6.

the following Article 16a is added: ‘Article 16a Call for expressions of interest 1. The ECB may apply a call for expressions of interest if it intends to award several contracts which cover the same or similar subject-matter. Unless specified otherwise in this Article, the procedure shall follow the restricted procedure rules. 2. For the purpose of establishing a list of suitable suppliers, the ECB shall publish a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union specifying as a minimum the subject of the contracts to be awarded, the eligibility and selection criteria and the deadline for receipt of applications to be considered for the first use of a list of suitable suppliers (hereinafter the list). 3. The list shall be valid for no more than four years from the date on which the contract notice is sent to the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. A supplier may submit an application to be included in the list at any time during the period of validity of the list, with the exception of the last three months of that period. The application shall be accompanied by the documentation specified in the contract notice. To be considered for the first use of the list, suppliers shall submit their application within the deadline specified in the contract notice. 4. Following the receipt of applications, the ECB shall verify the eligibility of candidates and evaluate the applications against the selection criteria set out in the contract notice. The ECB shall include all candidates meeting the eligibility and selection criteria in the list. The ECB shall inform the candidates at the earliest possible opportunity of their inclusion in the list or of their rejection. 5. Suppliers included in the list shall inform the ECB without undue delay of any substantial changes affecting their eligibility or capacity to perform the contract. Moreover, suppliers included in the list may provide the ECB with updated or additional documentation, if they deem it necessary. 6. If the ECB intends to award a contract the estimated value of which is below the thresholds laid down in Article 4(3), it shall invite at least three or five suppliers included in the list, if available, to submit a tender in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 29. The ECB shall invite the suppliers who best meet the selection criteria set out in the contract notice in view of the contract to be awarded. 7. If the ECB intends to award a contract the estimated value of which exceeds the thresholds laid down in Article 4(3), it shall publish a simplified contract notice in the Official Journal describing the scope of this specific contract. Interested suppliers who are not yet included in the list may submit an application to be included in the list within the deadline specified in the simplified contract notice, which shall not be less than 15 days from the date on which the simplified contract notice is sent. Following evaluation of the applications received, the ECB shall invite at least five suitable suppliers included in the list to submit a tender provided that a sufficient number of suppliers is available. The ECB shall select the suppliers who best meet the selection criteria set out in the contract notice in view of the contract to be awarded. Article 12(4) and (5) shall apply accordingly. 8. In the cases described in paragraphs 6 and 7, the ECB may request the suppliers included in the list to provide updated information and documentation relevant for the fulfillment of the eligibility and selection criteria.’;