Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

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| 4.2.2016 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 41/20 |

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2016 CALL FOR PROPOSALS

MULTI PROGRAMMES

Grants to Information provision and promotion measures concerning agricultural products implemented in the internal market and in third countries in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014

(2016/C 41/04)

1.   BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THIS CALL

1.1.   Information provision and promotion measures concerning agricultural products

On 22 October 2014, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014[(1)](#ntr1-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0001) on information provision and promotion measures concerning agricultural products implemented in the internal market and in third countries and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 3/2008. This Regulation is supplemented by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/1829[(2)](#ntr2-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0002) and the rules for its application are laid down in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1831[(3)](#ntr3-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0003).

The general objective of the information provision and promotion measures is to enhance the competitiveness of the Union agricultural sector.

The specific objectives of the information provision and promotion measures are to:

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| (a) | increase awareness of the merits of Union agricultural products and of the high standards applicable to the production methods in the Union; |

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| (b) | increase the competitiveness and consumption of Union agricultural products and certain food products and to raise their profile both inside and outside the Union; |

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| (c) | increase the awareness and recognition of Union quality schemes; |

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| (d) | increase the market share of Union agricultural products and certain food products, specifically focusing on those markets in third countries that have the highest growth potential; |

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| (e) | restore normal market conditions in the event of serious market disturbance, loss of consumer confidence or other specific problems. |

1.2.   The Commission's Annual work programme for 2016

The Commission's annual work programme for 2016, adopted on 13 October 2015, sets out the details for the award of co-financing and the priorities for actions for proposals for simple and multi programmes in the internal market and in third countries. It is available at the following address:

http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/promotion/annual-work-programmes/2016/index\_en.htm

1.3.   Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency

The Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (hereafter Chafea) is entrusted by the European Commission with the management of some of the phases of the programme implementation, including the publication of calls for proposals, reception and evaluation of proposals, the preparation and signature of grant agreements for multi programmes and the monitoring of their implementation.

1.4.   The present call for proposals

The present call for proposals relates to the implementation of multi programmes, in the framework of Section 1.2.1.3 of Annex I to the 2016 Annual Work Programme related to Actions under thematic priority 3: multi programmes in the internal market or in third countries.

2.   OBJECTIVE(S) — THEME(S) — PRIORITIES

Section 1.2.1.3 of Annex I to the 2016 Annual Work programme sets out the thematic priority for actions to be implemented through the present call.

One single priority for proposals of multi programmes is announced with the present call document: multi programmes in the internal market or in third countries.

Within this priority, a multi programme can target either the internal market or third countries.

When implementing programmes in third countries, the objective is to enhance the competitiveness and consumption of Union agrifood products, raise their profile and increase their market share in these targeted countries.

When implementing programmes on the internal market, the objectives are to increase the awareness and recognition of the specific Union quality schemes and to highlight the specific features of agricultural production methods in the Union, particularly in terms of food safety, traceability, authenticity, labelling, nutritional and health aspects, animal welfare, respect for the environment and sustainability, and the characteristics of agricultural and food products, particularly in terms of their quality, taste, diversity or traditions. The expected results are to increase the levels of recognition of the logo associated with those Union quality schemes by the European consumers and to increase the competitiveness and consumption of Union agricultural and food products and their market shares in the internal market.

Only proposals which directly correspond to the priority and the above description will be considered for funding.

3.   TIMETABLE

The deadline for submission of proposals is 28 April 2016, 17:00 (Brussels, local time). The planned dates for informing applicants on the results of the evaluation and target date for the signature of the ensuing grant agreements have been set as follows:

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|  | Stages | Date and time or indicative period |
| (a) | Publication of the call | 4.2.2016 |
| (b) | Deadline for submitting applications | 28.4.2016 |
| (c) | Evaluation period | 29.4-31.8.2016 |
| (d) | Information to applicants | < 23.9.2016 |
| (e) | Signature of the grant agreement | < 23.12.2016 |
| (f) | Starting date of the action | > 1.1.2017 |

4.   BUDGET AVAILABLE

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of multi programmes is estimated at EUR 14 300 000.

This amount is subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general budget of the EU for 2016 following its adoption by the budgetary authority or provided for in the provisional twelfths.

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

5.   ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Applications must be sent no later than the submission deadline referred to in section 3.

Applications must be submitted online by the coordinator via the participant portal (electronic submission system available at: https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/agrip/index.html

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

Even though proposals may be submitted in any of the official languages of the European Union, applicants are encouraged to submit their proposal in English to facilitate processing of the application including its review by independent experts who provide technical input to the evaluation. In addition, applicants should be aware that CHAFEA will, in principle, use English to communicate with beneficiaries regarding the follow up and the monitoring of the co-financed actions (grant management stage).

To facilitate the review of the proposals by independent experts an English translation of the technical part (part B) should preferably accompany the proposal if it is written in another EU official language.

6.   ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

6.1.   Eligible applicants

Proposals can only be submitted by legal persons; entities which do not have a legal personality under the applicable national law may submit an application provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on behalf of the entity and offer guarantees for the protection of the Union's financial Interests equivalent to those offered by legal persons as referred to in Article 131(2) of the Regulation (Euratom, EU) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council[(4)](#ntr4-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0004) (‘Financial Regulation’).

Applicants shall be:

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| (a) | Organisations as referred to in Article 7(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014; |

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| (b) | Representative of the sector or product concerned as defined in Article 1 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/1829. |

Proposals can be submitted by:

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| (a) | At least two organisations referred to in points (a), (c) or (d) of Article 7(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014, which shall be from at least two Member States; or |

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| (b) | One or more Union organisations referred to in point (b) of Article 7(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014. |

Only applications from entities established in EU Member States are eligible.

Non-eligible entities: applicants who already receive Union financing for the same information provision and promotion measures shall not be eligible for Union financing for those measures under Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014.

In order to assess the applicants' eligibility, the following supporting documents are requested:

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| — | private entity: extract from the official journal, copy of articles of association, extract of trade or association register, certificate of liability to VAT (if, as in certain countries, the trade register number and VAT number are identical, only one of these documents is required), |

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| — | public entity: copy of the resolution or decision establishing the public company, or other official document establishing the public-law entity, |

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| — | entities without legal personality: documents providing evidence that their representative(s) have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, |

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| — | documentation proving that the applicant meets the representativeness criteria set by Article 1 of the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/1829. |

6.2.   Eligible activities

The proposals shall comply with the following criteria of eligibility:

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| (a) | proposals can only cover products and schemes listed in Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014; |

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| (b) | proposals shall comply with Union law governing the products concerned and their marketing; |

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| (c) | proposals in the internal market covering one or more schemes as referred to in Article 5(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014, shall focus on the(se) scheme(s) in its main Union message. When in this programme, one or several products illustrate(s) the(se) scheme(s), it/they shall appear as a secondary message in relation to the main Union message; |

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| (d) | if a message conveyed by a multi programme concerns information on the impact on health, this message shall:   |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | in the internal market, comply with the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council[(5)](#ntr5-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0005), or be accepted by the national authority responsible for public health in the Member State where the operations are carried out, |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | in third countries, be accepted by the national authority responsible for public health in the country where the operations are carried out. | |

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| (e) | if the proposal proposes to mention origin or brands, it shall comply with the rules as referred to in Chapter II of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1831. |

Types of eligible activities

Promotion and information provision actions may notably consist of the following activities, eligible under this call:

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| 1. | Management of project |

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| 2. | Strategy   |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Communication strategy definition |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Definition of campaign's visual identity | |

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| 3. | Public relations   |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | PR activities |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Press events | |

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| 4. | Website, social media   |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Website setup, updating, maintenance |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Social media (accounts setup, regular posting) |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Other (mobile apps, e-learning platforms, webinars, etc.) | |

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| 5. | Advertising   |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Print |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | TV |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Radio |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Online |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Outdoor |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Cinema | |

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| 6. | Communication tools   |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Publications, media kits, promotional merchandise |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Promotional videos | |

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| 7. | Events   |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Stands at trade fairs |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Seminars, workshops, B2B meetings, trainings for trade/cooks, activities in schools |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Restaurant weeks |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Sponsorship of events |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Study trips to Europe | |

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| 8. | Point-of-sale (POS) promotion   |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Tasting days |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | — | Other: promotion in retailers' publications, POS advertising | |

Implementation period

The co-financed action (information provision/promotion programmes) shall be implemented over a period of at least one but not more than 3 years.

Proposals should specify the duration of the action.

7.   EXCLUSION CRITERIA

7.1.   Exclusion from participation

Applicants will be excluded from participating in the call for proposals procedure if they are in any of the exclusion situations described in article 106 of the Financial Regulation and its Rules of Application[(6)](#ntr6-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0006):

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| (a) | the economic operator is bankrupt, subject to insolvency or winding-up procedures, where its assets are being administered by a liquidator or by a court, where it is in an arrangement with creditors, where its business activities are suspended, or where it is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for under national laws or regulations; |

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| (b) | it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the economic operator is in breach of its obligations relating to the payment of taxes or social security contributions in accordance with the law of the country in which it is established, with those of the country in which the contracting authority is located or those of the country of the performance of the contract; |

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| (c) | it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the economic operator is guilty of grave professional misconduct by having violated applicable laws or regulations or ethical standards of the profession to which the economic operator belongs, or by having engaged in any wrongful conduct which has an impact on its professional credibility where such conduct denotes wrongful intent or gross negligence, including, in particular, any of the following:   |  |  | | --- | --- | | (i) | fraudulently or negligently misrepresenting information required for the verification of the absence of grounds for exclusion or the fulfilment of selection criteria or in the performance of a contract; |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (ii) | entering into agreement with other economic operators with the aim of distorting competition; |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (iii) | violating intellectual property rights; |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (iv) | attempting to influence the decision-making process of the contracting authority during the procurement procedure; |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (v) | attempting to obtain confidential information that may confer upon it undue advantages in the procurement procedure; | |

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| (d) | it has been established by a final judgment that the economic operator is guilty of any of the following:   |  |  | | --- | --- | | (i) | fraud, within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 July 1995[(7)](#ntr7-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0007); |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (ii) | corruption, as defined in Article 3 of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of Member States of the European Union, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 May 1997[(8)](#ntr8-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0008), and in Article 2(1) of Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA[(9)](#ntr9-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0009), as well as corruption as defined in the law of the country where the contracting authority is located, the country in which the economic operator is established or the country of the performance of the contract; |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (iii) | participation in a criminal organisation, as defined in Article 2 of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA[(10)](#ntr10-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0010); |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (iv) | money laundering or terrorist financing, as defined in Article 1 of Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council[(11)](#ntr11-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0011); |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (v) | terrorist-related offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, as defined in Articles 1 and 3 of Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA[(12)](#ntr12-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0012) respectively, or inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to commit such offences, as referred to in Article 4 of that Decision; |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (vi) | child labour or other forms of trafficking in human beings as defined in Article 2 of Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council[(13)](#ntr13-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0013); | |

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| (e) | the economic operator has shown significant deficiencies in complying with main obligations in the performance of a contract financed by the budget, which has led to its early termination or to the application of liquidated damages or other contractual penalties, or which has been discovered following checks, audits or investigations by an authorising officer, OLAF or the Court of Auditors; |

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| (f) | it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative decision that the economic operator has committed an irregularity within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95[(14)](#ntr14-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0014). |

7.2.   Exclusion from award

Applicants will be excluded from the award of co-financing if, in the course of the grant award procedure, they fall under one of the situations described under article 107 of the Financial Regulation:

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| (a) | are in an exclusion situation established in accordance with article 106 of the Financial Regulation; |

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| (b) | have misrepresented the information required as a condition for participating in the procedure or have failed to supply that information in the grant award procedure. |

In order to demonstrate compliance with the exclusion criteria, the coordinator has to check the relevant box while submitting its online application. If selected for co-funding, all beneficiaries (in case of multi-beneficiary grant) have to sign a declaration on their honour certifying that they are not in one of the situations referred to in articles 106(1) and 107 to 109 of the Financial Regulation. The applicants should follow the instructions in the participant portal.

8.   SELECTION CRITERIA

8.1.   Financial capacity

Applicants must have stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain their activity throughout the period of implementation of the action and to participate in its funding.

The financial capacity of applicants will be assessed in line with the requirements of the Financial Regulation (EC) No 966/2012. This assessment will not be carried out if:

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| — | The applicant is a public body, |

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| — | The EU contribution requested by the applicant is ≤ EUR 60 000. |

The documents that will be requested when assessing the financial capacity include:

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

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

In addition, for an applicant requesting an EU-contribution of ≥ EUR 750 000 (threshold applicable per applicant):

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| — | an audit report produced by an approved external auditor certifying the accounts for the last financial year available. This provision shall not apply to public bodies. |

The assessment of the financial capacity of applicants will be performed through the participant portal.

8.2.   Operational capacity

Applicants must have the professional competencies and qualifications required to complete the action.

As evidence, the following information must be provided in part B of the proposal:

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| — | General profiles (qualifications and experiences) of the applicant's staff primary responsible for managing and implementing the proposed action, |

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| — | The proposing organisation(s) activity report or a description of activities performed in connection to the operating areas that are eligible for co-financing. |

9.   AWARD CRITERIA

Part B of the application serves to evaluate the proposal against the award criteria.

Generally, projects are expected to have an efficient management structure, a clear strategy and a precise description of expected results.

The content of each proposal will be assessed according to the following criteria and sub criteria:

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| Criteria | Maximum Points | Threshold |
| |  |  | | --- | --- | | 1. | Contribution to general and specific objectives of information provision and promotion measures and relevance of the content and objectives of the proposals to the priorities, objectives and expected results announced under thematic priority described in article 1.2.1.3 of the annual work programme[(15)](#ntr15-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0015) | | 20 | 14 |
| |  |  | | --- | --- | | 2. | Technical quality of the project | | 40 | 24 |
| |  |  | | --- | --- | | 3. | Management quality | | 10 | 6 |
| |  |  | | --- | --- | | 4. | Cost-effectiveness | | 30 | 18 |
| TOTAL | 100 | 62 |

Proposals falling below the overall and/or the individual thresholds announced above shall be rejected.

The following sub-criteria shall be taken into account in the assessment of each of the main award criteria:

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| 1. | Contribution to general and specific objectives of information provision and promotion measures   |  |  | | --- | --- | | (a) | relevance of proposed information and promotion measures to priorities, objectives and expected results announced under the thematic priority mentioned above; |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (b) | relevance of proposed information and promotion measures to the general and specific objectives listed in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014; |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (c) | relevance of proposed information and promotion measures to aims listed in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014; |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (d) | Union dimension of the programme. | |

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| 2. | Technical quality of the project   |  |  | | --- | --- | | (a) | quality of the analysis (description of target markets, challenges for competitors from the EU, consumer awareness, etc.); |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (b) | suitability of the programme strategy, SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time bound) objectives, key messages; |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (c) | clear and detailed description of activities; |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (d) | suitable choice of activities with respect to objectives and target groups, complementarity to other private or public activities carried out on the target market; |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (e) | quality of the proposed evaluation methods and indicators. | |

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| 3. | Management quality   |  |  | | --- | --- | | (a) | project organisation and management structure; |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (b) | quality control mechanisms and risk management. | |

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| 4. | Cost-effectiveness   |  |  | | --- | --- | | (a) | balanced split of budget in relation to the scope of the activities; |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (b) | consistency between the estimated cost and the corresponding description of the activities; |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (c) | realistic estimation of person/days for activities implemented by the proposing organisation, including costs of project coordination. | |

Following the evaluation, all eligible proposals are ranked according to the total number of points awarded. The highest ranked proposal or proposals will be awarded co-financing depending on budget availability.

If there are two (or more) proposals on the budgetary cut-off point having received the same number of points then the proposal(s) which considered to allow the highest diversification in terms of products or targeted markets in the context of the proposals retained for co-financing. It means that between two proposals having received equal scoring, the Agency shall first select the one the content of which (firstly in terms of products, secondly in terms of targeted market) is not yet represented in the ranked list. If this criterion cannot be applied, then the Agency shall first select the proposal which received the highest score in relation to the first award criterion mentioned above (‘Contribution to general and specific objectives of information provision and promotion measures’).

10.   LEGAL COMMITMENTS

The coordinators of proposals included in the list for funding will be invited to engage in adaptation phase preceding the signature of the grant agreement; the adaptation will be carried out via an online grant preparation system (SYGMA). If successful, it will result in the signature of a grant agreement, drawn up in euro and detailing the conditions and level of funding.

The grant agreement must be signed electronically first by the coordinator on behalf of the consortium and then by Chafea. All co-beneficiaries must accede to the grant agreement by signing electronically the accession form to the grant.

11.   FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

The Financial Regulation and the Rules of Application[(16)](#ntr16-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0016) define the applicable rules for the implementation of the multi programmes.

11.1.   General Principles

a)   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.

Applicants shall indicate the sources and amounts of Union funding received or applied for the same action or part of the action or their functioning (operating grants), as well as any other funding received or applied for the same action.

b)   Non-retroactivity

No grant may be awarded retrospectively for actions already completed.

A grant may be awarded for an action which has already begun only where the applicant can demonstrate the need to start the action before the grant agreement is signed.

In such cases, costs eligible for financing may not have been incurred prior to the date of submission of the grant application.

c)   Co-financing

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

The remaining expenditure shall be borne exclusively by the proposing organisation.

d)   Balanced budget

The estimated budget of the action must be presented in part A of the application form. It must have revenue and expenditure in balance.

The budget must be drawn up in euros.

Applicants, who foresee that costs will not be incurred in euros, are invited to use the exchange rate published in the Official Journal of the European Union:

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts\_grants/info\_contracts/inforeuro/inforeuro\_en.cfm

e)   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 for the event of an audit.

Where the proposing organisation is a body governed by public law within the meaning of Article 2(1)(4) of Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council[(17)](#ntr17-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0017), it must select the subcontractors in accordance with the national legislation transposing that Directive.

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:

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

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| — | the core tasks of the actions (i.e. the technical and financial coordination of the action and the management of the strategy) cannot be sub-contracted, |

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| — | it must be clearly stated in the technical and financial parts of the proposal. |

f)   Subcontracting to entities having a structural link with the beneficiary

Subcontracts may also be awarded to entities that have a structural link with the beneficiary, but only if the price is limited to the actual costs incurred by the entity (i.e. without any profit margin).

The tasks to be implemented by such entities must be clearly stated in the technical part of the proposal.

11.2.   Funding forms

Co-financing shall take the form of reimbursement of a specified proportion of eligible costs actually incurred; it will also comprise a flat rate covering indirect costs (equal to 4 % of eligible personnel costs) that are linked with the implementation of the action[(18)](#ntr18-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0018).

—   Maximum amount requested

The EU grant is limited to the following maximum co-funding rate of:

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| — | for multi programmes in the internal market and in third countries: 80 % of the programme's eligible costs, |

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| — | in case of applicants established in Member States receiving on or after 1 January 2014 financial assistance in accordance with Article 136 and 143 TFEU[(19)](#ntr19-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0019), the percentage shall be 85 %.  This shall only apply to those grants signed upon by Chafea before the date from which the Member State concerned no longer receives such financial assistance. |

Consequently, part of the total eligible expenses entered in the estimative budget must be financed from sources other than the EU grant (co-financing principle).

—   Eligible costs

Eligible costs are actually incurred by the beneficiary of the grant and meet all the criteria indicated in Article 6 of the grant agreement.

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| — | Eligible (direct and indirect) costs are indicated in the grant agreement (see Article 6 par.1, 2 and 3), |

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| — | Ineligible costs are indicated in the grant agreement (see Article 6.4). |

—   Calculation of the final grant amount

The final amount of the grant depends on the actual extent to which the action is implemented in accordance with the grant agreement's terms and conditions.

This amount is calculated by Chafea, when the payment of the balance is made, in the following steps:

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| (1) | Application of the reimbursement rate to the eligible costs; |

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| (2) | Limit to the maximum grant amount; |

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| (3) | Reduction due to the no-profit rule; |

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| (4) | Reduction due to improper implementation or breach of other obligations. |

EU grants may not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit within the framework of the action. ‘Profit’ shall be defined as the surplus of the amount obtained following steps 1 and 2 plus the action's total receipts, over the action's total eligible costs.

In this respect, where a profit is made, Chafea shall be entitled to recover the percentage of the profit corresponding to EU contribution to the eligible costs actually incurred by the beneficiary(ies) to carry out the action. A partner (coordinator or other beneficiary) requesting an EU-contribution of ≤ EUR 60 000, is exempted from this provision.

11.3.   Payment arrangements

A pre-financing payment corresponding to 20 % of the grant amount will be transferred to the coordinator according to the conditions set out in the grant agreement (Art 16.2).

Interim payment(s) shall be paid to the coordinator according to the conditions set out in the grant agreement (Art 16.3). Interim payment(s) are intended to reimburse the eligible costs incurred for the implementation of the programme during the corresponding reporting period(s).

The total amount of pre-financing and interim payment(s) shall not exceed 90 % of the maximum grant amount.

Chafea will establish the amount of the payment of the balance on the basis of the calculation of the final grant amount and according to the conditions set out in the grant agreement.

If the total amount of earlier payments is greater than the final grant amount, the payment of the balance takes the form of a recovery.

11.4.   Pre-financing guarantee

In the event that the applicant's financial capacity is not satisfactory, a pre-financing guarantee for an amount up that of the pre-financing payment may be requested in order to limit the financial risks linked to the pre-financing payment.

If requested, the financial guarantee, in euro, shall be provided by a bank or approved financial institution established in one of the Member State of the European Union. Amounts blocked in bank accounts shall not be accepted as financial guarantees.

The guarantee may be replaced by a joint and several guarantee by a third party or by a joint guarantee of the beneficiaries of the action who are parties to the same grant agreement.

The guarantor shall stand as first-call guarantor and may not require Chafea to first have recourse against the principal debtor (i.e. the beneficiary concerned).

The pre-financing guarantee shall explicitly remain in force until the payment of the balance and, if payment of the balance takes the form of recovery, until 3 months after the debit note is notified to a beneficiary.

No guarantees will be required for a beneficiary receiving an EU contribution of EUR ≤ 60 000 (low value grants).

12.   PUBLICITY

12.1.   By the beneficiaries

Beneficiaries must clearly acknowledge the European Union's contribution in all 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 project.

Rules for the graphic reproduction of the European emblem are found in the Interinstitutional Style Guide[(20)](#ntr20-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0020).

In addition, all visual material produced in the framework of a promotion programme co-financed by the European Union must bear the signature ‘Enjoy it's from Europe’:

Guidelines on the use of the signature, as well as all graphic files can be downloaded from the promotion website on Europa[(21)](#ntr21-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0021).

Lastly, all written material, i.e. brochures, posters, leaflets, banners, billboards, print advertisements, articles in newspapers, webpages (with the exception of small gadgets) should include a disclaimer according to the terms detailed in the grant agreement, explaining that it represents the views of the author. The European Commission/Agency does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.

12.2.   By the Chafea/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 Chafea/Commission will publish the following information:

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| — | name of the beneficiary (legal entity), |

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| — | address of the beneficiary when the latter is a legal person, region when the beneficiary is a natural person, as defined on NUTS 2 level[(22)](#ntr22-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0022) if he/she is domiciled within EU or equivalent if domiciled outside EU, |

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

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| — | amount awarded. |

13.   DATA PROTECTION

The reply to any call for proposals involves the recording and processing of personal data (such as name, address and CVs of individuals participating in the co-financed action). Such data will be processed pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council[(23)](#ntr23-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0023) 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. 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 proposal will be processed solely for that purpose by the Executive Agency/the Commission or third parties acting on behalf and under the responsibility of the Executive Agency/Commission. Data subjects may be informed regarding further details of the processing operations, their rights and how they may be enforced by referring to the privacy statement published in the participant portal:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/support/legal\_notices.html

and the Agency's website:

http://ec.europa.eu/chafea/about/data\_protection.html

Applicants are invited to check the relevant privacy statement at regular intervals so as to be duly informed on possible updates that may occur by the deadline for submission of their proposals or afterwards. Beneficiaries assume the legal obligation to inform their staff on the relevant processing operations that are to be performed by the Agency; in order to do so, they have to provide them with the privacy statements published by the Agency in the participant's portal before transmitting their data to the Agency; Personal data may be registered in the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) of the European Commission provided for in articles 105a and 108 of the EU Financial Regulation according to the applicable provisions.

14.   PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Proposals must be submitted by the deadline set out under section 5 via the Electronic Submission System at:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/agrip/index.html

Before submitting a proposal:

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| 1. | Find a call:  http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/agrip/index.html |

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| 2. | Create an account to submit a proposal:  http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/organisations/register.html |

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| 3. | Register all partners via the beneficiary registry:  http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/organisations/register.html |

Applicants will be informed in writing about the results of the selection process.

In submitting a proposal, the applicant accepts the procedures and conditions as described in this call and in the documents to which it refers.

No modification to the application is allowed once the deadline for submission has elapsed. However, if there is a need to clarify certain aspects or for the correction of clerical mistakes, the Commission/Agency may contact the applicant for this purpose during the evaluation process[(24)](#ntr24-C_2016041EN.01002001-E0024).

—   Contacts

For questions on the online submission tools please contact the IT helpdesk set-up for this purpose via the participant portal website:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=enquiries

For non-IT related questions a helpdesk at the Chafea is available at: +352 4301 36611, email address: CHAFEA-AGRI-CALLS@ec.europa.eu weekdays between 9.30 – 12.00 and 14.00 – 17.00. The helpdesk is unavailable on weekends and public holidays.

Frequently asked questions are published on the website of the Chafea:

http://ec.europa.eu/chafea/agri/faq.html

In all correspondence relating to this call (e.g. when requesting information, or submitting an application), reference must be clearly made to this specific call. Once the electronic exchange system allocated a proposal ID, the applicant must use this number in all subsequent correspondence.

—   Related documents:

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| — | Application form |

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| — | Model grant agreement |

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| — | Guide for applicants |

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