# C_2006040EN.01001201.xml

| 17.2.2006 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 40/12 |
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17.2.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 40/12

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CALL FOR PROPOSALS — eTEN 2006/1

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

(2006/C 40/09)

1.   OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION

eTEN is the European Community Programme designed to help the deployment of telecommunication networks based services (e-services) in the common interest with a trans-European dimension. Information on the eTEN Programme can be found on the internet site of the eTEN programme:

http://europa.eu.int/eten

Pursuant to the eTEN Workprogramme 2006, the Commission hereby invites consortia to submit proposals of the following action types and covering one or more of the following themes:

Action Types:

| 1. | Initial Deployment |
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1.

Initial Deployment

| 2. | Market Validation |
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2.

Market Validation

Themes:

Proposals must address one or more of the following themes identified for 2006 in the eTEN Workprogramme

| 1. | eGovernment |
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1.

eGovernment

| 2. | eHealth |
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2.

eHealth

| 3. | eInclusion |
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3.

eInclusion

| 4. | eLearning |
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4.

eLearning

| 5. | Trust & Security |
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5.

Trust & Security

| 6. | Services supporting SMEs |
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6.

Services supporting SMEs

2.   ELIGIBILTY OF CONSORTIA

This call is open to proposals from legal entities in the 25 EU Member States, Bulgaria and Romania, and may be open to proposals from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as contracting parties to the EEA Agreement subject to timely establishment of the relevant legal base (1). Legal entities from other countries may participate on a case by case basis if such participation is considered to be of special interest. They will not receive Community funding.

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3.   EVALUATION AND SELECTION

Proposals received will be evaluated by the Commission with the assistance of independent experts. The criteria used in the evaluation are defined in the eTEN Workprogramme. Proposals that pass the evaluation will be ranked in terms of quality.

The evaluation process of applications for grants by the Commission is set out in the Financial Regulation applicable to the General Budget of the European Communities.

4.   COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Funding for selected proposals will take the following forms:

| — | Action type 1: Initial Deployment Projects — Co-financing of the eligible costs incurred by individual consortium partners up to a maximum of 30 % of the estimated total investment cost. |
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Action type 1: Initial Deployment Projects — Co-financing of the eligible costs incurred by individual consortium partners up to a maximum of 30 % of the estimated total investment cost.

| — | Action type 2: Market Validation Projects — Co-financing of the eligible costs incurred by individual consortium partners up to a maximum of 50 % of their total for consortium partners operating under the full cost model or up to a maximum of 100 % of their total for consortium partners operating under the additional cost model. This funding will be limited to a ceiling of 10 % of the estimated total investment cost. |
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Action type 2: Market Validation Projects — Co-financing of the eligible costs incurred by individual consortium partners up to a maximum of 50 % of their total for consortium partners operating under the full cost model or up to a maximum of 100 % of their total for consortium partners operating under the additional cost model. This funding will be limited to a ceiling of 10 % of the estimated total investment cost.

Further information on cost models and funding limits can be found in the eTEN Guide for Proposers 2006.

In all cases Community funding must not have the effect of creating a profit for a recipient.

5.   CALL BUDGET

The total budget for this call for proposals is EUR 45,6 million.

The initial deployment proposals deemed appropriate for funding will have priority for funding over market validation proposals up to an indicative amount of 60 % of the total call budget.

6.   DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION

Proposals shall be submitted by electronic means exclusively, using the facility made available by the Commission for this purpose.

Proposal submission must be completed before the deadline of

19 May 2006, 16:00 hours (Brussels local time).

Proposals submitted after this deadline will not be accepted for evaluation.

In the case of successive submissions of the same proposal, the Commission will examine the last version received before the deadline.

7.   TIME TABLE

The Commission aims to inform proposers of the outcome of the evaluation and selection process within five months after the deadline for submission and to finalise negotiations with the selected proposers within eight months after the deadline for submission. Execution of projects will start after the finalisation of negotiations.

8.   ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Detailed information on how to prepare and submit proposals is given in the eTEN Guide for proposers 2006. This document, along with the eTEN Workprogramme 2006 and any other information relating to this call and the evaluation process can be downloaded from the website indicated below.

http://europa.eu.int/eten

All correspondence relating to this call must cite the call identifier eTEN 2006/1.

eTEN 2006/1

All proposals received will be treated in strict confidence.

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(1)  See the eTEN web site for further information.

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