Call for contributions (No IX-2024/01) ‘CONTRIBUTIONS TO EUROPEAN POLITICAL PARTIES’ 2023/C 230/10
Date: 2023-06-30
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: EU financing, European party, invitation to tender, party financing




C_2023230EN.01013701.xml










30.6.2023   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 230/137






Call for contributions (No IX-2024/01)
‘CONTRIBUTIONS TO EUROPEAN POLITICAL PARTIES’
(2023/C 230/10)
CONTENTS







A.

INTRODUCTION AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK
138










B.

OBJECTIVE OF THE CALL
139










C.

PURPOSE, CATEGORY AND FORM OF FUNDING
139










D.

BUDGET AVAILABLE
139










E.

ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR FUNDING APPLICATIONS
139










F.

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF FUNDING APPLICATIONS
140










F.1.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA
140










F.2.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
140










F.3.

AWARD CRITERIA AND DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDING
140










G.

SHARED CONTROL BY EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND AUTHORITY
141










H.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS
141










I.

TIMING
142










J.

DISCLOSURE AND PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA
142










K.

OTHER INFORMATION
143










ANNEX I —

FUNDING APPLICATION FORM
144










ANNEX II —

FINANCIAL IDENTIFICATION FORM
145










ANNEX III —

DECLARATION ON THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS WELL AS THE EXCLUSION CRITERIA
146










ANNEX IV —

ESTIMATED BUDGET FORM
147



A.   INTRODUCTION AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK









1.


Under Article 10(4) of the Treaty on European Union, ‘political parties at European level contribute to forming European political awareness and to expressing the will of citizens of the Union’.












2.


In accordance with Article 224 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the European Parliament and the Council lay down the regulations governing political parties at European level and in particular the rules regarding their funding. These rules are laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations (1), as subsequently amended.












3.


Pursuant to Article 17(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014, a European political party which is registered in accordance with the conditions and procedures of the regulation and represented in the European Parliament by at least one of its members, and is not in one of the situations of exclusion referred to in Article 136(1) of the Financial Regulation, may apply for funding from the general budget of the European Union, in accordance with the terms and conditions published by the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament in a call for contributions.












4.


Hence, the European Parliament is launching this call for contributions with a view to awarding contributions to European political parties (‘call’).












5.


The basic legal framework is defined in the following legal acts:






a)


Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014;










b)


Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 1 July 2019, laying down the procedures for implementing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations (2) ('Bureau Decision of 1 July 2019’);










c)


Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (3) ('Financial Regulation');










d)


Commission Delegated Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2015/2401 of 2 October 2015 on the content and functioning of the Register of European political parties and foundations (4);










e)


Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2246 of 3 December 2015 on detailed provisions for the registration number system applicable to the register of European political parties and European political foundations and information provided by standard extracts from the register (5);










f)


European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure (6).




The European Commission has presented on 25 November 2021 a proposal (7) (recast) for a regulation to replace Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 and a proposal (8) for a regulation on the transparency and targeting of political advertising. The adoption date of these acts by the Council and the European Parliament is unknown. However, the entry into force of any new regulation may require a technical corrigendum to this call.




B.   OBJECTIVE OF THE CALL









6.


The objective of this call is to invite registered European political parties to submit applications for funding from the Union budget (‘funding applications’) and to determine the nature of reimbursable expenditure in application of article 25(1) of Regulation No 1141/2014 and article 224(5) of the Financial Regulation.




C.   PURPOSE, CATEGORY AND FORM OF FUNDING









7.


The purpose of the funding is to support the European political party’s statutory activities and objectives for the financial year from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 under the terms and conditions set out in the contribution agreement to be concluded between the beneficiary European political party and the European Parliament.












8.


The category of the funding is the contribution to European political parties, pursuant to Title XI of the Financial Regulation (‘contribution’). The contribution takes the form of a reimbursement of a percentage of reimbursable expenditure actually incurred.












9.


The maximum amount paid to the beneficiary by the European Parliament shall neither exceed 90 % of the reimbursable expenditure indicated in the estimated budget nor 90 % of the reimbursable expenditure that were actually incurred.




D.   BUDGET AVAILABLE









10.


The foreseen funding for the financial year 2024 under Article 402 of the European Parliament’s budget ‘Funding of European political parties’ amounts to EUR 50 000 000 as adopted by the European Parliament in its draft estimates. The available appropriations to be distributed will be established by the budgetary authority in the final approved budget for the year 2024.




E.   ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR FUNDING APPLICATIONS









11.


Funding applications will be admissible if they






a)


are submitted in writing using the application form as annexed to this call, including all supporting documents required therein;










b)


contain the commitment, expressed in writing by signing the declaration form which is annexed to the present call, that the applicant agrees to the terms and conditions as well as to the exclusion criteria specified in Annex 1a to the Bureau Decision of 1 July 2019;










c)


contain a letter of legal representative(s) certifying the authorisation to undertake legal obligations on behalf of the applicant;










d)


are sent to the President of the European Parliament by 30 September 2023, preferably as electronic copy or as electronic original (containing qualified electronic signature9) to the following functional mailbox: fin.part.fond.pol@europarl.europa.eu. Supporting documents (especially tables) are to be submitted in editable format, preferably Excel.




Where a signature is required, it has to be either handwritten signature or qualified electronic signature (QES), the latter in compliance with the Electronic Identification and Trust Services (eIDAS) Regulation (9).
If applications are electronically submitted and where certain pieces of documentation bear handwritten signatures, the applicant shall keep and produce any original upon request of the European Parliament’s services and send those originals to the following physical address:





President of the European Parliament




Attn. Mr Didier Klethi, Director-General of Finance




ADENAUER 04T003




L-2929 Luxembourg




LUXEMBOURG




Where, pursuant to Article 4(2) of the Bureau Decision of 1 July 2019, the applicant is invited by the authorising officer by delegation to submit original supporting documents or clarifications in paper form as regards the application, the former shall use the physical address indicated under section E, point 11. Electronic documents signed with the qualified electronic signature are also accepted and shall be sent to the functional mailbox: fin.part.fond.pol@europarl.europa.eu which shall be used for any correspondence as regards the application.












12.


Applications assessed as incomplete may be rejected.




F.   CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF FUNDING APPLICATIONS

F.1.   Exclusion criteria









13.


Applicants shall be excluded from funding procedure, if they are:






a)


in one of the situations of exclusion referred to in Article 136(1) or 141(1) of the Financial Regulation;










b)


registered as excluded in the database referred to in Article 142 of the Financial Regulation;










c)


subject of any of the sanctions provided for in Article 27(1) and in Article 27(2)(a) points (v), (vi) and (vii) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014.








F.2.   Eligibility criteria









14.


In order to be eligible for Union funding, applicants must satisfy the conditions laid down in Articles 17 and 18 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014, i.e. the applicant






a)


must be registered with the Authority for European political parties and European political foundations (10) (the ‘Authority’) in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014;










b)


must be represented in the European Parliament by at least one Member of the European Parliament;










c)


must comply with the obligations listed in Article 23 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014, i.e. it must have submitted the annual financial statements (11), external audit report and the list of donors and contributors, as specified therein;










d)


must comply with the obligations listed in Article 18(2a) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014, i.e. must have submitted the evidence demonstrating that its EU member parties have, as a rule, published on their websites, in a clearly visible and user-friendly manner, the political programme and logo of the European political party for a period between 1 October 2022 and 30 September 2023.
















15.


Member parties of European political parties are encouraged to include information on gender balance on their websites.




F.3.   Award criteria and distribution of funding









16.


In accordance with Article 19 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014, the respective available appropriations shall be distributed annually. They shall be distributed among the European political parties whose applications for funding have been approved in the light of the eligibility and exclusion criteria, on the basis of the following distribution key:






a)


10 % will be distributed in equal shares among the beneficiary European political parties;










b)


90 % will be distributed among the beneficiary European political parties in proportion to their share of elected members of the European Parliament; pursuant to Article 17(3) of Regulation 1141/2014, a Member of the European Parliament shall be considered as a member of only one European political party, which shall, where relevant, be the one to which his or her national or regional political party is affiliated on the final date for the submission of funding applications.








G.   SHARED CONTROL BY EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND AUTHORITY









17.


Article 24(1) and (2) (12), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 foresee shared control between the European Parliament and the Authority.












18.


Where, pursuant to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014, the Authority is competent for controlling compliance with the provisions of that Regulation, the European Parliament will forward the funding applications to the Authority.












19.


At all stages of the award procedure, applicants continue to be required by Article 24(4) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 to provide, upon request of the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament and the Authority, any information necessary for the purpose of carrying out the controls for which they are responsible. This may include in particular documentation or clarifications additional to the funding applications, to be submitted in the format specified by the Authority.




H.   TERMS AND CONDITIONS









20.


Applicants are obliged to notify the European Parliament of any changes as regards the documents submitted or any information referred to in the application within two weeks of such a change. Failing such notification, the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament may decide on the basis of the information submitted, notwithstanding any information provided at a later stage or published through other channels.












21.


In respect to the condition that the applicant continues to fulfil the criteria for funding, the burden of proof rests with the applicant.












22.


The terms and conditions as regards Union funding to be awarded under this call are laid down in Annex 1a to the Bureau Decision of 1 July 2019 and are stipulated in the contribution agreement. In application of article 25(1) of Regulation No 1141/2014, article 160(1) and (2) and article 226(2) of the Financial Regulation, this call clarifies those terms and conditions as follows: the expenditure to be covered by the funding awarded under this call must comply with the following requirements:






a)


personnel policy:






i)


total personnel costs should be reasonably balanced compared to the operational costs;










ii)


the staffing plan is adapted to the organizational and operational needs;










iii)


the decision on recruitment and remuneration is taken by the appropriate governing bodies, according to the beneficiary’s statutes and specific internal rules, based on best practice and general principles like transparency, equal treatment, absence of conflict of interest;










iv)


the remuneration rates and other fringe benefits (if any) take into account the average rates on the relevant employment market;














b)


procurement procedures for contracts over EUR 60 000 per provider:






i)


the written invitations to bid (call for tenders) must contain inter alia exclusion criteria, selection criteria (e.g. minimum financial and technical capacity), award criteria (price and quality or only price) and technical specifications (expected deliverables, etc.) against which beneficiaries must assess offers; the call for tenders must require bidders to provide offers that are dated, signed and include prices per unit (if applicable) and other supporting documents allowing the offers to be compared against each other;










ii)


the call for tenders must be sent/published through appropriate channels, in order to ensure adequate dissemination and the broadest possible competition; they must set reasonable deadlines (ideally 10 days at least) for submission of applications/offers and avoid any conflict of interest;










iii)


the evaluation of the offers must be based on the criteria set in the call for tenders; the evaluation report must highlight the comparative advantages of the successful tender in line with those criteria; it must be signed and dated by the representative(s) of the beneficiary in the procedure avoiding any situation of conflict of interest;










iv)


the contracts must be signed and dated by both parties and contain the same terms as in the offer; the duration can include possible extensions, but is limited to a total of 5 years;










v)


artificial splitting of contracts must not be used in order to circumvent the rules on procurement;










vi)


subcontracting should be kept as low as possible and amounts invoiced by the subcontractor must remain transparent.




















23.


Each applicant shall accept the terms and conditions referred to in paragraph 22 above, by signing the declaration form which is annexed to the present call.




I.   TIMING









24.


The deadline for submitting the funding applications is 30 September 2023.












25.


The Authorising Officer of the European Parliament shall adopt a decision within three months after the closure of the call for contributions. Following that decision, individual decisions signed by the President of the European Parliament are notified to the applicants.












26.


It is expected that successful applicants will receive in January 2024 for signature the draft contribution agreement. The contribution agreement may be signed by qualified electronic signature (QES) upon request. After signature of the agreement, the payment of the pre-financing shall take place in accordance with the schedule established in article I.5. therein.




J.   DISCLOSURE AND PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA









27.


The European Parliament and the Authority shall publish, including on the internet, information pursuant to Article 32 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014.












28.


Any personal data collected in the context of the present call shall be processed in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (13) and pursuant to Article 33 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014.












29.


Such data shall be processed for the purpose of evaluating the funding applications and safeguarding the financial interests of the Union. This is without prejudice to the possible transfer of this data to the bodies responsible for carrying out verification and audit tasks in accordance with Union law, such as internal audit services of the European Parliament, the Authority, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), the European Court of Auditors, or the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).












30.


On the basis of a written request, any natural person related to the beneficiary may obtain access to his or her personal data and rectify any inaccurate or incomplete data. The request concerning the processing of his or her personal data may be submitted to the European Parliament’s Directorate-General for Finance or the European Parliament’s Data Protection Officer. The person concerned may, at any time, lodge a complaint to the European Data Protection Supervisor concerning the processing of his or her personal data.












31.


Personal data may be registered in the Early Detection and Exclusion System by the European Parliament, should the beneficiary be in one of the situations mentioned in Article 136(1) and 141 of the Financial Regulation.




K.   OTHER INFORMATION









32.


Any questions relating to this call should be sent by e-mail, quoting the publication reference, to the following functional mailbox address: fin.part.fond.pol@europarl.europa.eu












33.


The basic legislation specified in paragraph 5(b) of this call and the funding application form annexed to this call are available on the European Parliament’s internet site (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/tenders/invitations.htm).






(1)  OJ L 317, 4.11.2014, p. 1. Two amendments were published in OJ L 114 I, 4.5.2018, p. 1, and in OJ L 85 I, 27.3.2019, p. 7.

(2)  OJ C 249, 25.7.2019, p. 2.

(3)  OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1.

(4)  OJ L 333, 19.12.2015, p. 50.

(5)  OJ L 318, 4.12.2015, p. 28.

(6)  European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure of April 2023.

(7)  COM(2021) 734 final, 2021/0375(COD).

(8)  COM(2021) 731 final, 2021/0381(COD).

(9)  Regulation (EU) no 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC, OJ L 257, 28.8.2014, p. 73.

(10)  Established pursuant to Article 6 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014.

(11)  Unless the applicant was not subject to the control under Article 23 of the Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 (for example: newly created)

(12)  Article 24(1) and(2) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 - General rules on control:






‘1.


Control of compliance by European political parties and European political foundations with their obligations under this Regulation shall be exercised, in cooperation, by the Authority, by the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament and by the competent Member States.










2.


The Authority shall control compliance by European political parties and European political foundations with their obligations under this Regulation, in particular in relation to Article 3, points (a), (b), and (d) to (f) of Article 4(1), points (a) to (e) and (g) of Article 5(1), Article 9(5) and (6), and Articles 20, 21 and 22.




The Authorising Officer of the European Parliament shall control compliance by European political parties and European political foundations with the obligations relating to Union funding under this Regulation in accordance with the Financial Regulation. In carrying out such controls, the European Parliament shall take the necessary measures in the fields of the prevention of and the fight against fraud affecting the financial interests of the Union.’

(13)  OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p 39.




ANNEX I
FUNDING APPLICATION FORM
CONTRIBUTIONS (1) TO EUROPEAN POLITICAL PARTIES
FOR FINANCIAL YEAR [INSERT]
[insert applicant’s name], legally represented by [insert name of representative(s)] hereby apply for funding for the financial year 2024 under the call No IX-2024/01 for an amount of [insert amount], and certify that the following documents are provided with the application.






Document number


Documents to be supplied




1.


Letter of legal representative(s) certifying the authorisation to undertake legal obligations on behalf of the applicant




2.


List of the persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control over the applicant organisation, like the President, members of the Board, Secretary-general, Treasurer (2)





3.


Proof of registration by the Authority at the date of funding application (only for applicants for which the decision for registration is not yet publicly available, i.e. not yet published on the website of the Authority or in the Official Journal)




4.


List of its Members of the European Parliament, with an up-to-date proof of membership and setting out name, country of origin, direct or indirect affiliation to the European political party (3) and name of the relevant national or regional party (if applicable) (4)





5.


Evidence demonstrating that its EU member parties have, as a rule, published on their websites, in a clearly visible and user-friendly manner, the political programme and logo of the European political party for a period between 1 October 2022 and 30 September 2023




6.


The most recent audited financial statements prepared by a professional accountant (only in case of a new applicant who could not fulfil the conditions set by Article 23(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 1141/2014)




7.


List of the associated entities the beneficiary intends to grant financial support to for the financial year 2024, including relevant articles of their Statutes




8.


Financial identification form (only in case of a new applicant, or in case of changes of name, address or bank account)




9.


Declaration on general terms and conditions as well as exclusion criteria




10.


Estimated budget (balanced)













Date and location:


Signature(s):






(1)  The category of the funding is the contribution to European political parties, pursuant to Title XI of the Financial Regulation (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1).

(2)  With reference to relevant provisions of the statutes of the applicant, where applicable.

(3)  For MEPs that are affiliated to a European political party directly on an individual basis, a membership form from each of the MEPs claimed by the applicant has to be provided. For MEPs that are affiliated to European political party indirectly through their member party, the following documents are necessary: a membership form for each member party, signed by a person authorised legally to represent that member party or, in alternative, a proof of payment of the 2023 membership fee in the form of a bank transfer originating from each member party or, in further alternative, a membership form from each of the MEPs claimed by the applicant. Template membership forms for MEPs and member parties can be requested from the Authority.

(4)  If a European political party has recently provided part of the documentation identified above to the Authority, the EP will not request the production of that documentation again. It is however incumbent upon each applicant to set out clearly in its application for funding what documentation it provided to the Authority and when.





ANNEX II
FINANCIAL IDENTIFICATION FORM










ANNEX III
DECLARATION ON GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS WELL AS EXCLUSION CRITERIA
I/we, the undersigned, the legal representative(s) of [insert applicant’s name] certify that:






—


I/we have read and agree to the conditions laid down in the call IX-2024/01 as well as to the Terms and Conditions as stipulated in the model contribution agreement,










—


the applicant is not in one of the situations referred to in Article 136(1) and 141 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (‘Financial Regulation’) (1),










—


the applicant is not subject of any of the sanctions provided for in Article 27(1) and in points (v), (vi) and (vii) of Article 27(2)(a) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2),










—


the applicant commits to comply with the provisions of Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 of 31 July 2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia's actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine and Council Decision 2014/512/CFSP of 31 July 2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia's actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine,










—


the applicant does not to enter into contractual relationship with entities (including their subcontractors) that do not comply with the provisions specified in bullet points 2, 3 and 4,










—


the information supplied in this application and its annexes is accurate and no information has been withheld, either in full or in part, from the European Parliament.




Authorised signature(s):







Name(s) and Function(s)


Place/Date


Signature(s)






(1)  OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 317, 4.11.2014, p. 1.





ANNEX IV
ESTIMATED BUDGET FORM