Call for expression of interest: 2012-2015

Have you submitted an application for the Call for Expressions of Interest (C.E.I.) 2012-2015 before?

This question does not refer to the previous C.E.I. 2009-2012. It refers to those candidates who want to re-apply on the same C.E.I. 2012-2015 because e.g their company experience has changed or an error has been made. Once a candidate has submitted the form, he/she won't be able to return to their application, but will have to keep the submission number and communicate it to the C.E.I manager by email or phone (+32-2) 299 34 21.

How to fill in "Part D2. Selection Criteria: Technical and professional capacity"?

Start with selecting your fields of expertise. For each selected field you will have to provide a short explanation of your or your company/consortium experience. Give references to the most relevant projects, studies, contract or events for the chosen field of expertise. If you have undertaken several projects, give at least 2 and no more than 5 of the most relevant items. You could provide for each project: the project title, the financing entity, the participation rate, the total budget of the project, a short project description and, if applicable, a website reference.

The maximum limit of characters is 4000. This should be enough to provide a short description of the expertise for one selected field.

The educational and professional qualifications of the firm's managerial staff are common to all fields that we apply for. Is it advisable to reproduce the same information under each field?

No. Regarding the CVs and the composition of the managerial staff, for each field of expertise, there should be at least 2 persons with knowledge in the field or at least one manager with the required years of experience. This can be done by mentioning it in the CVs box, or in the CV itself.

How to fill in "Part D2. Selection Criteria: The CVs"?

After a field of expertise has been selected you are required to complete two additional fields, one of which is called “CVs”. In this field you should only introduce name and surname of the expert/s (with complete CV attached at the end of the application). Optional: give a reference number to each expert in order to simplify the search of the attached CVs at the end of the Standard Application Form (SAF).

Are candidates allowed to use the same CV for more than one field?

Yes, if the person has experience in several fields of expertise.

Do applicants have to provide administrative evidence in the case where a candidate is selected and awarded a contract?

For the Call for Expressions of Interest 2012-2015 you should provide all the requested documents mentioned in the checklist of the Standard Application Form (SAF). If you are invited to send a proposal for a restricted tender, you will have to provide all requested documents that are stated in the tender specifications of that specific tender.

In "Part B. Declaration of Honour with respect to the exclusion criteria and absence of conflict of interest", do applicants have to provide evidence for situations a), b), d), and e)?

Not at this point. As the Call for Expressions of Interest is used only for service contracts under Annex IIA to Directive 2004/18/EC worth less than an estimated 130 000 EUR, it is not necessary to provide evidence for the situations stated in Part B. After having printed the SAF you will only need to complete blank spaces (i.e. legal entity status, date) and sign the declaration.

To what extent are the potentially resulting contracts funded by the EU? Is there some set percentage or does this vary according to specific contract?

The Commission provides funding to projects and initiatives that promote its policy priorities throughout the European Union and further afield. The Directorates General for the Environment & Climate Action make funding available through grants, open calls for tender and restricted calls for tender using the call for expression of interest (AMI list). For further details of each please see our Funding page.

The Call for Expression of Interest serves to create a list of candidates that will be used for restricted call for tenders. It will be used only for service contracts under Annex IIA to Directive 2004/18/EC, with a value of less than 130 000 EUR (this limit can change every two years). Each year, DG Environment and Climate Action, launch restricted calls for tender for a specific project with a fixed budget. Unlike a grant where your own project is funded, this is a project we propose and if selected from our AMI list, you are invited to submit an offer within the budget we set. Details of the requirements and budget for each call for tender are given in the specifications for that call.

Are there any eligibility criteria and if there will be any rules on % funding e.g. do we get funded 100% of our time, overheads and expenses or is there a cap on this?

See Answer Number 8 above for information on budget/funding.

Candidates interested to apply are invited to submit an application in accordance with the rules set out in the contract notice for the purpose specified. Please follow the rules set out in point 8 and 9 of the contract notice: 2012/S 21-033026.

Article 106 of the Financial Regulation states "participation in tendering procedures shall be open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons coming within the scope of the Treaties and to all natural and legal persons in a third country which has with the European Communities a special agreement in the field of public procurement under the conditions laid down in that agreement." This provision implies that suppliers established in third countries have the right to participate in tendering procedures if an international agreement in the field of public procurement grants them the right to do so. For more information see the full text of the GPA and its appendices.

It would help us if you could tell us the expected level of spending in this area. Are you able to provide that information? Does the commission have a budget for spending in these areas. If that is not available, could you tell us what the spending was over the last 3 years?

See Answer Number 8 above for information on budget/funding.

Details of spending over the last 3 years can be found on our tenders page.

Each year we publish a list of contracts awarded during the previous year using our AMI list. We also publish a list of low value contracts awarded for restricted calls for tender with a value between 25.000 € and 60.000€. Just go to the relevant year and click on the link.