EN Official Journal of the European Union C 428/1

DECISION OF THE BUREAU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

of 7 October 2015

amending the Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 29 March 2004 laying down the procedures for implementing Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding

(2015/C 428/01)

THE BUREAU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 224 thereof,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 (1), and in particular Article 9(1) thereof,

Having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 (2) (the ‘Financial Regulation’) and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 of 29 October 2012 (3) (the ‘Rules of Application of the Financial Regulation’),

Having regard to Rule 25(11) of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure,

Whereas:

(1) Article 209(1) of the Rules of Application of the Financial Regulation is addressed by Article II.7 of Annex 2A and Article II.7 of Annex 2B to the Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 29 March 2004 (4) (‘the Decision’).

(2) In recent years, the European Parliament has, pursuant to Article 104 of the Financial Regulation and Article 137 of the Rules of Application of the Financial Regulation, required parties and foundations to collect at least three offers for any procurement above a contract value of EUR 15 000.

(3) According to Article 209(2) of the Rules of Application of the Financial Regulation, where implementation of the action or work programme requires the award of a procurement contract with a value of more than EUR 60 000, the authorising officer responsible is allowed to require the beneficiary to abide by special rules in addition to those referred to in Article 209(1) of the Rules of Application of the Financial Regulation. Those special rules are to be based on rules contained in the Financial Regulation and to be determined with due regard for the value of the contracts concerned, the relative size of the Union contribution in relation to the total cost of the action and the risk. In addition, such special rules are to be included in the grant decision or agreement.

(4) Consequently, Article 209(2) of the Rules of Application of the Financial Regulation constitutes the relevant legal basis for the award of contracts in the framework of grant funding with a value of more than EUR 60 000 and it is therefore appropriate for it to be used as the legal basis for grants, inter alia, to political parties and foundations at European level in excess of this amount.

(5) The audit findings of the European Court of Auditors for the budget year 2014 (5) include a remark concerning non-compliance with the requirement of at least three offers above a contract value of EUR 15 000. When parties and foundations were given an opportunity to comment on this, they pointed out that it was unclear whether that requirement applied to new contracts only and whether it operated at invoice level or at supplier level. In addition, they made the point that annual tendering for some service contracts such as cleaning or maintenance would result in an unnecessary administrative burden.

(6) In the light of Article 209 of the Rules of Application of the Financial Regulation, those audit findings and those comments, the general procurement rule should be clarified, taking account, firstly, of the fact that the European political parties and foundations are limited in terms of their human resources and management capacity and, secondly, that they have specific political and ideological orientations which impact on their choice of supplier. That specific character is already recognised in Article II.2.1 of Annex 2A to the Decision, which stipulates that ‘[p]olitical affinity does in principle not constitute a reason for a conflict of interest in case of agreements concluded between the political party and organisations sharing the same political values’.

(7) In particular, for any implementation contract with a value of more than EUR 60 000 per supplier per year per distinctive service or product there should be at least three offers. Contracts should be for no more than five years. The evaluation of offers should be documented and the choice of final supplier should be supported by a sufficient statement of reasons. In certain specific market situations, it should, in duly justified cases, be possible for a contract to be awarded on a basis of a single tender. In such cases the burden of proof should rest with the party or foundation which is the beneficiary of the grant,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The Decision is amended as follows:

1. In Annex 2A, Article II.7 is replaced by the following: ‘Article II.7 – AWARD OF CONTRACTS If the Beneficiary concludes contracts for the purpose of implementing the work programme and the goods or services contracted constitute eligible expenditure under the operating budget, the Beneficiary shall be required to seek competitive tenders and to award the contract to the tenderer making the most economically advantageous bid, which shall be deemed to be the bid offering the best value for money. The Beneficiary shall observe the principles of transparency and equal treatment of tenderers and shall avoid any conflict of interests. For contracts with a value of more than EUR 60 000 per supplier, per year and per good or service, the Beneficiary shall collect at least three offers responding to a written invitation to bid detailing the requirements for the procurement. The Beneficiary shall keep a record of the evaluation of the offers and shall justify in writing its choice of the final supplier. If there are fewer than three offers responding to the written invitation to bid, the Beneficiary shall be required to prove that it was impossible to obtain more offers for the procurement in question. The duration of the contracts concerned shall not exceed five years. The Beneficiary shall bear sole liability in respect of the implementation of the work programme and compliance with the provisions of the Decision. The Beneficiary must undertake to make all the arrangements required to ensure that the contractor agrees to waive all rights vis-à-vis the European Parliament under the Decision.’

2. Article II.7 of Annex 2B is replaced by the following: ‘Article II.7 – AWARD OF CONTRACTS If the Beneficiary concludes contracts for the purpose of implementing the work programme and the goods or services contracted constitute eligible expenditure under the operating budget, the Beneficiary shall be required to seek competitive tenders and to award the contract to the tenderer making the most economically advantageous bid, which shall be deemed to be the bid offering the best value for money. The Beneficiary shall observe the principles of transparency and equal treatment of tenderers and shall avoid any conflict of interests. For contracts with a value of more than EUR 60 000 per supplier, per year and per good or service, the Beneficiary shall collect at least three offers responding to a written invitation to bid detailing the requirements for the procurement. The Beneficiary shall keep a record of the evaluation of the offers and shall justify in writing its choice of the final supplier. If there are fewer than three offers responding to the written invitation to bid, the Beneficiary shall be required to prove that it was impossible to obtain more offers for the procurement in question. The duration of the contracts concerned shall not exceed five years. The Beneficiary shall bear sole liability in respect of the implementation of the work programme and compliance with the provisions of the Decision. The Beneficiary must undertake to make all the arrangements required to ensure that the contractor agrees to waive all rights vis-à-vis the European Parliament under the Decision.’

Article 2

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2016.

(1) Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 on the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding (OJ L 297, 15.11.2003, p. 1).

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

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

(4) Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 29 March 2004 laying down of the procedures for implementing Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding, as amended by the Bureau decisions of 1 February 2006, 18 February 2008, 2 February 2011 and 13 January 2014 (OJ C 63, 4.3.2014, p. 1).

(5) Annual report of the Court of Auditors on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2014, together with the institutions’ replies (OJ C 373, 10.11.2015, p. 1).