# C_2014383EN.01000501.xml

| 29.10.2014 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 383/5 |
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29.10.2014

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 383/5

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CALL FOR PROPOSALS

‘Support for information measures relating to the common agricultural policy (CAP)’ for 2015

(2014/C 383/06)

1.   INTRODUCTION — BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION — BACKGROUND

This call for proposals is based on Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 352/78, (EC) No 165/94, (EC) No 2799/98, (EC) No 814/2000, (EC) No 1290/2005 and (EC) No 485/2008 (1).

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This is a call for proposals for funding information measures within the meaning of Article 45 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 from appropriations in the 2015 budget. This call for proposals concerns information measures to be implemented (including preparation, implementation, follow-up and evaluation) between 1 May 2015 and 30 April 2016.

An information action is a self-contained and coherent set of information activities organised on the basis of a single budget.

This call for proposals is also governed by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (2) (hereinafter FR) and by the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 of 29 October 2012 on the rules of application of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (3) (hereinafter RAP).

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2.   OBJECTIVES, THEME(S) AND TARGET PUBLIC

OBJECTIVES, THEME(S) AND TARGET PUBLIC

The information measures aim, in particular, to help explain, implement and develop the CAP and to raise public awareness of its content and objectives.

2.1.   Theme

Theme

Priority theme

Priority theme

The CAP after 2013

Specific themes by audience

Specific themes by audience

For citizens, the priority themes will deal with general topics about the CAP and should focus on its three core elements: food safety, sustainable management of natural resources and the development of rural areas. The objective of these actions is to inform a large number of people about the basic issues of the new CAP.

For rural actors, actions should focus on the implementation of the measures introduced in the framework of the recent reform of the CAP and on specific issues related to policy initiatives initiated after the reform of the CAP, such as ‘organic farming’.

Some examples of proposals for the type of information tools to integrate information campaigns are presented in section 6.2.

2.2.   Target public

Target public

The target public is the general public (with particular attention to young people in urban areas) and the rural actors in particular. The impact of the measure will be evaluated according to the type of action and the type of public targeted by the action.

3.   INDICATIVE TIMETABLE

INDICATIVE TIMETABLE

| | Stages | Date and time or indicative period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| a) | Publication of the call | First half October 2014 |
| b) | Deadline for submitting applications | 5.1.2015 |
| c) | Evaluation period | 12.1.2015-31.3.2015 |
| d) | Information to applicants | First half April 2015 |
| e) | Signature of grant agreements | Second half April 2015 |
| f) | Starting date of the action | 1.5.2015 |

Stages

Date and time or indicative period

a)

Publication of the call

First half October 2014

b)

Deadline for submitting applications

5.1.2015

c)

Evaluation period

12.1.2015-31.3.2015

d)

Information to applicants

First half April 2015

e)

Signature of grant agreements

Second half April 2015

f)

Starting date of the action

1.5.2015

4.   BUDGET AVAILABLE

BUDGET AVAILABLE

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of actions is estimated at EUR 3 000 000.

This amount is subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the draft budget for 2015 after the adoption of the budget for 2015 by the budgetary authority or provided for in the system of provisional twelfths.

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

5.   ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

| — | Applications must be submitted by post (registered letter, the postmark on the envelope or the date of receipt serving as proof of the date of posting) or courier service (date of receipt by the courier service serving as proof of date of sending) no later than 5 January 2015. |
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Applications must be submitted by post (registered letter, the postmark on the envelope or the date of receipt serving as proof of the date of posting) or courier service (date of receipt by the courier service serving as proof of date of sending) no later than 5 January 2015.

| — | Applications must be submitted in writing (see section 14), using the application and budget forms available at http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/grants-for-information-measures/ |
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Applications must be submitted in writing (see section 14), using the application and budget forms available at http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/grants-for-information-measures/

| — | Applications must be drafted in one of the EU official languages. Nevertheless, in order to facilitate prompt processing of applications, applicants are encouraged to submit their application in English or French or German; if this is not possible, to include at least a translation into English of the detailed description of the proposal (Form 3). |
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Applications must be drafted in one of the EU official languages. Nevertheless, in order to facilitate prompt processing of applications, applicants are encouraged to submit their application in English or French or German; if this is not possible, to include at least a translation into English of the detailed description of the proposal (Form 3).

| — | Applicants can submit only one application for this call for proposals. |
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Applicants can submit only one application for this call for proposals.

Failure to comply with those requirements will lead to the rejection of the application.

6.   ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

6.1.   Eligible applicants

Eligible applicants

The applicant (and its affiliated entities if any) shall be a legal entity established in a EU Member State.

Entities which do not have legal personality under the applicable national law may be eligible applicants, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees for the protection of the Union's financial interests equivalent to that offered by legal persons and provide evidence that they have financial and operational capacity equivalent to that of legal persons.

Supporting documents should be provided with the application form.

Natural persons, as well as entities established for the sole purpose of the implementation of an action within this call for proposals are not eligible applicants.

Examples of eligible organisations:

| — | non-profit organisations (private or public), |
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—

non-profit organisations (private or public),

| — | public authorities (national, regional, local), |
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—

public authorities (national, regional, local),

| — | European associations, |
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—

European associations,

| — | universities, |
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—

universities,

| — | educational institutions, |
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—

educational institutions,

| — | research centres, |
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—

research centres,

| — | companies (for instance communication media companies). |
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companies (for instance communication media companies).

Legal entities having a legal or capital link with applicants, which is neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation (e.g. members of networks, federations, trade-unions), may take part in the action as affiliated entities, and may declare eligible costs as specified in section 11.2.

The legal and capital link should be neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation. This means that the link would exist independently of the award of the grant; it should exist before the call for proposals and remain valid after the end of the action.

The legal and capital link defining the affiliation encompasses three notions:

The legal and capital link defining the affiliation encompasses three notions:

| (i) | Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings.
  Entities affiliated to a beneficiary may hence be:






  — | Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the beneficiary (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the beneficiary (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control, |
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(i)

Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings.

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Entities affiliated to a beneficiary may hence be:

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Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the beneficiary (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the beneficiary (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control,

| — | Entities directly or indirectly controlling the beneficiary (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the beneficiary, |
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—

Entities directly or indirectly controlling the beneficiary (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the beneficiary,

| — | Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the beneficiary (sister companies). |
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—

Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the beneficiary (sister companies).

| (ii) | Membership, i.e. the beneficiary is legally defined as a, e.g. network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the beneficiary participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association) as the proposed affiliated entities. |
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(ii)

Membership, i.e. the beneficiary is legally defined as a, e.g. network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the beneficiary participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association) as the proposed affiliated entities.

| (iii) | The specific case of public bodies and publicly owned entities
  Publicly owned entities and public bodies (entities established as such under national, European or international law) are not always considered as affiliated entities (for example, public universities or research centres). |
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(iii)

The specific case of public bodies and publicly owned entities

Publicly owned entities and public bodies (entities established as such under national, European or international law) are not always considered as affiliated entities (for example, public universities or research centres).

The notion of affiliation in the public sphere covers:

The notion of affiliation in the public sphere covers:

| — | The different levels of the administrative structure in the case of decentralised administration (e.g. national, regional or local ministries (in the case of separate legal entities) can be considered as affiliated to the State; |
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The different levels of the administrative structure in the case of decentralised administration (e.g. national, regional or local ministries (in the case of separate legal entities) can be considered as affiliated to the State;

| — | A public body established by a public authority to serve an administrative purpose and which is supervised by the public authority. This condition is to be verified on the basis of the statutes or other acts establishing the public body. It does not necessarily entail that the public body is financed, in full or in part, from the public budget (e.g. national schools affiliated to the State). |
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A public body established by a public authority to serve an administrative purpose and which is supervised by the public authority. This condition is to be verified on the basis of the statutes or other acts establishing the public body. It does not necessarily entail that the public body is financed, in full or in part, from the public budget (e.g. national schools affiliated to the State).

The following are not entities affiliated to a beneficiary:

The following are not entities affiliated to a beneficiary:

| — | Entities that have entered into a (procurement) contract or subcontract with the beneficiary, act as concessionaires or delegatees for public services for the beneficiary, |
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Entities that have entered into a (procurement) contract or subcontract with the beneficiary, act as concessionaires or delegatees for public services for the beneficiary,

| — | Entities that receive financial support from the beneficiary, |
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—

Entities that receive financial support from the beneficiary,

| — | Entities that cooperate on a regular basis with the beneficiary on the basis of a memorandum of understanding or share some assets, |
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—

Entities that cooperate on a regular basis with the beneficiary on the basis of a memorandum of understanding or share some assets,

| — | Entities that have signed a consortium agreement under the grant agreement. |
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—

Entities that have signed a consortium agreement under the grant agreement.

If affiliated entities take part in the action, the application shall:

| — | identify such affiliated entities in the application form, |
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identify such affiliated entities in the application form,

| — | contain the written agreement of the affiliated entities, |
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contain the written agreement of the affiliated entities,

| — | provide the supporting documents allowing verification of their complying with the eligibility and non-exclusion criteria. |
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provide the supporting documents allowing verification of their complying with the eligibility and non-exclusion criteria.

In order to assess the applicants' eligibility, the following supporting documents are requested for the applicant and its affiliated entities:

| Document | Description | Observations |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Document A | a copy of the articles of association/founding act/statutes or equivalent | |
| Document B | a copy of the certificate of official registration or other official document attesting the establishment of the entity | |
| Document C
  (where relevant) | a document certifying a capital or legal link with the applicant. | For affiliated entities |

Document

Description

Observations

Document A

a copy of the articles of association/founding act/statutes or equivalent

Document B

a copy of the certificate of official registration or other official document attesting the establishment of the entity

Document C

(where relevant)

a document certifying a capital or legal link with the applicant.

For affiliated entities

Entities without legal personality should submit the documents listed above. Where the documents listed above cannot be provided, they must be substantiated by any document deemed relevant.

In addition, they must provide a document certifying that their legal representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf.

6.2.   Eligible activities under this call for proposals

Eligible activities under this call for proposals

In the context of the current call for proposals, two types of integrated public communication actions are eligible:

| 1. | At national level (actions with impact only at regional level are not eligible); |
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1.

At national level (actions with impact only at regional level are not eligible);

| 2. | At European level (with impact in several Member States). |
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2.

At European level (with impact in several Member States).

The actions should include several of the communication activities or tools listed below (the list is not exhaustive):

| — | Production and distribution of multimedia or audiovisual material, |
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—

Production and distribution of multimedia or audiovisual material,

| — | Production and distribution of printed material (publications, posters, etc.), |
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—

Production and distribution of printed material (publications, posters, etc.),

| — | Setting up internet and social network tools, |
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—

Setting up internet and social network tools,

| — | Media events, |
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Media events,

| — | Conferences, seminars, workshops and studies on CAP related issues, |
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—

Conferences, seminars, workshops and studies on CAP related issues,

| — | Events type ‘city farm’ which help to explain the importance of agriculture to the urban population, |
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Events type ‘city farm’ which help to explain the importance of agriculture to the urban population,

| — | Events type ‘open doors’ aiming to show to citizens the role of agriculture, |
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Events type ‘open doors’ aiming to show to citizens the role of agriculture,

| — | Static or mobile exhibitions or information points. |
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—

Static or mobile exhibitions or information points.

The following actions are not eligible:

| — | measures required by law, |
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measures required by law,

| — | measures receiving EU financing under another budget line, |
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—

measures receiving EU financing under another budget line,

| — | general or statutory meetings. |
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general or statutory meetings.

Implementation period:

| — | activities may not start before 1 May 2015; |
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activities may not start before 1 May 2015;

| — | activities are to be completed by 30 April 2016 at the latest. |
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activities are to be completed by 30 April 2016 at the latest.

7.   EXCLUSION CRITERIA

EXCLUSION CRITERIA

7.1.   Exclusion from participation

Exclusion from participation

Applicants will be excluded from participating in the call for proposals procedure if they are in any 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; |
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(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 or persons having powers of representation, decision making or control over them have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment of a competent authority of a Member State which has the force of res judicata; |
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(b)

they or persons having powers of representation, decision making or control over them have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment of a competent authority of a Member State which has the force of res judicata;

| (c) | they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authority can justify including by decisions of the EIB and international organisations; |
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(c)

they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authority can justify including by decisions of the EIB and international organisations;

| (d) | they are not in compliance with their 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 those of the country of the RAO (Responsible Authorising Officer) or those of the country where the grant agreement is to be performed; |
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(d)

they are not in compliance with their 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 those of the country of the RAO (Responsible Authorising Officer) or those of the country where the grant agreement is to be performed;

| (e) | they or persons having powers of representation, decision making or control over them have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation, money laundering or any other illegal activity, where such an illegal activity is detrimental to the Union's financial interests; |
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(e)

they or persons having powers of representation, decision making or control over them have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation, money laundering or any other illegal activity, where such an illegal activity is detrimental to the Union's financial interests;

| (f) | they are currently subject to an administrative penalty referred to in Article 109(1). |
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(f)

they are currently subject to an administrative penalty referred to in Article 109(1).

7.2.   Exclusion from award

Exclusion from award

Applicants will not be granted financial assistance if, in the course of the grant award procedure, they:

| (a) | are subject to a conflict of interest; |
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(a)

are subject to a conflict of interest;

| (b) | are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the Commission as a condition of participation in the grant award procedure or fail to supply this information; |
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(b)

are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the Commission as a condition of participation in the grant award procedure or fail to supply this information;

| (c) | find themselves in one of the situations of exclusion, referred to in section 7.1. |
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(c)

find themselves in one of the situations of exclusion, referred to in section 7.1.

The same exclusion criteria from participation apply to affiliated entities.

Administrative and financial penalties may be imposed on applicants, or affiliated entities where applicable, who are guilty of misrepresentation.

7.3.   Supporting documents

Supporting documents

Applicants and affiliated entities must sign a declaration on their honour certifying that they are not in one of the situations referred to in Article 106(1) and Articles 107 to 109 of the Financial Regulation, filling in the relevant form attached to the application form accompanying the call for proposals and available at: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/grants-for-information-measures/

8.   SELECTION CRITERIA

SELECTION CRITERIA

8.1.   Financial capacity

Financial capacity

Applicants must have stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain their 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. The applicants' financial capacity will be assessed on the basis of the following supporting documents to be submitted with the application:

| — | a declaration on their honour, and |
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a declaration on their honour, and

| — | the profit and loss account, the balance sheet for the last financial year for which the accounts were closed, |
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—

the profit and loss account, the balance sheet for the last financial year for which the accounts were closed,

| — | for newly created entities, the business plan might replace the above documents. |
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for newly created entities, the business plan might replace the above documents.

Entities without legal personality must provide evidence that they have financial capacity equivalent to that of legal persons.

The verification of financial capacity shall not apply to public bodies. Therefore the above mentioned documents should not be provided if the applicant is a public body.

On the basis of the documents submitted, if the AOSD (Authorising Officer by subdelegation) considers that financial capacity is not satisfactory, he may:

| — | request further information, |
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request further information,

| — | reject the application. |
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reject the application.

8.2.   Operational capacity

Operational capacity

Applicants must have the professional competencies as well as the appropriate qualifications necessary to complete the proposed action.

In this respect, applicants have to submit a declaration on their honour, and the following supporting documents:

| — | curriculum vitae or description of the profile of the people primarily responsible for managing and implementing the action, |
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—

curriculum vitae or description of the profile of the people primarily responsible for managing and implementing the action,

| — | the organisations' activity reports, |
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—

the organisations' activity reports,

| — | a list of previous projects and activities performed and connected to the policy field of the call or to the actions to be carried out. |
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—

a list of previous projects and activities performed and connected to the policy field of the call or to the actions to be carried out.

Entities without legal personality must provide evidence that they have operational capacity equivalent to that of legal persons.

9.   AWARD CRITERIA

AWARD CRITERIA

The different communication tools and activities should be interconnected, clear in their conceptual approach and the results to be achieved. They should also have a significant impact that can be measured through external and internal objectively verifiable indicators which should be set up taking into account SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-oriented) criteria. External indicators are indicators that are produced outside of the beneficiary organisation and/or the action. Internal indicators are indicators produced either by the beneficiary organisation and/or within the action.

Applications will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

| — | the relevance of the action and its expected results in relation to the themes and target public mentioned in section 2 of the call (10 points), |
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—

the relevance of the action and its expected results in relation to the themes and target public mentioned in section 2 of the call (10 points),

| — | the effectiveness, rationality and consistency of the proposed methodology and organisation (including the timetable, the programme, the involvement of a national/European network, etc.) (20 points), |
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the effectiveness, rationality and consistency of the proposed methodology and organisation (including the timetable, the programme, the involvement of a national/European network, etc.) (20 points),

| — | the relevance and quality of the means of implementation and the resources deployed in relation to the objectives envisaged (particularly in terms of cost-effectiveness) (10 points), |
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—

the relevance and quality of the means of implementation and the resources deployed in relation to the objectives envisaged (particularly in terms of cost-effectiveness) (10 points),

| — | the geographical coverage of the action(15 points), |
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—

the geographical coverage of the action(15 points),

| — | the innovative nature of the action and the communication tools used (10 points), |
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—

the innovative nature of the action and the communication tools used (10 points),

| — | the impact and dissemination of the expected results (target public, number of direct and indirect beneficiaries, expected multiplier effect) (15 points), |
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—

the impact and dissemination of the expected results (target public, number of direct and indirect beneficiaries, expected multiplier effect) (15 points),

| — | the transferability and sustainability of the expected results (10 points), |
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—

the transferability and sustainability of the expected results (10 points),

| — | the ex ante and ex post evaluation proposed and the monitoring activities foreseen in the proposal (10 points). |
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the ex ante and ex post evaluation proposed and the monitoring activities foreseen in the proposal (10 points).

ex ante

ex post

10.   LEGAL COMMITMENTS

LEGAL COMMITMENTS

In the event of a grant awarded by the Commission, a grant agreement, drawn up in euros and detailing the conditions and level of funding, will be sent to the beneficiary, as well as the procedure in view to formalise the obligations of the parties.

The two copies of the original grant agreement must be signed first by the beneficiary and returned to the Commission immediately. The Commission will sign it last.

Please note that the award of a grant does not establish an entitlement for subsequent years.

11.   FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

11.1.   General Principles

General Principles

a)   Non-cumulative award

Non-cumulative award

An action may only receive one grant from the EU budget.

In no circumstances shall the same costs be financed twice by the Union budget. To ensure this, applicants shall indicate the sources and amounts of Union funding received or applied for the same action or part of the action or for its functioning during the same financial year as well as any other funding received or applied for the same action.

b)   Non-retroactivity

Non-retroactivity

No grant may be awarded retrospectively for actions already completed.

c)   Co-financing

Co-financing

Co-financing means that the resources which are necessary to carry out the action may not be entirely provided by the EU grant.

Co-financing of the action may take the form of:

| — | the beneficiary's own resources, |
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—

the beneficiary's own resources,

| — | income generated by the action, |
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—

income generated by the action,

| — | financial contributions from third parties. |
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—

financial contributions from third parties.

d)   Balanced budget

Balanced budget

The estimated budget of the action is to be attached to the application form. It must:

| — | Be drawn up in euros. Applicants which foresee that costs will not be incurred in euros, are obliged to use the exchange rate published on the Infor-euro website available at http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/inforeuro/inforeuro_en.cfm |
| --- | --- |

—

Be drawn up in euros. Applicants which foresee that costs will not be incurred in euros, are obliged to use the exchange rate published on the Infor-euro website available at http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/inforeuro/inforeuro_en.cfm

| — | Have revenue and expenditure in balance, |
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—

Have revenue and expenditure in balance,

| — | Be drawn up using a detailed estimate of costs and the relevant explanations in the column ‘comments’; no flat-rate amounts (except for the flat-rates mentioned in section 11.2) and lump-sums will be accepted, |
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—

Be drawn up using a detailed estimate of costs and the relevant explanations in the column ‘comments’; no flat-rate amounts (except for the flat-rates mentioned in section 11.2) and lump-sums will be accepted,

| — | Respect the maximum amounts established by the Commission for certain kinds of expenditure (see the relevant documents available in http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/grants-for-information-measures/), |
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—

Respect the maximum amounts established by the Commission for certain kinds of expenditure (see the relevant documents available in http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/grants-for-information-measures/),

| — | Be presented exclusive of VAT if the applicant is subject to and entitled to deduct VAT or if the applicant is an institution under public law, |
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—

Be presented exclusive of VAT if the applicant is subject to and entitled to deduct VAT or if the applicant is an institution under public law,

| — | Enter on the income part the direct contribution from the applicant, the requested Commission funding, and (if applicable) details of any contributions from other fund providers, as well as any revenue generated by the project, including, where appropriate, the fees required of participants. |
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—

Enter on the income part the direct contribution from the applicant, the requested Commission funding, and (if applicable) details of any contributions from other fund providers, as well as any revenue generated by the project, including, where appropriate, the fees required of participants.

e)   Implementation contracts/subcontracting

Implementation contracts/subcontracting

Where the implementation of the action requires the award of procurement contracts (implementation contracts), the beneficiary must award the contract to the bid offering best value for money or the lowest price (as appropriate), avoiding conflicts of interests and retain the documentation in the event of an audit.

In the event of procurement exceeding EUR 60 000, the beneficiary must abide by special rules as referred in the grant agreement annexed to the call. Moreover the beneficiary is expected to clearly document the tendering procedure and retain the documentation in the event of an audit.

Entities acting in their capacity of contracting authorities in the meaning of Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) or contracting entities in the meaning of Directive 2004/17/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) shall abide by the applicable national public procurement rules.

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Sub-contracting, i.e. the externalisation of specific tasks or activities which form part of the action as described in the proposal must satisfy the conditions applicable to any implementation contract (as specified above) and in addition to them the following conditions:

| — | it may only cover the implementation of a limited part of the action, |
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—

it may only cover the implementation of a limited part of the action,

| — | it must be justified having regard to the nature of the action and what is necessary for its implementation, |
| --- | --- |

—

it must be justified having regard to the nature of the action and what is necessary for its implementation,

| — | it must be clearly stated in the application. |
| --- | --- |

—

it must be clearly stated in the application.

f)   Financial support to third parties

Financial support to third parties

The applications may not envisage provision of financial support to third parties.

11.2.   Funding

Funding

Funding shall take the form of a mixed financing composed of:

Funding shall take the form of a mixed financing composed of:

| — | a reimbursement of 50 % of the eligible direct costs actually incurred, |
| --- | --- |

—

a reimbursement of 50 % of the eligible direct costs actually incurred,

| — | a flat-rate contribution of 7 % of the total eligible direct costs of the action is eligible under indirect costs, representing the beneficiary's general administrative costs which can be regarded as chargeable to the action. |
| --- | --- |

—

a flat-rate contribution of 7 % of the total eligible direct costs of the action is eligible under indirect costs, representing the beneficiary's general administrative costs which can be regarded as chargeable to the action.

In the case of organisations receiving an operating grant for the period of the implementation of the information action, indirect costs are not eligible.

The same is valid for the cost of personnel already covered by an operating grant.

Grant amount

Grant amount

The grant amount (including the flat-rate for indirect costs) will be between EUR 75 000 and EUR 300 000.

The above implies that part of the information action must be supported by the beneficiary or covered by contributions other than those from the EU.

(see section 11.1(c)).

Eligible costs

Eligible costs

Eligible costs are costs actually incurred by the beneficiary of a grant which meet all the following criteria:

| — | they are incurred during the duration of the action, with the exception of costs relating to final reports, |
| --- | --- |

—

they are incurred during the duration of the action, with the exception of costs relating to final reports,

| — | they are indicated in the estimated budget of the action, |
| --- | --- |

—

they are indicated in the estimated budget of the action,

| — | they are necessary for the implementation of the action which is the subject of the grant, |
| --- | --- |

—

they are necessary for the implementation of the action which is the subject of the grant,

| — | they are identifiable and verifiable, in particular being recorded in the accounting records of the beneficiary and determined according to the applicable accounting standards of the country where the beneficiary is established and according to the usual cost accounting practices of the beneficiary, |
| --- | --- |

—

they are identifiable and verifiable, in particular being recorded in the accounting records of the beneficiary and determined according to the applicable accounting standards of the country where the beneficiary is established and according to the usual cost accounting practices of the beneficiary,

| — | they comply with the requirements of applicable tax and social legislation, |
| --- | --- |

—

they comply with the requirements of applicable tax and social legislation,

| — | they are reasonable, justified, and comply with the requirements of sound financial management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency. |
| --- | --- |

—

they are reasonable, justified, and comply with the requirements of sound financial management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency.

The beneficiary's internal accounting and auditing procedures must permit direct reconciliation of the costs and revenue declared in respect of the action with the corresponding accounting statements and supporting documents.

The same criteria apply to the affiliated entities.

Eligible direct costs

Eligible direct costs

The eligible direct costs for the action are those costs which, with due regard for the conditions of eligibility set out above, are identifiable as specific costs directly linked to the performance of the action and which can therefore be booked to it directly, such as:

| — | the costs of personnel working under an employment contract with the applicant or equivalent appointing act and assigned to the action, comprising actual salaries plus social security contributions and other statutory costs included in the remuneration, provided that these costs are in line with the applicant's usual policy on remuneration. Those costs may include additional remuneration, including payments on the basis of supplementary contracts regardless of their nature, provided that it is paid in a consistent manner whenever the same kind of work or expertise is required and independently from the source of funding used. Costs of personnel of national administrations are also eligible to the extent that they relate to the costs of activities which the relevant public authority would not carry out if the project concerned were not undertaken, |
| --- | --- |

—

the costs of personnel working under an employment contract with the applicant or equivalent appointing act and assigned to the action, comprising actual salaries plus social security contributions and other statutory costs included in the remuneration, provided that these costs are in line with the applicant's usual policy on remuneration. Those costs may include additional remuneration, including payments on the basis of supplementary contracts regardless of their nature, provided that it is paid in a consistent manner whenever the same kind of work or expertise is required and independently from the source of funding used. Costs of personnel of national administrations are also eligible to the extent that they relate to the costs of activities which the relevant public authority would not carry out if the project concerned were not undertaken,

| — | costs of travel (for meetings, including kick-off meetings where applicable, conferences etc.), provided that these costs are in line with the beneficiary's usual practice on travel, |
| --- | --- |

—

costs of travel (for meetings, including kick-off meetings where applicable, conferences etc.), provided that these costs are in line with the beneficiary's usual practice on travel,

| — | costs entailed by implementation contracts awarded by the beneficiaries for the purposes of carrying out the action, provided that the conditions laid down in the grant agreement are met, |
| --- | --- |

—

costs entailed by implementation contracts awarded by the beneficiaries for the purposes of carrying out the action, provided that the conditions laid down in the grant agreement are met,

| — | costs arising directly from requirements linked to the implementation of the action (dissemination of information, specific evaluation of the action, translations, reproduction). |
| --- | --- |

—

costs arising directly from requirements linked to the implementation of the action (dissemination of information, specific evaluation of the action, translations, reproduction).

Annex V to the draft grant agreement attached to the present call provides a list of supporting documents for eligible costs and the supporting documents required with the final report.

Eligible indirect costs (overheads)

Eligible indirect costs (overheads)

A flat-rate amount of 7 % of the total eligible direct costs of the action, is eligible under indirect costs, representing the beneficiary's general administrative costs which can be regarded as chargeable to the action.

Indirect costs may not include costs entered under another budget heading.

Ineligible costs

Ineligible costs

The following costs shall not be considered eligible:

| — | contributions in kind, |
| --- | --- |

—

contributions in kind,

| — | costs connected with the purchase of new or second-hand equipment, |
| --- | --- |

—

costs connected with the purchase of new or second-hand equipment,

| — | costs relating to the depreciation of equipment, |
| --- | --- |

—

costs relating to the depreciation of equipment,

| — | VAT, unless beneficiaries prove that they cannot recover it under the relevant national legislation. However, VAT paid by bodies governed by public law is not eligible, |
| --- | --- |

—

VAT, unless beneficiaries prove that they cannot recover it under the relevant national legislation. However, VAT paid by bodies governed by public law is not eligible,

| — | return on capital; |
| --- | --- |

—

return on capital;

| — | debt and debt-service charges, |
| --- | --- |

—

debt and debt-service charges,

| — | provision for losses or debts, |
| --- | --- |

—

provision for losses or debts,

| — | interest owed, |
| --- | --- |

—

interest owed,

| — | dubious debts, |
| --- | --- |

—

dubious debts,

| — | costs of transfers from the Commission charged by the bank to the beneficiary, |
| --- | --- |

—

costs of transfers from the Commission charged by the bank to the beneficiary,

| — | exchange losses, |
| --- | --- |

—

exchange losses,

| — | costs declared by the beneficiary and covered by another action receiving an EU grant, |
| --- | --- |

—

costs declared by the beneficiary and covered by another action receiving an EU grant,

| — | excessive or reckless expenditure. |
| --- | --- |

—

excessive or reckless expenditure.

Calculation of the final grant amount

Calculation of the final grant amount

The final amount of the grant to be awarded to the beneficiary is established after completion of the action, upon approval of the request for payment containing the following documents including relevant supporting documents where appropriate:

| — | a final technical report providing details of the implementation and results of the action with relevant supporting documents, |
| --- | --- |

—

a final technical report providing details of the implementation and results of the action with relevant supporting documents,

| — | the final financial statement of costs actually incurred with relevant supporting documents (see Annex V to the draft grant agreement attached to this call). |
| --- | --- |

—

the final financial statement of costs actually incurred with relevant supporting documents (see Annex V to the draft grant agreement attached to this call).

EU grants may not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit within the framework of the action of the beneficiary. Profit shall be defined as a surplus of the receipts over the eligible costs incurred by the beneficiary, when the request is made for payment of the balance. In this respect, where a profit is made, the Commission shall be entitled to recover the percentage of the profit corresponding to the Union contribution to the eligible costs actually incurred by the beneficiary to carry out the action.

11.3.   Reporting periods and payment arrangements

Reporting periods and payment arrangements

The following options concerning the reporting periods and payment arrangements shall apply:

Option 1 (to be confirmed before the signature of the grant agreement)

Option 1 (to be confirmed before the signature of the grant agreement)

First reporting period from the entry into force until the end of the sixth month of the implementation of the action:

First reporting period

An interim payment shall be paid to the beneficiary. It shall not exceed 40 % of the maximum amount specified in Article I.3 of the grant agreement.

Last reporting period from the seventh month of the implementation of the action to the end of the action:

Last reporting period

The balance shall be paid to the beneficiary.

Option 2 (to be confirmed before the signature of the grant agreement)

Option 2 (to be confirmed before the signature of the grant agreement)

Sole reporting period from the entry into force of the Agreement to the end of the period set out in Article I.2.2 of the grant agreement:

Sole reporting period

The balance shall be paid to the beneficiary.

12.   PUBLICITY

PUBLICITY

12.1.   By the beneficiaries

By the beneficiaries

Beneficiaries must clearly acknowledge the European Union's contribution in all publications or in conjunction with activities for which the grant is used. In addition, beneficiaries must use a disclaimer stating that the EU is not responsible for the views expressed in the publications and/or in conjunction with the activities for which the grant is used.

In this respect, beneficiaries are required to give prominence to the name and emblem of the European Union on all their publications, posters, programmes and other products realised under the co-financed action.

To do this, they must use the text and the emblem of the European Union and the disclaimer, all of them available at http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/grants-for-information-measures/

If this requirement is not fully complied with, the beneficiary's grant may be reduced in accordance with the provisions of the grant agreement.

12.2.   By the Commission

By the Commission

All information relating to grants awarded in the course of a financial year shall be published on an internet site of the European Union institutions no later than the 30 June of the year following the financial year in which the grants were awarded.

The Commission will publish the following information:

| — | name of the beneficiary, |
| --- | --- |

—

name of the beneficiary,

| — | address of the beneficiary, |
| --- | --- |

—

address of the beneficiary,

| — | subject of the grant, |
| --- | --- |

—

subject of the grant,

| — | amount awarded. |
| --- | --- |

—

amount awarded.

Upon a reasoned and duly substantiated request by the beneficiary, the publication shall be waived if such disclosure risks threatening the rights and freedoms of individuals concerned as protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union or harms the commercial interests of the beneficiaries.

13.   DATA PROTECTION

DATA PROTECTION

The reply to any call for proposals involves the recording and processing of personal data (such as name, address and CV). Such data will be processed pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (7). Unless indicated otherwise, the questions and any personal data requested are required to evaluate the application in accordance with the specifications of the call for proposals and will be processed solely for that purpose by the unit E5 of the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission. Details concerning the processing of personal data are available on the privacy statement at: http://ec.europa.eu/dataprotectionofficer/privacystatement_publicprocurement_en.pdf

7

Personal data may be registered in the Early Warning System (EWS) only or both in the EWS and Central Exclusion Database (CED) by the Accounting Officer of the Commission, should the beneficiary be in one of the situations mentioned in:

| — | the Commission Decision 2008/969/EC, Euratom of 16 December 2008 on the Early Warning System for the use of authorising officers of the Commission and the executive agencies (8) (for more information see the Privacy Statement on:
  http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entities_en.cfm),
  or |
| --- | --- |

—

the Commission Decision 2008/969/EC, Euratom of 16 December 2008 on the Early Warning System for the use of authorising officers of the Commission and the executive agencies (8) (for more information see the Privacy Statement on:

8

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entities_en.cfm),

or

| — | the Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1302/2008 of 17 December 2008 on the Central Exclusion Database (9) (for more information see the Privacy Statement on
  http://ec.europa.eu/budget/explained/management/protecting/protect_en.cfm). |
| --- | --- |

—

the Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1302/2008 of 17 December 2008 on the Central Exclusion Database (9) (for more information see the Privacy Statement on

9

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/explained/management/protecting/protect_en.cfm).

14.   PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Proposals must be submitted in accordance with the formal requirements and by the deadline set out under section 5.

No modification to the application is allowed once the deadline for submission has elapsed. However, where, due to an obvious clerical error on the part of the applicant, the applicant omits to submit evidence or to make statements, the Commission shall ask the applicant to provide the missing information or clarify supporting documents during the evaluation process. Such information or clarification shall not substantially change the proposal.

Applicants will be informed in writing about the results of the evaluation process concerning their application.

Submission on paper

Submission on paper

Application forms are available at http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/grants-for-information-measures/

Applications shall be submitted on the correct form, duly completed, dated, showing a balanced budget (revenue/expenditure), and signed by the person authorised to enter into legally binding commitments on behalf of the applicant organisation.

Where applicable, all additional information considered necessary by the applicant can be included on separate sheets.

Applications must be sent to the following address:

| European Commission |
| --- |
| Unit AGRI. E.5 |
| Call for proposals 2014/C 383/06 |
| To the attention of Head of Unit |
| L130 4/148A |
| 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel |
| BELGIQUE/BELGIË |

European Commission

Unit AGRI. E.5

Call for proposals 2014/C 383/06

To the attention of Head of Unit

L130 4/148A

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

| — | by post, date of receipt by the post indicated by the postmark, |
| --- | --- |

—

by post, date of receipt by the post indicated by the postmark,

| — | by courier service, date of receipt by the courier service indicated. |
| --- | --- |

—

by courier service, date of receipt by the courier service indicated.

Nonetheless, and in order to facilitate the treatment of applications, applicants are also requested to send an electronic copy of the application by e-mail to agri-grants-applications-only@ec.europa.eu (NOT to agri-grants@ec.europa.eu). The deadline for the submission of the electronic copy is the 5 January 2015 at 24.00.

The admissibility of applications will be evaluated on the basis of submission on paper.

Please note that submission of applications by e-mail only will not be admissible.

Contacts

Contacts

If you have any question about the call, you can send it by e-mail to agri-grants@ec.europa.eu. The deadline for the submission of questions is 15 December 2014 at 24.00.

The most relevant questions and answers will be published in: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/grants-for-information-measures/

15.   EVALUATION PROCEDURE

EVALUATION PROCEDURE

Applications having complied with the admissibility requirements will be examined in the light of the different criteria according to the following sequence:

| 1. | The evaluation committee shall first examine the applications in the light of the exclusion criteria (see section 7 of the call); |
| --- | --- |

1.

The evaluation committee shall first examine the applications in the light of the exclusion criteria (see section 7 of the call);

| 2. | The evaluation committee will then examine the applications in the light of the selection criteria (see section 8 of the call); |
| --- | --- |

2.

The evaluation committee will then examine the applications in the light of the selection criteria (see section 8 of the call);

| 3. | The evaluation committee will subsequently examine the applications having succeeded the previous phases in the light of the award criteria (see section 9 of the call); |
| --- | --- |

3.

The evaluation committee will subsequently examine the applications having succeeded the previous phases in the light of the award criteria (see section 9 of the call);

| 4. | Finally, the evaluation committee will examine the applications in the light of the eligibility criteria (see section 6 of the call). |
| --- | --- |

4.

Finally, the evaluation committee will examine the applications in the light of the eligibility criteria (see section 6 of the call).

Applications must score minimum 50 % for each of the award criterion, and minimum 60 % in total. Applications that do not reach the minimum quality thresholds will be rejected.

Following the evaluation of applications, the Commission will establish a ranked list including all applications with a qualifying score.

From the list above, the Commission will draw up a list of applications for possible funding, depending on the budget available for this call.

16.   ANNEXES

ANNEXES

| — | Application form (with the checklist of documents to be provided), available at http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/grants-for-information-measures/ |
| --- | --- |

—

Application form (with the checklist of documents to be provided), available at http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/grants-for-information-measures/

| — | Model of grant agreement, available at http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/grants-for-information-measures/ |
| --- | --- |

—

Model of grant agreement, available at http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/grants-for-information-measures/

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(1)  OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 549.

1

(2)  OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1.

2

(3)  OJ L 362, 31.12.2012, p. 1.

3

(4)  OJ L 182, 29.6.2013, p. 19.

4

(5)  OJ L 134, 30.4.2004, p. 114.

5

(6)  OJ L 134, 30.4.2004, p. 1.

6

(7)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

7

(8)  OJ L 344, 20.12.2008, p. 125.

8

(9)  OJ L 344, 20.12.2008, p. 12.

9

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