate". It noted that the first phase of Plan D focused on the "debate and dialogue" part of the process. The next phase of Plan D will take this process one step further and focus on "D for democracy", further enabling citizens to articulate their wishes directly to decision-makers and making better use of the media in the process. This new phase has been named "Debate Europe".

In October 2005 the Commission launched a series of Europe-wide civil society projects¹⁵ for 2006, which it co-financed. In 2007, it promoted a further series of initiatives, targeting young people and women in particular.

Drawing on this experience, the Commission, through its Representations in EU Member States, will offer grants in each Member State for civil society initiatives focusing on "Debate Europe" priority issues¹⁶. These are:

• 
  Priority issue 1: involvement of citizens with political decision-makers;
  
• 
  Priority issue 2: joint action between EU institutions and bodies to promote active citizenship.
  

The Commission’s Representations will help define the content, and manage and follow up the calls. Depending on the national context, even limited funding for country-level NGOs could result in a fruitful debate on EU issues.

The Commission wishes to help fund national and regional initiatives by civil society organisations to:

• 
  solicit citizens' views on European issues which have a direct impact, locally and nationally, on their daily lives; and
  
• 
  encourage citizens to become more informed about these issues, and to discuss and debate them with local opinion-formers.
  

• 
  facilitate dialogue between citizens, national and/or local political decision-makers and opinion-formers through debates, conferences, consultations and/or other events;
  
• 
  closely involve local members of:
  

° European political parties, and those parties' foundations

• 
  collate and publish these events' conclusions to:
  

° raise local media and politicians' interest in the debate on Europe;

° increase understanding of the EU's impact on citizens' everyday life;

• 
  create networks of participatory democracy which integrate the European dimension of local/regional/national debates;
  
• 
  complement:
  

° current EU programmes with similar goals, including:

 the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue (EYID) 2008

 Europe for Citizens

 e-Participation

 Integration of Third Country Nationals (INTI).

• 
  be tailored to meet each Member State's specific needs.
  

Projects can:

• 
  take many different forms – from public debates to online fora.
  
• 
  be combined with events targeting the public
  

° exhibitions,

° fairs and festivals,

° conferences and seminars

They should:

• 
  define specific issues to be addressed around the overarching topic of debating the relevance of the EU to ordinary citizens lives;
  
• 
  be accessible to the public and provoke their interest;
  
• 
  link in with current issues:
  

° at EU level.

• 
  allow a variety of opinions to be expressed, without excluding any opinions
  
• 
  include:
  

° participation by members of the European Parliament, European Economic and Social Committee and Committee of the Regions;

• 
  use the internet to promote the project and facilitate debate.
  

As a result, projects should:

• 
  make a lasting contribution to the debate on the EU;
  
• 
  promote genuine local and national participation in debates on the EU;
  
• 
  lead to the creation of regional and local networks or strengthen existing ones with a view to continuing and deepening the involvement of citizens in the debate on Europe;
  
• 
  identify those issues at EU level of greatest local concern and how best they can be addressed on an ongoing basis.
  

To allow the Commission to assess whether proposals meet these criteria, the applicant will need to present an action plan setting out:

• 
  the issues which the project will address;
  
• 
  the project's overall concept and the tools it will use;
  
• 
  measures to attract the awareness and involvement of the:
  
• 
  media - through partnerships and press relations activities;
  
• 
  target audience
  
• 
  actions to follow up the debate including the preparation of a structured summary of citizens' concerns and describe how these will be brought to the attention of local decision-makers including Members of the European Parliament;
  
• 
  a detailed schedule which respects the deadlines in section 3.1 below.
  

Applications must be submitted by end June 2008.

Please read carefully section 12 of this call for proposals concerning the procedures for submitting applications.

3.2. Duration of projects

The project should begin before 1 September 2008.

The project must finish no later than 01 November 2009.

Applications must clearly state the project's starting and finishing dates (dd/mm/yy).

The maximum duration of projects is 14 months.

The period of eligibility of expenditure resulting from implementation of a project will begin on the day of signature of the grant contract by the last of the parties. If the nature of the project requires the project to start before the contract is signed, expenditure may be considered eligible before the signature of the contract. Under no circumstances can the eligibility period start before the date of submission of the grant application.

It is planned that applicants will be informed of the outcome of the selection procedure [deadline needs to be no later than Jul. 2008]

The lists of selected projects will be published on the following website:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/communication/grants/index_en.htm &

http:// xxxxxxxxx

Applicants whose applications have not been selected will be informed in writing.

4. FINANCING

The budget available for this call for proposal is € [to be filled by each Representation].

The grant awarded may not exceed 70% of the total eligible project costs.

Community contributions are meant to facilitate the implementation of a project which could not otherwise be implemented easily without the support of the European Union. They are based on the co financing principle.

Consequently, a minimum of 30% of the total estimated eligible and final expenditure of the project must come from sources other than the European Union budget. Applicants must include evidence that co financing is available (secured) for the remainder of the total cost of the project.

Indicatively, the amount of the grant from the EU will be between 50 000 and 100 000 EUR per project.

The European Commission reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available.

The amount allocated by the Commission may not in any circumstances exceed the amount requested. Moreover, the Commission reserves the right to award a grant lower than the amount requested by the applicant.

An organisation is not entitled to receive more than one grant from the Commission for the action covered by the selected project.

After approval by the Commission, a “grant contract”, a draft of which is reproduced at Annex VI, expressed in euros and specifying the conditions and the financing level, will be concluded between the Commission and the beneficiary. The originals of the finance contract must be signed and returned to the Commission immediately for signature. The Commission will be the last party to sign.

The payment methods are detailed in the draft contract (Article I.4), with a list of eligible and ineligible costs (Article II.14 of the general conditions and Article I.3 of the special conditions of the grant contract).