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Service for Foreign Policy Instruments
Call for tendersClosed

Partnership Instrument – EU Gateway / Business Avenues, Central Management Unit

Details

Status
Closed
Publication date
Deadline date
Opening of tenders
Department
Service for Foreign Policy Instruments

Description

1. Publication reference

EuropeAid/136577/DH/SER/MULTI

2. Procedure

Restricted

3. Programme title

Stimulating green growth and strengthening EU presence in South Korean and South East Asian markets. Facilitating market access to China.

4. Financing

Partnership Instrument 2014 Annual Action Programme (ref. C/2014/7423 of 16.10.2014)

5. Contracting Authority

European Union represented by the European Commission.

CONTRACT SPECIFICATION

6. Nature of contract

Global price

7. Contract description

Central Management Unit responsible for the development of operational tools and procedures; maintaining the Gateway methodology and its implementation across the three target markets identified under the Partnership Instrument 2014 Annual Action Programme, i.e. China, South Korea, South East Asia; general programme promotion in Europe and building relations with key multipliers; assessment procedure; market intelligence and market analysis; and general management support to the Commission.

8. Number and titles of lots

No, one lot only

9. Maximum budget

EUR 8 million

10. Scope for additional services

The Contracting Authority may, at its own discretion, extend the project in duration and/or scope subject to the availability of funding up to a maximum not exceeding the length and value of the initial contract . Any extension of the contract would be subject to satisfactory performance by the Contractor.

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

11. Eligibility

Participation is open to all natural persons who are nationals of and legal persons [participating either individually or in a grouping (consortium) of tenderers] which are effectively established in a Member State of the European Union or in a eligible country or territory as defined under the Regulation (EU) N°236/2014 establishing common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union's instruments for external action (CIR) for the applicable Instrument under which the contract is financed (see also heading 22 below). Participation is also open to international organisations. All supplies under this contract must originate in one or more of these countries. However, they may originate from any country when the amount of the supplies to be purchased is below 100,000 euros per purchase.

12. Candidature

All eligible natural and legal persons (as per item 11 above) or groupings of such persons (consortia) may apply.

A consortium may be a permanent, legally-established grouping or a grouping which has been constituted informally for a specific tender procedure. All members of a consortium (i.e. the leader and all other members) are jointly and severally liable to the Contracting Authority.

The participation of an ineligible natural or legal person (as per item 11) will result in the automatic exclusion of that person. In particular, if that ineligible person belongs to a consortium, the whole consortium will be excluded.

13. Number of applications

No more than one application can be submitted by a natural or legal person whatever the form of participation (as an individual legal entity or as leader or member of a consortium submitting an application). In the event that a natural or legal person submits more than one application, all applications in which that person has participated will be excluded.

14. Shortlist alliances prohibited

Any tenders received from tenderers comprising firms other than those mentioned in the short-listed application forms will be excluded from this restricted tender procedure unless prior approval from the Contracting Authority has been obtained (see Practical Guide – PRAG- 2.4.3.). Short-listed candidates may not form alliances or subcontract to each other for the contract in question.

15. Grounds for exclusion

As part of the application form, candidates must submit a signed declaration, included in the standard application form, to the effect that they are not in any of the exclusion situations listed in Section 2.3.3 of the PRAG

16. Sub-contracting

Subcontracting is allowed

17. Number of candidates to be short-listed

On the basis of the applications received, between 4 and 8 candidates will be invited to submit detailed tenders for this contract. If the number of eligible candidates meeting the selection criteria is less than the minimum of 4, the Contracting Authority may invite the candidates who satisfy the criteria to submit a tender.

PROVISIONAL TIMETABLE

18. Provisional date of invitation to tender

1.5.2015

19. Provisional commencement date of the contract

1.9.2015

20. Initial period of implementation of tasks

60 months

SELECTION AND AWARD CRITERIA

21. Selection criteria

Same criteria for legal and natural person

The following selection criteria will be applied to candidates. In the case of applications submitted by a consortium, these selection criteria will be applied to the consortium as a whole:

1) Economic and financial capacity of candidate (based on item 3 of the application form). In case of candidate being a public body, equivalent information should be provided.

Criteria for legal and natural persons:

  • The average annual turnover of the candidate in the last 3 years (2012, 2013 and 2014) must be at least € 2 million.
  • Current ratio (current assets/current liabilities) must be at least 1.5.

2) Professional capacity of candidate(based on items 4 and 5 of the application form)

Criteria for legal and natural persons:

  • At least 10 staff currently working for the candidate in fields related to this contract, of which minimum 5 must be permanently employed.

3) Technical capacity of candidate (based on items 5 and 6 of the application form)

Criteria for legal and natural persons:

  1. The candidate has provided in the course of the past 3 years (starting from 01.01.2012 up to the deadline for receipt of applications) at least 2 service projects (the candidate's proportion being more than € 2.5 million for his services in each project) in the following fields:
    1. Technical assistance to trade;
    2. International business cooperation;
    3. Trade and export promotion

Altogether, the references projects must cover a minimum of 2 fields among the 3 identified above.

Previous experience which caused breach of contract and termination by a Contracting Authority shall not be used as reference.

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. Such entities, for instance the parent company of the economic operator, must respect the same rules of eligibility and notably that of nationality, as the economic operator.

If more than 8 eligible candidates meet the above selection criteria, the relative strengths and weaknesses of the applications of these candidates must be reexamined to identify the eight best candidates. The only factors which will be taken into consideration during this re-examination are:

  • The total number of reference projects found eligible under 21.3; and in case of equality on this criterion, then
  • The value of the eligible part eligible part (the proportion carried out by the candidate) of the projects found eligible under 21.3

22. Award criteria

Best value for money.

APPLICATION

23. Deadline for receipt of applications

12.00 hrs Central European Time on 12/03/2015.

Any application received by the Contracting Authority after this deadline will not be considered.

24. Application format and details to be provided

Applications must be submitted using the standard application form, the format and instructions of which must be strictly observed. The application form is available from the following Internet address: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/annexes.do?group=B

Any additional documentation (brochure, letter, etc) sent with an application will not be taken into consideration.

25. How applications may be submitted

Applications must be submitted in English exclusively to the Contracting Authority in a sealed envelope:

  • EITHER by recorded delivery (official postal service) to :

    European Commission
    Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI4)
    200, rue de la Loi
    1049 Brussels, Belgium

  • OR hand delivered (including courier services) directly to the Contracting Authority in return for a signed and dated receipt to:

    European Commission
    Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI4)
    for the attention of Genoveve RUIZ CALAVERA
    Avenue du Bourget 1
    1140 Brussels (Evere), Belgium

The Contract title and the Publication reference (see item 1 above) must be clearly marked on the envelope containing the application and must always be mentioned in all subsequent correspondence with the Contracting Authority.

Applications submitted by any other means will not be considered.

26. Alteration or withdrawal of applications

Candidates may alter or withdraw their applications by written notification prior to the deadline for submission of applications. No application may be altered after this deadline.

Any such notification of alteration or withdrawal shall be prepared and submitted in accordance with Item 25. The outer envelope (and the relevant inner envelope if used) must be marked 'Alteration' or 'Withdrawal' as appropriate.

27. Operational language

All written communications for this tender procedure and contract must be in: English.

28. Date of publication of prior information notice

31.12.2014

29. Legal basis

Regulation (EU) No 234/2014 establishing a Partnership Instrument for cooperation with third countries.

Regulation(EU) N°236/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014 laying down common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union's instruments for financing external action.

30. Additional information

Questions may be sent by email, indicating clearly the reference of the Call to the following address: FPI-4-GRANTS-TENDERSatec [dot] europa [dot] eu (FPI-4-GRANTS-TENDERS[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)