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This Regulation lays down the rules of application for Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (hereinafter ‘the Financial Regulation’).

Where interest is due to the budget, the agreement concluded with the entities or persons listed in points (ii) to (viii) of Article 58(1)(c) of the Financial Regulation shall stipulate that pre-financing is paid to bank accounts or sub-accounts which allow the funds and related interest to be identified. Otherwise, the accounting methods of the recipients or intermediaries must make it possible to identify the funds paid by the Union and the interest or other benefits yielded by those funds.

The commitment appropriations and payment appropriations authorised for the financial year shall consist of:

appropriations provided in the budget, including by amending budgets;

appropriations carried over;

appropriations made available again in accordance with Articles 178 and 182 of the Financial Regulation;

appropriations arising from pre-financing payments which have been repaid in accordance with Article 177(3) of the Financial Regulation;

appropriations provided following the receipt of revenue assigned during the financial year or during previous financial years and not used.

The commitment appropriations and the non-differentiated appropriations relating to building projects referred to in Article 13(2)(a) of the Financial Regulation may be carried over only if the commitments could not be made before 31 December of the financial year for reasons not attributable to the authorising officer and if the preparatory stages are sufficiently advanced to make it reasonable to surmise that the commitment will be made by no later than 31 March of the following year, or 31 December for building projects.

The preparatory stages referred to in Article 13(2)(a) of the Financial Regulation, which should be completed by 31 December of the financial year in order to allow a carryover to the following year, are in particular:

for global commitments within the meaning of Article 85 of the Financial Regulation, the adoption of a financing decision or the closing by that date of the consultation of the departments concerned within each institution for the adoption of the decision;

for individual commitments within the meaning of Article 85 of the Financial Regulation, the completion of the selection of potential contractors, beneficiaries, prize winners or delegatees.

Appropriations carried over in accordance with Article 13(2)(a) of the Financial Regulation which have not been committed by 31 March of the following financial year or up to 31 December of the following year for amounts relating to building projects shall be automatically cancelled.
The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and Council of the appropriations cancelled in this way within one month following the cancellation in accordance with the first subparagraph.

Appropriations carried over in accordance with Article 13(2)(b) of the Financial Regulation may be used until 31 December of the following financial year.

The accounts shall identify appropriations carried over in accordance with paragraphs 1 to 4.

Without prejudice to specific provisions arising from the application of sector-specific regulations, conversion by the responsible authorising officer shall be made using the daily euro exchange rate published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union . Official Journal of the European Union
Where conversion between the euro and another currency is to be made by the contractors or beneficiaries, the specific arrangements for conversion contained in procurement contracts, grant agreements or financing agreements shall apply.

In order to avoid that currency conversion operations have a significant impact on the level of the Union co-financing or a detrimental impact on the Union budget, the specific arrangements for conversion referred to in paragraph 1 shall provide, if appropriate, for a rate of conversion between the euro and other currencies to be calculated using the average of the daily exchange rate in a given period.

If no daily euro exchange rate is published in the Official Journal of the European Union for the currency in question, the responsible authorising officer shall use the accounting rate referred to in paragraph 4. Official Journal of the European Union

For the purposes of the accounts provided for in Articles 151 to 156 of the Financial Regulation and subject to Article 240 of this Regulation, conversion between the euro and another currency shall be made using the monthly accounting rate of the euro. That accounting exchange rate shall be established by the Commission’s accounting officer by means of any source of information he regards as reliable, on the basis of the exchange rate on the penultimate working day of the month preceding that for which the rate is established.

The results of the currency operations referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article shall be shown under a separate heading in the respective institution’s accounts.
The first subparagraph of this paragraph shall apply mutatis mutandis to bodies referred to in Article 208 of the Financial Regulation.

Without prejudice to specific provisions deriving from the application of sector-specific regulations, or from specific procurement contracts, grant agreements or grant decisions and financing agreements, the rate to be used for conversion between the euro and other currencies shall, in cases where the conversion is carried out by the responsible authorising officer, be that of the day on which the payment order or recovery order is drawn up by the authorising department.

In case of euro imprest accounts, the rate to be used for the conversion between the euro and other currencies shall be determined by the date of the payment by the bank.

For the regularisation of imprest accounts in national currencies, as referred to in Article 19 of the Financial Regulation, the rate to be used for the conversion between the euro and other currencies shall be that of the month of the expenditure from the imprest account concerned.

For the reimbursement of flat-rate expenditure, or expenditure arising from the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (hereinafter ‘Staff Regulations’) which is fixed at a ceiling, and which is paid in a currency other than the euro, the rate to be used shall be that which is in force when the entitlement arises.

Without prejudice to Articles 9 and 10, the structure to accommodate assigned revenue in the budget shall comprise:

in the statement of revenue of each institution’s section, a budget line to receive the revenue;

in the statement of expenditure, the budget remarks, including general remarks, shall show which lines may receive the appropriations corresponding to the assigned revenue which are made available.

In the case referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph, a token entry ‘ pro memoria ’ shall be made and the estimated revenue shall be shown for information in the remarks. pro memoria

The appropriations corresponding to assigned revenue shall be made available automatically, both as commitment appropriations and as payment appropriations, when the revenue has been received by the institution, save in any of the following cases:

in cases provided for in Article 181(2) and 183(2) of the Financial Regulation;

in the case provided for in Article 21(2)(b) of the Financial Regulation for Member States where the contribution agreement is expressed in euro.

In the case referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph, commitment appropriations may be made available upon signature by the Member State of the contribution agreement.

The Member States’ contributions to the financing of certain supplementary research programmes, provided for in Article 5 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1150/2000 ( 8 ) shall be paid as follows:

seven twelfths of the sum entered in the budget shall be paid by no later than 31 January of the current financial year;

the remaining five twelfths shall be paid by no later than 15 July of the current financial year.

Where the budget has not been finally adopted before the start of a financial year, the contributions provided for in paragraph 1 shall be based on the sum entered in the budget for the previous financial year.

Any contribution or additional payment owed by the Member States to the budget shall be entered in the Commission’s account or accounts within 30 calendar days of the call for funds.

Payments made shall be entered in the account provided for in Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1150/2000 and shall be subject to the conditions laid down by that Regulation.

The budget structure to accommodate the participation of the Member States of the European Free Trade Association (hereinafter ‘EFTA States’) in certain Union programmes shall be as follows:
The annex referred to in point (b)(ii) of the first subparagraph reflects and is part of the structure to accommodate the appropriations corresponding to such participation, as provided for in paragraph 2, and to allow the expenditure to be implemented.

in the statement of revenue, a line with a token entry ‘ pro memoria ’ shall be entered to accommodate the full amount of the EFTA States’ contribution for the financial year in question.

in the statement of expenditure:

the remarks for each line relating to the Union activities in which the EFTA States participate shall show ‘for information’ the estimated amount of the participation;

an annex, forming an integral part of the budget, shall set out all the lines covering the Union activities in which the EFTA States participate.

For the purposes of point (a) of the first subparagraph the estimated amount shall be shown in the budget remarks.

Under Article 82 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area (hereinafter ‘EEA Agreement’) the amounts of the annual participation of the EFTA States, as confirmed to the Commission by the Joint Committee of the European Economic Area in accordance with Article 1(5) of Protocol 32 annexed to the EEA Agreement, shall give rise to the provision, at the start of the financial year, of the full amounts of the corresponding commitment appropriations and payment appropriations.

If, in the course of the financial year, additional appropriations are provided on the budget lines with EFTA State participation without the EFTA States being able, during that year, to adjust their contributions accordingly in order to comply with the ‘proportionality factor’ provided for in Article 82 of the EEA Agreement, the Commission may, as a provisional and exceptional measure, use its cash resources to pre-finance the share of the EFTA States. Whenever such additional appropriations are provided, the Commission shall, as soon as possible, call in the corresponding contributions from the EFTA States. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and Council each year of any such decisions taken.
The pre-financing shall be regularised as soon as possible in the budget for the following financial year.

In accordance with Article 21(2)(e) of the Financial Regulation, the financial contributions of the EFTA States shall constitute external assigned revenue. The accounting officer shall adopt appropriate measures to ensure that use of the revenue arising from those contributions and of the corresponding appropriations is monitored separately.
In the report provided for in Article 150(2) of the Financial Regulation, the Commission shall show separately the stage of implementation, in both revenue and expenditure, corresponding to EFTA State participation.

The budget structure to accommodate the proceeds of the sanctions referred to in Section 4 of Council Regulation 1997/1467 ( 9 ) shall be as follows:

in the statement of revenue, a line carrying a token entry ‘ pro memoria ’ shall be entered to accommodate the interest on such amounts;

at the same time, and without prejudice to Article 77 of the Financial Regulation, entry of those amounts in the statement of revenue shall give rise to the provision, in the statement of expenditure, of commitment appropriations and payment appropriations.

The appropriations referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph shall be implemented in accordance with Article 20 of the Financial Regulation.

For the purposes of the authorisation of the European Parliament and of the Council referred to in Article 22(2) of the Financial Regulation, the Commission shall estimate and duly explain the financial charges, including follow-up costs, entailed by the acceptance of donations made to the Union.

Any taxes borne by the Union under Article 23(2) and 23(3)(a) of the Financial Regulation shall be entered in a suspense account until they are refunded by the States concerned.

The percentages referred to in Article 25 of the Financial Regulation shall be calculated at the time the request for transfer is made and with reference to the appropriations provided in the budget, including amending budgets.

The amount to be taken into consideration shall be the sum of the transfers to be made on the line from which transfers are being made, after adjustment for earlier transfers made.
The amount corresponding to the transfers which can be carried out autonomously by the institution concerned without a decision of the European Parliament and Council shall not be taken into consideration.

The percentages referred to in Article 26(1) of the Financial Regulation shall be calculated at the time the request for transfer is made and with reference to the appropriations provided in the budget, including amending budgets.

The amount to be taken into consideration shall be the sum of the transfers to be made on the line from which or to which transfers are being made, after adjustment for earlier transfers made.
The amount corresponding to the transfers which can be carried out autonomously by the Commission without a decision of the European Parliament and the Council shall not be taken into consideration.

The expenditure referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 26(1) of the Financial Regulation shall cover, for each policy area, the items referred to in Article 44(3) of the Financial Regulation.

Proposals for transfers and all information for the European Parliament and Council concerning transfers made under Articles 25 and 26 of the Financial Regulation shall be accompanied by appropriate and detailed supporting documents showing the implementation of appropriations and estimates of requirements up to the end of the financial year, both for the lines to which the appropriations are to be transferred and for those from which they are to be taken.

Proposals for transfers to allow the utilisation of the emergency aid reserve, referred to in Article 29 of the Financial Regulation, shall be accompanied by appropriate and detailed supporting documents showing:

for the line to which the transfer is to be made, the most recent information available for the implementation of appropriations and the estimate of requirements up to the end of the financial year;

for all lines relating to external action, the implementation of appropriations up to the end of the month preceding the request for transfer and an estimate of requirements up to the end of the financial year, including a comparison with the initial estimate;

an analysis of the possibilities of reallocating appropriations.

All proposals for programmes or activities occasioning budget expenditure shall be the subject of an ex ante evaluation, which shall address: ex ante

the need to be met in the short or long term;

the added value of Union involvement;

the policy and management objectives to be achieved, which include measures necessary to safeguard the financial interests of the Union in the field of fraud prevention, detection, investigation, reparation and sanctions;

the policy options available, including the risks associated with them;

the results and impacts expected, in particular economic, social and environmental impacts, and the indicators and evaluation arrangement needed to measure them;

the most appropriate method of implementation for the preferred option(s);

the internal coherence of the proposed programme or activity and its relations with other relevant instruments;

the volume of appropriations, human resources and other administrative expenditure to be allocated with due regard for the cost-effectiveness principle;

the lessons learned from similar experiences in the past.

The proposal shall set out the arrangements for monitoring, reporting and evaluation, taking due account of the respective responsibilities of all levels of government that will be involved in the implementation of the proposed programme or activity.

All programmes or activities, including pilot projects and preparatory actions, where the resources mobilised exceed EUR 5 000 000 shall be the subject of an interim and/or ex post evaluation in terms of the human and financial resources allocated and the results obtained in order to verify that they were consistent with the objectives set, as follows: ex post

the results obtained in carrying out a multiannual programme shall be periodically evaluated in accordance with a timetable which enables the findings of that evaluation to be taken into account for any decision on the renewal, modification or suspension of the programme;

activities financed on an annual basis shall have their results evaluated at least every six years.

Points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph shall not apply to each of the projects or actions conducted within those activities, for which the requirement may be met by the final reports sent by the bodies which carried out the action.

The evaluations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 shall be proportionate to the resources mobilised for and the impact of the programme and activity concerned.

The financial statement shall contain the financial and economic data for the assessment by the legislative authority of the need for Union action. It shall provide appropriate information as regards coherence with other activities of the Union and any possible synergy.

As soon as possible and no later than four weeks after the final adoption of the budget, the final detailed budget figures shall be published in all languages on the internet site of the institutions, on the Commission’s initiative, pending official publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . Official Journal of the European Union

The information on recipients of Union’s funds awarded under direct management shall be published on an internet site of the Union institutions, no later than 30 June of the year following the financial year in which the funds were awarded.
In addition to the publication referred to in the first subparagraph the information may also be published, according to a standard presentation, by other appropriate means.

The following information shall be published unless otherwise provided in this Regulation and in the sector specific rules, taking into account the criteria set out in Article 35(3) of the Financial Regulation:

the name of the recipient;

the locality of the recipient;

the amount awarded;

the nature and purpose of the measure.

For the purpose of point (b) the term ‘locality’ shall mean:

the address of the recipient when the latter is a legal person;

the Region on NUTS 2 level when the recipient is a natural person.

As far as personal data referring to natural persons are concerned, the information published shall be removed two years after the end of the financial year in which the funds were awarded. The same shall apply to personal data referring to legal persons for whom the official title identifies one or more natural persons.

The information referred to in paragraph 2 shall only be published for prizes, grants and contracts which have been awarded as a result of contests or grant award procedures or public procurement procedures. The information shall not be published for:

scholarships paid to natural persons and other direct support paid to natural persons in most need, referred to in Article 125(4)(c) of the Financial Regulation;

contracts below the amount referred to in Article 137(2) of this Regulation.

The publication shall be waived if such disclosure risks threatening the rights and freedoms of individuals concerned as protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union or harm the commercial interests of the recipients.

Where the management of Union funds is delegated to the authorities and bodies referred to in Article 58(1)(c) of the Financial Regulation, the delegation agreements shall require that information referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 21 is published according to a standard presentation, by those entrusted authorities and bodies on their website.

The financial programming referred to in Article 38 of the Financial Regulation shall be structured by category of expenditure, policy area and budget line. The complete financial programming shall cover all categories of expenditure with the exception of agriculture, cohesion policy and administration for which only summary data shall be provided.

Draft amending budgets shall be accompanied by statements of grounds and the information on the implementation of the budget for the preceding and current financial years available at the time of their establishment.

The budget nomenclature shall comply with the principles of specification, transparency and sound financial management. It shall provide clarity and transparency necessary for the budgetary process, facilitating the identification of the main objectives as reflected in the relevant legal bases, making possible choices on political priorities and enabling efficient and effective implementation.

For the purposes of establishing the budget, actual expenditure in the last financial year for which the accounts have been closed shall be determined as follows:

in commitments: commitments entered in the accounts during the financial year against appropriations for that financial year as defined in Article 3;

in payments: payments made during the financial year, that is to say, for which a payment order has been sent to the bank, against appropriations for that financial year as defined in Article 3.

The budget remarks shall include:

the references of the basic act, where one exists;

all appropriate explanations concerning the nature and purpose of the appropriations.

The staff of the Supply Agency shall appear separately in the Commission establishment plan.

In any call made in the context of grants, procurement or prizes implemented in direct management, potential beneficiaries, candidates, tenderers and participants shall, in accordance with Regulation 2001/45 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 10 ) be informed that, for the purposes of safeguarding the financial interests of the Union, their personal data may be transferred to internal audit services, to the European Court of Auditors, to the Financial Irregularities Panel or to the European Anti-Fraud Office (hereinafter ‘OLAF’) and between authorising officers of the Commission and the executive agencies.

The financing of measures agreed by the Council for the preparation of Union crisis management operations under Title V of the Treaty on European Union shall cover incremental costs directly arising from a specific field deployment of a mission or team involving inter alia personnel from the Union institutions, including high risk insurance, travel and accommodation costs and per diem payments.

The articles of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter ‘TFEU’) which directly confer specific powers on the Commission are as follows:

Article 154 (social dialogue);

Article 156 (studies, opinions and consultations on social matters);

Articles 159 and 161 (special reports on social matters);

Article 168(2) (initiatives to promote coordination on health protection matters);

Article 171(2) (initiatives to promote coordination on trans-European networks);

Article 173(2) (initiatives to promote coordination on matters relating to industry);

Article 175, second subparagraph (report on progress made towards achieving economic, social and territorial cohesion);

Article 181(2) (initiatives to promote coordination on research and technological development);

Article 190 (report on research and technological development);

Article 210(2) (initiatives to promote coordination of development cooperation policies);

Article 214(6) (initiatives to promote coordination on humanitarian aid measures).

The articles of the Treaty Establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (hereinafter ‘Euratom Treaty’) which directly confer specific powers on the Commission are as follows:

Article 70 (financial support, within the limits set by the budget, for prospecting programmes in the territories of the Member States);

Articles 77 to 85.

In the presentation of the draft budget, further detail may be added to the lists set out in paragraphs 1 and 2, with an indication of the articles in question and the amounts involved.

Acts likely to be affected by a conflict of interests within the meaning of Article 57(2) of the Financial Regulation may, inter alia, take one of the following forms without prejudice of their qualification as illegal activities under Article 141:

granting oneself or others unjustified direct or indirect advantages;

refusing to grant a beneficiary the rights or advantages to which that beneficiary is entitled;

committing undue or wrongful acts or failing to carry out acts that are mandatory.

Other acts likely to be affected by a conflict of interests are those which may impair the impartial and objective performance of a person’s duties such as, inter alia, the participation in an evaluation committee for a public procurement or grant procedure when the person may, directly or indirectly, benefit financially from the outcome of these procedures.

A conflict of interest shall be presumed to exist if an applicant, candidate or tenderer is a member of staff covered by the Staff Regulations, unless his participation in the procedure has been authorised in advance by his superior.

In the event of a conflict of interests, the authorising officer by delegation shall take appropriate measures to avoid any undue influence of the person concerned on the process or procedure in question.

The accounting system of the Commission shall identify the management mode and, under each management mode, the type of entity or person listed in Article 58(1)(c) of the Financial Regulation entrusted with tasks of budget implementation.

departments of the Commission;

executive agencies;

heads of Union delegations;

trust funds referred to in Article 187 of the Financial Regulation.

Where the Commission implements the budget directly in its departments, implementation tasks shall be performed by the financial actors within the meaning of Articles 64 to 75 of the Financial Regulation and in compliance with the conditions laid down in this Regulation.

Decisions to delegate powers to executive agencies shall authorise them, as authorising officers by delegation, to implement appropriations relating to the Union programme the management of which is entrusted to them.

The Commission’s instrument of delegation shall contain at least the provisions as provided for in points (a) to (d) and (h) of Article 40. It shall be formally accepted in writing by the director on behalf of the executive agency.

Where the Commission entrusts tasks to private bodies under Article 63(2) of the Financial Regulation, it shall conclude a contract in accordance with Title V of Part One and Part Two Title IV Chapter III of the Financial Regulation.

The Commission shall compile a register of bodies responsible for management, certification and audit activities under the sector-specific regulations.

The Commission may accept that procurement rules and procedures are equivalent to its own if the following conditions are met:

they comply with the principle of broad competition of tenderers to obtain the best value for money, and negotiated procedures are limited to reasonable amounts or are duly justified;

they ensure transparency with adequate ex ante publication, in particular of calls for tenders, and adequate ex post publication of contractors;

they ensure equal treatment, proportionality and non-discrimination;

they prevent conflicts of interests throughout the entire procurement procedure.

National law of Member States or third countries transposing Directive 2004/18 shall be considered equivalent to the rules applied by the institutions in accordance with the Financial Regulation.

The Commission may accept that grant rules and procedures are equivalent to its own if the following conditions are met:

they comply with the principles of proportionality, sound financial management, equal treatment and non-discrimination;

they ensure transparency with adequate publication of calls for proposals, direct award procedures being limited to reasonable amounts or being duly justified, and adequate ex post publication of beneficiaries taking account of the principle of proportionality;

they prevent conflicts of interests throughout the entire grant award procedure;

they provide that grants may not be cumulative or awarded retrospectively, that they must, as a rule, involve co-financing and that they may not have the purpose or the effect of producing a profit for the beneficiary.

The Commission may accept that the accounting systems and the internal control systems used by entities and persons to be entrusted with budget implementation tasks on behalf of the Commission are providing equivalent levels of protection of the financial interests of the Union and of reasonable assurance of achieving the management objectives if they comply with the principles laid down in Article 32 of the Financial Regulation.

For the purposes of the ex ante assessment pursuant to Article 61(1) of the Financial Regulation, the authorising officer responsible may rely on an ex ante assessment made by another authorising officer provided that their conclusions are relevant to the specific risks of the tasks to be entrusted, in particular their nature and the amounts involved. ex ante ex ante

Delegation agreements shall include detailed arrangements ensuring the protection of the financial interests of the Union and the transparency of operations carried out. They shall include at least the following:

a clear definition of the tasks assigned and the limits thereof, concerning in particular the modification of the tasks entrusted, the waiving of debts, the use of funds reimbursed or unused;

conditions and detailed arrangements for performing the tasks, responsibilities and organising the controls to be carried out, including the evaluation of the programmes;

conditions for payments of the Union contribution, including the reimbursement of costs incurred in respect of implementation as well as the remuneration of the entrusted entity, together with rules on which supporting documents are required to justify the payments;

rules on reporting to the Commission on how the tasks are performed, the results expected, irregularities which occurred and the measures taken, the conditions under which payments may be suspended or interrupted as well as the conditions under which performance of the tasks terminates;

the date, by which individual contracts and agreements which implement the delegation agreement shall be concluded, which shall be commensurate with the nature of the tasks entrusted;

exclusion rules which allow the entity or person to exclude entities which are in a situation referred to in points (a), (b) and (e) of Article 106(1) and in points (a) and (b) of Article 107 of the Financial Regulation from participating in procurement, grant or prize award procedures or from being awarded procurement contracts, grants or prizes;

detailed arrangements for Commission scrutiny as well as provisions granting the Commission, OLAF and the Court of Auditors access to the information that is required for them to perform their duties, as well as the power to conduct audits and investigations including on the spot-checks;

arrangements providing for:

an undertaking of the entrusted entity to inform the Commission without delay of any fraud occurring in the management of Union funds and the measures taken;

the designation of a contact point which shall have the appropriate powers to cooperate directly with OLAF in order to facilitate the latter’s operational activities;

conditions governing the use of bank accounts and of the interest yielded as provided for in Article 8(4) of the Financial Regulation;

provisions guaranteeing the visibility of Union action in relation to the other activities of the body.

In case of actions terminating before the end of the financial year concerned, the final report of the entrusted entity or person for such action may replace the management declaration referred to in Article 60(5)(b) of the Financial Regulation, provided it is submitted before 15 February of the year following the financial year concerned.

Without prejudice to specific provisions contained in sector specific rules, the procedures referred to in points (b) and (c) of Article 60(6) of the Financial Regulation shall include:

desk reviews and, where appropriate, on-the-spot checks by the Commission;

the establishment by the Commission of the amount of expenditure recognised as accepted, following, where necessary, a contradictory procedure with the authorities and bodies and after these authorities and bodies have been informed;

where appropriate, calculation by the Commission of financial corrections;

recovery or payment by the Commission of the balance arising from the difference between accepted expenditure and the sums already paid to the authorities or bodies.

For the purposes of point (d) of the first subparagraph, the Commission shall recover amounts due preferably by offsetting as set out in Article 87.

Where budget implementation tasks are entrusted to an entity implementing a multi-donor action, the procedures referred to in points (b) and (c) of Article 60(6) of the Financial Regulation shall consist in verifying that an amount corresponding to that paid by the Commission for the action concerned has been used by the entity for the action and that the expenditure has been incurred in accordance with the obligations laid down in the agreement signed with the entity.
For the purpose of this Regulation, multi-donor action shall mean any action where Union funds are pooled with at least one other donor.

The international organisations referred to in point (ii) of Article 58(1)(c) of the Financial Regulation shall be:

international public-sector organisations set up by intergovernmental agreements, and specialised agencies set up by such organisations;

the International Committee of the Red Cross;

the International Federation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies;

other non-profit organisations assimilated to international organisations by a Commission decision.

Where the Commission implements the budget under indirect management with international organisations, the verification agreements concluded with them shall apply.

The public law bodies or bodies governed by private law with a public-service mission shall be subject to the law of the Member State or the country in which they have been set up.

In cases of management by a network, requiring the designation of at least one body or entity by Member State or by country concerned, the body or entity shall be designated by the Member State or the country concerned in accordance with the basic act.
In all other cases, the Commission shall designate such bodies or entities in agreement with the Member States or countries concerned.

Each institution shall provide each financial actor with the resources required to perform his duties and a charter describing in detail his tasks, rights and obligations.

Heads of Union delegations acting as authorising officers by subdelegation in accordance with Article 56(2) of the Financial Regulation shall be subject to the charter provided by the Commission for the implementation of the financial management tasks subdelegated to them.

The authorising officer responsible may be assisted in his duties by staff entrusted, under his responsibility, with certain operations required for the implementation of the budget and production of the financial and management information. In order to prevent any conflict of interests, staff assisting authorising officers by delegation or subdelegation shall be subject to the obligations referred to in Article 57 of the Financial Regulation.

In accordance with the Financial Regulation and this Regulation, each institution shall lay down in its internal rules such measures for the management of appropriations as it considers necessary for proper implementation of its section of the budget.

The authorising officer shall set up paper based or electronic systems for the keeping of original supporting documents relating to and subsequent to budget implementation and budget implementation measures. The systems shall provide for:

such documents to be numbered;

such documents to be dated;

registers, which may be computerised, to be kept identifying the exact location of such documents;

such documents to be kept for at least five years from the date on which the European Parliament grants discharge for the budgetary year to which the documents relate;

keeping of documents relating to pre-financing guarantees for the institution and of a log to enable such guarantees to be adequately monitored.

Documents relating to operations not definitively closed shall be kept for longer than provided for in point (d) of the first paragraph, that is to say, until the end of the year following that in which the operations are closed.

Initiation of an operation shall be understood as all the operations which are normally carried out by the staff referred to in Article 46 and which are preparatory to the adoption of the acts implementing the budget by the authorising officer responsible.

Ex ante verification of an operation shall be understood as all the ex ante checks put in place by the authorising officer responsible in order to verify its operational and financial aspects. Ex ante ex ante

Ex ante controls shall verify the coherence among supporting documents requested and any other information available. Ex ante
The extent in terms of frequency and intensity of the ex ante controls shall be determined by the authorising officer responsible taking into account risk-based and cost-effectiveness considerations. In case of doubt, the authorising officer responsible for validating the relevant payment shall request complementary information or perform an on-the-spot control in order to obtain reasonable assurance as part of the ex ante control. ex ante ex ante
The purpose of the ex ante controls shall be to ascertain that: ex ante

the expenditure and revenue are in order and comply with the provisions applicable, in particular those of the budget and the relevant regulations and of any acts adopted in implementation of the Treaties or regulations and, where appropriate, the terms of contracts;

the principle of sound financial management referred to in Chapter 7 of Title II of Part One of the Financial Regulation is applied.

For the purpose of controls, a series of similar individual transactions relating to routine expenditure on salaries, pensions, reimbursement of mission expenses and medical expenses may be considered by the authorising officer responsible to constitute a single operation.

The ex post controls may be carried out on the basis of documents and, where appropriate, on the spot. ex post
The ex post controls shall verify that operations financed by the budget are correctly implemented and in particular that the criteria referred to in paragraph 3 are complied with. ex post
The outcomes of ex post controls shall be reviewed by the authorising officer by delegation at least annually to identify any potential systemic issues. The authorising officer by delegation shall take measures to address those issues. ex post
The risk analysis referred to in Article 66(6) of the Financial Regulation shall be reviewed in the light of the results of controls and other relevant information.
In case of multiannual programmes, the authorising officer by delegation shall establish a multiannual control strategy, specifying the nature and extent of controls over the period and the manner how the results are to be measured year-on-year for the annual assurance process.

The staff designated by the authorising officer responsible to verify financial operations shall be chosen on the grounds of their knowledge, skills and particular qualifications as evidenced by diplomas or by appropriate professional experience, or after an appropriate training programme.

Each institution shall draw up a code of professional standards which determine, on matters of internal control:

the level of technical and financial competence required of the staff referred to in paragraph 1;

the obligation for such staff to undergo continuous training;

the mission, role and tasks allocated to them;

the rules of conduct, in particular the standards of ethics and integrity that they must comply with and the rights they enjoy.

Heads of Union delegations acting as authorising officers by subdelegation in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 56(2) of the Financial Regulation shall be subject to the Commission code of professional standards referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article for the implementation of the financial management tasks subdelegated to them.

Each institution shall put in place the appropriate structures to distribute to authorising departments and update periodically appropriate information concerning the control standards and the methods and techniques available for that purpose.

Failure by the authorising officer by delegation to take action, as referred to in Article 66(8) of the Financial Regulation, shall mean the absence of any reply within a reasonable time given the circumstances of the case and, in any event, within a month at most.

The authorising officer by delegation shall send the accounting officer, in accordance with the rules adopted by the latter, the financial and management information required for the performance of the accounting officer’s duties.

Authorising officers by delegation shall record, for each financial year, contracts concluded by the negotiated procedures referred to in points (a) to (g) of Article 134(1), points (a) to (d) of Article 135(1) and Articles 266, 268 and 270 of this Regulation. If the proportion of negotiated procedures in relation to the number of contracts awarded by the same authorising officer by delegation increases appreciably in relation to earlier years or if that proportion is distinctly higher than the average recorded for the institution, the authorising officer responsible shall report to the institution setting out any measures taken to reverse that trend. Each institution shall send a report on negotiated procedures to the European Parliament and Council. In the case of the Commission, that report shall be annexed to the summary of the annual activity reports referred to in Article 66(9) of the Financial Regulation.

Each institution shall appoint an accounting officer from officials subject to the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union.
The accounting officer shall be chosen by the institution on the grounds of his particular competence as evidenced by diplomas or by equivalent professional experience.

Two or more institutions or bodies may appoint the same accounting officer.
In such case, they shall make the necessary arrangements in order to avoid any conflict of interest.

A trial balance shall be drawn up without delay in the event of termination of the duties of the accounting officer.

The trial balance accompanied by a handing over report shall be transmitted by the accounting officer who is terminating his duties or, if it is not possible, by an official in his department to the new accounting officer.
The new accounting officer shall sign the trial balance in acceptance within one month from the date of transmission and he may make reservations.
The handing over report shall also contain the result of the trial balance and any reservations made.

Each institution or body referred to in Article 208 of the Financial Regulation shall inform the European Parliament, the Council and the accounting officer of the Commission within two weeks of the appointment or termination of duties of its accounting officer.

The responsible authorising officer shall notify the accounting officer of all developments or significant modifications of a financial management system, an inventory system or a system for the valuation of assets and liabilities, if it provides data for the accounts of the institution or is used to substantiate data thereof, so that the accounting officer can verify compliance with the validation criteria.

The accounting officer shall ensure that his institution has at its disposal sufficient funds to cover the cash requirements arising from budgetary implementation.

For the purposes of paragraph 1, the accounting officer shall set up cash management systems enabling him to draw up cash-flow forecasts.

The accounting officer of the Commission shall divide up the funds available in accordance with Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1150/2000.

For the requirements of treasury management, the accounting officer may open accounts in the name of the institution with financial institutions or national central banks or cause such accounts to be opened. In duly warranted circumstances, the accounting officer may open accounts in currencies other than the euro.

The accounting officer shall be responsible for closing accounts referred to in the paragraph 1 or for ensuring that such accounts are closed.

The accounting officer shall set the operating terms for accounts referred to in paragraph 1 with financial institutions, in accordance with the principles of sound financial management, efficiency and competitive tendering.

At least every five years the accounting officer shall relaunch competitive tendering between financial institutions with which accounts could be opened in accordance with paragraph 1.
Where local banking conditions allow for it, imprest related bank accounts opened with financial institutions located outside the Union shall be regularly subject to a competitive survey. Such a survey shall be undertaken, at least every five years, at the initiative of the imprest account holder, who then shall submit to the accounting officer a substantiated proposal for the selection of a bank for a period not exceeding five years.

The accounting officer shall ensure strict compliance with the operating terms for accounts opened with financial institutions in accordance with paragraph 1.
For imprest related bank accounts opened with financial institutions located outside the Union, the imprest account holder shall assume this responsibility taking into account the applicable legislation in the country where that holder exercises his mandate.

The accounting officer of the Commission shall inform the accounting officers of the other institutions and of the bodies referred to in Article 208 of the Financial Regulation, on the operating terms of accounts opened with financial institutions. The accounting officers of the other institutions and of the bodies referred to in Article 208 of the Financial Regulation shall harmonise, with those operating terms, the operating terms of the accounts they open.

The terms governing the opening, operation and use of accounts shall provide, depending on internal control requirements, that cheques, bank credit transfer orders or any other banking operations must be signed by one or more duly authorised members of staff. Manual instructions shall be signed by at least two duly authorised members of staff, or by the accounting officer in person.

The accounting officer shall ensure that the balance on the bank accounts provided for in Article 58 does not deviate significantly from the cash-flow forecasts referred to in Article 57(2) and in any event:

that none of those accounts is in debit;

that the balance of accounts held in other currencies is periodically converted into euro.

The accounting officer may not maintain balances in foreign currency accounts which might cause excessive losses to the institution as a result of exchange rate fluctuations.

Without prejudice to Article 69, the accounting officer shall conduct transfers between accounts opened by him in the name of the institution with financial institutions, and conduct currency conversion operations.

Payments shall be made by bank credit transfer, by cheque or, from imprest accounts by debit card in accordance with Article 67(4).

The accounting officer may make payments by bank credit transfer only if the payee’s bank account details and information confirming the payee’s identity, or any modification, have first been entered in a common file by institution.
Any such entry in the file of the payee’s legal and bank account details or modification of those details shall be based on a supporting document, the form of which shall be defined by the accounting officer.

With a view to payment by bank credit transfer, authorising officers may enter into a commitment towards a third party on behalf of their institution only if that third party has provided the documentation required for its entry in the file.
Authorising officers shall inform the accounting officer of any change in the legal and bank account details communicated to them by the payee and shall check that these details are valid before a payment is made.
In connection with pre-accession aid, individual commitments may be concluded with the public authorities in the countries applying for accession to the European Union without a prior entry in the third-party file. In such cases the authorising officer shall do his utmost to ensure that the entry is made as quickly as possible. The agreements shall provide that communication to the Commission of the payee’s bank account details is a condition to be fulfilled before the first payment can be made.

Supporting documents for the accounting system and for the preparation of the accounts referred to in Article 141 of the Financial Regulation shall be kept for at least five years from the date on which the European Parliament grants discharge for the budgetary year to which the documents relate.

Each institution shall lay down the conditions in accordance with which the staff it designates and empowers to administer accounts in the local units referred to in Article 72 are authorised to communicate the names and specimen signatures to local financial institutions.

Where, owing to the limited amounts involved, it is materially impossible or inefficient to carry out payment operations by budgetary procedures, imprest accounts may be set up for the payment of such expenditure.

The imprest administrator may provisionally validate and pay expenditure, on the basis of a detailed framework set out in the instructions from the authorising officer responsible. Those instructions shall specify the rules and conditions under which the provisional validation and payments shall be carried out and, where appropriate, the terms for signing legal commitments within the meaning of Article 97(1)(e).

The creation of an imprest account and the appointment of an imprest administrator shall be the subject of a decision by the accounting officer, on a duly substantiated proposal from the authorising officer responsible. That decision shall set out the respective responsibilities and obligations of the imprest administrator and the authorising officer.
Amendment of the operating terms for an imprest account shall also be the subject of a decision by the accounting officer on a duly substantiated proposal from the authorising officer responsible.

In Union delegations, imprest accounts shall be set up for the payment of expenditure from both the Commission section of the budget and the European External Action Service (hereinafter ‘EEAS’) section of the budget, ensuring full traceability of expenditure.

The decision setting up an imprest account and appointing an imprest administrator and the decision amending the operating terms for an imprest account shall specify in particular:

the maximum amount which may be initially provided as an imprest, and its purpose;

whether a bank account or post office giro account is to be opened in the name of the institution;

the nature and maximum amount of each item of expenditure which may be paid by the imprest administrator to third parties or collected from them;

the frequency with which supporting documents must be produced, the procedure for producing them and the arrangements for transmitting them to the authorising officer for settlement;

the procedure to be followed if the imprest has to be replenished;

that imprest transactions will be settled by the authorising officer by no later than the end of the following month, so that the accounting balance and the bank balance can be reconciled;

the period of validity of the authorisation given to the imprest administrator by the accounting officer;

the identity of the appointed imprest administrator.

In proposals for decisions setting up imprest accounts the authorising officer responsible shall ensure that:

priority is given to the use of budgetary procedures where there is access to the central computerised accounting system;

imprest accounts are used only in substantiated cases.

The maximum amount which may be paid by the imprest administrator where it is materially impossible or inefficient to carry out payment operations by budgetary procedures shall not exceed EUR 60 000 for each item of expenditure.

The imprest administrator may make payments to third parties on the basis and within the limits of:

prior budgetary and legal commitments signed by the authorising officer responsible;

the positive residual balance of the imprest account, in cash or at the bank.

Payments from imprest accounts may be made by bank credit transfer, including the direct debit system referred to in Article 89 of the Financial Regulation, cheque or other means of payment, including debit cards, in accordance with the instructions laid down by the accounting officer.

Payments made shall be followed by formal final validation decisions and/or payment orders signed by the authorising officer responsible.

Imprest administrators shall be chosen from officials or, should the need arise and only in duly substantiated cases, from other members of staff. Imprest administrators shall be chosen on the grounds of their knowledge, skills and particular qualifications as evidenced by diplomas or by appropriate professional experience, or after an appropriate training programme.

The accounting officer shall make payments endowing imprest accounts and shall monitor those accounts from the point of view of opening of bank accounts and delegation of signatures and controls on the spot and in the centralised accounts. The accounting officer shall endow the imprest accounts. Imprests shall be paid to the bank account opened for the imprest.
Imprest accounts may also be endowed directly by miscellaneous local revenue such as that arising from:

sales of equipment;

publications;

miscellaneous repayments;

interest.

The imprest shall be regularised, in terms of expenditure or miscellaneous or assigned revenue, in accordance with the decision setting up the imprest account referred to in Article 67 and the provisions of the Financial Regulation. The amounts in question shall be deducted by the authorising officer when he subsequently replenishes the imprest accounts concerned.

In order, in particular, to avoid any exchange losses, the imprest administrator may make transfers between different bank accounts relating to the same imprest.

The imprest administrator shall keep an account of the funds at his disposal, in cash and at the bank, and of payments made and amounts received, in accordance with the rules and on the instructions given by the accounting officer. Statements of that account shall be accessible at all times to the authorising officer responsible and a list of transactions shall be established at least once a month and be sent in the following month together with supporting documents by the imprest administrator to the authorising officer responsible for settlement of the imprest operations.

The accounting officer shall carry out, or have carried out by a staff member in his own department or in the authorising department specially empowered for that purpose, checks, which must as a general rule be effected on the spot and without warning, to verify the existence of the funds allocated to the imprest administrators and the bookkeeping and to check that imprest transactions are settled within the time limit set. The accounting officer shall communicate the findings of those checks to the authorising officer responsible.

Payments made from imprest accounts may, within the limits laid down in Article 137(3), consist simply in the payment of costs against invoices, without prior acceptance of a tender.

For the payment of certain categories of expenditure, one or more imprest accounts may be set up in each local unit outside the Union in accordance with Article 70 of the Financial Regulation. A local unit shall be, for instance, a Union delegation, office or branch office in a third country.

In exceptional circumstances and for the purposes of continuity of service, the duties of EEAS imprest administrator in the Union delegations may be performed by staff of the Commission. Under the same conditions, the staff of the EEAS may be designated as imprest administrators for the Commission in the Union delegations.

The authorities and bodies referred to in Articles 66(8) and 72(2) of the Financial Regulation shall be understood as the bodies designated in the Staff Regulations and the decisions of the Union institutions concerning the terms and conditions for internal investigations in relation to the prevention of fraud, corruption and any other illegal activity detrimental to the Union’s interests.

Without prejudice to the powers of OLAF, the Financial Irregularities Panel referred to in Article 29 (hereinafter ‘the Panel’) shall be competent in respect of any infringement of a provision of the Financial Regulation or of a provision relating to financial management or the checking of operations resulting from an act or omission of a member of staff.

Cases of financial irregularities as referred to in Article 75 of this Regulation shall be referred to the Panel by the appointing authority for an opinion referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 73(6) of the Financial Regulation.
Where Heads of Union delegations act as authorising officers by subdelegation in accordance with Article 56(2) of the Financial Regulation, the responsible authorising officer may refer directly to the Panel for an opinion on cases of financial irregularities as referred to in Article 75 of this Regulation.
An authorising officer by delegation may refer a matter to the panel if he considers that a financial irregularity has occurred. The Panel shall deliver an opinion evaluating whether irregularities within the meaning of Article 75 have occurred, how serious they are and what their consequences might be. Where the Panel’s analysis suggests that the case referred to it is a matter for OLAF, it shall transmit the file to the appointing authority without delay and shall inform OLAF at once.
When the Panel is directly informed of a matter by a member of staff in accordance with Article 66(8) of the Financial Regulation, it shall transmit the file to the appointing authority and shall inform the member of staff accordingly. The appointing authority may request the Panel’s opinion on the case.

The institution or, in the case of a joint Panel, the participating institutions shall, depending on its or their own internal organisation, specify the operating arrangements of the Panel and its composition, which shall include an external participant with the required qualifications and expertise.

An authorising officer by delegation or subdelegation who receives a binding instruction which he considers to be irregular or contrary to the principle of sound financial management, in particular because the instruction cannot be carried out with the resources allocated to him, shall, in writing, so inform the authority from which he received the delegation or subdelegation. If the instruction is confirmed in writing and that confirmation is received in good time and is sufficiently clear, in that it refers explicitly to the points which the authorising officer by delegation or subdelegation has challenged, the authorising officer may not be held liable. He shall carry out the instruction, unless it is manifestly illegal or constitutes a breach of the relevant safety standards.

Paragraph 1 shall also apply in cases where an authorising officer learns, in the course of acting on a binding instruction, that the circumstances of the case may give rise to an irregular situation.
Any instructions confirmed in the circumstances described in Article 73(3) of the Financial Regulation shall be recorded by the authorising officer by delegation responsible and mentioned in his annual activity report.

The authorising officer shall draw up a schedule indicating when the own resources defined in the Decision on the system of the Union’s own resources will be made available to the Commission.

Estimates of amounts receivable shall specify the type of revenue and the budget item to which they are to be booked and, as far as possible, the particulars of the debtor and the estimated amount.
When drawing up an estimate of amounts receivable, the authorising officer responsible shall check in particular that:

the revenue is booked to the correct budget item;

the estimate is in order and complies with the provisions applicable and the principle of sound financial management.

Subject to Articles 181(2) and 183(2) of the Financial Regulation and Article 7(2) of this Regulation, an estimate of amounts receivable shall not have the effect of making commitment appropriations available. In the cases referred to in Article 21 of the Financial Regulation, appropriations may be made available only after the sums due have actually been recovered by the Union.

The establishment by the authorising officer responsible of an amount receivable shall constitute recognition of the right of the Union in respect of a debtor and establishment of entitlement to demand that the debtor pay the debt.

The recovery order shall be the operation by which the authorising officer responsible instructs the accounting officer to recover the amount established.

The debit note shall be to inform the debtor that:

the Union has established the amount receivable;

if payment of the debt is made before the deadline, no default interest will be due;

failing reimbursement by the deadline referred to in point (b) the debt shall bear interest at the rate referred to in Article 83, without any prejudice to any specific regulations applicable;

failing reimbursement by the deadline referred to in point (b) the institution shall effect recovery either by offsetting or by enforcement of any guarantee lodged in advance;

the accounting officer may effect recovery by offsetting before the deadline referred to in point b), where it is necessary to protect the Union’s financial interests when he has justified grounds to believe that the amount due to the Commission would be lost, after the debtor has been informed of the reasons and date of the recovery by offsetting;

if, after taking all the steps set out in points (a) to (e) of this subparagraph, the amount has not been recovered in full, the institution shall effect recovery by enforcement of a decision secured either in accordance with Article 79(2) of the Financial Regulation or by legal action.

The Authorising officer shall print out the debit note and send it to the debtor. The accounting officer shall be informed of that dispatch through the financial information system.

To establish an amount receivable the authorising officer responsible shall ensure that:

the receivable is certain, meaning that it is not subject to any condition;

the receivable is of fixed amount, expressed precisely in cash terms;

the receivable is due and is not subject to any payment time;

the particulars of the debtor are correct;

the amount to be recovered is booked to the correct budget item;

the supporting documents are in order; and

the principle of sound financial management is complied with, in particular with regard to the criteria referred to in point (a) of Article 91(1).

The establishment of an amount receivable shall be based on supporting documents certifying the Union’s entitlement.

Before establishing an amount receivable the authorising officer responsible shall personally check the supporting documents or, on his own responsibility, shall ascertain that this has been done.

The supporting documents shall be kept by the authorising officer in accordance with Article 48.

Without prejudice to any specific provisions deriving from the application of sector-specific regulations, any amount receivable not repaid on the deadline referred to in Article 80(3)(b) shall bear interest in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article.

The interest rate for amounts receivable not repaid on the deadline referred to in Article 80(3)(b) shall be the rate applied by the European Central Bank to its principal refinancing operations, as published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union , in force on the first calendar day of the month in which the deadline falls, increased by: Official Journal of the European Union

eight percentage points where the obligating event is a public supply and service contract referred to in Title V;

three and a half percentage points in all other cases.

Interest shall be calculated from the calendar day following the deadline referred to in Article 80(3)(b) and specified in the debit note up to the calendar day on which the debt is repaid in full.
The recovery order corresponding to the amount of the default interest shall be issued when this interest is actually received.

In the case of fines, where the debtor provides a financial guarantee which is accepted by the accounting officer instead of payment, the interest rate applicable from the deadline referred to in Article 80(3)(b) shall be the rate referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article as in force on the first day of the month in which the decision imposing a fine has been adopted and increased only by one and a half percentage points.

The recovery order shall specify:

the financial year to which the revenue is to be booked;

the references of the act or legal commitment which is the source of the debt and gives rise to the entitlement to recovery;

the budget article and any other subdivision that may apply, including, where appropriate, the references of the corresponding budget commitment;

the amount to be recovered, expressed in euro;

the name and address of the debtor;

the deadline referred to in Article 80(3)(b);

the possible method of recovery, including in particular recovery by offsetting or enforcement of any guarantee lodged.

The recovery order shall be dated and signed by the authorising officer responsible, then sent to the accounting officer.

The accounting officer of each institution shall keep a list of amounts due to be recovered. Union entitlements shall be grouped in the list according to the date of issue of the recovery order. He shall transfer this list to the accounting officer of the Commission.
The accounting officer of the Commission shall prepare a consolidated list showing the amount due per institution and per date of issue of the recovery order. The list shall be added to the Commission’s Report on budgetary and financial management.

In order to reinforce the protection of the Union’s financial interests, the Commission shall establish a list of Union entitlements stating the names of the debtors and the amount of the debt, where the debtor has been ordered to reimburse by a Court decision that has the force of res judicata and where no or no significant reimbursement has been made for one year following its pronouncement. The list shall be published, with due regard to the protection of personal data in accordance with the requirements of Regulation 2001/45. res judicata
As far as personal data referring to natural persons are concerned, the information published shall be removed once the amount of the debt has been fully reimbursed. The same shall apply to personal data referring to legal persons for whom the official title identifies one or more natural persons.
The decision to include the debtor on the list of Union entitlements shall be taken in compliance with the principle of proportionality and shall take into account, in particular the significance of the amount.

The exceptional circumstances referred to in article 79(2) of the Financial Regulation are met when the possibility to have a voluntary payment and to recover the debt by offsetting as provided for in Article 80(1) of the Financial Regulation have been exhausted by the institution concerned and the debt represents a significant amount.

In the case referred to in paragraph 1, the institutions concerned other than those mentioned under Article 299 of the TFEU may request the Commission to adopt an enforceable decision.

In all cases, the enforceable decision shall specify that the amounts claimed shall be entered in the section of the budget corresponding to the institution concerned, which shall act as Authorising officer. The revenue shall be entered as general revenue except if it falls within the specified cases of assigned revenues as provided for in Article 21(3) of the Financial Regulation.

The requesting institution shall inform the Commission of any event likely to alter the recovery and shall intervene in support of the Commission in case of appeal against the enforceable decision.

The Commission and the institution concerned shall agree on the practical modalities for the implementation of this Article.

Upon the recovery of an amount receivable, the accounting officer shall make an entry in the accounts and shall inform the authorising officer responsible.

A receipt shall be issued in respect of any cash payments made to the accounting officer or imprest administrator.

Partial reimbursement by a debtor subject to several recovery orders shall first be posted on the oldest entitlement unless otherwise specified by the debtor.
Any partial payments shall first cover the interest.

Where the debtor has a claim on the Union that is certain as defined in point (a) of Article 81, of a fixed amount and due, relating to a sum established by a payment order, the accounting officer shall, following the deadline referred to in Article 80(3)(b) recover established amounts receivable by offsetting.
In exceptional circumstances, where it is necessary to safeguard the financial interests of the Union, when the accounting officer has justified grounds to believe that the amount due to the Union would be lost, the accounting officer shall recover by offsetting before the deadline referred to in Article 80(3)(b).
The accounting officer shall also recover by offsetting before the deadline referred to in Article 80(3)(b) when the debtor agrees.

Before proceeding with any recovery in accordance with paragraph 1, the accounting officer shall consult the authorising officer responsible and inform the debtors concerned.
Where the debtor is a national authority or one of its administrative entities, the accounting officer shall also inform the Member State concerned at least 10 working days in advance of his intention to resort to recovery by offsetting. However, in agreement with the Member State or administrative entity concerned, the accounting officer may proceed with the recovery by offsetting before the deadline has passed.

The offsetting referred to in paragraph 1 shall have the same effect as a payment and discharge the Union for the amount of the debt and, where appropriate of the interest due.

Without prejudice to Article 87, if the full amount has not been recovered by the deadline referred to in Article 80(3)(b) and specified in the debit note, the accounting officer shall inform the authorising officer responsible and shall without delay launch the procedure for effecting recovery by any means offered by the law, including, where appropriate, by enforcement of any guarantee lodged in advance.

Without prejudice to Article 87, where the recovery method referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article cannot be used and the debtor has failed to pay in response to the letter of formal notice sent by the accounting officer, the accounting officer shall enforce a recovery decision secured either in accordance with Article 79(2) of the Financial Regulation or by legal action.

The accounting officer, in collaboration with the authorising officer responsible, may allow additional time for payment only at the written request of the debtor, with due indication of the reasons, and provided that the following two conditions are fulfilled:

the debtor undertakes to pay interest at the rate specified in Article 83 for the entire additional period allowed, starting from the deadline referred to in Article 80(3)(b);

in order to safeguard the rights of the Union, the debtor lodges a financial guarantee covering the debt outstanding in both the principal sum and the interest, which is accepted by the institution’s accounting officer.

The guarantee referred to in point (b) of the first paragraph may be replaced by a joint and several guarantee by a third party approved by the institution’s accounting officer.

Where an action is brought before the Court of Justice of the European Union against a Commission decision imposing a fine or other penalties under the TFEU or Euratom Treaty and until such time as all legal remedies have been exhausted, the debtor shall either provisionally pay the amounts concerned on the bank account designated by the accounting officer or provide a financial guarantee acceptable to the accounting officer. The guarantee shall be independent of the obligation to pay the fine or penalty payment or other penalties and shall be enforceable upon first call. It shall cover the claim as to principal and the interest due as specified in Article 83(4).

The Commission shall secure the provisionally cashed amounts by having them invested in financial assets thus ensuring the security and liquidity of the monies whilst also aiming at yielding a positive return.

After the exhaustion of all legal remedies and where the fine or penalty has been confirmed any of the following measures shall be taken:

the provisionally collected amounts and the interest and other amounts they have yielded shall be entered into the budget in accordance with Article 83 of the Financial Regulation at the latest during the financial year following the year in which all legal remedies have been exhausted;

where a financial guarantee has been lodged, the latter shall be enforced and the corresponding amounts entered in the budget;

Where the amount of the fine or of the penalty has been increased by the Court, points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph shall apply up to the amounts of the decision of the Commission and the accounting officer shall collect the amount corresponding to the increase, which will be entered into the budget.

After all legal remedies have been exhausted and where the fine or penalty has been cancelled or reduced any of the following measures shall be taken:

the amounts unduly collected together with the interest yielded shall be repaid to the third party concerned. In cases where the overall return yielded for the relevant period has been negative, the nominal value of the amounts unduly collected shall be repaid;

where a financial guarantee has been lodged, the latter shall be released accordingly.

The authorising officer responsible may waive recovery of all or part of an established amount receivable only in the following cases:

where the foreseeable cost of recovery would exceed the amount to be recovered and the waiver would not harm the image of the Union;

where the amount receivable cannot be recovered in view of its age or the insolvency of the debtor;

where recovery is inconsistent with the principle of proportionality.

In the case referred to in point (c) of paragraph 1, the authorising officer responsible shall act in accordance with predetermined procedures established within each institution and shall apply the following criteria which are compulsory and applicable in all circumstances:

the facts, having regard to the gravity of the irregularity giving rise to the establishment of the amount receivable (fraud, repeat offence, intent, diligence, good faith, manifest error);

the impact that waiving recovery would have on the operation of the Union and its financial interests (amount involved, risk of setting a precedent, undermining of the authority of the law).

Depending on the circumstances of the case, the authorising officer responsible may also have to take the following additional criteria into account:

any distortion of competition that would be caused by the waiving of recovery;

the economic and social damage that would be caused were the debt to be recovered in full.

The waiver decision referred to in Article 80(2) of the Financial Regulation shall be substantiated and shall refer to the diligence exercised to secure recovery and the points of law and fact on which the waiver is based. The authorising officer responsible shall waive recovery in accordance with Article 84.

The waiving of recovery of an established amount receivable may not be delegated by the institution in any of the following cases:

where the amount to be waived is EUR 1 000 000 or more;

where the amount to be waived is EUR 100 000 or more, where this represents 25 % or more of the established amount receivable.

Beneath the thresholds set out in the first subparagraph, each institution shall lay down in its internal rules the conditions and procedure for delegating the power to waive recovery of an established debt.

Each institution shall send to the European Parliament and Council each year a report on the waivers referred to in paragraphs 1 to 4 of this Article involving EUR 100 000 or more. In the case of the Commission, that report shall be annexed to the summary of the annual activity reports referred to in Article 66(9) of the Financial Regulation.

In the event of a mistake, the authorising officer responsible shall cancel totally or partially the established amount receivable in accordance with Articles 82 and 84 and include adequate reasons.

Each institution shall lay down in its internal rules the conditions and procedure for delegating the power to cancel an established amount receivable.

The limitation period for entitlements of the Union in respect of third parties shall begin to run on the expiry of the deadline communicated to the debtor in the debit note as specified in Article 80(3)(b).
The limitation period for entitlements of third parties in respect of the Union shall begin to run on the date on which the payment of the third party’s entitlement is due according to the corresponding legal commitment.

The limitation period for entitlements of the Union in respect of third parties shall be interrupted by any act of an institution, or a Member State acting at the request of an institution, notified to the third party and aiming at recovering the debt.
The limitation period for entitlements of third parties in respect of the Union shall be interrupted by any act notified to the Union by its creditors or on behalf of its creditors aiming at recovering the debt.

A new limitation period of five years shall begin to run on the day following the interruptions referred to in paragraph 2.

Any legal action relating to an amount receivable as referred to in paragraph 1, including actions brought before a court which later declares itself not to have jurisdiction, shall interrupt the limitation period. The new limitation period of five years shall not begin until a judgment having the force of res judicata is given or there is an extrajudicial settlement between the same parties on the same action. res judicata

Where the accounting officer allows the debtor additional time for payment in accordance with Article 89, this shall be considered as an interruption of the limitation period. The new limitation period of five years shall begin to run on the day following the expiry of the extended time for payment.

Entitlements shall not be recovered after the expiry of the limitation period, as established in paragraphs 1 to 5.

The financing decision shall set out the essential elements of an action involving expenditure from the budget.

The financing decision shall in particular set out the following:

for grants:

the reference to the basic act and the budgetary line;

the priorities of the year, the objectives to be fulfilled and the foreseen results with the appropriations authorised for the financial year;

the essential eligibility, selection and award criteria to be used to select the proposals;

the maximum possible rate of co-financing and if different rates are envisaged the criteria to be followed for each rate;

the timetable and the indicative amount of the calls for proposals;

for procurement:

the global budgetary envelope reserved for the procurements during the year;

the indicative number and type of contracts envisaged and if possible their subject in generic terms;

the indicative time-frame for launching the procurement procedures;

for trust funds referred to in Article 187 of the Financial Regulation:

the reference to the basic act and the budgetary line;

the appropriations reserved to the trust fund for the year together with the amounts planned over its duration;

the objectives of the trust fund and its duration;

the rules of governance of the trust fund;

the possibility to entrust budget implementation tasks to the entities and persons referred to in Article 187(2) of the Financial Regulation;

for prizes:

the reference to the basic act and the budgetary line;

the objectives to be fulfilled and the foreseen results;

the essential conditions for participation and award criteria;

the timetable of the contest and the amount of the prize or prizes;

for financial instruments:

the reference to the basic act and the budgetary line;

the objectives to be fulfilled and the foreseen results;

the amount allocated to the financial instrument;

the indicative implementation timetable.

Where the work programme referred to in Article 128 of the Financial Regulation contains the information set out in point (a) of paragraph 2 of this Article for the grants financed from appropriations authorised for the financial year, the decision adopting it shall be considered to be the financing decision for those grants.
As regards procurement, trust funds, prizes and financial instruments, where the implementation of the corresponding appropriations authorised for the financial year is provided for by a work programme containing the information referred to in points (b), (c), (d) and (e) of paragraph 2 of this Article, the decision adopting this work programme shall also be considered to be the financing decision for the procurement, trust funds, prizes and financial instruments involved.
If the work programme does not contain such information for one or more actions, it must be modified accordingly or a specific financing decision must be adopted for the actions concerned.

Without prejudice to any specific provision of a basic act, any substantial change in a financing decision already adopted shall follow the same procedure as the initial decision.

The global budgetary commitment shall be implemented either by the conclusion of a financing agreement, itself providing for the subsequent conclusion of one or more legal commitments, or by the conclusion of one or more legal commitments.
Financing agreements in the field of direct financial assistance to third countries, including budget support, which constitute legal commitments may give rise to payments without the conclusion of other legal commitments.

The provisional budgetary commitment shall be implemented either by the conclusion of one or more legal commitments giving rise to an entitlement to subsequent payments or, in cases relating to expenditure on staff management or relating to communication expenditures engaged in by the institutions for the coverage of Union events, directly by payments.

A global commitment shall be made on the basis of a financing decision.
The global commitment shall be made at the latest before the decision on the selection of recipients is taken and, where implementation of the appropriations concerned involves the adoption of a work programme within the meaning of Article 188, at the earliest after that programme has been adopted.

Where the global commitment is implemented by the conclusion of a financing agreement, the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall not apply.

The rule that there shall be a single signatory for the budget commitment and the corresponding legal commitment may be departed from only in the following cases:

where the commitments are provisional;

where global commitments relate to financing agreements with third countries;

where the institution’s decision constitutes the legal commitment;

where the global commitment is implemented by a number of legal commitments, for which different authorising officers are responsible;

where, in connection with imprest accounts available for external action, legal commitments must be signed by members of staff of the local units referred to in Article 72 on the instruction of the authorising officer responsible, who remains, however, fully responsible for the underlying transaction.

where an institution has delegated authorising officer powers to the director of an interinstitutional European office pursuant to Article 199(1) of the Financial Regulation.

If the authorising officer responsible who signed the budget commitment is not available and remains unavailable for a period incompatible with the time limits for concluding the legal commitment, that legal commitment shall be concluded by the person designated under the deputisation rules adopted by each institution, provided that that person has the status of authorising officer in accordance with Article 65(3) of the Financial Regulation.

Items regarded as routine administrative expenditure which may give rise to provisional commitments shall include the following:

expenditure on staff, whether or not covered by the Staff Regulations, on other human resources and pensions and on the remuneration of experts;

expenditure relating to members of the institution;

training expenditure;

expenditure on competitions, selection and recruitment;

mission expenses;

representation expenses;

meeting expenses;

freelance interpreters and translators;

exchanges of officials;

recurring rentals of movable and immovable property or recurring payments relating to building contracts within the meaning of Article 121 of this Regulation or loan instalments pursuant to Article 203(8) of the Financial Regulation;

miscellaneous insurance;

cleaning, maintenance and security;

welfare and medical expenditure;

the use of telecommunications services;

financial charges;

legal expenses;

damages, including interest;

work equipment;

water, gas and electricity;

publications on paper or in electronic versions;

communications activities engaged in by the institutions for the coverage of Union events.

In the case of a global budget commitment followed by one or several individual legal commitments, the authorising officer responsible shall register in the central accounts the amounts of this or these successive individual legal commitments.

Validation of any expenditure shall be based on supporting documents within the meaning of Article 110 attesting the creditor’s entitlement, on the basis of a statement of services actually rendered, supplies actually delivered or work actually carried out, or on the basis of other documents justifying payment, including recurring payments of subscriptions or training courses.

The authorising officer responsible shall personally check the supporting documents or shall, on his own responsibility, ascertain that this has been done, before taking the decision validating the expenditure.

The validation decision shall be expressed by the signing of a ‘passed for payment’ voucher by the authorising officer responsible or by technically competent member of staff, duly empowered by a formal decision of the authorising officer and under his responsibility in accordance with Article 65(5) of the Financial Regulation. Such empowerment decisions shall be kept for future reference.

For pre-financing payments, the authorising officer responsible or a technically competent member of staff, duly empowered by the authorising officer responsible shall certify with the endorsement ‘certified correct’ that the conditions required in the legal commitment for the payment of the pre-financing are met.

For interim and balance payments corresponding to procurement contracts, the endorsement ‘passed for payment’ shall certify that:

the institution has received and formally registered an invoice drawn up by the contractor;

the invoice itself, or an internal document accompanying the invoice received, has been endorsed ‘certified correct’ and signed by the authorising officer responsible or by a technically competent member of staff, duly empowered by the authorising officer responsible;

all aspects of the invoice have been checked by the authorising officer responsible or on his responsibility with a view to determining in particular the amount to be paid and the validity of the payment as discharge of the debt.

The endorsement ‘certified correct’, referred to in point (b) of the first paragraph shall certify that the services provided for in the contract have been properly provided, or that the supplies provided for in the contract have been properly delivered, or that the work provided for in the contract has been properly carried out. For supplies and work, the official or other servant technically competent shall draw up a provisional acceptance certificate, then a final acceptance certificate at the end of the guarantee period laid down in the contract. Those two certificates shall count as the ‘certified correct’ endorsement.

For interim and balance payments corresponding to grants, the endorsement ‘passed for payment’ shall certify that:

the institution has received and formally registered a payment request drawn up by the beneficiary;

the payment request itself, or an internal document accompanying the cost statement received, has been endorsed ‘certified correct’ and signed by an official or other servant technically competent, duly empowered by the authorising officer responsible;

all aspects of the payment request have been checked by the authorising officer responsible or on his responsibility with a view to determining in particular the amount to be paid and the validity of the payment as discharge of the debt.

By endorsement referred to in point (b) of the first paragraph, the official or other servant technically competent, duly empowered by the authorising officer responsible, certifies that the action or work programme carried out by the beneficiary is in all respects in compliance with the grant agreement or decision, including, where applicable that the costs declared by the beneficiary are eligible.

For payments corresponding to staff expenditure, the endorsement ‘passed for payment’ shall certify that the following supporting documents exist:

in respect of monthly salary:

the complete list of staff, giving all the components of remuneration;

a form (personal information sheet) based on decisions taken in each individual case, showing, whenever such change occurs, any change in any component of remuneration;

in the case of recruitments or appointments, a certified true copy of the recruitment or appointment decision which accompanies the validation of the first salary payment;

in respect of other remunerations such as staff paid on an hourly or daily basis: a statement signed by the authorised member of staff showing the days and hours worked;

in respect of overtime: a statement signed by the authorised member of staff certifying the amount of overtime worked;

in respect of mission expenses:

the travel order signed by the competent authority;

the statement of mission expenses, signed by the member of staff on mission and by the administrative superior to whom the appropriate powers have been delegated, if the mission expenses differ from the mission order;

in respect of some other administrative expenditure related to staff including subscriptions or training courses which, according to the contract, are to be paid in advance: the supporting documents referring to the decision on which the expenditure is based and giving all the components of the calculation.

The statement of mission expenses referred to in point (d)(ii) of the first subparagraph shall indicate the place of mission, the dates and times of departure and arrival at the place of mission, travel expenses, subsistence expenses, and other expenses duly authorised on production of supporting documents.

In a non-computerised system, ‘passed for payment’ shall take the form of a stamp incorporating the signature of the authorising officer responsible or of a technically competent member of staff, duly empowered by the authorising officer responsible in accordance with Article 100. In a computerised system, ‘passed for payment’ shall take the form of an electronically secured validation by the authorising officer responsible or of a technically competent member of staff, duly empowered by the authorising officer responsible.

In a non-computerised system, ‘certified correct’ shall take the form of a stamp incorporating the signature of the authorising officer responsible or of a technically competent member of staff, duly empowered by the authorising officer responsible in accordance with Article 101. In a computerised system, ‘certified correct’ may take the form of an electronically secured validation by the technically competent member of staff, duly empowered by the authorising officer responsible.

When drawing up the payment order, the authorising officer responsible shall ensure that:

the payment order has been properly issued, meaning that a corresponding validation decision has been taken previously in the form of ‘passed for payment’, that the particulars of the payee are correct and that the amount is due;

the payment order corresponds to the budgetary commitment against which it is booked;

the expenditure is charged to the correct item in the budget;

appropriations are available.

The payment order shall state:

the financial year to which the expenditure is to be booked;

the budget article and any other subdivision that may apply;

the references of the legal commitment giving rise to an entitlement to payment;

the references of the budgetary commitment against which it is to be booked;

the amount to be paid, expressed in euro;

the name, address and bank account details of the payee;

the object of the expenditure;

the means of payment;

the entry of items in the inventory in accordance with Article 248.

The payment order shall be dated and signed by the authorising officer responsible, then sent to the accounting officer.

Pre-financing shall provide a float. It may be split into a number of payments in accordance with sound financial management.

An interim payment, which may be repeated, may cover expenditure incurred for the implementation of the decision or agreement or to pay for services, supplies or works completed and/or delivered at interim stages of the contract. It may clear pre-financing in whole or in part, without prejudice to the provisions of the basic act.

The closure of the expenditure shall take the form of the payment of the balance which may not be repeated and which clears all preceding expenditure, or a recovery order.

Pre-financing, including in cases where it is split into a number of payments, shall be paid either on the basis of the contract, the decision, agreement or the basic act, or on the basis of supporting documents which make it possible to check that the terms of the contract, decision or agreement in question are complied with. If a date of payment for pre-financing is determined in those instruments, payment of the due amount shall not be dependent upon further demand.

Interim payments and payments of balances shall be based on supporting documents which make it possible to check that the action financed has been carried out in accordance with the basic act or the decision, or in accordance with the terms of the contract or agreement.

The authorising officer responsible shall lay down, in compliance with the principle of sound financial management, the nature of the supporting documents referred to in this Article in accordance with the basic act, decisions, contracts and agreements. Interim and final technical and financial implementation reports, shall constitute supporting documents for the purposes of paragraph 2.

The supporting documents shall be kept by the authorising officer responsible in accordance with Article 48.

The time allowed for making payments shall be understood as including validation, authorisation and payment of expenditure.
It shall begin to run from the date on which a payment request is received.
A payment request shall be registered by the authorised department of the authorising officer responsible as soon as possible and is deemed to be received on the date it is registered.
The date of payment is deemed to be the date on which the institution’s account is debited.

A payment request shall include the following essential elements:
The creditor shall be informed in writing of the rejection and the reasons for it as soon as possible and in any case within 30 calendar days from the date on which the payment request was received.

creditor’s identification;

amount;

currency;

date.

Where at least one essential element is missing, the payment request shall be rejected.

In the case of suspension as referred to in Article 92(2) of the Financial Regulation, the remaining time allowed for payment shall begin to run again from the date on which the requested information or revised documents are received or the necessary further verification, including on-the-spot checks, is carried out.

On expiry of the time limits laid down in Article 92(1) of the Financial Regulation, the creditor shall be entitled to interest in accordance with the following conditions:

the interest rates shall be those referred to in Article 83(2) of this Regulation;

the interest shall be payable for the period elapsing from the calendar day following expiry of the time limit for payment laid down in Article 92(1) of the Financial Regulation up to the day of payment.

However, when the interest calculated in accordance with the first subparagraph is lower than or equal to EUR 200, it shall be paid to the creditor only upon a demand submitted within two months of receiving late payment.

Each institution shall submit to the European Parliament and Council a report on the compliance with the time limits and on the suspension of the time limits laid down in Article 92 of the Financial Regulation. The report of the Commission shall be annexed to the summary of the annual activity reports referred to in Article 66(9) of the Financial Regulation.

Where computer systems and subsystems are used to process budget implementation operations, a full and up-to-date description of each system or subsystem shall be required.

The data in computer systems and subsystems shall be saved periodically and kept in a safe place.

Each institution shall appoint its internal auditor in accordance with arrangements adapted to its specific features and requirements. The institution shall inform the European Parliament and Council of the appointment of the internal auditor.

Each institution shall determine, in accordance with its specific features and its requirements, the scope of the mission of the internal auditor and shall lay down in detail the objectives and procedures for the exercise of the internal audit function with due respect for international internal audit standards.

The institution may appoint as internal auditor, by virtue of their particular competence, an official or other servant covered by the Staff Regulations chosen from nationals of the Member States.

If two or more institutions appoint the same internal auditor they shall make the necessary arrangements for him to be declared liable for his actions as laid down in Article 119.

The institution shall inform the European Parliament and Council when the duties of the internal auditor are terminated.

The institution shall provide the internal auditor with the resources required for the proper performance of his audit function and a mission charter detailing his tasks, duties and obligations.

The internal auditor shall adopt his work programme and shall submit it to the institution.

The institution may ask the internal auditor to carry out audits not included in the work programme referred to in paragraph 1.

The internal auditor shall submit to the institution the annual internal audit report provided for in Article 99(3) of the Financial Regulation, indicating the number and type of internal audits carried out, the principal recommendations made and the action taken on those recommendations.
That annual report shall also mention any systemic problems detected by the specialised panel set up pursuant to Article 73(6) of the Financial Regulation.

Each institution shall consider whether the recommendations made in the reports of its internal auditor are suitable for an exchange of best practices with the other institutions.

The internal auditor shall, during the elaboration of his report, particularly focus on the overall compliance with the principle of sound financial management and shall ensure that appropriate measures have been taken in order to steadily improve and enhance its application.

The internal auditor shall enjoy complete independence in the conduct of his audits. He may not be given any instructions nor be restricted in any way as regards the performance of the functions which, by virtue of his appointment, are assigned to him under the Financial Regulation.

The institution alone, proceeding in accordance with this Article, may act to have the internal auditor, as an official or other servant subject to the Staff Regulations, declared liable for his actions.

Without prejudice to the remedies allowed by the Staff Regulations, the internal auditor may bring an action directly before the Court of Justice of the European Union in respect of any act relating to the performance of his duties as internal auditor. Such an action must be lodged within three months running from the calendar day on which the act in question is notified.

Building contracts cover the purchase, long lease, usufruct, leasing, rental or hire purchase, with or without option to buy, of land, existing buildings or other real estate.

Supply contracts cover the purchase, leasing, rental or hire purchase, with or without option to buy, of products. A contract for the supply of products and, incidentally, for siting and installation shall be considered a supply contract.

Works contracts cover either the execution, or both the execution and design, of works or a work related to one of the activities referred to in Annex I to Directive 2004/18 or the realisation, by whatever means, of a work corresponding to the requirements specified by the contracting authority. A ‘work’ shall mean the outcome of building or civil engineering works taken as a whole that is sufficient of itself to fulfil an economic or technical function.

Service contracts cover all intellectual and non-intellectual services other than those covered by supply contracts, works contracts and building contracts.
A contract covering two or more types of procurement (works, services or supplies) shall be awarded in accordance with the provisions applicable to the type of procurement that characterises the main subject of the contract in question.
In the case of mixed contracts consisting of services and supplies, the main object shall be determined by a comparison of the values of the respective services or supplies.
Any references to nomenclatures in the context of public procurement shall be made using the ‘Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)’ as set out in CPV of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 11 ) .

The terms ‘work contractor’, ‘supplier’ and ‘service provider’ covers any natural or legal person or public entity or consortium of such persons and/or bodies which offers to execute works, supply products and provide services. The term ‘economic operator’ shall mean ‘work contractors’, ‘suppliers’ and ‘service providers’. ‘Tenderers’ shall mean economic operators who have submitted a tender. ‘Candidates’ shall mean those who have asked to be allowed to take part in a restricted procedure, a competitive dialogue, or a negotiated procedure. ‘Vendors’ shall mean economic operators registered in a list of vendors according to Article 136(1)(b).
Consortia of economic operators shall be authorised to submit tenders or to be candidates. Contracting authorities may not demand that consortia must have a given legal form in order to be allowed to submit a tender or request to take part, but the consortium selected may be required to adopt a given legal form after it has been awarded the contract if this change is necessary for proper performance of the contract.

Departments of the Union institutions shall be considered to be contracting authorities, save where they conclude between themselves administrative arrangements for the provision of services, the supply of products, for the execution of works or for the implementation of building contracts.

Technical assistance shall mean support and capacity-building activities necessary for the implementation of a programme or an action, in particular preparatory, management, monitoring, evaluation, audit and control activities.

All exchanges with contractors, including the conclusion of contracts and any amendments thereto, may be done through electronic exchange systems set up by the contracting authority.

These systems shall meet the following requirements:

only authorised persons may have access to the system and to documents transmitted through it;

only authorised persons may electronically sign or transmit a document through the system;

authorised persons must be identified through the system by established means;

the time and date of the electronic transaction must be determined precisely;

the integrity of documents must be preserved;

the availability of documents must be preserved;

where appropriate, the confidentiality of documents must be preserved;

the protection of personal data in accordance with the requirements of Regulation 2001/45 must be ensured.

Data sent or received through such a system shall enjoy legal presumption of the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the date and time of sending or receiving the data indicated by the system.
A document sent or notified through such a system shall be considered as equivalent to a paper document, shall be admissible as evidence in legal proceedings, shall be deemed original and shall enjoy legal presumption of its authenticity and integrity, provided it does not contain any dynamic features capable of automatically changing it.
The electronic signatures referred to in point (b) of paragraph 9 shall have the equivalent legal effect of handwritten signatures.

The duration of a framework contract may not exceed four years, save in exceptional cases duly justified in particular by the subject of the framework contract.
Specific contracts based on framework contracts shall be awarded in accordance with the terms of the framework contract, only between the contracting authorities and the contractors of the framework contract.
When awarding specific contracts, the parties may not make substantial changes to the framework contract.

Where a framework contract is concluded with a single economic operator, the specific contracts shall be awarded within the limits of the terms laid down in the framework contract.
In duly justified circumstances, contracting authorities may consult in writing the contractor, requesting it to supplement its tender if necessary.

Where a framework contract is to be concluded with several economic operators, it shall be concluded with at least three operators, provided that there is a sufficient number of economic operators who satisfy the selection criteria or a sufficient number of admissible tenders which meet the award criteria.
A framework contract with several economic operators may take the form of separate contracts which contain identical terms.
Specific contracts based on framework contracts concluded with several economic operators shall be awarded in accordance with the following arrangements:

in case of framework contracts without reopening of competition by application of the terms laid down in the framework contract;

in case of framework contracts with reopening of competition, after the parties have again competed on the basis of the same and, if necessary, more precisely formulated terms, and, where appropriate, on the basis of other terms referred to in the specification for the framework contract.

For every specific contract to be awarded in accordance with the arrangements in point (b) of the third subparagraph, contracting authorities shall consult in writing the contractors of the framework contract, fixing a time limit which is sufficiently long to allow tenders to be submitted. Tenders shall be submitted in writing. Contracting authorities shall award each specific contract to the tenderer who has submitted the best tender on the basis of the award criteria set out in the specification for the framework contract.

In sectors subject to a rapid price and technological evolution, framework contracts without reopening of competition shall contain a clause either on a mid-term review or on a benchmarking system. After the mid-term review, if the conditions initially laid down are no longer adapted to the price or technological evolution, the contracting authority may not use the framework contract concerned and shall take appropriate measures to terminate it.

Only specific contracts based on framework contracts shall be preceded by a budgetary commitment.

Publication for contracts with a value equal to or above the thresholds laid down in Article 170(1) shall consist in a contract notice, without prejudice to Article 134, and an award notice. A prior information notice shall be compulsory only where the contracting authority intends to make use of the possibility of shortening time limits for receipt of tenders in accordance with Article 152(4).

The prior information notice is the notice by which the contracting authorities make known, by way of indication, the estimated total value and subject of contracts and framework contracts which they intend to award during a financial year, but excluding contracts under the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice.
The prior information notice shall be published either by the Publications Office of the European Union (hereinafter ‘Publications Office’) or by the contracting authorities themselves on their buyer profile.
The compulsory prior information notice shall be sent to the Publications Office or published on the buyer profile as soon as possible and in any event by no later than 31 March of each financial year.
Contracting authorities which publish the prior information notice on their buyer profile shall send to the Publications Office, electronically and using the format and transmission procedures specified in point (3) of Annex VIII to Directive 2004/18, a notice announcing the publication of a prior information notice on a buyer profile.

The contract notice is the means by which the contracting authorities make known their intention to launch a procedure for the award of a contract or framework contract or to set up a dynamic purchasing system in accordance with Article 131. Without prejudice to contracts concluded after a negotiated procedure as referred to in Article 134, the contract notice shall be compulsory for the contracts with an estimated value equal to or above the thresholds laid down in Article 170(1).
It shall not be compulsory for specific contracts based on framework contracts.
In an open procedure the contract notice shall specify the date, time and, where appropriate, place of the meeting of the opening committee, which shall be open to the tenderers.
Contracting authorities shall state whether or not they authorise variants and shall specify the minimum capacity levels they demand if they make use of the possibility provided for in the second subparagraph of Article 146(2). They shall set out the selection criteria referred to in Article 146 that they intend to use, the minimum number of candidates they plan to invite to tender and, where appropriate, the maximum number, and the objective and non-discriminatory criteria they intend to apply in order to limit the number, in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 128(1).
Where there is unrestricted, direct and full access to the call for tenders by electronic means, in particular in the dynamic purchasing systems referred to in Article 131, the internet address at which these documents can be consulted shall appear in the contract notice.
Contracting authorities wishing to organise a contest shall issue a notice announcing their intention.
Where appropriate, contracting authorities shall specify in the contract notice that the procurement procedure is an interinstitutional procurement procedure. In such cases, the contract notice shall indicate the institutions, executive agencies or bodies referred to in Article 208 of the Financial Regulation which are involved in the procurement procedure, the institution responsible for the procurement procedure and the global volume of the contracts for all those institutions, executive agencies or bodies.

The award notice shall give the outcome of the procedure for the award of contracts, framework contracts or contracts based on a dynamic purchasing system. In the case of contracts with a value equal to or above the thresholds laid down in Article 170(1), the award notice shall be compulsory. It shall not be compulsory for specific contracts based on framework contracts.
The award notice shall be sent to the Publications Office no later than 48 calendar days from the date on which the contract or framework contract is signed. However, notices relating to contracts based on a dynamic purchasing system may be grouped together on a quarterly basis. In such cases, they shall be sent to the Publications Office no later than 48 days after the end of each quarter.
Contracting authorities which have held a design contest shall send the Publications Office a notice of the results of the contest.
In case of interinstitutional procedures, the award notice shall be sent by the contracting authority responsible for the procedure.
The award notice shall also be sent to the Publications Office in the case of a contract or a framework contract with a value equal to or above the thresholds laid down in Article 170(1) and awarded pursuant to a negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice, in sufficient time for the publication to occur before the signature of the contract, in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in Article 171(1).
Without prejudice to Article 21, information relating to the value and contractors of specific contracts based on a framework contract during a financial year shall be published on the internet website of the contracting authority no later than 30 June following the end of that financial year if, as a result of the conclusion of a specific contract or of the aggregate volume of the specific contracts, the thresholds referred to in Article 170(1) are exceeded.

The notices shall be drawn up in accordance with the standard forms adopted by the Commission pursuant to Directive 2004/18.

Contracts with a value below the thresholds laid down in Article 170(1) shall be advertised by appropriate means in order to ensure competitive tendering and impartiality of the procurement procedure. Such advertising shall involve:

a contract notice as referred to in Article 123(3), or a notice of a call for expressions of interest for contracts covering a similar subject with a value greater than the amount referred to in Article 137(1);

appropriate ex ante publicity on internet for contracts with a value greater than the amount referred to in Article 137(2).

A list of contractors to whom building contracts and contracts declared secret in accordance with Article 134(1)(j) of this Regulation are awarded shall be published only once a year, with an indication of the subject and value of the contracts awarded. That list shall be sent to the European Parliament and Council. In the case of the Commission, it shall be annexed to the summary of the annual activity reports referred to in Article 66(9) of the Financial Regulation.

Information relating to contracts with a value greater than the amount referred to in Article 137(1) that have not been the subject of an individual award notice shall be sent to the Publications Office. The annual lists of contractors shall be sent by no later than 30 June of the following financial year.

Information relating to contracts with a value greater than the amount referred to in Article 137(2) shall be published on the internet site of the institution no later than 30 June of the following financial year.

The Publications Office shall publish the notices referred to in Articles 123 and 124 in the Official Journal of the European Union no later than 12 calendar days after their dispatch. Official Journal of the European Union
The period specified in the first subparagraph shall be reduced to five calendar days in the case of the fast-track procedures referred to in Article 154.

The contracting authorities must be able to provide evidence of the date of dispatch.

In addition to the advertising provided for in Articles 123, 124 and 125, contracts may be advertised in any other way, notably in electronic form. Any such advertising shall refer to the notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union , as provided for in Article 125, if one has been published, and may not precede the publication of that notice, which alone is authentic. Official Journal of the European Union

Contracts shall be awarded by call for tender, using the open, restricted or negotiated procedure after publication of a contract notice or by negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice, where appropriate following a contest.

Procurement procedures are open where all interested economic operators may submit a tender. That applies also in the case of the dynamic purchasing systems referred to in Article 131.
Procurement procedures are restricted where all economic operators may ask to take part but only candidates satisfying the selection criteria referred to in Article 146 and invited simultaneously and in writing by the contracting authorities may submit a tender or a solution under the competitive dialogue procedure referred to in Article 132.
The selection phase may be repeated for each individual contract, also in the case of a competitive dialogue, or may involve drawing up a list of potential candidates under the procedure referred to in Article 136(1)(a).

In a negotiated procedure, the contracting authorities shall consult tenderers of their choice who satisfy the selection criteria laid down in Article 146, and negotiate the terms of their tenders with one or more of them.
In negotiated procedures where a contract notice is published, as referred to in Article 135, the contracting authorities shall simultaneously and in writing invite the selected candidates to negotiate.

Contests are procedures which enable the contracting authority to acquire, mainly in the fields of architecture and civil engineering or data processing, a plan or design proposed by a selection board after being put out to competitive tender with or without the award of prizes.

In a restricted procedure and the procedure s referred to in points (a) and (b) of Article 136(1), the number of candidates invited to submit a tender may not be less than five, provided that a sufficient number of candidates satisfy the selection criteria. s
The contracting authority may also provide for a maximum number of candidates, depending on the subject of the contract and on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory selection criteria. In such cases, the range and criteria shall be indicated in the contract notice or the call for expressions of interest referred to in Articles 123 and 124.
In any event, the number of candidates invited to tender must be sufficient to ensure genuine competition.

In negotiated procedures and after a competitive dialogue, the number of candidates invited to negotiate or to tender may not be less than three, provided that a sufficient number of candidates satisfy the selection criteria.
The number of candidates invited to tender must be sufficient to ensure genuine competition.
The first and second subparagraphs shall not apply to the following:

contracts involving very low values, as referred to in Article 137(2);

contracts for legal services according to the CPV nomenclature;

contracts declared secret, as referred to in Article 134(1)(j).

Where the number of candidates meeting the selection criteria and the minimum levels is below the minimum number specified in paragraphs 1 and 2, the contracting authority may continue the procedure by inviting the candidate or candidates with the required capacities. However, the contracting authority may not include other economic operators who were not initially invited to be part of the procedure, or candidates who do not have the required capacities.

Contracting authorities shall negotiate with tenderers the tenders they have submitted in order to adapt them to the requirements set out in the contract notice referred to in Article 123 or in the specifications and in any additional documents and in order to find the tender offering best value for money.

The rules for the organisation of a contest shall be communicated to those interested in taking part.
The number of candidates invited to take part must be sufficient to ensure genuine competition.

The selection board shall be appointed by the authorising officer responsible. It shall be made up exclusively of natural persons who are independent of participants in the contest. Where a particular professional qualification is required for participation in a contest, at least one third of the members of the selection board must have the same or an equivalent qualification.
The selection board shall be autonomous in its opinions. Its opinions shall be adopted on the basis of projects submitted to it anonymously by the candidates and solely in the light of the criteria set out in the contest notice.

The proposals of the selection board, based on the merits of each project, and its observations, shall be recorded in a report signed by its members.
Candidates shall remain anonymous until the selection board has given its opinion.
Candidates may be asked by the selection board to answer the questions recorded in the report in order to clarify a project. A full report of the resulting dialogue shall be drawn up.

The contracting authority shall then take a decision giving the name and address of the candidate selected and the reasons for the choice by reference to the criteria announced in the contest notice, especially if it departs from the proposals made in the selection board’s opinion.

The dynamic purchasing system is a completely electronic process for making commonly used purchases, which is open throughout its duration to any economic operator who satisfies the selection criteria and has submitted an indicative tender that complies with the specification and any additional documents. The indicative tenders may be improved at any time provided that they continue to comply with the specification.

For the purposes of setting up the dynamic purchasing system, contracting authorities shall publish a contract notice stating that a dynamic purchasing system is being used and containing a reference to the internet address offering unrestricted, direct and full access to the specification and to any additional documents from the time of publication of the notice up to the expiry of the system.
They shall indicate in the specification, amongst other matters, the nature of the purchases envisaged under that system, and all the necessary information concerning the purchasing system, the electronic equipment used and the technical connection arrangements and specifications.

Contracting authorities shall give any economic operator, throughout the duration of the dynamic purchasing system, the possibility of submitting an indicative tender with a view to being admitted to the system under the conditions referred to in paragraph 1. They shall complete evaluation within a maximum of 15 days from the date of submission of the indicative tender. However, they may extend the evaluation period provided that no invitation to tender is issued in the meantime.
The contracting authority shall inform tenderers at the earliest possible opportunity that they have been admitted to the dynamic purchasing system or that their tender has been rejected.

Each specific contract shall be the subject of an invitation to tender. Before issuing this invitation, contracting authorities shall publish a simplified contract notice inviting all interested economic operators to submit an indicative tender, within a time limit that may not be less than 15 days from the date on which the simplified notice is sent. Contracting authorities may not proceed with tendering until they have completed evaluation of all the indicative tenders received by that deadline.
Contracting authorities shall invite all tenderers admitted to the system to submit a tender within a reasonable time. They shall award the contract to the tenderer who has submitted the tender offering best value for money on the basis of the award criteria set out in the contract notice for the establishment of the dynamic purchasing system. Those criteria may, if appropriate, be formulated more precisely in the invitation to tender.

A dynamic purchasing system may not last for more than four years, except in duly justified exceptional cases.
Contracting authorities may not resort to this system to prevent, restrict or distort competition.
No charges may be billed to the interested economic operators or to parties to the system.

In the case of particularly complex contracts, where the contracting authority considers that direct use of the open procedure or the existing arrangements governing the restricted procedure will not allow the contract to be awarded to the tender offering best value for money, it may make use of the competitive dialogue referred to in Article 29 of Directive 2004/18.
A contract is considered to be ‘particularly complex’ where the contracting authority is not objectively able to define the technical means capable of satisfying the needs or objectives or able to specify the legal or financial make-up of the project.

Contracting authorities shall publish a contract notice setting out their needs and requirements, which they shall define in that notice and/or in a descriptive document.

Contracting authorities shall open a dialogue with the candidates satisfying the selection criteria set out in Article 146 in order to identify and define the means best suited to satisfying their needs.
During the dialogue, contracting authorities shall ensure equality of treatment among all tenderers and confidentiality of the solutions proposed or other information communicated by a candidate participating in the dialogue unless the candidate agrees to its disclosure.
Contracting authorities may provide for the procedure to take place in successive stages in order to reduce the number of solutions to be discussed during the dialogue stage by applying the award criteria in the contract notice or the descriptive document if provision is made for this possibility in the contract notice or the descriptive document.

After informing the participants that the dialogue is concluded, contracting authorities shall ask them to submit their final tenders on the basis of the solution or solutions presented and specified during the dialogue. These tenders shall contain all the elements required and necessary for the performance of the project.
At the request of the contracting authority, these tenders may be clarified, specified and fine-tuned provided this does not have the effect of changing basic aspects of the tender or of the invitation to tender, variations in which could distort competition or have a discriminatory effect.
At the request of the contracting authority, the tenderer identified as having submitted the tender offering best value for money may be asked to clarify aspects of the tender or confirm commitments contained in the tender provided this does not have the effect of modifying substantial aspects of the tender or of the call for tenders and does not risk distorting competition or causing discrimination.

The contracting authorities may specify prices or payments to the participants in the dialogue.

In the case of a joint procurement procedure between one institution and the contracting authority from one or more Member States, EFTA States or Union candidate countries, the procedural provisions applicable to the institution shall apply.

Contracting authorities may use the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice, whatever the estimated value of the contract, in the following cases:

where no tenders, or no suitable tenders, or no request to participate have been submitted in response to an open procedure or restricted procedure after the initial procedure has been completed, provided that the original terms of the contract as specified in the tender documents referred to in Article 138 are not substantially altered;

where, for technical or artistic reasons, or for reasons connected with the protection of exclusive rights, the contract can be awarded only to a particular economic operator;

in so far as is strictly necessary where, for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by unforeseeable events not attributable to the contracting authorities, it is impossible to comply with the time limits set for the other procedures and laid down in Articles 152, 153 and 154;

where a service contract follows a contest and must, under the rules applying, be awarded to the successful candidate or to one of the successful candidates; in the latter case, all successful candidates shall be invited to participate in the negotiations;

for additional services and works not included in the project initially envisaged or in the initial contract but which, through unforeseen circumstances, have become necessary for the performance of the services or works, subject to the conditions set out in paragraph 2;

for new services or works consisting in the repetition of similar services or works entrusted to the economic operator awarded the initial contract by the same contracting authority, provided that these services or works conform to a basic project and that this project was the subject of an initial contract awarded under the open or restricted procedure, subject to the conditions set out in paragraph 3;

for supply contracts:

in the case of additional deliveries which are intended either as a partial replacement of normal supplies or installations or as the extension of existing supplies or installations, where a change of supplier would oblige the contracting authority to acquire equipment having different technical characteristics which would result in incompatibility or disproportionate technical difficulties in operation and maintenance; the duration of such contracts may not exceed three years;

where the products are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development, with the exception of commercial viability tests and large-scale production aimed at recovering research and development costs;

in respect of supplies quoted and purchased on a commodity market;

in respect of purchases on particularly advantageous terms, either from a supplier which is definitively winding up its business activities, or from the receivers or liquidators of a bankruptcy, an arrangement with creditors, or a similar procedure under national law;

for building contracts, after prospecting the local market;

for contracts for legal services according to the CPV nomenclature, provided that such contracts are appropriately advertised;

for contracts declared to be secret by the institution or by the authorities delegated by the institution, or for contracts whose performance must be accompanied by special security measures, in accordance with the administrative provisions in force or when the protection of the essential interests of the Union so requires.

For the additional services and works referred to in point (e) of paragraph 1, the contracting authority may make use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice on condition that the award is made to the contractor performing the contract in any of the following cases:

where such additional contracts cannot be technically or economically separated from the main contract without serious inconvenience for the contracting authority;

where such services or works, although separable from the performance of the original contract, are strictly necessary for its completion.

The aggregate value of additional contracts may not exceed 50 % of the amount of the initial contract.

In the cases referred to in point (f) of paragraph 1 of this Article, the option of using the negotiated procedure shall be pointed out as soon as the first operation is put out to competitive tender, and the total estimated amount for the subsequent services or work shall be taken into consideration in calculating the thresholds referred to in Article 170(1). That procedure may be used only during the execution of the original contract and at the latest during the three years following its signing.

Contracting authorities may use the negotiated procedure after having published a contract notice, whatever the estimated value of the contract, in the following cases:

where tenders which are irregular or unacceptable, by reference in particular to the selection or award criteria, are submitted in response to an open or restricted procedure, or a competitive dialogue, which has been completed provided that the original terms of the contract as specified in the call for tenders referred to in Article 138 are not substantially altered, without prejudice to the application of paragraph 2 of this Article;

in exceptional cases involving work, supplies or services where the nature or the risks do not permit prior overall pricing by the tenderer;

where the nature of the service to be procured, in particular in the case of financial services and intellectual services, is such that contract specifications cannot be established with sufficient precision to permit the award of the contract by selecting the best tender in accordance with the rules governing open or restricted procedures;

for works contracts, where the works are performed solely for purposes of research, testing or development and not with the aim of ensuring profitability or recovering research and development costs;

for the service contracts referred to in Annex IIB to Directive 2004/18, subject to points (i) and (j) of Article 134(1) of this Regulation and the second paragraph thereof.

for research and development services other than those where the benefits accrue exclusively to the contracting authority for its use in the conduct of its own affairs, on condition that the service provided is wholly remunerated by the contracting authority;

for service contracts for the acquisition, development, production or co-production of programme material intended for broadcasting by broadcasters and contracts for broadcasting time.

In the cases referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1, contracting authorities may refrain from publishing a contract notice if they include in the negotiated procedure all the tenderers and only the tenderers satisfying the selection criteria who, during the previous procedure, submitted tenders in accordance with the formal requirements of the procurement procedure.

For contracts with a value not exceeding that referred to in Article 170(1) and without prejudice to Articles 134 and 135, contracting authorities may use a call for expression s of interest to do either of the following: s

to pre-select candidates to be invited to submit tenders in response to future restricted invitations to tender;

to collect a list of vendors to be invited to submit requests to participate or tenders.

The list drawn up following a call for expressions of interest shall be valid for the following period:
Any interested person may submit an application at any time during the period of validity of the list, with the exception of the last three months of that period.

not more than three years from the date on which the notice referred to in point (a) of Article 124(1) is sent to the Publications Office in the case referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1 of this Article;

not more than five years from the date on which the notice referred to in point (a) of Article 124(1) is sent to the Publications Office in the case of vendors’ list referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article.

The list referred to in the first subparagraph may include sub-lists.

Where a contract is to be awarded, the contracting authority shall invite all candidates or vendors entered on the relevant list or sub-list to do either of the following:

to submit a tender in the case referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1;

to submit, in case of the list referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1, either of the following:

tenders including documents relating to exclusion and selection criteria;

documents relating to exclusion and selection criteria and, in a second step, tenders, for those fulfilling these criteria.

A negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice with consultation of at least three candidates may be used for contracts with a low value not exceeding EUR 60 000.
If, following consultation of the candidates, the contracting authority receives only one tender that is administratively and technically valid, the contract may be awarded provided that the award criteria are met.

Contracts with a very low value not exceeding EUR 15 000 may be awarded on the basis of a single tender following a negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice.

Payments of amounts not exceeding EUR 1 000 in respect of items of expenditure may consist simply in payment against invoices, without prior acceptance of a tender.

The tender documents shall include at least:
The tender documents shall contain a reference to the advertising measures taken under Articles 123 to 126.

the invitation to tender or to negotiate or to take part in the dialogue under the procedure referred to in Article 132;

the attached specification or, in the case of a competitive dialogue as referred to in Article 132, a document describing the needs and requirements of the contracting authority, or the reference for the internet address at which such specification or document can be consulted;

the draft contract based on the model contract.

Point (c) of the first subparagraph shall not apply to cases where, due to exceptional and duly justified circumstances, the model contract cannot be used.

The invitation to tender or to negotiate or to take part in the dialogue shall at least:

specify the rules governing the lodging and presentation of tenders, including in particular the closing date and time for submission, any requirement as to the use of a standard reply form, the documents to be attached, including those in evidence of financial, economic, technical and professional capacity referred to in Article 146 if they are not specified in the contract notice, and the address to which they must be sent;

state that submission of a tender implies acceptance of the specification referred to in paragraph 1 to which the tender relates and that this submission binds the contractor to whom the contract is awarded during performance of the contract;

specify the period during which a tender will remain valid and may not be varied in any respect;

forbid any contact between the contracting authority and the tenderer during the procedure, save, exceptionally, under the conditions laid down in Article 160, and, where provision is made for an on-the-spot visit, specify the arrangements for such a visit;

specify, in the case of a competitive dialogue, the date set and the address for the start of the consultation phase.

The specifications shall at least:

specify the exclusion and selection criteria applying to the contract, save in a competitive dialogue, in the restricted procedure and in the negotiated procedure following publication of a notice as referred to in Article 135; in such cases those criteria shall appear solely in the contract notice or the call for expressions of interest;

specify the award criteria and their relative weighting or, where appropriate, the decreasing order of importance, if this is not specified in the contract notice;

set out the technical specifications referred to in Article 139;

state the minimum requirements which variants must meet in the procedures referred to in Article 149(2) under which the contract is awarded to the tender offering best value for money, where the contracting authority has stated in the contract notice that such variants are permitted;

state that the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union or, where appropriate, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations or Vienna Convention on Consular Relations applies;

specify the evidence of access to contracts, as set out in Article 172;

specify, in the dynamic purchasing systems referred to in Article 131, the nature of the purchases envisaged, as well as all the necessary information concerning the purchasing system, the electronic equipment used and the technical connection arrangements and specifications.

The model contract shall in particular:

specify the liquidated damages for failure to comply with its clauses;

specify the details which must be contained in invoices or in the relevant supporting documents in accordance with Article 102;

state that, when the institutions are contracting authorities, Union law is the law which applies to the contract, complemented, where necessary, by a national law as specified in the contract.

specify the competent court for hearing disputes.

For the purposes of point (c) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph, in case of contracts referred to in Article 121(1), the draft contract may refer exclusively to national law.

The contracting authorities may demand information from the tenderer on any part of the contract that the tenderer may intend to subcontract to third parties and on the identity of any subcontractors. In addition to the information referred to in Article 143, the contracting authority may also require the candidate or tenderer to submit information on the financial, economic, technical and professional capacities, as referred to in Articles 146, 147 and 148, of the envisaged subcontractor, in particular when subcontracting represents a significant part of the contract.

Technical specifications must afford equal access for candidates and tenderers and not have the effect of creating unjustified obstacles to competitive tendering.
They shall define the characteristics required of a product, service or material or work with regard to the purpose for which they are intended by the contracting authority.

The characteristics referred to in paragraph 1 shall include:

the quality levels;

environmental performance;

wherever possible, the accessibility criteria for people with disabilities or the design for all users;

the levels and procedures of conformity assessment;

fitness for use;

safety or dimensions, including, for supplies, the sales name and user instructions, and, for all contracts, terminology, symbols, testing and test methods, packaging, marking and labelling, production procedures and methods;

for works contracts, the procedures relating to quality assurance and the rules relating to design and costing, the test, inspection and acceptance conditions for works and methods or techniques of construction and all the other technical conditions which the contracting authority may impose under general or specific regulations in relation to the finished works and to the materials or parts which they involve.

The technical specifications shall be formulated in any of the following ways:

by reference to European standards, or to European technical approvals or common technical specifications, where such exist, to international standards, to other technical reference systems established by European standardisation bodies or, failing this, their national equivalents; every reference shall be followed by the expression ‘or equivalent’;

in terms of performance or of functional requirements, which may include environmental characteristics and shall be sufficiently detailed to enable tenderers to determine the purpose of the contract and the contracting authorities to award the contract;

by a mixture of those two formulation methods.

Where the contracting authorities make use of the possibility of referring to the specifications referred to in point (a) of paragraph 3, they may not reject a tender on the grounds that it does not comply with those specifications if the tenderer or candidate proves, to the satisfaction of the contracting authority, by any appropriate means, that the tender meets in equivalent manner the requirements set.
An appropriate means may take the form of a technical dossier of the manufacturer or a test report from a recognised body.

Where the contracting authorities make use of the possibility provided for in point (b) of paragraph 3, of prescribing specifications in terms of performance or of functional requirements, they may not reject a tender which complies with a national standard transposing a European standard, a European technical approval or common technical specifications, an international standard or technical reference systems established by European standardisation bodies, if those specifications relate to the necessary performance or functional requirements.
The tenderer must prove to the satisfaction of the contracting authority and by any appropriate means that the tender meets the performance or functional requirements set by the contracting authority. An appropriate means may take the form of a technical dossier of the manufacturer or a test report from a recognised body.

Where contracting authorities lay down environmental characteristics in terms of performance or of functional requirements, they may use the detailed specifications, or, if necessary, parts thereof, as defined by European, multinational or national eco-labels, or by any other eco-label, provided that the following conditions are satisfied:

the specifications used are appropriate to define the characteristics of the supplies or services that are the object of the contract;

the requirements for the label are drawn up on the basis of scientific information;

the eco-labels are adopted using a procedure in which all the parties concerned, such as government bodies, consumers, manufacturers, distributors and environmental organisations, can participate;

the eco-labels are accessible to all interested parties.

Contracting authorities may indicate that the products or services bearing the eco-label are presumed to comply with the technical specifications laid down in the contract documents. They shall accept any other appropriate means of proof, such as a technical dossier of the manufacturer or a test report from a recognised body. A recognised body for the purposes of paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 is a test and calibration laboratory or a certification and inspection body which complies with applicable European standards.

Save in exceptional cases, duly warranted by the subject of the contract, those specifications may not refer to a specific make or source, or a particular process, or to trade marks, patents, types or a specific origin or production which would have the effect of favouring or eliminating certain products or economic operators.
Where it is not possible to provide a sufficiently detailed and intelligible description of the subject of the contract, the reference shall be followed by the expression ‘or equivalent’.

The tender documents shall clearly state whether a firm, non-revisable price must be quoted.

If that is not the case, the tender documents shall lay down the conditions and/or formulas for revision of prices during the lifetime of the contract. In such cases the contracting authority shall take particular account of:

the object of the procurement procedure and the economic situation in which it is taking place;

the type of tasks and contract and their duration;

its financial interests.

The cases referred to in Article 106(1)(e) of the Financial Regulation shall include all illegal activities detrimental to the Union’s financial interests and in particular the following:

cases of fraud as referred to in Article 1 of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities’ financial interests drawn up by the Council Act of 26 July 1995 ( 12 ) ;

cases of corruption as referred to 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 ( 13 ) ;

cases of participation in a criminal organisation, as defined in Article 2 of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA ( 14 ) ;

cases of money laundering as defined in Article 1 of Directive 2005/60 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 15 ) ;

cases of terrorist offences, offences linked to terrorist activities, and inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to commit such offences, as defined in Articles 1, 3 and 4 of Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA ( 16 ) .

In order to determine duration of exclusion and to ensure compliance with the principle of proportionality, the institution responsible shall take into account in particular the seriousness of the facts, including their impacts on the Union’s financial interests and image and the time which has elapsed, the duration and recurrence of the offence, the intention or degree of negligence of the entity concerned and the measures taken by the entity concerned to remedy the situation.
When determining the period of exclusion, the institution responsible shall give the candidate or tenderer concerned the opportunity to express its views.
Where the duration of the period of exclusion is determined, in accordance with the applicable law, by the authorities or bodies referred to in Article 108(2) and (3) of the Financial Regulation, the Commission shall apply this duration up to the maximum duration laid down in Article 106(4) of the Financial Regulation. The period referred to in Article 106(4) of the Financial Regulation is set at a maximum of five years, calculated from the following dates:
That period of exclusion may be extended to 10 years in the event of a repeated offence within five years of the date referred to in points (a) and (b) of the third subparagraph, subject to paragraph 1.

from the date of the judgment having the force of res judicata in the cases referred to in points (b) and (e) of Article 106(1) of the Financial Regulation;

from the date on which the infringement is committed or, in the case of continuing or repeated infringements, the date on which the infringement ceases, in the cases referred to in Article 106(1)(c) of the Financial Regulation where the misconduct relates to contracts with the institution concerned.

For the purposes of point (b) of the third subparagraph, if the grave professional misconduct was established by a decision of a public authority or an international organisation, the date of the decision shall prevail.

Candidates and tenderers shall be excluded from a procurement and grant procedure as long as they are in one of the situations referred to in points (a) and (d) of Article 106(1) of the Financial Regulation.

Candidates and tenderers shall provide a declaration on their honour, duly signed and dated, stating that they are not in one of the situations referred to in Articles 106 and 107 of the Financial Regulation.
However, in case of restricted procedure, competitive dialogue and negotiated procedure after publication of a contract notice, whenever the contracting authority limits the number of candidates to be invited to negotiate or submit a tender, all the candidates shall provide the certificates referred to in paragraph 3.
Depending on its risk assessment, the contracting authority may refrain from requiring the declaration referred to in the first subparagraph for contracts referred to in Article 137(2). However, for contracts referred to in Articles 265(1), 267(1), and 269(1), the contracting authority may refrain from requiring that declaration for contracts with a value less than or equal to EUR 20 000.

The tenderer to whom the contract is to be awarded shall provide, within a time limit defined by the contracting authority and preceding the signature of the contract, the evidence referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, confirming the declaration referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article in the following cases:

for contracts awarded by the institutions on their own account, with a value equal to or greater than the thresholds referred to in Article 170(1);

for contracts in the field of external actions with a value equal to or greater than the thresholds laid down in Article 265(1)(a), Article 267(1)(a), or Article 269(1)(a).

For contracts with a value less than the thresholds referred to in points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the contracting authority may, where it has doubts as to whether the tenderer to whom the contract is to be awarded is in one of the situations of exclusion, require him to provide the evidence referred to in paragraph 3.

The contracting authority shall accept as satisfactory evidence that the candidate or tenderer to whom the contract is to be awarded is not in one of the situations described in points (a), (b) or (e) of Article 106(1) of the Financial Regulation, a recent extract from the judicial record or, failing that, an equivalent document recently issued by a judicial or administrative authority in the country of origin or provenance showing that those requirements are satisfied. The contracting authority shall accept, as satisfactory evidence that the candidate or tenderer is not in the situation described in point (a) or (d) of Article 106(1) of the Financial Regulation, a recent certificate issued by the competent authority of the State concerned.
Where the document or certificate referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article is not issued in the country concerned and for the other cases of exclusion referred to in Article 106 of the Financial Regulation, it may be replaced by a sworn or, failing that, a solemn statement made by the interested party before a judicial or administrative authority, a notary or a qualified professional body in his country of origin or provenance.

Depending on the national legislation of the country in which the candidate or tenderer is established, the documents referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 shall relate to legal persons and/or natural persons including, where considered necessary by the contracting authority, company directors or any person with powers of representation, decision-making or control in relation to the candidate or tenderer.

Where they have doubts as to whether candidates or tenderers are in one of the situation of exclusion, contracting authorities may themselves apply to the competent authorities referred to in paragraph 3 to obtain any information they consider necessary about that situation.

The contracting authority may waive the obligation of a candidate or tenderer to submit the documentary evidence referred to in paragraph 3 if such evidence has already been submitted to it for the purposes of another procurement procedure and provided that the issuing date of the documents does not exceed one year and that they are still valid.
In such a case, the candidate or tenderer shall declare on his honour that the documentary evidence has already been provided in a previous procurement procedure and confirm that no changes in his situation have occurred.

When requested by the contracting authority, the candidate or tenderer shall submit a declaration on honour from the intended subcontractor that he is not in one of the situations referred to in Articles 106 and 107 of the Financial Regulation.
In case of doubt on this declaration on the honour, the contracting authority shall request the evidence referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4. Paragraph 5 shall apply, where appropriate.

The institutions, executive agencies and bodies referred to in Article 108(1) of the Financial Regulation shall transmit to the Commission, in the format established by the Commission, information identifying third parties which are in one of the situations referred to in Articles 106, 107, 109(1)s' class='internal-link article' href='#art_106' data-bs-toggle='popover' data-bs-trigger='hover focus' data-bs-content='Material form of ‘certified correct’(Article 88 of the Financial Regulation)' data-bs-placement='top' >106, 107, 109(1)(b) and 109(2)(a) of the Financial Regulation, the grounds for exclusion and the duration of the period of exclusion.
They shall also transmit information concerning persons with powers of representation, decision making or control over third parties which are legal entities, when these persons have found themselves in one of the situations referred to in Articles 106, 107, 109(1)s' class='internal-link article' href='#art_106' data-bs-toggle='popover' data-bs-trigger='hover focus' data-bs-content='Material form of ‘certified correct’(Article 88 of the Financial Regulation)' data-bs-placement='top' >106, 107, 109(1)(b) and 109(2)(a) of the Financial Regulation.
The authorities and bodies referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 108 of the Financial Regulation shall transmit to the Commission, in the format established by the Commission, information identifying third parties who are in one of the situations referred to in Article 106(1)(e) of the Financial Regulation, where their conduct was detrimental to the Union’s financial interests and persons with powers of representation, decision making or control over third parties which are legal entities, such as:

the type of their conviction;

the duration of the period of exclusion from procurement procedures, where applicable.

The institutions, agencies, authorities and bodies referred to in paragraph 1 shall designate the persons authorised to communicate to and receive from the Commission the information contained in the database.
In the case of the institutions, agencies, authorities and bodies referred to in Article 108(1) of the Financial Regulation, the designated persons shall address the information as soon as possible to the accounting officer of the Commission, and request, as appropriate, entry, modification or removal of data in the database.
In the case of the authorities and bodies referred to in Article 108(2) of the Financial Regulation, the designated persons shall address the requisite information to the Commission authorising officer responsible for the programme or action concerned, within three months of the issue of the relevant judgement.
The accounting officer of the Commission shall enter, modify or remove data in the database. He shall, via a secured protocol, provide on a monthly basis validated data contained in the database to the designated persons.

The institutions, agencies, authorities and bodies referred to in paragraph 1 shall certify to the Commission that the information communicated by them was established and transmitted in accordance with the principles set out in Regulation 2001/45 and in Directive 1995/46 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 17 ) concerning the protection of personal data.
In particular, they shall inform in advance all third parties or persons referred to in paragraph 1 that their data may be included in the database and communicated by the Commission to the designated persons referred to in paragraph 2. They shall update, where appropriate, the information transmitted, following rectification or erasure or any modification of data.
Any party entered in the database shall have the right to be informed of the data stored concerning that party, upon request to the accounting officer of the Commission.

Member States shall take appropriate measures to assist the Commission in order to manage the database efficiently, in compliance with Directive 1995/46.
Appropriate arrangements shall be laid down in the agreements with the authorities of third countries and all bodies referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 108 of the Financial Regulation, in order to ensure compliance with these provisions and with the principles concerning the protection of personal data.

Without prejudice to the application of penalties laid down in the contract, candidates or tenderers and contractors who have made false declarations, have made substantial errors or committed irregularities or fraud, or have been found in serious breach of their contractual obligations may be excluded from all contracts and grants financed by the Union budget for a maximum of five years from the date on which the infringement is established as confirmed following a contradictory procedure with the candidate, tenderer or the contractor.
That period may be extended to 10 years in the event of a repeated offence within five years of the date referred to in the first subparagraph.

Tenderers or candidates who have made false declarations, have committed substantial errors, irregularities or fraud, may also be subject to financial penalties representing 2 % to 10 % of the total estimated value of the contract being awarded.
Contractors who have been found in serious breach of their contractual obligations may be subject to financial penalties representing 2 % to 10 % of the total value of the contract in question.
That rate may be increased to 4 % to 20 % in the event of a repeat infringement within five years of the date referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1.

The institution shall determine the administrative or financial penalties taking into account in particular the elements referred to in Article 142(1).

The contracting authorities shall draw up clear and non-discriminatory selection criteria.

The selection criteria shall be applied in every procurement procedure for the purposes of assessing the financial, economic, technical and professional capacity of the candidate or the tenderer.
The contracting authority may lay down minimum capacity levels below which candidates may not be selected.

Any tenderer or candidate may be asked to prove that he is authorised to perform the contract under national law, as evidenced by inclusion in a trade or professional register, or a sworn declaration or certificate, membership of a specific organisation, express authorisation, or entry in the value added tax (hereinafter ‘VAT’) register.

The contracting authorities shall specify in the contract notice or in the call for expressions of interest or the invitation to submit a tender, the references chosen to test the status and the legal capacity of tenderers or candidates.

The information requested by the contracting authority as proof of the financial, economic, technical and professional capacity of the candidate or tenderer and the minimum capacity levels required in accordance with paragraph 2 may not go beyond the subject of the contract and shall take account of the legitimate interests of the economic operators as regards in particular the protection of the firm’s technical and business secrets.

The contracting authority may, depending on his assessment of risks, decide not to require proof of the financial, economic, technical and professional capacity of candidates or tenderers in the case of the following contracts:

contracts awarded by the institutions on their own account, with a value not exceeding the value referred to in Article 137(1);

contracts awarded in the field of external actions, with a value below the thresholds referred to in Article 265(1)(a), Article 267(1)(a) or Article 269(1)(a).

Where the contracting authority decides not to require proof of the financial, economic, technical and professional capacity of candidates or tenderers, no pre-financing shall be made unless a financial guarantee of an equivalent amount is provided.

Proof of economic and financial capacity may in particular be furnished by one or more of the following documents:

appropriate statements from banks or, where appropriate, evidence of relevant professional risk indemnity insurance;

financial statements for at most the last three years for which accounts have been closed;

a statement of overall turnover and turnover concerning the works, supplies or services covered by the contract during a period which may be no more than the last three financial years available.

The contracting authority may waive the obligation of a candidate or tenderer to submit the documentary evidence referred to in paragraph 1 if such evidence has already been submitted to it for the purposes of another procurement procedure and still complies with paragraph 1.
If, for some exceptional reason which the contracting authority considers justified, the tenderer or candidate is unable to provide the references requested by the contracting authority, he may prove his economic and financial capacity by any other means which the contracting authority considers appropriate.

An economic operator may, where appropriate and for a particular contract, rely on the capacities of other entities, regardless of the legal nature of the links which it has with them. It must in that case prove to the contracting authority that it will have at its disposal the resources necessary for performance of the contract, for example by producing an undertaking on the part of those entities to place those resources at its disposal.
The contracting authority may require that the economic operator and the entities referred to in the first subparagraph are jointly liable for the execution of the contract.
Under the same conditions, a consortium of economic operators as referred to in Article 121(5) may rely on the capacities of members of the consortium or of other entities.

Technical and professional capacity of economic operators shall be evaluated and verified in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3. In procurement procedures for supplies requiring siting or installation operations, services and/or works, such capacity shall be assessed with regard in particular to their know-how, efficiency, experience and reliability.

Evidence of the technical and professional capacity of economic operators may, depending on the nature, quantity or scale and purpose of the supplies, services or works to be provided, be furnished on the basis of one or more of the following documents:
For the purposes of point (b)(ii) of the first subparagraph the list of the most important works shall be accompanied by certificates of satisfactory execution, specifying whether they have been carried out in a professional manner and have been fully completed.

the educational and professional qualifications of the service provider or work contractor and/or those of the firm’s managerial staff and, in particular, those of the person or persons responsible for providing the services or carrying out the works;

a list:

of the principal services provided and supplies delivered in the past three years, with the sums, dates and recipients, public or private;

of the works carried out in the last five years, with the sums, dates and place;

a description of the technical equipment, tools and plant to be employed by the firm for performing a service or works contract;

a description of the technical equipment and the measures employed to ensure the quality of supplies and services, and a description of the firm’s study and research facilities;

an indication of the technicians or technical bodies involved, whether or not belonging directly to the firm, especially those responsible for quality control;

in respect of supplies: samples, descriptions and/or authentic photographs and/or certificates drawn up by official quality control institutes or agencies of recognised competence attesting the conformity of the products with the specifications or standards in force;

a statement of the average annual manpower and the number of managerial staff of the service provider or work contractor in the last three years;

an indication of the proportion of the contract which the service provider may intend to subcontract;

for public works contracts and public service contracts, and only in appropriate cases, an indication of the environmental management measures that the economic operator will be able to apply when performing the contract.

Where the services or supplies referred to in point (b)(i) of the first subparagraph are provided to contracting authorities, evidence of performance shall be in the form of certificates issued or countersigned by the competent authority.

Where the services or products to be supplied are complex or, exceptionally, are required for a special purpose, evidence of technical and professional capacity may be secured by means of a check carried out by the contracting authority or on its behalf by a competent official body of the country in which the service provider or supplier is established, subject to that body’s agreement. Such checks shall concern the supplier’s technical capacity and production capacity and, if necessary, its study and research facilities and quality control measures.

Where contracting authorities require the production of certificates drawn up by independent bodies attesting the compliance of the economic operator with certain quality assurance standards, they shall refer to quality assurance systems based on the relevant European standards series certified by accredited bodies. However, contracting authorities shall also accept other evidence of equivalent quality assurance measures from economic operators that have no access to such certificates, or no possibility of obtaining them within the relevant time limits.

Where contracting authorities require the production of certificates drawn up by independent bodies attesting that the economic operator complies with certain environmental management schemes or standards, they shall refer to the European Union Eco-Management and Audit Scheme or to other environmental management schemes as recognised in accordance with Article 45 of EMAS of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 18 ) or other environmental management standards based on the relevant European or international standards by accredited bodies. They shall recognise equivalent certificates from bodies established in other Member States. They shall also accept other evidence of equivalent environmental management measures from economic operators.

An economic operator may, where appropriate and for a particular contract, rely on the capacities of other entities, regardless of the legal nature of the links which it has with them. It must in that case prove to the contracting authority that it will have at its disposal the resources necessary for performance of the contract, for example by producing an undertaking on the part of those entities to place those resources at its disposal.
Under the same conditions, a consortium of economic operators as referred to in Article 121(5) may rely on the capacities of members of the consortium or of other entities.

In the case of works contracts, service contracts and siting and installation operations in the context of a supply contract, the contracting authority may require that certain critical tasks be performed directly by the tenderer itself or, where a tender is submitted by a consortium of economic operators as referred to in Article 121(6), a participant in the consortium.

Contracting authorities may conclude that economic operators will not perform the contract to an appropriate quality standard where the contracting authority establishes that they have conflicting interests which may negatively affect the performance of the contract.

Without prejudice to Article 107 of the Financial Regulation, contracts shall be awarded in one of the following two ways:

under the automatic award procedure, in which case the contract is awarded to the tender which, while being in order and satisfying the conditions laid down, quotes the lowest price;

under the best-value-for-money procedure.

To determine which tender offers the best value for money the contracting authority shall take into account the price quoted and other quality criteria justified by the subject of the contract such as, technical merit, aesthetic and functional characteristics, environmental characteristics, running costs, profitability completion or delivery times, after-sales service and technical assistance. The contracting authority may lay down minimum levels of quality. Tenders below those levels of quality shall be rejected.

The contracting authority shall specify, in the contract notice or in the specification or in the descriptive document, the weighting it will apply to each of the criteria for determining best value for money. That weighting may be expressed as a range with an appropriate maximum spread.
The weighting applied to price in relation to the other criteria must not result in the neutralisation of price in the choice of contractor, without prejudice to the scales laid down by the institution for the remuneration of certain services, such as those provided by experts for evaluation purposes.
If, in exceptional cases, weighting is technically impossible, particularly on account of the subject of the contract, the contracting authority shall merely specify the decreasing order of importance in which the criteria are to be applied.

Contracting authorities may use electronic auctions, in which new prices, revised downwards, and/or new values concerning certain elements of tenders are presented.
For the purpose of the first subparagraph, contracting authorities shall use a repetitive electronic process (electronic auction), which shall be held after an initial full evaluation of the tenders, enabling them to be ranked using automatic evaluation methods.

In open, restricted or negotiated procedures in the case referred to in Article 135(1)(a), the contracting authorities may decide that the award of a public contract shall be preceded by an electronic auction when the tender specifications can be established with precision.
In the same circumstances, an electronic auction may be held on the reopening of competition among the parties to a framework contract as referred to in Article 122(3)(b) and on the opening for competition of contracts to be awarded under the dynamic purchasing system referred to in Article 131.
The electronic auction shall be based either solely on prices, in which case the contract is awarded to the lowest price, or on the prices and/or the values of the features of the tenders indicated in the specification, in which case the contract is awarded to the tender offering best value for money.

Contracting authorities which decide to hold an electronic auction shall state that fact in the contract notice.
The specification shall include the following details:

the features, the values for which will be the subject of electronic auction, provided that those features are quantifiable and can be expressed in figures or percentages;

any limits on the values which may be submitted, as they result from the specifications relating to the subject of the contract;

the information which will be made available to tenderers in the course of the electronic auction and, where appropriate, when it will be made available to them;

the relevant information concerning the electronic auction process;

the conditions under which the tenderers will be able to bid and, in particular, the minimum differences which will, where appropriate, be required when bidding;

the relevant information concerning the electronic equipment used and the arrangements and technical specifications for connection.

Before proceeding with an electronic auction, contracting authorities shall make a full initial evaluation of the tenders in accordance with the award criteria set and with the weighting fixed for them.
All tenderers who have submitted admissible tenders shall be invited simultaneously by electronic means to submit new prices and/or new values; the invitation shall contain all relevant information concerning individual connection to the electronic equipment being used and shall state the date and time of the start of the electronic auction. The electronic auction may take place in a number of successive phases. The electronic auction may not start sooner than two working days after the date on which invitations are sent out.

When the contract is to be awarded on the basis of the tender offering best value for money, the invitation shall be accompanied by the outcome of a full evaluation of the relevant tender, carried out in accordance with the weighting provided for in the first subparagraph of Article 149(3).
The invitation shall also state the mathematical formula to be used in the electronic auction to determine automatic re-rankings on the basis of the new prices and/or new values submitted. That formula shall incorporate the weighting of all the criteria fixed to determine the tender offering best value for money, as indicated in the contract notice or in the specification. For that purpose, any ranges shall, however, be reduced beforehand to a specified value.
Where variants are authorised, a separate formula shall be provided for each variant.

Throughout each phase of an electronic auction the contracting authorities shall instantaneously communicate to all tenderers at least sufficient information to enable them to ascertain their relative rankings at any moment. They may also communicate other information concerning other prices or values submitted, provided that that is stated in the specification. They may also at any time announce the number of participants in that phase of the auction. In no case, however, may they disclose the identities of the tenderers during any phase of an electronic auction.

Contracting authorities shall close an electronic auction in one or more of the following ways:
When the contracting authorities have decided to close an electronic auction in accordance with point (c) of the first subparagraph, possibly in combination with the arrangements laid down in point (b) of the first subparagraph, the invitation to take part in the auction shall indicate the timetable for each phase of the auction.

in the invitation to take part in the auction, they shall indicate the date and time fixed in advance;

when they receive no more new prices or new values which meet the requirements concerning minimum differences;

when the number of phases in the auction, fixed in the invitation to take part in the auction, has been completed.

For the purposes of point (b) of the first subparagraph, the contracting authorities shall state in the invitation to take part in the auction the time which they will allow to elapse after receiving the last submission before they close the electronic auction.

After closing an electronic auction, contracting authorities shall award the contract in accordance with Article 149 on the basis of the results of the electronic auction.
Contracting authorities may not have improper recourse to electronic auctions nor may they use them in such a way as to prevent, restrict or distort competition or to change the subject matter of the contract, as put up for tender in the published contract notice and defined in the specification.

If, for a given contract, tenders appear to be abnormally low, the contracting authority shall, before rejecting such tenders on that ground alone, request in writing details of the constituent elements of the tender which it considers relevant and shall verify those constituent elements, after due hearing of the parties, taking account of the explanations received. These details may relate in particular to compliance with the provisions relating to employment protection and working conditions in force at the place where the work, service or supply is to be performed.
The contracting authority may, in particular, take into consideration explanations relating to:

the economics of the manufacturing process, of the provision of services or of the construction method;

the technical solutions chosen or the exceptionally favourable conditions available to the tenderer;

the originality of the tender.

Where the contracting authority establishes that a tender is abnormally low as a result of State aid provided, it may reject the tender on that ground alone only if the tenderer is unable to prove, within a reasonable time determined by the contracting authority, that the aid in question has been awarded definitively and in accordance with the procedures and decisions specified in the Union rules on State aid.

The contracting authorities shall lay down in calendar days fixed and peremptory time limits for the receipt of tenders and requests to participate. The time limits shall be long enough to allow interested parties a reasonable and appropriate period to prepare and submit their tenders, taking particular account of the complexity of the contract or the need to visit the site or consult on the spot the documents annexed to the specifications.

In open procedures for contracts with a value equal to or above the thresholds set in Article 170(1), the time limit for receipt of tenders shall be no less than 52 days from the date on which the contract notice is dispatched.

In restricted procedures, in cases of use of the competitive dialogue referred to in Article 132 and in negotiated procedures with publication of a contract notice for contracts above the thresholds set in Article 170(1), the time limit for receipt of requests to participate shall be no less than 37 days from the date on which the contract notice is dispatched.
In restricted procedures for contracts with a value equal to or above the thresholds set in Article 170(1), the time limit for receipt of tenders shall be no less than 40 days from the date on which the invitation to tender is dispatched.
However, in the procedures after a call for expressions of interest referred to in Article 136(1), the time limit shall be:

no less than 21 days from the date on which the invitation to tender is dispatched for receipt of tenders in the case of the procedure referred to in Article 136(1)(a) and Article 136(3)(b)(i);

no less than 10 days for receipt of requests to participate and no less than 21 days for receipt of tenders in the case of the two-step procedure referred to in Article 136(3)(b)(ii).

Where the contracting authorities, in accordance with Article 123(2), have sent a pre-information notice for publication or have themselves published a prior information notice on their buyer profile for contracts above the thresholds set in Article 170(1), the time limit for the receipt of tenders may generally be reduced to 36 days but shall in no circumstances be less than 22 days from the date of dispatch of the contract notice or the invitation to tender.
The shortened time limits referred to in the first subparagraph shall be permitted only if the prior information notice satisfies the following conditions:

it contains all the information required for the contract notice, in so far as that information is available at the time the notice is published;

it was sent for publication between 52 days and 12 months before the date on which the contract notice was sent.

The time limits for receipt of tenders may be shortened by five days if unrestricted and direct access is available by electronic means to all documents constituting the call for tenders from the date of publication of the contract notice or the call for expressions of interest.

Provided that the request was made in good time before the deadline for submission of tenders, the specification or descriptive documents in the procedure referred to in Article 132 and additional documents shall be sent, within five working days of the receipt of the request, to all economic operators who have requested the specification or expressed interest in taking part in a dialogue or submitting a tender, subject to paragraph 4. Contracting authorities are not bound to reply to requests for documents made less than five working days before the deadline for submission of tenders.

Provided that the request was made in good time before the deadline for submission of tenders, additional information relating to the specification or the descriptive documents or additional documents shall be supplied simultaneously to all economic operators who have requested the specification or expressed interest in taking part in a dialogue or submitting a tender as soon as possible and no later than six calendar days before the deadline for the receipt of tenders or, in the case of requests for information received less than eight calendar days before the deadline for receipt of tenders, as soon as possible after receipt of the request. Contracting authorities are not bound to reply to requests for additional information made less than five working days before the deadline for submission of tenders.

If, for whatever reason, the specifications and the additional documents or information cannot be supplied within the time limits set in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, or where tenders can be made only after a visit to the site or after on-the-spot consultation of the documents annexed to the specifications, the time limits for receipt of tenders referred to in Article 152 shall be extended to enable all economic operators to acquaint themselves with all the requisite information for preparing tenders. That extension shall be advertised in appropriate manner, in accordance with the arrangements set out in Articles 123 to 126.

In the open procedure, including the dynamic purchasing systems referred to in Article 131, if there is unrestricted and full direct access by electronic means to the entire call for tenders and any additional documents, paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply. The contract notice referred to in Article 123(3) shall give the internet address at which those documents can be consulted.

Where duly substantiated urgency renders impracticable the minimum time limits laid down in Article 152(3) for restricted procedures and negotiated procedures where a contract notice is published, contracting authorities may set the following time limits, expressed in calendar days:

a time limit for the receipt of requests to participate which may not be less than 15 days from the date on which the contract notice is dispatched or 10 days if the notice is sent to the Publications Office electronically;

a time limit for the receipt of tenders which may not be less than 10 days from the date of dispatch of the invitation to tender.

In restricted procedures and fast-track negotiated procedures, additional information on the specifications shall, provided it has been requested in good time, be communicated to all candidates or tenderers no later than four calendar days before the deadline for receipt of tenders.

The arrangements for the submission of tenders and requests to participate shall be determined by the contracting authority, which may choose an exclusive method of submission. Tenders and requests to participate may be submitted by letter or by electronic means. Requests to participate may also be submitted by fax.
The means of communication chosen shall be generally available and shall not restrict the access of economic operators to the procurement procedure.
The means of communication chosen shall be such as to ensure that the following conditions are satisfied:

each submission contains all the information required for its evaluation;

the integrity of data is preserved;

the confidentiality of tenders and requests to participate is preserved and the contracting authorities examine the content of tenders and requests to participate only after the time limit set for submitting them has expired;

the protection of personal data in accordance with the requirements of Regulation 2001/45.

Where necessary for the purposes of legal proof, the contracting authorities may decide that requests to participate submitted by fax must be confirmed by letter or electronically as soon as possible and at all events before the final date set in Article s 152. s

Where the contracting authority authorises submission of tenders and requests to participate by electronic means, the tools used and their technical characteristics shall be non-discriminatory in nature, generally available and interoperable with the information and communication technology products in general use and shall not restrict economic operators’ access to the procurement procedure.

Except for contracts below the threshold laid down in Article 170(1), devices for the electronic receipt of tenders and requests to participate shall guarantee, through technical means and appropriate procedures, that:

the economic operator can be authenticated with certainty;

the exact time and date of the receipt of tenders and requests to participate can be determined precisely;

it may be reasonably ensured that, before the time limits laid down, no-one can have access to data transmitted under these requirements;

where that access prohibition is infringed, it may be reasonably ensured that the infringement is clearly detectable;

only authorised persons may set or change the dates for opening data received;

during the different stages of the procurement procedure access to all data submitted, or to part thereof, must be possible only through simultaneous action by authorised persons;

simultaneous action by authorised persons must give access to data transmitted only after the prescribed date;

data received and opened in accordance with these requirements must remain accessible only to persons authorised to acquaint themselves therewith.

Where the contracting authority authorises submission of tenders and requests to participate by electronic means, the electronic documents submitted by means of such systems shall be deemed to be the originals and to be signed by an authorised representative of the economic operator.

Where submission is by letter, tenderers or candidates may choose to submit tenders or requests to participate:

either by post or by courier service, in which case the call for tenders shall specify that the evidence shall be constituted by the date of dispatch, the postmark or the date of the deposit slip;

by hand-delivery to the premises of the institution by the tenderer or candidate in person or by an agent; for which purposes the call for tenders shall specify, in addition to the information referred to in Article 138(2)(a), the department to which tenders or requests to participate are to be delivered against a signed and dated receipt.

In order to maintain secrecy and to avoid any difficulties where tenders are sent by letter, the invitation to tender must include the following provision:
Tenders must be submitted in a sealed envelope itself enclosed within a second sealed envelope. The inner envelope must bear, in addition to the name of the department to which it is addressed, as indicated in the invitation to tender, the words ‘Invitation to tender — Not to be opened by the mail service’. If self-adhesive envelopes are used, they must be sealed with adhesive tape and the sender must sign across that tape.

The contracting authority may require a tender guarantee, lodged in accordance with Article 163, representing 1 % to 2 % of the total value of the contract.

All requests to participate and tenders that satisfy the requirements of Article 155 shall be opened.

Where the value of a contract exceeds the threshold laid down in Article 137(1), the authorising officer responsible shall appoint a committee to open the tenders.
The opening committee shall be made up of at least three persons representing at least two organisational entities of the institution concerned with no hierarchical link between them, at least one of which does not come under the authorising officer responsible. To avoid any conflict of interests, those persons shall be subject to the obligations laid down in Article 57 of the Financial Regulation. In the representations or local units referred to in Article 72 of this Regulation or isolated in a Member State, if there are no separate entities, the requirement of organisational entities with no hierarchical link between them shall not apply.
In the case of a procurement procedure launched on an interinstitutional basis, the opening committee shall be appointed by the responsible authorising officer from the institution responsible for the procurement procedure. The composition of the opening committee shall reflect, in so far as possible, the interinstitutional character of the procurement procedure.

Where tenders are submitted by post, one or more members of the opening committee shall initial the documents proving the date and time of dispatch of each tender.
They shall also initial either of the following:
The members of the committee shall sign the written record of the opening of the tenders received, which shall identify those tenders which comply with the requirements of Article 155 and those which do not, and which shall give the grounds on which tenders were rejected for non-compliance, by reference to the methods of submitting tenders referred to in Article 155. That record may be signed in an electronic system providing sufficient identification of the signatory.

each page of each tender;

the cover page and the pages containing the financial details of each tender, the integrity of the initial tender being guaranteed by any appropriate technique employed by a department that is independent of the authorising department, save in the cases referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 2.

Where the contract is awarded under the automatic award procedure in accordance with point (a) of Article 149(1), the prices quoted in tenders satisfying the requirements shall be made public.

All requests to participate and tenders declared as complying with the requirements of Article 155 shall be evaluated and ranked by an evaluation committee set up for each of the two stages on the basis of the pre-announced exclusion and selection criteria and the award criteria respectively.
That committee shall be appointed by the authorising officer responsible to give an advisory opinion on contracts with a value above the threshold referred to in Article 137(1).
However, the authorising officer responsible may decide that the evaluation committee is to evaluate and rank the tenders on the basis of the award criteria only and that the exclusion and selection criteria are to be evaluated by other appropriate means guaranteeing the absence of conflicts of interests.

The evaluation committee shall be made up of at least three persons representing at least two organisational entities of the institutions or bodies referred to in Article 208 of the Financial Regulation with no hierarchical link between them, at least one of which does not come under the authorising officer responsible. The authorising officer responsible shall ensure that these persons satisfy the obligations laid down in Article 57 of the Financial Regulation.
In the representations and local units referred to in Article 72 or isolated in a Member State, if there are no separate entities, the requirement of organisational entities with no hierarchical link between them shall not apply.
The evaluation committee may be composed of the same members as the committee opening the tenders.
Outside experts may assist the committee by decision of the authorising officer responsible. The authorising officer responsible shall ensure that these experts satisfy the obligations laid down in Article 57 of the Financial Regulation.
In the case of a procurement procedure launched on an interinstitutional basis, the evaluation committee shall be appointed by the responsible authorising officer from the institution responsible for the procurement procedure. The composition of the evaluation committee shall reflect, in so far as possible, the interinstitutional character of the procurement procedure.

Requests to participate and tenders which do not satisfy all the essential requirements set out in the tender documents shall be eliminated.
However, the evaluation committee or the contracting authority may ask candidates or tenderers to supply additional material or to clarify the supporting documents submitted in connection with the exclusion and selection criteria, within the time limit it specifies.
Requests to participate and tenders which are not excluded and which meet the selection criteria shall be considered admissible.

In the case of abnormally low tenders as referred to in Article 151, the evaluation committee shall request any relevant information concerning the composition of the tender.

A written record of the evaluation and ranking of requests to participate and tenders declared to satisfy the requirements shall be drawn up and dated.
The written record shall be signed by all the members of the evaluation committee. That record may be signed in an electronic system providing sufficient identification of the signatory.
If the evaluation committee was not given responsibility to verify the tenders against the exclusion and selection criteria, the written record shall also be signed by the persons who were given that responsibility by the authorising officer responsible. The written record shall be kept for future reference.

The written record referred to in paragraph 1 shall contain at least the following:

the name and address of the contracting authority, and the subject and value of the contract, the framework contract or the dynamic purchasing system;

the names of the candidates or tenderers rejected and the reasons for their rejection;

the names of the candidates or tenderers to be examined and the reasons for their selection;

the reasons for the rejection of tenders found to be abnormally low;

the names of the candidates or contractor proposed and the reasons for that choice and, if known, the proportion of the contract or the framework contract which the contractor intends to subcontract to third parties.

The contracting authority shall then take its decision giving at least the following:

the name and address of the contracting authority, the subject and value of the contract, or the subject and maximum value of the framework contract or the dynamic purchasing system;

the names of the candidates or tenderers rejected and the reasons for their rejection;

the names of the candidates or tenderers to be examined and the reasons for their selection;

the reasons for the rejection of tenders found to be abnormally low;

the names of the candidates or contractor selected and the reasons for that choice by reference to the selection and award criteria announced in advance and, if known, the proportion of the contract or the framework contract which the contractor intends to subcontract to third parties;

in the case of negotiated procedures and competitive dialogue, the circumstances referred to in Articles 132, 134, 135, 266, 268, 270 and 271 which justify their use;

where appropriate, the reasons why the contracting authority has decided not to award a contract.

In the case of a procurement procedure launched on an interinstitutional basis, the decision referred to in the first subparagraph shall be taken by the contracting authority responsible for the procurement procedure.

Contact between the contracting authority and tenderers during the contract award procedure may take place, by way of exception, under the conditions set out in paragraphs 2 and 3.

Before the closing date for the submission of tenders, in respect of the additional documents and information referred to in Article 153, the contracting authority may:

at the instance of tenderers, communicate additional information solely for the purpose of clarifying the nature of the contract, such information to be communicated on the same date to all tenderers who have asked for the specifications;

at its own instance, if it discovers an error, a lack of precision, an omission or any other type of clerical defect in the text of the contract notice, invitation to tender or specifications, inform the persons concerned on the same date and in a manner identical with that applicable in respect of the original invitation to tender.

If, after the tenders have been opened, some clarification is required in connection with a tender, or if obvious clerical errors in the tender must be corrected, the contracting authority may contact the tenderer, although such contact may not lead to any alteration of the terms of the tender.

In every case where contact has been made, and in the duly justified cases where contact has not been made as referred to in Article 96 of the Financial Regulation, a record shall be kept in the procurement file.

The contracting authorities shall as soon as possible inform candidates and tenderers of decisions reached concerning the award of the contract or framework contract or admission to a dynamic purchasing system, including the grounds for any decision not to award a contract or framework contract, or set up a dynamic purchasing system, for which there has been competitive tendering or to recommence the procedure.

The contracting authority shall, within not more than 15 calendar days from the date on which a written request is received, communicate the information provided for in Article 113(2) of the Financial Regulation.

In the case of contracts awarded by the Union institutions on their own account, with a value equal to or more than the thresholds referred to in Article 170(1) and which are not excluded from the scope of Directive 2004/18, the contracting authority shall inform all unsuccessful tenderers or candidates, simultaneously and individually, by electronic means, that their application or tender has not been accepted at either of the following stages:
Unsuccessful tenderers or candidates may request additional information about the reasons for their rejection in writing by mail, fax or email, and all selected tenderers whose tenders are not eliminated may obtain information about the characteristics and relative merits of the tender accepted and the name of the successful tenderer, without prejudice to the second subparagraph of Article 113(2) of the Financial Regulation. The contracting authority shall reply within no more than 15 calendar days from receipt of the request.

shortly after decisions have been taken on the basis of exclusion and selection criteria and before the award decision, in procurement procedures organised in two separate stages;

as regards the award decisions and decisions to reject offers, as soon as possible after the award decision and within the following week at the latest.

In each case, the contracting authority shall indicate the reasons why the tender or application has not been accepted and the available legal remedies.

Performance of the contract may not start before the contract is signed.

Where contractors are required to lodge a guarantee in advance, it must be for an amount and a period that are sufficient for it to be activated.

The guarantee shall be supplied by a bank or an authorised financial institution. It may be replaced by a joint and several guarantee by a third party, after acceptance by the contracting authority.
The guarantee shall be denominated in euro.
It shall have the effect of making the bank or financial institution or the third party stand as irrevocable collateral security, or first-call guarantor of the contractor’s obligations.

In order to ensure that the works, supplies or services have been fully delivered and when final acceptance according to the terms of the contract cannot be given upon final payment, the authorising officer may demand a performance guarantee on a case-by-case basis and subject to a preliminary risk analysis.

A guarantee corresponding to 10 % of the total value of the contract may be constituted by deductions from payments as and when they are made.
It may be replaced by an amount withheld from the final payment in order to constitute a guarantee until final acceptance of the services, supplies or works. The amount shall be determined by the authorising officer and shall be proportionate to the risks identified in relation to the performance of the contract, taking into account its subject matter, as well as the usual commercial terms applicable to the sector.
Conditions for such a guarantee shall be announced in the tender documents.

After final acceptance of the works, services or supplies, guarantees shall be released in accordance with the terms of the contract.

Once the contracting authority has established the need for a pre-financing, it shall assess the risks associated with pre-financing payments, before launching the procurement procedure, taking into account in particular the following criteria:

the estimated value of the contract;

its subject matter;

its duration and pace;

the structure of the market.

A guarantee shall be required in return for the payment of pre-financing in the case referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 146(6), or when the authorising officer decides to do so pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article.
No guarantee shall be required for low value contracts as referred to in Article 137(1).
The guarantee shall be released as and when the pre-financing is deducted from interim payments or payments of balances to the contractor in accordance with the terms of the contract.

Contracts may be suspended under Article 116 of the Financial Regulation in order to verify whether presumed substantial errors or irregularities or fraud have actually occurred. If they are not confirmed, performance of the contract shall resume as soon as possible.

A substantial error or irregularity shall be any infringement of a provision of a contract or regulation resulting from an act or an omission which causes or might cause a loss to the Union budget.

It shall be for each authorising officer by delegation or subdelegation within each institution to assess whether the thresholds laid down in Article 118 of the Financial Regulation have been reached.

The estimated value of a contract may not be determined with a view to evading the requirements laid down in this Regulation, nor may a contract be split up for that purpose.
Whenever appropriate, technically feasible, and cost efficient, contracts with a value equal to or greater than the thresholds laid down in Article 170(1) shall be awarded at the same time in the form of separate lots.

Where the subject of a supply, service or works contract is subdivided into several lots, each one the subject of an individual contract, the total value of all the lots shall be taken into account for the overall evaluation of the applicable threshold.
Where the total value of all the lots is equal to or exceeds the thresholds laid down in Article 170(1), Article 97(1) and paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 104 of the Financial Regulation shall apply to each of the lots.

Where a contract is to be awarded in the form of separate lots, tenders shall be evaluated separately for each lot. If several lots are awarded to the same tenderer, a single contract covering those lots may be signed.

For the purposes of calculating the estimated amount of a contract, the contracting authority shall include the contractors total estimated remuneration.
Where a contract provides for options or possible renewal, the basis for calculation shall be the maximum amount authorised, including the use of option clauses and renewal.
This estimate shall be made when the contract notice is sent or, where there is no such publicity, when the contracting authority initiates the award procedure.

For framework contracts and dynamic purchasing systems the value to be taken into account shall be the maximum value of all the contracts envisaged during the total lifetime of the framework contract or dynamic purchasing system.

For service contracts, account shall be taken of:

in the case of insurance services, the premium payable and other forms of remuneration;

in the case of banking or financial services, the fees, commissions, interest and other types of remuneration;

in the case of design contracts, the fees, commissions payable and other forms of remuneration.

In the case of service contracts which do not specify a total price or of supply contracts for leasing, rental or hire purchase of products, the value to be taken as the basis for calculating the estimated value shall be:

in the case of fixed-term contracts:

where their term is 48 months or less in the case of services or 12 months or less in the case of supplies, the total contract value for their duration;

where their term is more than 12 months in the case of supplies, the total value including the estimated residual value;

in the case of contracts for an indefinite period or, in the case of services, for a period exceeding 48 months, the monthly value multiplied by forty-eight.

In the case of service or supply contracts which are awarded regularly or are to be renewed within a given time, the contract value shall be established on the basis of:

either the actual aggregate cost of similar contracts for the same types of services or products awarded over the previous financial year or 12 months, adjusted, where possible, for anticipated changes in quantity or value over the 12 months following the initial contract;

or the estimated aggregate cost of successive contracts awarded during the 12 months following the first service performed or first delivery or during the term of the contract, where this is greater than 12 months.

In the case of works contracts, account shall be taken not only of the value of the works but also of the estimated total value of the supplies needed to carry out the works and made available to the contractor by the contracting authority.

The thresholds referred to in Article 118 of the Financial Regulation shall be those set out in Directive 2004/18 respectively for supply, service and works contracts.

The time limits referred to in Article 118 of the Financial Regulation shall be those specified in Articles 152, 153 and 154.

The contracting authority shall not sign the contract or framework contract, covered by Directive 2004/18, with the successful tenderer until 14 calendar days have elapsed.
That period shall run from either of the following dates:
If necessary, the contracting authority may suspend the signing of the contract for additional examination if this is justified by the requests or comments made by unsuccessful or aggrieved tenderers or candidates or by any other relevant information received. The requests, comments or information must be received during the period set in the first subparagraph. In the case of suspension all the candidates or tenderers shall be informed within three working days following the suspension decision.
Except in the cases provided for in paragraph 2, any contract signed before the expiry of the period set in the first subparagraph shall be null and void.
Where the contract or framework contract cannot be awarded to the successful envisaged tenderer, the contracting authority may award it to the following best tenderer.

the day after the simultaneous dispatch of the notifications to successful and unsuccessful tenderers;

where the contract or framework contract is awarded pursuant to a negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice, the day after the contract award notice referred to in Article 123 has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union .

Where a fax or electronic means are used for the dispatch referred to in point (a) of the second subparagraph, the standstill period shall be 10 calendar days.

The period set in paragraph 1 shall not apply in the following cases:

open, restricted or negotiated procedures after publication of a contract notice where only one tender has been submitted;

specific contracts based on a framework contract;

negotiated procedures referred to in Articles 134(1)(c), 134(1)(g)(iii), 134(1)(h) and 134(1)(j).

The specifications shall require tenderers to indicate in which State they have their headquarters or domicile and to present the supporting evidence normally acceptable under their own law.

The subscriptions referred to in Article 121(2)(d) of the Financial Regulation shall be sums paid to bodies of which the Union is member, in accordance with the budgetary decisions and the conditions of payment established by the body concerned.

Grants shall be covered by a decision or by a written agreement.

To determine the instrument to be used, the following elements shall be taken into account:

location of the beneficiary, within or outside the Union;

complexity and standardisation of the content of the actions or work programmes funded.

Expenditure on the members of the institutions as referred to in Article 121(2)(a) of the Financial Regulation shall include contributions to associations of current and former members of the European Parliament. These contributions shall be implemented in accordance with the internal administrative rules of the European Parliament.

An action which may receive a grant within the meaning of Article 121 of the Financial Regulation must be clearly defined.

A body pursuing an aim of general Union interest is:

a body involved in education, training, information, innovation or research and study in European policies, any activities contributing to the promotion of citizenship or human rights, or an European standards body;

an entity representing non-profit bodies active in the Member States, in the candidate countries or in the potential candidate countries and promoting principles and policies consistent with the objectives of the Treaties.

Specific grants for actions and operating grants may form part of a framework partnership.

A framework partnership may be established as a long-term cooperation mechanism between the Commission and the beneficiaries of grants. It may take the form of a framework partnership agreement or a framework partnership decision.
The framework partnership agreement or decision shall specify the common objectives, the nature of actions planned on a one-off basis or as part of an approved annual work programme, the procedure for awarding specific grants, in compliance with the principles and procedural rules in this Title, and the general rights and obligations of each party under the specific agreements or decisions.
The duration of the partnership may not exceed four years, save in exceptional cases, justified in particular by the subject of the framework partnership.
Authorising officers may not make undue use of framework partnership agreements or decisions or use them in such a way that the purpose or effect is contrary to the principles of transparency or equal treatment of applicants.

Framework partnerships shall be treated as grants with regard to programming, ex ante publication and award. ex ante

Specific grants based on framework partnership agreements or decisions shall be awarded in accordance with the procedures laid down in those agreements or decisions, and in compliance with this Title.
They shall be subject to the ex post publication procedures laid down in Article 191. ex post

All exchanges with beneficiaries, including the conclusion of grant agreements, the notification of grant decisions and any amendments thereto, may be done through electronic exchange systems set up by the Commission.

These systems shall meet the following requirements:

only authorised persons may have access to the system and to documents transmitted through it;

only authorised persons may electronically sign or transmit a document through the system;

authorised persons must be identified through the system by established means;

the time and date of the electronic transaction must be determined precisely;

the integrity of documents must be preserved;

the availability of documents must be preserved;

where appropriate, the confidentiality of documents must be preserved;

the protection of personal data in accordance with the requirements of Regulation 2001/45 must be ensured.

Data sent or received through such a system shall enjoy legal presumption of the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the date and time of sending or receiving the data indicated by the system.
A document sent or notified through such a system shall be considered as equivalent to a paper document, shall be admissible as evidence in legal proceedings, shall be deemed original and shall enjoy legal presumption of its authenticity and integrity, provided it does not contain any dynamic features capable of automatically changing it.
The electronic signatures referred to in point (b) of paragraph 2 shall have the equivalent legal effect of handwritten signatures.

The grant agreement shall at least lay down the following:

the subject;

the beneficiary;

the duration, namely:

the date of its entry into force;

the starting date and the duration of the action or financial year being funded;

the maximum amount of Union funding expressed in euro and the form of the grant supplemented, as appropriate, by:

the total estimated eligible costs of the action or work programme and the financing rate of the eligible costs;

the unit cost, lump sum or flat rate referred to in points (b), (c) and (d) of Article 123 of the Financial Regulation where determined;

a combination of the elements set out in points (i) and (ii) of this point;

a description of the action or, for an operating grant, of the work programme approved for that financial year by the authorising officer together with a description of the results expected from the implementation of the action or of the work programme;

the general terms and conditions applicable to all agreements of this type, such as the acceptance by the beneficiary of checks and audits by the Commission, OLAF and the Court of Auditors;

the estimated overall budget of the action or work programme;

where implementation of the action involves procurement, the principles referred to in Article 209 or the procurement rules which the beneficiary must comply with;

the responsibilities of the beneficiary, in particular:

in terms of sound financial management and submission of activity and financial reports; whenever appropriate, intermediate targets shall be established, upon which those reports become due;

in the case of an agreement between the Commission and a number of beneficiaries, the specific obligations of the coordinator, if any, and of the other beneficiaries towards the coordinator as well as the financial responsibility of the beneficiaries for amounts due to the Commission;

the arrangements and time limits for approving those reports and for payment by the Commission;

as appropriate, details of the eligible costs of the action or approved work programme, or of the unit costs, lump sums or flat rates referred to in Article 123 of the Financial Regulation;

provisions governing the visibility of the Union financial support, except in duly justified cases, where public display is not possible or appropriate.

The general terms and conditions referred to in point (f) of the first subparagraph shall at least:

state that Union law is the law which applies to the grant agreement, complemented, where necessary, by national law as specified in the grant agreement. Derogation may be made in the agreements concluded with international organisations;

specify the competent court or arbitration tribunal to hear disputes.

The grant agreement may lay down the arrangements and time limits for suspension or termination in accordance with Article 135 of the Financial Regulation.

In the cases referred to in Article 178, the framework partnership decision or framework partnership agreement shall specify the information referred to in points (a), (b), (c)(i), (f), and (h) to (j) and (l) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article.
The specific grant decision or agreement shall contain the information referred to in points (a) to (e), (g) and (k) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 and, where necessary, point (i) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1.

Grant agreements may be amended only in writing. Such amendments, including those aiming at adding or removing a beneficiary, shall not have the purpose or the effect of making such changes to agreements as would call into question the grant award decision or be contrary to the equal treatment of applicants.

Paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 shall apply mutatis mutandis to grant decisions. mutatis mutandis
Part of the information referred to in paragraph 1 may be provided in the call for proposals or any related document, instead of the grant decision.

Grants in the form referred to in point (a) of Article 123(1) of the Financial Regulation shall be calculated on the basis of the eligible costs actually incurred by the beneficiary, subject to a preliminary budget estimate as submitted with the proposal and included in the grant decision or agreement.

Unit costs as referred to in point (b) of Article 123(1) of the Financial Regulation shall cover all or certain specific categories of eligible costs which are clearly identified in advance by reference to an amount per unit.

Lump sums as referred to in point (c) of Article 123(1) of the Financial Regulation shall cover in global terms all or certain specific categories of eligible costs which are clearly identified in advance.

Flat-rate financing as referred to in point (d) of Article 123(1) of the Financial Regulation shall cover specific categories of eligible costs which are clearly identified in advance by applying a percentage.

The authorisation to use lump sums, unit costs or flat-rate financing referred to in Article 124(1) of the Financial Regulation shall apply for the duration of the programme. This authorisation may be reviewed if substantial changes are needed. Data and amounts shall be assessed periodically and, where appropriate, lump sums, unit costs or flat-rate financing shall be adjusted.
In the case of an agreement between the Commission and a number of beneficiaries, the ceiling referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 124(1) of the Financial Regulation shall apply to each beneficiary.

The grant decision or agreement shall contain all necessary provisions in order to verify that the conditions for the payment of the grant on the basis of lump sums, unit costs or flat-rate financing have been respected.

Payment of the grant on the basis of lump sums, unit costs or flat-rate financing shall be without prejudice to the right of access to the beneficiaries’ statutory records for the purposes intended by the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 and Article 137(2) of the Financial Regulation.

Where an ex post control reveals that the generating event has not occurred and an undue payment has been made to the beneficiary on a grant based on lump sums, unit costs or flat-rate financing, the Commission shall be entitled to recover up to the amount of the grant without prejudice to the penalties referred to in Article 109 of the Financial Regulation. ex post

Under the co-financing principle, the resources which are necessary to carry out the action or the work programme shall not be provided entirely by the Union contribution.
Co-financing may take the form of the beneficiary’s own resources, income generated by the action or work programme or financial or in-kind contributions from third parties.

In-kind contributions shall mean non-financial resources made available free of charge by third parties to the beneficiary.

Financial contributions from third parties that may be used by the beneficiary to cover other costs than those eligible under the Union grant or that are not due to the third party where they are not used at the end of the action or work programme, shall not be considered as financial contributions specifically assigned by the donors to the financing of the eligible costs within the meaning of Article 125(5) of the Financial Regulation.

Low value grants shall be considered to be those grants which are lower than or equal to EUR 60 000.

‘Technical assistance’ shall mean support and capacity-building activities necessary for the implementation of a programme or an action, in particular preparatory, management, monitoring, evaluation, audit and control activities.

VAT shall be considered as not recoverable under the applicable national VAT legislation, if according to national law it is attributable to any of the following activities:

exempt activities without right of deduction;

activities which fall outside the scope of VAT;

activities, as referred to in points (a) or (b), in respect of which VAT is not deductible but refunded by means of specific refund schemes or compensation funds not foreseen by CSVATD, even if that scheme or fund is established by national VAT legislation.

VAT relating to the activities listed in Article 13(2) of CSVATD shall be regarded as paid by a beneficiary other than a non-taxable person as defined in the first subparagraph of Article 13(1) of that Directive, regardless of whether those activities are regarded by the Member State concerned as activities engaged in by bodies governed by public law acting as public authorities.

An annual or multiannual work programme for grants shall be prepared by each authorising officer responsible. The work programme shall be adopted by the institution and published on the grants internet site of the institution concerned as soon as possible, and no later than 31 March of the year of implementation.
The work programme shall specify the period it covers, the basic act, if any, the objectives pursued, the expected results, the indicative timetable of calls for proposals with the indicative amount and the maximum rate of co-financing.
The work programme shall in addition contain the information set out in Article 94 for the decision adopting it to be considered as the financing decision for the grants of the year concerned.

Any substantial change in the work programme shall also be adopted and published as provided for in paragraph 1.

Calls for proposals shall specify:

the objectives pursued;

the eligibility, exclusion, selection and award criteria as referred to in Articles 131 and 132 of the Financial Regulation and the relevant supporting documents;

the arrangements for Union financing;

the arrangements and final date for the submission of proposals and the planned date by which all applicants are to be informed of the outcome of the evaluation of their application and the indicative date for the signature of grant agreements or notification of grant decisions.

Calls for proposals shall be published on the internet site of the Union institutions and in addition to publication on the internet site by any other appropriate means, including the Official Journal of the European Union , where it is necessary to provide additional publicity among potential beneficiaries. They may be published as from the adoption of the financing decision referred to in Article 84 of the Financial Regulation, including during the year preceding budget implementation. Any modification of the content of the calls for proposals shall be subject to publication under the same conditions as those for the calls for proposals. Official Journal of the European Union

Grants may be awarded without a call for proposals only in the following cases:

for the purposes of humanitarian aid and civil protection operations or for crisis management aid within the meaning of paragraph 2;

in other exceptional and duly substantiated emergencies;

to bodies with a de jure or de facto monopoly, duly substantiated in the award decision;

to bodies identified by a basic act, within the meaning of Article 54 of the Financial Regulation, as beneficiaries of a grant or to bodies designated by the Member States, under their responsibility, where those Member States are identified by a basic act as beneficiaries of a grant;

in the case of research and technological development, to bodies identified in the work programme referred to in Article 128 of the Financial Regulation, where the basic act expressly provides for that possibility, and on condition that the project does not fall under the scope of a call for proposals;

for actions with specific characteristics that require a particular type of body on account of its technical competence, its high degree of specialisation or its administrative power, on condition that the actions concerned do not fall within the scope of a call for proposals.

The cases referred to in point (f) of the first subparagraph shall be duly substantiated in the award decision.

Crisis situations in third countries shall be understood as situations of immediate or imminent danger threatening to escalate into armed conflict or to destabilise the country. Crisis situations shall also be understood as situations caused by natural disasters, manmade crisis such as wars and other conflicts or extraordinary circumstances having comparable effects related inter alia to climate change, environmental degradation, privation of access to energy and natural resources or extreme poverty.