HERCULE III PROGRAMME 2014-2020

CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2016:

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
FOR THE FIGHT AGAINST EU-FRAUD
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

DEADLINE: THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2016

The English version of the Call is the original

Contents
OUTLINE....................................................................................................... 3
1.

INTRODUCTION OLAF AND THE HERCULE III PROGRAMME ......................... 4

1.1
1.2

2.

SUBJECT OF THIS CALL FOR PROPOSALS .................................................... 5

2.1
2.2

3.

European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) .................................................................4

Hercule III Programme .................................................................................4

Actions eligible for funding under the Call for Proposals .....................................5
Bodies and legal entities that can submit applications .......................................6

EXPECTED RESULTS ................................................................................ 6

3.1
3.2

Expected results ..........................................................................................6

Deliverables ................................................................................................7

4.

TIMETABLE ............................................................................................. 8

5.

FUNDING CONDITIONS ............................................................................ 8

6.

PROCEDURE FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE APPLICATIONS ......................... 9

6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6

7.

Evaluation Committee ..................................................................................9

Eligibility criteria..........................................................................................9
Exclusion criteria ....................................................................................... 10
Selection criteria ....................................................................................... 10
Award criteria ........................................................................................... 10
Criteria for co-financing grants up to 90% of the eligible costs ......................... 11

SUBMISSION OF AN APPLICATION ............................................................ 12

7.1
Content and format ................................................................................... 12
7.2
Language ................................................................................................. 12
7.3
Deadline for the submission of applications ................................................... 13
7.4
Submission addresses ................................................................................ 13
The application should prominently display the words: ............................................. 13

8.

NOTIFICATION, IMPLEMENTATION AND PAYMENT ....................................... 14

8.1 NOTIFICATION ....................................................................................... 14

8.2
8.3

9.

Implementation......................................................................................... 14
Payment .................................................................................................. 14

PUBLICITY BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION .............................................. 15

10. QUESTIONS........................................................................................... 15
11. DATA PROTECTION ................................................................................. 16
12. COMPLAINTS TO THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN .......................................... 17
13. DOCUMENTS ......................................................................................... 17

OUTLINE
The Hercule III Programme (The Programme) is an EU programme adopted by
Regulation 250/20141 of the European Parliament and the Council. The general
objective2 of the Programme is to protect the Unions financial interests and its specific
objective3 is to prevent and combat fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities
affecting the Unions financial interests. The Programme is implemented by the European
Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) of the European Commission on the basis of annual work
programmes. The annual work programme 2016 (AWP2016) was adopted by a Financing
Decision 20164 (FD2016) that provides inter alia- for the organisation of a "Technical
Assistance" Call for Proposals in 2016 to invite national and regional administrations to
submit applications for four types of specific actions5:
1. The purchase and maintenance of investigation tools and methods, including
specialised training to operate these tools;
2. The purchase and maintenance of devices and animals to carry out inspections of
containers, trucks, railway wagons and vehicles at the Unions external borders to
detect smuggled and counterfeited goods;
3. The purchase, maintenance and interconnection of systems for the recognition of
vehicle number plates (Automated Number Plate Recognition Systems ANPRS) or
container codes. Specialised training needed to operate these systems is included;
4. The purchase of services to support Member States capacity to store and destroy
seized cigarettes.
The implementation of the specific actions shall contribute to the achievement of the
programme's objectives.
The overall budget in 2016 for "Technical Assistance" amounts to EUR 8 800 000.
The deadline for the submission of applications under this Call by national and regional
administrations is set on: Thursday, 9 June 2016.
The maximum EU funding for the proposed actions amounts to 80% of the eligible
costs. This percentage may be increased to a maximum of 90% in exceptional and duly
justified cases as set out in section 6.3 of the FD2016. The minimum budget of an action
shall be EUR 100 000.

2
3
4

Regulation (EU) No 250/2014 of 26 February 2014 of the European Parliament and of the
Council establishing a programme to promote activities in the field of the protection of the
financial interests of the European Union (Hercule III Programme) and repealing Decision
No. 804/2004/EC, OJ L 84 of 20 March 2014.
Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No. 250/2014.
Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No. 250/2014.
C(2016)868 final of 17 February 2016, Commission Decision of 17 February 2016 concerning
the adoption of the work programme for 2016 and the financing for the implementation of
the Hercule III Programme (Financing Decision 2016 (FD2016) and Annual Work Programme
2016 (AWP2016)).
Actions 1, 2, 3 and 4 mentioned under section 6.1, Specific actions of the AWP2016.
3

1.
1.1

INTRODUCTION OLAF AND THE HERCULE III PROGRAMME

European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) was established by Commission Decision of 28

April 19996. OLAF is operationally independent but is nevertheless part of the European
Commission and as such is bound by the administrative and legal provisions of the EU
institutions. The mission of the European Anti-Fraud Office is to detect, investigate and
stop fraud with EU funds. OLAF fulfils its mission by:
carrying out independent investigations into fraud and corruption involving EU funds
so as to ensure that all EU taxpayers money reaches projects that can stimulate the
creation of jobs and growth in Europe;
contributing to strengthening citizens trust in the EU institutions by investigating
serious misconduct by EU staff and members of the EU institutions;
developing a sound EU anti-fraud policy.
By performing its mission as effectively as possible, OLAF contributes to the efforts made
by the EU institutions to guarantee that the best use is made of taxpayers money.
1.2

Hercule III Programme

On 26 February 2014, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union
adopted Regulation (EU) No 250/20147 establishing a programme to promote activities
in the field of the protection of the financial interests of the European Union (Hercule III
Programme, hereinafter referred to as: the Programme). The Programme entered into
force on 21 March 2014.
The general objective8 of the Programme shall be to protect the financial interests of
the Union thus enhancing the competitiveness of the Unions economy and ensuring the
protection of the taxpayers money. The specific objective9 shall be to prevent and
combat fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities affecting the financial interests
of the Union. The Programme is implemented by the European Anti-Fraud Office of the
European Commission.
The operational objectives10 of the Programme are listed below:
a) to improve the prevention and investigation of fraud and other illegal activities
beyond current levels by enhancing transnational and multi-disciplinary cooperation;
b) to increase the protection of the financial interests of the Union against fraud,
facilitating the exchange of information, experiences and best practices, including
staff exchanges;
c) to strengthen the fight against fraud and other illegal activities providing technical
and operational support to national investigation, and in particular customs and law
enforcement, authorities;
d) to limit the currently known exposure of the financial interests of the Union to fraud,
corruption and other illegal activities with a view to reducing the development of an
illegal economy in key risk areas such as organised fraud, including cigarette
smuggling and counterfeiting;
6

8
9
10

Commission Decision of 28 April 1999 establishing the European Anti-Fraud Office

(OLAF0, 1999/352/EC/ECSC, Euratom (OJ L 136, 31 May 1999, p.20) as amended by
Commission Decision of 27 September 2013, 2013/478/EU (OJ L 257, 28 September 2013,
p. 19).
Regulation (EU) No 250/2014 of 26 February 2014 of the European Parliament and of the
Council establishing a programme to promote activities in the field of the protection of the
financial interests of the European Union (Hercule III Programme) and repealing Decision
No. 804/2004/EC, OJ L 84 of 20 March 2014.
Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No. 250/2014.
Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No. 250/2014.
Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No. 250/2014.
4

e) to enhance the degree of development of the specific legal and judicial protection of
the financial interests of the Union against fraud by promoting comparative law
analysis.
Article 11 of Regulation 250/2014 requires the Commission to adopt annual work
programmes for the implementation of the Programme. The annual work programme
2016 (AWP2016) was adopted by a Commission Decision11 on 17 February 2016. The
Programme is implemented in accordance with the Financial Regulation (FR)12 and its
Rules of Application (RAP)13.

2.
2.1

SUBJECT OF THIS CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Actions eligible for funding under the Call for Proposals

The Programme enables financial support (grants) for the purchase, implementation and
installation of special equipment and tools needed by the Programmes beneficiaries.
The grants are awarded to applications under the conditions set out in these
specifications.
The actions for which a grant is given must comply with the objectives of the Programme
and the applicant has to demonstrate how the action it proposes will contribute to the
achievement of the general, specific and operational objectives of the Programme.
Moreover, the purchase of the equipment shall not be the sole component of the grant
agreement14.
The AWP201615 provides that the Commission launches a Call for Proposals "Technical
Assistance" in 2016. Under this Call, national and regional administrations are invited to
submit applications for four types of specific actions16:
1. The purchase and maintenance of investigation tools and methods used in the fight
against irregularities, fraud and corruption perpetrated against the financial interests
of the Union. Specialised training needed to operate the investigation tools is
included. The investigation tools include:
a. Technical equipment for electronic and mobile surveillance, including the purchase
and adaptation of cars needed for these purposes;
b. Technical equipment and software for the retrieval and analysis of data and other
evidence taken from, for example, computers or smartphones (digital forensic
hard- and software);
c. Technical equipment for encrypted communications.
2. The purchase and maintenance of devices and animals to carry out inspections of
containers, trucks, railway wagons and vehicles at the Union's external borders and
within the Union in order to detect smuggled and counterfeited goods imported into
the Union with the aim or consequence to evade custom duties and excises. This
includes:
11

13

14
15
16

C(2016)868 final of 17 February 2016, Commission Decision of 17 February 2016 concerning

the adoption of the work programme for 2016.
Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25
October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, OJ L 298,
26 October 2012, p.1), in particular Title V (Public procurement) and Title VI (grants), as
amended by Regulation (EU, Euroatom) 2015/1929 of 28 October 2015, OJ L 286 of
30 October 2015.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 of 29 October 2012 on the rules of
application of regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the
Council on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (OJ L 362,
31 December 2012, p.1), as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU2015/2462 of
30 October 2015, OJ L 342 of 29 December 2015.
Article 10(3) of Regulation 250/2014.
C(2016)868 final of 17 February 2016, in particular section 6 thereof.
Actions 1, 2, 3 and 6 mentioned under section 6.1 (Specific actions) of the AWP2016.
5

a. The purchase of mobile and fixed 9 (x-rays) scanners as well as the costs related
to their installation and maintenance17, used by the beneficiaries mentioned in
point 2.2 below to check containers, trucks and vehicles crossing the EU's
external borders or in transit over the territory of a Member State, in order to
carry out checks on the presence of illicit goods, in particular smuggled or
counterfeited cigarettes and tobacco;
b. Training for staff members of the beneficiaries mentioned in point 2.2 to operate
the scanner as well as training for the correct interpretation of the images
generated by the scanners;
c. Software and hardware to enable the exchange of images, generated by different
types of scanners, within and between the beneficiaries mentioned in point 2.2
below;
d. The purchase, transport, training, housing and feeding of animals used to detect
smuggled and illicit goods on the basis of the goods' scent characteristics. These
animals are likely to be sniffer dogs, but could be extended to include other
animals, such as rats, pigs or bees. For the latter three, the applicant shall
demonstrate that the effectiveness and efficiency of the use of these animals for
this purpose has been proven on the basis of evidence based research.
3. The purchase, maintenance and interconnection of systems for the recognition of
vehicle number plates (Automated Number Plate Recognition Systems ANPRS) or
container codes for purposes related to the protection of the financial interests of the
Union, provided these systems do not overlap with existing EU funded systems, such
as the European Car and Driving Licence Information system (EUCARIS network18) or
the European Register of Road Transport Undertakings (ERRU19) and the Rseau
Permis de Conduire (RESPER20). Specialised training needed to operate these
systems is included;
4. The purchase of services to support Member States capacity to store and destroy
seized cigarettes and tobacco.
Research and Development activities, including prototypes for further development, are
excluded from the scope of this Call.
2.2

Bodies and legal entities that can submit applications

Applications can be submitted by all national or regional administrations ("applicants")21

of a Member State, which promote the strengthening of European Union action to protect
the European Union's financial interests. Applications from third countries are subject to
the conditions in Article 7 (2) of the Hercule III Regulation22.

3.
3.1

EXPECTED RESULTS
Expected results

The applicant shall demonstrate how the expected results of the proposed action will
contribute to the achievement of the Programmes objectives. Special attention shall be
given to the expected results in the following areas:
a) The strengthening of the operational and investigative capacity of the applicant, by
improving the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of specialized technical hardware
17
18
19
20
21

22

Maintenance costs not covered by a warrant.

See: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/community/eucaris/description.
See for example: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/road/access/erru_en.htm.
See for example: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/road/access/erru_en.htm.
Only the bodies listed under Article 6 (a) of Regulation 250/2014 are eligible. The bodies
listed under Article 6 (b) of Regulation 250/2014 are not eligible. Research institutions,
Universities, NGOs or Not for Profit Organisations cannot submit applications.
Article 7 (2) determines the conditions under which applicants from third countries may
submit applications. At this moment, none of the third countries satisfies these requirements.
6

and technical support used in detecting and monitoring any illegal activity
perpetrated against the Unions financial interests. It shall lead to a faster and more
efficient detection of, for example, smuggled cigarettes and tobacco, illicit goods,
corruption or the identification of new fraud schemes and modi operandi;
b) Improved skills and competences of the applicants staff that will operate the
equipment purchased under this action;
c) The improvement of the quality of evidence gathered by the applicants during
operations and investigations related to suspicions or allegations of fraud, corruption
and any other illegal activities perpetrated against the Unions or national budget,
inasmuch as these illegal activities may have an impact on the Unions financial
interests. The improved quality of evidence has to contribute to speeding up legal
proceedings in Member States and to reducing the number of dismissals due to
prescription, inadmissible evidence, procedural errors or methodological mistakes
made during the investigation.
3.2

Deliverables

The results and achievements of the actions shall be reported in a final technical
report and a final financial report23. These final reports shall be submitted at the
latest 60 days24 after the closing date indicated in the grant agreement. The final
technical report shall include:
a) A qualitative description of the results mentioned under point 3.1 of these
specifications. It shall contain, inter alia, information on qualitative improvements in
existing technical systems that support the investigative and operational activities of
the applicant and its staff. It shall also describe how it contributed to the
improvement of evidence gathered in operations and investigations carried out to
protect the Unions and the Member State's financial interests;
b) Information on the results of operations and investigations that were enabled or
facilitated by using the equipment purchased under this action and that can be
directly linked to this action. The results must be linked to the Unions financial
interests and could be, for example, the number of arrests and convictions, seizures
of contraband (including smuggled cigarettes and tobacco), bootleg and counterfeited
tobacco products;
c) A short description of the activities the applicant has undertaken to train its staff in
the use, maintenance and management of the purchased equipment. This shall also
indicate what overall efficiency gains were obtained;
d) A discussion on the results achieved with the action in relation to the objectives of
the Hercule III Programme. This discussion should clearly highlight the added value
and benefits the action generated for the protection of the Unions financial interests.
The final financial report shall include information on the financial implementation of
the action, such as invoices and proofs of payment for the incurred costs.
One year after the final payment, the applicant shall submit a final implementation
report25 on the main results achieved with the action for which the grant was
provided. This report shall contain the necessary information for the key performance
indicators drawn up to monitor the achievement of the Programme's objectives; the
information needed to determine the impact of the action and to assess the
effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation of the Programme's actions.
The results reported in the final technical report and the final implementation report may
be used by the Commission in its annual overview of the implementation of the
Programme. This annual overview is requested under Article 13 of Regulation 250/2014.
23

A template for both reports will be annexed to the Grant Agreement. An example of this
Agreement can be downloaded from the Commissions website, see:
http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/policy/hercule-iii/index_en.htm.

24

See Article II.23.2 of the Annex II to the grant agreement.

A template for the final implementation report will be annexed to the Grant Agreement.

25

The Commission will not disclose information that could endanger on-going
investigations. If a beneficiary does not want that these results are disclosed or
disseminated in the Commissions annual overview, it must clearly explain this in the
application.

4.

TIMETABLE
Stages

Indicative Dates

Publication of the Call for Proposals

Last day for submission of questions on the Call
for Proposals
Deadline for submitting applications
Information to the applicants
Signature of first grant agreements
Earliest possible date to start actions
Latest date to finish actions

5.

Begin April 2016

Thursday, 26 May 2016
Thursday, 9 June 2016
End of September 201626
End of October 2016
1 December 201627
1 July 2018

FUNDING CONDITIONS

The funding will be made available subject to the following conditions:

a) The overall budget in 2016 for Technical Assistance amounts to EUR 8 800 000. If
the budget is not exhausted after the examination of the applications and the award
of the grants, an additional Call for Proposals may be organized at the end of 2016;
b) The minimum threshold for the budget of an action submitted in an application has
been set at: EUR 100 000. The application will be discarded if the budget is lower
than EUR 100 000;
c) The Commission will award a grant to the successful applicants for the
implementation of an action. This grant will not exceed 80% of the total eligible
costs. The detailed description of eligible costs is given in the "guidelines for the
Application Form", which can be downloaded, together with the "Application Form",
from the Commissions website. Applicants are advised to carefully examine the
Guidelines before filling in the Application Form;
d) In exceptional and duly justified cases, the financial support for an action may be
increased to a maximum of 90% of the eligible costs. The criteria used to determine
whether an action satisfies these conditions are set out in point 6.6;
e) The applicant must indicate the source of funding for the costs of the action that are
not covered by the grant;
f) The Commission reserves the right to award a grant that is lower than the amount
requested by the applicant, if the costs of the action are considered to be too high,
not justified or ineligible;
g) The Commission reserves the right to reduce the co-funding percentage to enable the
award of more grants, in particular where the overall amount requested exceeds the
available budget;
h) The grant is given for a specific action and does not confer an obligation for the
Commission to provide co-financing in subsequent years. This restriction has to be
taken into account for the planning of maintenance costs;

26

27

Article 128 (2) of the Financial Regulation requires the Commission to notify the applicants by
9 December 2016 at the latest on the outcome of the evaluation procedure, unless there is a
large number of applications or delays attributable to applicants. Grant agreements shall be
signed by 9 March 2017 at the very latest.
Applicants may start preparatory activities for the implementation of an action (such as
launching procedures for the procurement of technical equipment) after the notification of the
grant. However, applicants cannot make any legal commitment or expenditures in relation to
the action outside the eligibility period of the grant agreement.
8

i)

The action has to start before the end of 2016 and shall not take more than 18
months. The action must be ended by the closing date indicated in the grant
agreement;
Expenditures incurred outside the period specified in the grant agreement are not
eligible and will not be taken into consideration in the determination of the final
payment of the grant.

j)

6.

PROCEDURE FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE APPLICATIONS

6.1

Evaluation Committee

The Commission will appoint an Evaluation Committee to examine the applications to

verify the compliance of each application with the procedural requirements set out in the
Application Form (such as the timely delivery and the completeness of the application).
The Evaluation Committee will examine each application on the basis (and in this order)
of the eligibility criteria (6.2), the exclusion criteria (6.3) and the selection criteria (6.4).
If an application does not successfully pass the examination of a set of criteria, it will be
discarded. The Evaluation Committee will only start its examination of the content of
each application on the basis of the award criteria (6.5) after the application successfully
passed the examination of the eligibility, the exclusion and the selection criteria.
Eligibility Criteria: Yes/No
Exclusion Criteria: Yes/No
Selection Criteria: Yes/No
Award Criteria

The Evaluation Committee may ask an applicant to provide additional information or to

clarify the supporting documents submitted in connection with the application, in
particular in the case of manifest material errors. These requests will be made before the
examination of the applications on the basis of the award criteria.
6.2

Eligibility criteria28

Eligibility criteria are used to determine whether an applicant is allowed to participate in

this Call for Proposals. To be eligible, an application must:

be submitted by an applicant as defined in point 2.2 of these specifications;

propose an action having a budget of at least EUR 100 000;
be submitted before the deadline of Thursday, 9 June 2016 as indicated in point 7.3
(date of postmark/courier service receipt/deposit slip serving as evidence of timely
delivery);
be the only application submitted: a legal entity or body may submit only one
application under this Call.

If these conditions are met, the Evaluation Committee will proceed with the examination
of the exclusion criteria.

28

See section 5.1 (a) of the AWP2016.

9

6.3

Exclusion criteria29

Applicants will be excluded from participating if they are in any of the situations listed
in Articles 106(1), 107 and 108 of the Financial Regulation30.
Applicants must sign in the application form a declaration on their honour
certifying that they are not in one of the situations referred to in these articles. This
requirement does not apply when such certification has recently been provided in
another award procedure31. If these conditions are met, the Evaluation Committee will
proceed with the examination of the selection criteria.
6.4

Selection criteria32

After verification of the eligibility and exclusion criteria, each application will be
examined to verify the operational, technical and administrative capacity of the applicant
to implement the action proposed in the application. The applicant shall demonstrate
that it has the operational resources (technical, management) and that its staff has
the professional skills and qualifications needed to successfully implement the
proposed action. The applicant must have a strong track record of competence and
experience in the field and in particular in the type of action proposed. This has to be
demonstrated by providing the following information in the relevant sections of the
Application Form:

a short description of the applicant's main activities;

a short description of the relevant competences of the person(s) within the
applicant's organisation who will be responsible for the implementation of the action;
an exhaustive list of received EU grants during the last 5 years.

If these conditions are met, the Evaluation Committee will proceed with the examination
of the award criteria.
6.5

Award criteria33

The action proposed in the application has to fall in one of the categories mentioned in
point 2.1 (Eligible actions), and will be examined on the basis of the following weighted
award criteria (weight factors are indicated between parantheses):
1. Added value of the implementation of the action for the protection of the financial
interests of the Union and the contribution it will make to the achievement of the
Programme's general and specific objectives (4);
2. Conformity with the operational objectives of the Programme (2): Conformity of
the aims of the action to one or more of the operational objectives, as described
under point 1.2, the relevance of the issues addressed by the project as well as
complementarity with other Union activities;
3. Quality (2): originality of the action; accuracy and coherence of the proposed
methodology for implementing the action; organisation of work, the allocation of
resources; consistency and feasibility of the planning for the implementation of the
action as well as appropriateness of the envisaged activities;
4. Value for money (2).

29
30

31
32
33

See section 5.1 (b) of the AWP2016.

The situations referred to include bankruptcy, compulsory winding-up, being under court
administration, in an arrangement with creditors or any other similar proceedings;
convictions of professional misconduct; non-fulfilment of social security or tax payment
obligations; convictions of fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any
other illegal activity declared in serious breach of contract in relation to activities funded by
the EU budget; subject to conflict of interest; guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the
required information. See also Article 131.4 of the Financial Regulation (FR).
Art. 131.4 FR.
See section 5.1 (c) of the AWP2016.
See section 5.1 (d) of the AWP2016.
10

Each application will be scored on a 10 points scale for each criterion. The individual
scores for each criterion will be multiplied by the applicable weight factor and added. An
application must obtain at least 50% of the theoretical maximum score for each criterion
as well as 60% or more of the theoretical maximum aggregated score on the four
criteria. An application that did not obtain these minimum scores will be discarded. The
applications with an aggregated score equal or higher than 60% of the theoritical
maximum will be ranked on the basis of their scores and will be recommended for a
grant, subject to the availability of sufficient financial resources.
The table below gives an overview of the average34 minimum score applications must
obtain.
Award criteria

Points

Weight

Added value
Conformity
Quality
Value for Money

1-10
1-10
1-10
1-10

4
2
2
2

Threshold
(minimum
score)

Maximum
score

20
10
10
10

40
20
20
20

Aggregated minimum score needed for all criteria: 60

6.6

Criteria for co-financing grants up to 90% of the eligible costs35

The Hercule III Regulation provides for the possibility to increase the maximum cofinancing rate of grants from 80% to a maximum of 90% in exceptional and duly
justified cases, such as cases concerning Member States exposed to a high risk in
relation to the financial interests of the Union36. According to the Financing Decision
201637, at least two of the criteria listed below will be used in determining the
exceptional and duly justified cases for actions in the technical assistance sector. The
action shall:

take place at an external EU border, especially the EUs eastern border;

take place at the most vulnerable locations (as regards seizures of cigarettes and
tobacco reported by Member States to the Commission)38;

reflect the results of the Eurobarometer survey39 of

counterfeited, smuggled cigarettes and cheap whites; and

reflect the findings of the 2014 annual report on implementation of Article 325 TFEU
on combating fraud (e.g. as regards the number of cases of smuggled cigarettes
reported and the estimated traditional own resources involved)40, in particular the
identification of the Member States that are vulnerable and most exposed to threats
in relation to the Unions financial interests.

34
35
36
37
38
39
40

citizens

attitudes

The aggregated scores of the evaluators divided by the number of evaluators.

See section 6.3 of the AWP2016.
Article 10 (4) of Regulation (EU) No. 250/2014.
C(2016)868 final of 17 February 2016.
COM(2013) 324 final, 6.6.2013.
This survey was carried out in November 2015 with funding from the Programme.
Statistical evaluation of irregularities reported for 2014 own resources, Cohesion Policy, preaccession and direct expenditure (SWD(2015)156 final, 31.7.2015), accompanying the
Commissions 2014 report to the European Parliament and the Council on the Protection of
the European Unions financial interests the fight against fraud (table TOR1),
(COM(2015)386 final, 31.7.2015).
11

to

The Commission does not have an obligation to award a 90% grant, even if the applicant
complies with all the criteria mentioned above.

7.

SUBMISSION OF AN APPLICATION

The application must be delivered to the address mentioned under point 7.4 and under
the conditions set out in the Application Form. The applicant must also send a copy41 by
e-mail to the Functional Mail Box indicated under point 7.4. If the application cannot be
sent by e-mail (e.g. for security reasons), the applicant must notify the Commission by
e-mail that it will submit an application by post only. This notification must be sent
before the expiration of the deadline in point 7.3.
7.1

Content and format

The application has to be submitted by using the Application Form and Budget Template
that can be downloaded from the Commissions website42 and have to include:
One paper version that contains the following documents:

A letter expressing interest in obtaining a grant, duly dated and signed by the person
authorised to represent the applicant;
An Application Form, duly completed, dated and signed by the person authorised to
commit the applicant legally, giving full details of:
o Description of the action (section 2.1 of the form);
o Timetable for the action (section 2.3 of the form);
o Budget estimates, dated and signed, with a detailed breakdown of forecast
expenditure and income (section 3 of the form) as well as documents justifying
the estimates, such as direct quotes from suppliers or copies taken from
suppliers' (internet) catalogues.
The form on the legal entity of the applicant, filled in and signed43;
The financial identification form, dated, signed and stamped by the bank44;
CV of persons to be performing work in connection with the operation.
Applicants may submit any additional document that they consider suitable in
support of their application.

One electronic version containing:

7.2

The scanned version of the application and all its annexes in portable document
format (.pdf);
A non-protected file containing the full text of the application form as made available
on the Commission's website;
A non-protected spread sheet file containing the budget of the application as made
available on the Commission's website.
Language

The application may be submitted in one of the official languages of the European Union,
but preferably in English. If an application is submitted in a language other than English
a summary in English must be added.

41
42
43

44

The electronic copy must be identical to the paper copy.

http://ec.europa.eu/anti-fraud/about-us_en
If the applicant submitted an application under a Hercule III Call for Proposals in 2014 and/or
2015 and there were no substantial changes in its organisation, there is no need to submit
this form.
See previous footnote.
12

7.3

Deadline for the submission of applications

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF THE APPLICATION UNDER THE CALL FOR
PROPOSALS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 2016 IS:
THURSDAY, 9 JUNE 2016
If sent by post (date of postmark serving as evidence of timely delivery), the application
has to be sent by registered mail (with receipt notification) on Thursday, 9 June 2016
at the very latest.
If sent by delivery service (date of deposit slip serving as evidence of timely delivery),
the application has to be sent on Thursday, 9 June 2016 at the very latest.
For hand delivery, the application can only be submitted at the Commission's Central
Mail Department before 16.00h (GMT+2) on Thursday, 9 June 2016. Any other
means of submission, such as delivery by hand to the premises of the European AntiFraud Office in Brussels, will not be accepted.
The Commission must in all cases receive in addition to the paper original application a
scanned copy which must be identical to the paper application sent by e-mail to the
functional mailbox mentioned in point 7.4 not later than Thursday, 9 June 2016,
18.00h (GMT+2).
Applicants are advised to keep proof that they sent their applications before the
deadline. If applicants are asked to prove the date they sent the application and are not
able to do so, the application will be considered as undelivered. The Commission cannot
be held responsible for packages which are not addressed correctly or for applications
sent in several parts which are not marked clearly enough to allow them to be properly
collated.
7.4

Submission addresses

The application should prominently display the words:

HERCULE III PROGRAMME (2014-2020)
APPLICATION FOR THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 2016
The application must be sent to the following address:

BY POST

European Commission European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)

For the attention of: Ms Corinna ULLRICH
Head of Unit D.1 Policy Development & Hercule
Office: J-30- 12/73
B-1049 BRUSSELS (BELGIQUE/BELGI)

European Commission European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)

BY DELIVERY For the attention of: Ms Corinna ULLRICH
Head of Unit D.1 Policy Development & Hercule
SERVICE OR
Office: J-30- 12/73
HAND DELIVERY
Avenue du Bourget, 1
B-1140 EVERE (BELGIQUE/BELGI)

13

The scanned version of the grant Application Form and containing all necessary annexes,
as well as the Word version of the Application Form must be sent by electronic mail to
the following mailbox: OLAF-FMB-HERCULE-TA@ec.europa.eu
8.
8.1

NOTIFICATION, IMPLEMENTATION AND PAYMENT

NOTIFICATION

Upon receipt of the application, the Commission will send a receipt notification by e-mail,
which contains a reference number of the application and the person to contact for any
questions in relation to the follow-up of the application. This reference number shall be
used in further correspondence with the Commission during the evaluation stage.
Applicants will be notified within a period of 6 months after the deadline mentioned
under point 7.3 of the outcome of the evaluation procedure. If questions arise as the
result of the examination of the eligibility, exclusion and/or selection criteria,
the Commission will contact the person indicated under section 2.1 of the Application
Form. The applicant is therefore strongly recommended to notify the Commission of any
changes in the name(s) of the contact person(s).
If the Commission decides to award a grant to an application, the Commission will notify
the applicant and ask for a confirmation of its interest. Following this confirmation, the
Commission will send the applicant a grant agreement specifying the eligible costs, the
amount of the grant in Euro, the co-financing percentage and the conditions for payment
and utilisation. The grant agreement has to be signed by the applicant and returned to
the Commission for signature. The grant agreement only enters into force once the
Commission has signed. The latter should be taken into account in the planning of the
action as financial commitments made for the implementation of the action before the
entry into force, or after the closing date of the grant agreement, are not eligible for
funding.
If an application was not successful, the applicant will receive information on the score it
obtained for each criterion, its ranking as well as a short qualitative description of the
justifications given by the Evaluation Committee for its score.
The examination of the applications will take place in June and July 2016. This period
may be extended if the Commission receives an unexpected high number of applications.
In that case, the Commission will inform all applicants of the revised timetable for the
evaluation of the applications.
8.2

Implementation

The beneficiaries undertake to carry out the action as it was presented in the application.
The duration of the grant agreement shall not be longer than 18 months and later than
1 July 2018. No modification to the action is permitted without the prior written
approval of the Commission.
The grant agreement must be signed by both parties before the beneficiary can make
any financial commitments in order to implement the action.
8.3

Payment

An amount equivalent to 50% of the grant will be paid within 30 days of the date when
the Commission signs the agreement. The balance will be paid within 60 days following
receipt and approval of the final technical report and the final financial report. The
beneficiary of the grant commits itself to submit a final implementation report one year
after the closing date indicated in the grant agreement. All reports have to be drafted on
the basis of the templates annexed to the grant agreement.
If the eligible, incurred costs are lower than indicated in the grant agreement, the
Commission will adjust the amount of the final payment accordingly by applying the cofinancing rate indicated in the grant agreement. If this leads to an amount lower than
the first payment of 50%, the Commission will issue a recovery order in respect of that
part of the budget that is paid out but has not been used or evidenced. If the incurred
14

costs are higher than indicated in the grant agreement, the excess will automatically be
borne by the grant beneficiary and the co-financing rate will be reduced accordingly. The
amount of the grant will never be increased if the incurred costs are higher than
indicated in the grant agreement.
The grant may not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit for the beneficiary.
Where a profit is made, the Commission shall be entitled to recover the percentage of
the profit corresponding to the Union contribution to the eligible costs actually incurred
by the beneficiary to carry out the action45.
Within the framework of this agreement, the authorised representative of the applicant
organisation must undertake to provide proof of the proper use of the grant and to allow
the Commission to verify the use of the grant during the validity of the contract as well
as for a period of five years from the date of payment of the balance. This may lead,
where appropriate, to recovery decisions by the Commission46.

9.

PUBLICITY BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

All grants awarded in the course of a financial year shall be published in the Financial
Transparency System (FTS)47 of the European Commission no later than the 30 June of
the year following the financial year in which the grants were awarded48. The
Commission shall on an on-going basis disseminate, including on relevant websites, the
results of the activities supported under the Programme to increase transparency on the
use of the funds49.
The European Commission will publish the following information:

name of the beneficiary;

address of the beneficiary when the latter is a legal person;
subject of the grant;
amount awarded.

Upon a reasoned and duly substantiated request by the beneficiary, 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 beneficiaries. The publication may also be waived if
the disclosure of this information endangers operations or investigations undertaken by
the beneficiary of the grant.

10.

QUESTIONS

Questions and/or requests for additional information in relation to this Call have to be
sent by e-mail to: OLAF-FMB-HERCULE-TA@ec.europa.eu until Thursday, 26 May 2016.
The questions and answers may be anonymously published in the "Guidelines for filling
in the Application Form" on the Commissions internet website if they are relevant to
other applicants. The Commission cannot guarantee that questions asked after
Thursday, 26 May 2016
will
be
answered
before
the
deadline
of
Thursday, 9 June 201650.

45
46

47

48
49
50

Article 125 FR
The Court of Auditors shall have the same rights as OLAF, notably right of access to sites and
premises where the action is carried out and to all the information, including information in
electronic format, needed in order to conduct checks and audits.
http://ec.europa.eu/contracts_grants/beneficiaries_en.htm,
and: http://ec.europa.eu/budget/fts/index_en.htm.
Art. 128(3) FR, 191(1) RAP.
Article 13 (1) of Regulation (EU) No. 250/2014.
The Commission will reply according to the Code of good administrative behaviour within 15
days from receipt of the question.
15

Any requests for additional information must be made in writing only to the e-mail
address mentioned above (in view of the large number of enquiries, please do not
telephone).
In the interest of equal treatment of applicants, the European Commission cannot issue
a prior opinion on the eligibility of an applicant, an action or specific activities.

11.

DATA PROTECTION

The follow-up of responses to the Call for Proposals will require the recording and further
processing of personal data (e.g. name, address). All personal data (names, addresses,
CVs, etc.) will be processed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of
individuals with regard to processing of personal data by the institutions and bodies of
the EU and on the free movement of such data51.
Details concerning the processing of personal data are available on the privacy
statement at:
http://ec.europa.eu/dataprotectionofficer/privacystatement_publicprocurement_en.pdf
http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/about-us/data-protection/processing-operations/not_subject_en.htm

Our replies to the questions in this form are necessary in order for your grant application
to be assessed, and they will be processed solely for that purpose by the department
responsible for the European Union grant Programme concerned.
On request, you may be sent personal data to correct or complete. If you have any
questions relating to these data, please contact OLAF's data protection officer (DPO).
Beneficiaries may lodge a complaint against the processing of their personal data with
the European Data Protection Supervisor52 at any time.
Personal data may be registered in the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES).
The EDES is the new system established by the Commission to reinforce the protection
of the Union's financial interests and to ensure sound financial management. It replaces
the Early Warning System and the Central Exclusion Database as of 1 January 2016. The
EDES rules are found in the revised Financial Regulation53 and are applicable since 1
January 2016 to all contracts, grant agreements, prizes, financial instruments and
remunerated experts.
The information on early detection/exclusion/financial penalty may stem from:

51
52
53

final judgment or final administrative decisions;

facts and findings from the Anti-fraud office of the Commission (OLAF), Court of
Auditors, audits or any other check, audit or control performed under the
responsibility of the competent authorising officer;
non-final judgments or administrative decisions;
decisions of the European Central Bank (ECB), the European Investment Bank (EIB),
the European Investment Fund or international organisations;
cases of fraud and/or irregularity by national managing authorities under shared
management;
cases of fraud and/or irregularity by delegated entities under indirect management.

OJ L 8, 12 January 2001.
www.edps.europa.eu.
Article 108 FR and Article 143 RAP.
16

The grounds for exclusion are listed under article 106(1) of the Financial Regulation.
They concern:

bankruptcy and insolvency situations;

non-payment of taxes or social security contributions;
grave professional misconduct;
fraud, corruption, participation in a criminal organisation etc.;
serious breach of contract;
irregularity.

12.

COMPLAINTS TO THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN

At all stages of the administrative handling of the application, whenever persons or

bodies involved consider that they are the victim of maladministration, they may,
independently of any other avenue of appeal, submit a complaint to the European
Ombudsman (http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu) in accordance with Article 228(1) of
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and as provided by the Parliament
Decision of 9 March 1994 on the regulations and general conditions governing the
performance
of
the
Ombudsman's
duties
published
in
the
Official Journal L 113 of 4 May 1994.

13.

DOCUMENTS

The following annexes are part of these specifications and are available from the
Commission's (OLAF) website:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Application Form;
Guidelines for the Application Form;
Budget Template (spread sheet);
Financial Identification Form (for new applicants);
Legal Entity Form (for new applicants):
Links to the following internet pages with information on:
a. the Financial Regulation 966/2012 (FR) as amended by Regulation 2015/1929 of
28 October 2015 and the Rules of Application, Commission Delegated Regulation
1268/2012 (RAP), as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation 2015/2462
of 30 October 2015;
b. the beneficiaries of EU funding (Financial Transparency Scheme FTS);
c. EU funding (grants);
d. the Hercule Programmes: Financing Decisions, Annual Work Programmes,
Evaluation Report and other relevant documents;
e. Ceilings for the reimbursement of incurred travel and subsistence costs,
applicable to EU staff carrying out missions.

Applicants are advised to consult the website for the Call for proposals regularly in the
period leading up to the submission deadline, in case announcements, updates or
answers to questions (FAQs) are published.

17