Preparatory Action "Crowdsourcing subtitling to increase the circulation of European works" - CNECT 2017/3135124

Date de clôture : 15 sept. 2017  
APPEL À PROJET CLÔTURÉ

 

INTRODUCTION – Background

This Call for proposals is published under Article 54(2)(b) of the Regulation (EU, Euratom) N°966/2012. The annual work programme was adopted under Commission Decision C(2017)2755 of 28.04.2017.

The European Parliament adopted a budget of EUR 1 million for the Preparatory Action "Crowdsourcing subtitling to increase the circulation of European works". The aim of this action is to test the impact of any innovative solution to decrease the costs of subtitling and increase the circulation of European films by making more efficient use of public funding on subtitling and dubbing.

Increasing availability of European films implies costs, in particular for subtitling/dubbing films into the different official languages of the European Union. These costs are frequently co-financed by public bodies such as national film agencies or the European Union, via the distribution and online distribution schemes of the Creative Europe MEDIA sub-programme. 

Whilst subtitling/dubbing are key to promote cultural diversity and reach out to new  audiences, some inefficiencies prevent operators (cinemas, broadcasters, VoD services) from proposing versions of films in a language other than the official language(s) of the territory where they are shown. For instance, language versions are not easy to find for audiovisual media service providers including broadcasters and VoD services, and this has an impact on the programming of films. 

Subtitling costs are the same for any given language. This cost may deter from releasing films with subtitling in languages spoken by a small number of people. As a matter of fact, there is no certainty that for this target audience, the potential demand for non-national European films will compensate for the subtitling costs. This consideration may deter rights holders to release films with subtitling in the language of countries with a low production capacity unless this language is shared with another EU country with a high production capacity.

The Copyright Communication of 9 December 2015 (COM(2015) 626) Towards a modern, more European copyright framework, calls for action to make a "more efficient funding for, and use of, subtitling and dubbing by public funds", which is the basis for the present preparatory action.

 

 

 

Objective(s) – Theme(s) – Priorities

The objective of this action is to increase the availability, the exploitation and the circulation of European works. Specifically, the aim of this action is twofold:

 

A) Find innovative solutions for high-quality film translation (e.g. crowdsourcing, machine translation etc.). These innovative solutions/processes/models should be applied to a curated catalogue of European works which should be then made available to VOD services. 

 

B) Enable tracking of language versions and enable service providers (e.g. VOD services, catch-up TV services or cinemas) to easily find the language version of their choice. 

 

What support is available: 

 

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at 1 M EUR.

 

The indicative split between the two actions will be the following:

• Action A: an indicative amount of 700.000 EUR.

• Action B: an indicative amount of 300.000 EUR.

 

This is the third year this action is being pursued and we continue to support the goals of the actions from the previous two years.

Action A aims at:

Develop innovative solutions/processes/models for obtaining high-quality  and cost effective language versions of films;

Apply these innovative solutions/processes/models to a curated catalogue of European films;

Make the catalogue available to VOD services. 

 

Action B aims at:

Develop a tool/database that enables to track all language versions available for any given film in as many official EU languages as possible; the online tool shall display a research feature based on diverse parameters, amongst them ISO standard identifiers;

Enable service providers (e.g. VOD services, catch-up TV services or cinema theatres) to easily find and use the different language versions they need following a simple and, if possible, automated transaction mechanism; the info displayed shall be accessible for film funds and potential sponsors of dubbing or subtitled versions, so that they can edit information regarding versions that they had supported;

Create a self-standing platform or a feature added to an existing platform.

 

Applicants submitting projects for both actions should provide separate applications for each action.

 

Expected outcomes of the preparatory action:

Improved flexibility in the use of language versions regardless of the official language(s) of the territory of the Member States where the European audiovisual work is screened;

Facilitated access to European content to a wider  audience;

Increased circulation of European films.

The results of the experimentation should be shared with stakeholders and policy makers during a public workshop. 

 

 

Timetable

a) Publication of the call 

June 2017

b) Deadline for submitting applications

15 September

c) Evaluation period

September/October 2017

d) Information to applicants

October/November 2017

e) Signature of grant agreement or notification of grant decision

October/November 2017

f)  Starting date of the action

not later than January 2018

 

 

Budget available

 The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at 1M euros.

 

The Commission expects to fund between 2 and 4 proposals.

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

 

Admissibility Requirements

Applications must be sent no later than the deadline for submitting applications referred to in section 3.

Applications must be submitted in writing (see section 14), using the application form https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/newsroom/call-proposals/all.

Applications must be drafted in one of the EU official languages

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

 

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible applicants

 

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

Natural persons are not eligible to apply for a grant.

Legal entities having a legal or capital link with applicants, which is neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation, may take part in the action as affiliated entities, and may declare eligible costs as specified in section 11.1. 

For that purpose, applicants shall identify such affiliated entities in the application form.

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

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

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

consortium: in addition to the supporting documents referring to their legal status,  consortium members will submit letters confirming their participation to the project,

 

By way of exception, an application may be submitted by one applicant, whether established specifically or not for the action, provided that:

it is formed of several legal entities complying with the eligibility, non-exclusion and selection criteria set out in this call for proposals, and implementing together the proposed action;

the application identifies the said entities.

For the purpose of declaring eligible costs as specified under section 11.1, the entities composing the applicant shall be treated as affiliated entities.

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

Examples of supporting documents (see also section 4.3.4.2.1 of the Vade Mecum):

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

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

natural persons: photocopy of identity card and/or passport; certificate of liability to VAT,  if applicable (e.g. some self-employed persons)

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

 

Eligible activities

Only those applications corresponding to the objectives described above will be considered as eligible. 

Eligible activities are those consisting in assembling and delivering digital packages of European works with subtitling obtained through this innovative process and eventually sharing the results of the experimentation with professionals and policy makers. 

- costs of subtitling;

- evaluation and research cost;

- promotional cost;

- costs associated with the launch, promotion and implementation of a public event disclosing the results of the action with policy makers and other stakeholders; 

- audit costs.

 

Implementation period

The maximum period for implementation of the action (including the public conference with stakeholders where the results are to be presented to policy makers and stakeholders) is 18 months .The activities shall start not later than in January 2018 and shall be completed by 30th June 2019. 

Applications for projects scheduled to run for a longer period than that specified in this call for proposals will not be accepted.

 

Exclusion Criteria

Exclusion 

The authorising officer shall exclude an applicant from participating in call for proposals procedures where:

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

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

(c) it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the applicant is guilty of grave professional misconduct by having violated applicable laws or regulations or ethical standards of the profession to which the applicant belongs, or by having engaged in any wrongful conduct which has an impact on its professional credibility where such conduct denotes wrongful intent or gross negligence, including, in particular, any of the following:

fraudulently or negligently misrepresenting information required for the verification of the absence of grounds for exclusion or the fulfilment of selection criteria or in the performance of a contract, a grant agreement or a grant decision;

entering into agreement with other applicants with the aim of distorting competition;

violating intellectual property rights;

attempting to influence the decision-making process of the Commission during the award procedure;

attempting to obtain confidential information that may confer upon it undue advantages in the award procedure;

(d) it has been established by a final judgment that the applicant is guilty of any of the following:

fraud, within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 July 1995;

corruption, as defined in Article 3 of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of Member States of the European Union, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 May 1997, and in Article 2(1) of Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA, as well as corruption as defined in the law of the country where the contracting authority is located, the country in which the applicant is established or the country of the performance of the contract;

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

money laundering or terrorist financing, as defined in Article 1 of Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;

terrorist-related offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, as defined in Articles 1 and 3 of Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA, respectively, or inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to commit such offences, as referred to in Article 4 of that Decision;

child labour or other forms of trafficking in human beings as defined in Article 2 of Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council;

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

(f) it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative decision that the applicant has committed an irregularity within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95.

(g) for the situations of grave professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, other criminal offences, significant deficiencies in the performance of the contract or irregularity, the applicant is subject to: 

facts established in the context of audits or investigations carried out by the Court of Auditors, OLAF or internal audit, or any other check, audit or control performed under the responsibility of an authorising officer of an EU institution, of a European office or of an EU agency or body; 

non-final administrative decisions which may include disciplinary measures taken by the competent supervisory body responsible for the verification of the application of standards of professional ethics; 

decisions of the ECB, the EIB, the European Investment Fund or international organisations; 

decisions of the Commission relating to the infringement of the Union's competition rules or of a national competent authority relating to the infringement of Union or national competition law.

decisions of exclusion by an authorising officer of an EU institution, of a European office or of an EU agency or body.

Remedial measures

If an applicant declares one of the situations of exclusion listed above (see section 7.4), it should indicate the measures it has taken to remedy the exclusion situation, thus demonstrating its reliability. This may include e.g. technical, organisational and personnel measures to prevent further occurrence, compensation of damage or payment of fines. The relevant documentary evidence which illustrates the remedial measures taken must be provided in annex to the declaration. This does not apply for situations referred in point (d) of section 7.1.

Rejection from the call for proposals

The authorising officer shall not award a grant to an applicant who: 

is in an exclusion situation established in accordance with section 7.1;

 

has misrepresented the information required as a condition for participating in the procedure or has failed to supply that information;

 

was previously involved in the preparation of calls for proposal documents where this entails a distortion of competition that cannot be remedied otherwise.

 

The same exclusion criteria apply to affiliated entities.

 

Administrative and financial penalties may be imposed on applicants, or affiliated entities where applicable, who are guilty of misrepresentation.  

Supporting documents

 

Applicants and affiliated entities must provide a declaration on their honour certifying that they are not in one of the situations referred to in articles 106(1) and 107 FR, by filling in the relevant form attached to the application form accompanying the call for proposals and available at https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/newsroom/call-proposals/all. 

 

This obligation may be fulfilled in the following way: each applicant in the consortium signs a declaration in its name and on behalf its affiliated entities.

 

Selection criteria

Financial capacity

Applicants must have stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain their activity throughout the duration of the grant and to participate in its funding. The applicants' financial capacity will be assessed on the basis of the following supporting documents to be submitted with the application:

Low value grants (≤ EUR 60 000):

a declaration on their honour. 

Grants ≥ EUR 60 000:

a declaration on their honour and

EITHER

the profit and loss account as well as the balance sheet for the last financial year for which the accounts were closed;

for newly created entities: the business plan might replace the above documents;

OR

the table provided for in the application form, filled in with the relevant statutory accounting figures, in order to calculate the ratios as detailed in the form.

Grants for an action ≥ EUR 750 000 or operating grants ≥ EUR 100 000:

the  information and supporting documents mentioned above in point b) above and  

an audit report produced by an approved external auditor certifying the accounts for the last financial year available.
In the event of an application grouping several applicants (consortium), the above thresholds apply to each applicant.

In the case of legal entities forming one applicant (the "sole applicant"), as specified in section 6.1, the above requirements apply to each one of those entities.

On the basis of the documents submitted, if the RAO considers that financial capacity is weak, s/he may:

request further information;

decide not to give  pre-financing;

decide to give  pre-financing paid in instalments;

decide to give  pre-financing covered by a bank guarantee (see section 11.4 below);

where applicable, require the joint and several financial liability of all the co-beneficiaries.

If the RAO considered that the financial capacity is insufficient s/he will reject the application.

 

Operational capacity

Applicants must have the professional competencies as well as appropriate qualifications necessary to complete the proposed action. In this respect, applicants have to submit a declaration on their honour, and the following supporting documents:

curriculum vitae or description of the profile of the people primarily responsible for managing and implementing the operation (accompanied where appropriate, like in the field of research and education, by a list of relevant publications);

the organisation's activity reports; 

an exhaustive lists of previous projects and activities performed and connected to the policy field of a given call or to the actions to be carried out;

a description of the technical equipment, tools or facilities and patents at the disposal of the applicant;

an inventory of natural or economic resources involved in the project.

In the case of legal entities forming one applicant (the "sole" applicant), as specified in section 6.1, the above requirements apply to each one of those entities.

 

Award criteria

Eligible applications/projects will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria: 

Relevance and European added value

This criterion evaluates the relevance of the content of the action including its European dimension.

Points 25/100

 

Quality of the activities

This criterion evaluates the adequacy of the methodology to the objectives, including (a) the potential of synergy and collaboration with other projects, (b) the tools including the digital technology proposed to be used, (c) the relevance of the business model and of the operational model and (d) the feasibility and cost-efficiency of the project. 

Points 40/100

 

Dissemination of project results, impact and sustainability

This criterion assesses the dissemination strategy of the project's results with a view to ensuring information-sharing and transparency and monitoring the impact of the support on the definition of creative and sustainable solutions.

Points 25/100

 

Quality of the project team and the grouping

This criterion will take into account the distribution of the roles and responsibilities of the team vis-à-vis the general and specific objectives of the action. 

Points 10/100

 

Applicants must reach a minimum threshold of 60% of the points available in order to receive funding.

 

Legal commitments

In the event of a grant awarded by the Commission, a grant agreement,  drawn up in euro and detailing the conditions and level of funding, will be sent to the applicant, as well as the information on the procedure to formalise the agreement of the parties. 

The 2 copies of the original agreement must be signed first by the beneficiary on behalf of the consortium and returned to the Commission immediately. The Commission will sign it last. 

Financial provisions

11.1 Eligible costs 

Eligible costs shall meet all the following criteria:

they are incurred by the beneficiary.  

they are incurred during the duration of the action, with the exception of costs relating to final reports and audit certificates;

The period of eligibility of costs will start as specified in the grant agreement. 

If a beneficiary can demonstrate the need to start the action before the agreement is signed, the costs eligibility period may start before that signature. Under no circumstances can the eligibility period start before the date of submission of the grant application.

they are indicated in the estimated budget;

they are necessary for the implementation of the action which is the subject of the grant;

they are identifiable and verifiable, in particular being recorded in the accounting records of the beneficiary and determined according to the applicable accounting standards of the country where the beneficiary is established and according to the usual cost accounting practices of the beneficiary;

they comply with the requirements of applicable tax and social legislation;

they are reasonable, justified, and comply with the requirements of sound financial management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency.

The beneficiary's internal accounting and auditing procedures must permit direct reconciliation of the costs and revenue declared in respect of the action/project with the corresponding accounting statements and supporting documents.

The same criteria apply to costs incurred by the affiliated entities.

 

Eligible costs may be direct or indirect.

 

11.1.1. Eligible direct costs 

 

The eligible direct costs for the action are those costs which:

with due regard for the conditions of eligibility set out above, are identifiable as specific costs directly linked to the performance of the action and which can therefore be booked to it directly, such as : 

(a) the costs of personnel working under an employment contract with the beneficiary or an equivalent appointing act and assigned to the action, provided that these costs are in line with the beneficiary’s usual policy on remuneration.

Those costs include actual salaries plus social security contributions and other statutory costs included in the remuneration. They may also comprise additional remunerations, including payments on the basis of supplementary contracts regardless of the nature of those contracts, provided that they are paid in a consistent manner whenever the same kind of work or expertise is required, independently from the source of funding used;

The costs of natural persons working under a contract with the beneficiary other than an employment contract or who are seconded to the beneficiary by a third party against payment may also be included under such personnel costs, provided that the following conditions are fulfilled:

(i) the person works under conditions similar to those of an employee (in particular regarding the way the work is organised, the tasks that are performed and the premises where they are performed);

(ii) the result of the work belongs to the beneficiary (unless exceptionally agreed otherwise); and

 (iii) the costs are not significantly different from the costs of staff performing similar tasks under an employment contract with the beneficiary;

The recommended methods for calculation of direct personnel costs are provided in Appendix.

(b) costs of travel and related subsistence allowances, provided that these costs are in line with the beneficiary’s usual practices on travel;

(c) the depreciation costs of equipment or other assets (new or second-hand) as recorded in the beneficiary’s accounting statements, provided that the asset:

(i) is written off in accordance with the international accounting standards and the beneficiary’s usual accounting practices; and

(ii) has been purchased in accordance with the rules on implementation contracts laid down in the grant agreement, if the purchase occurred within the implementation period;

The costs of renting or leasing equipment or other assets are also eligible, provided that these costs do not exceed the depreciation costs of similar equipment or assets and are exclusive of any finance fee;

Only the portion of the equipment’s depreciation, rental or lease costs corresponding to the implementation period and the rate of actual use for the purposes of the action may be taken into account when determining the eligible costs. By way of exception, the full cost of purchase of equipment may be eligible under the Special Conditions, if this is justified by the nature of the action and the context of the use of the equipment or assets;

(d) costs of consumables and supplies, provided that they:

(i) are purchased in accordance with the rules on implementation contracts laid down in the grant agreement; and

(ii) are directly assigned to the action;

(e) costs arising directly from requirements imposed by the Agreement (dissemination of information, specific evaluation of the action, audits, translations, reproduction), including the costs of requested financial guarantees, provided that the corresponding services are purchased in accordance with the rules on implementation contracts laid down in the grant agreement;

(f) costs entailed by subcontracts, provided that specific conditions on subcontracting as laid down in the grant agreement are met;

(g) costs of financial support to third parties, provided that the conditions laid down in the grant agreement are met;

(h) duties, taxes and charges paid by the beneficiary, notably value added tax (VAT), provided that they are included in eligible direct costs, and unless specified otherwise in the grant agreement.

 

11.1.2. Eligible indirect costs (overheads) 

 

Indirect costs are costs that are not directly linked to the action implementation and therefore cannot be attributed directly to it. 

 

A flat-rate amount of 7 % of the total eligible direct costs of the action, is eligible as indirect costs, representing the beneficiary's general administrative costs which can be regarded as chargeable to the action/project.

Indirect costs may not include costs entered under another budget heading.

Overhead costs encompass the following categories:

 

a) Premises and related expenses (e.g. rent, insurance, administration and management costs…)

 

b) Office expenses and consumables (e.g. telephone, postal services, photocopies, goods or equipment)

 

11.2 Ineligible costs 

return on capital and dividends paid by a beneficiary;

debt and debt service charges;

provisions for losses or debts;

interest owed;

doubtful debts;

exchange losses;

costs of transfers from the Commission charged by the bank of a beneficiary;

costs declared by the beneficiary under another action receiving a grant financed from the Union budget. Such grants include grants awarded by a Member State and financed from the Union budget and grants awarded by bodies other than the Commission for the purpose of implementing the Union budget. In particular, beneficiaries receiving an operating grant financed by the EU or Euratom budget cannot declare indirect costs for the period(s) covered by the operating grant, unless they can demonstrate that the operating grant does not cover any costs of the action. 

contributions in kind from third parties;

excessive or reckless expenditure;

deductible VAT.

 

11.3 Form of the grant

 

Reimbursement of costs actually incurred 

 

The grant will be defined by applying a maximum co-financing rate of 60% to the eligible costs actually incurred and declared by the beneficiary and its affiliated entities. 

Consequently, part of the total eligible expenses entered in the estimative budget must be financed from sources other than the EU grant (see section 11.1c). 

Conditions for compliance of the beneficiary's usual cost accounting practices: 

The beneficiary must ensure that the cost accounting practices used for the purpose of declaring eligible costs are in compliance with the following conditions:

the cost accounting practices that are used must constitute the  usual cost accounting practices of the beneficiary. The beneficiary must  apply those practices in a consistent manner, based on objective criteria irrespective of the source of funding (EU financing or other);

the costs declared can be directly reconciled with the amounts recorded in its general accounts; and

the categories of costs used for the purpose of determining the costs declared do not include any ineligible costs or costs already covered by other forms of grant.

11.4 Balanced budget 

The estimated budget of the action must be attached to the application form. It must have revenue and expenditure in balance. 

The budget must be drawn up in euros. 

Applicants for whom costs will not be incurred in euros should use the exchange rate published on:  http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/inforeuro/inforeuro_en.cfm

The applicant must ensure that the resources which are necessary to carry out the action are not be entirely provided by the EU grant. 

Co-financing of the action may take the form of:

the beneficiary's own resources, 

income generated by the action or work programme, 

financial contributions from third parties.

 

Overall co-financing may also include in-kind contributions from third parties, i.e. non-financial resources made available free of charge by third parties to the beneficiary or to the consortium. The corresponding costs of third parties are not eligible under the grant, e.g. volunteer work, providing a meeting room for free, etc.

The value of the contribution in kind must not exceed:

either the costs actually borne and duly supported by accounting documents;

or, in the absence of such documents, the costs generally accepted on the market in question.

In-kind contributions shall be presented separately in the estimated budget to reflect the total resources allocated to the action. Their unit value is evaluated in the provisional budget and shall not be subject to subsequent changes.

In-kind contributions shall comply with national tax and social security rules.

11.5 Calculation of the final grant amount 

The final amount of the grant is calculated by the Commission at the time of the payment of the balance. The calculation involves the following steps:

Step 1 — Application of the reimbursement rate to the eligible costs

The amount under step 1 is obtained by application of the reimbursement rate specified in section 11.3.1 to the eligible costs accepted by the Commission.

Step 2 — Limit to the maximum amount of the grant

The total amount paid to the beneficiaries by the Commission may in no circumstances exceed the maximum amount of the grant as indicated in the grant agreement. If the amount obtained following Step 1 is higher than this maximum amount, the final amount of the grant is limited to the latter.

Step 3 — Reduction due to the no-profit rule

‘Profit’ means the surplus of the amount obtained following Steps 1 and 2 plus the total receipts of the action, over the total eligible costs of the action.

The total eligible costs of the action are the consolidated total eligible costs approved by the Commission. The total receipts of the action are the consolidated total receipts established, generated or confirmed on the date on which the request for payment of the balance is drawn up by the beneficiary.

The following are considered receipts:

income generated by the action;

financial contributions given by third parties to a beneficiary or to an affiliated entity, if they are specifically assigned by the third parties to the financing of the eligible costs of the action reimbursed by the Commission.

The following are not considered receipts:

financial contributions by third parties, if they may be used to cover costs other than the eligible costs under the grant agreement;

financial contributions by third parties with no obligation to repay any amount unused at the end of the implementation period.

If there is a profit, it will be deducted in proportion to the final rate of reimbursement of the actual eligible costs of the action approved by the Commission.

Step 4 — Reduction due to improper implementation or breach of other obligations.

The Commission may reduce the maximum amount of the grant if the action has not been implemented properly (i.e. if it has not been implemented or has been implemented poorly, partially or late), or if another obligation under the Agreement has been breached. 

The amount of the reduction will be proportionate to the degree to which the action has been implemented improperly or to the seriousness of the breach.

 

 

11.6 Reporting and payment arrangements 

 

11.6.1 The beneficiary may request the following payments provided that the conditions of the grant agreement are fulfilled (e.g. payment deadlines, ceilings, etc.). The payment requests shall be accompanied by the documents provided below and detailed in the grant agreement: 

 

A pre-financing payment corresponding to 50% of the grant amount 

Payment of the balance 

The Commission will establish the amount of this payment on the basis of the calculation of the final grant amount (see section 11.5 above). If the total of earlier payments is higher than the final grant amount, the beneficiary will be required to reimburse the amount paid in excess by the Commission through a recovery order.

• final technical report; 
• final financial statement;
• summary financial statement aggregating the financial statements already submitted previously and indicating the receipts 
• a certificate on the financial statements and underlying accounts

 

In case of a weak financial capacity section 8.1 above applies.

11.6.2 Pre-financing guarantee 

A pre-financing guarantee for up to the same amount as the pre-financing may be requested in order to limit the financial risks linked to the pre-financing payment.

The financial guarantee, in euro, shall be provided by an approved bank or financial institution established in one of the EU Member States. When the beneficiary is established in a third country, the Commission may agree that a bank or financial institution established in that third country may provide the guarantee if it considers that the bank or financial institution offers equivalent security and characteristics as those offered by a bank or financial institution established in a Member State. Amounts blocked in bank accounts shall not be accepted as financial guarantees.

The guarantee may be replaced by:

• a joint and several guarantee by a third party or, 
• a joint guarantee of the beneficiaries of an action who are parties to the same grant agreement.

The guarantee shall be released as the pre-financing is gradually cleared against interim payments or the payment of the balance, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the grant agreement.

 

11.7 Other financial conditions 

 

Non-cumulative award

An action may only receive one grant from the EU budget.

In no circumstances shall the same costs be financed twice by the Union budget. To ensure this, applicants shall indicate in the grant application the sources and amounts of Union funding received or applied for the same action or part of the action or for its (the applicant's) functioning during the same financial year as well as any other funding received or applied for the same action.

 

Non-retroactivity 

No grant may be awarded retrospectively for actions already completed.

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

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

 

Implementation contracts/subcontracting 

 

Where the implementation of the action requires the award of procurement contracts (implementation contracts), the beneficiary must award the contract to the bid offering best value for money or the lowest price (as appropriate), avoiding conflicts of interests.

The beneficiary is expected to clearly document the tendering procedure and retain the documentation for the event of an audit. 

Beneficiaries may subcontract tasks forming part of the action. If they do so, they must ensure that, in addition to the above-mentioned conditions of best value for 

money and absence of conflicts of interests, the following conditions are also complied with:

subcontracting does not cover core tasks of the action;

recourse to subcontracting is justified because of the nature of the action and what is necessary for its implementation;

the estimated costs of the subcontracting are clearly identifiable in the estimated budget;

any recourse to subcontracting, if not provided for in description of the action, is communicated by the beneficiary and approved by the Commission. The Commission may grant approval:

before any recourse to subcontracting, if the beneficiaries requests an amendment 

after recourse to subcontracting if the subcontracting:

is specifically justified in the interim or final technical report and

does not entail changes to the grant agreement which would call into question the decision awarding the grant or be contrary to the equal treatment of applicants;

the beneficiaries ensure that certain conditions applicable to beneficiaries, enumerated in the grant agreement (e.g. visibility, confidentiality, etc.), are also applicable to the subcontractors.

subcontracting may not account for more than 60% of the total cost of the action. Sub-contracting costs must be substantiated by receipted invoices.

 

Financial support to third parties

The applications may envisage provision of financial support to third parties. In such case the applications must include:

an exhaustive list of the types of activities for which a third party may receive financial support limited to the fixed list of eligible activities within the call, including an organisation of a promotional contest;

the definition of the persons or categories of persons which may receive financial support;

the criteria for awarding financial support.

The maximum amount to be granted to each third party must not exceed 60 000 EUR.

In case the financial support takes the form of a prize (for instance after organising a competition to raise awareness about the project amongst the European audience and promote subtitled content available thanks to the preparatory action), the beneficiaries shall give such financial support in accordance with specified conditions, which shall at least contain: 

 

(a) the conditions for participation; 

 

(b) the award criteria; 

 

(c) the amount/form of the prize; 

 

(d) the payment arrangements.

 

 

12.  Publicity 

 

12.1 By the beneficiaries

Beneficiaries must clearly acknowledge the European Union’s contribution in all publications or in conjunction with activities for which the grant is used.

In this respect, beneficiaries are required to give prominence to the name and emblem of the European Commission on all their publications, posters, programmes and other products realised under the co-financed project. 

To do this they must use the text, the logo and the disclaimer available at https://ec.europa.eu/info/resources-partners/european-commission-visual-identity_en.

If this requirement is not fully complied with, the beneficiary’s grant may be reduced in accordance with the provisions of the grant agreement.

The EU is not responsible for the views displayed in the publications and/or in conjunction with the activities for which the grant is used.

 

12.2 By the Commission

With the exception of scholarships paid to natural persons and other direct support paid to natural persons in most need, all information relating to grants awarded in the course of a financial year shall be published on an internet site of the European Union institutions no later than the 30 June of the year following the financial year in which the grants were awarded. 

The Commission will publish the following information:

name of the beneficiary;

address of the beneficiary when the latter is a legal person, region when the beneficiary is a natural person, as defined on NUTS 2 level if he/she is domiciled within EU or equivalent if domiciled outside EU;

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.

13. PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA

The reply to any call for proposals involves the recording and processing of personal data (such as name, address and CV). Such data will be processed pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data. Unless indicated otherwise, the questions and any personal data requested that are required to evaluate the application in accordance with the call for proposal will be processed solely for that purpose by the CNECT I.3 Unit.

Personal data may be registered in the Early Detection and Exclusion System by the Commission, should the beneficiary be in one of the situations mentioned in Article 106(1) and 107 of the Financial Regulation 966/2012 (for more information see the Privacy Statement on: 

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/library/explained/management/protecting/privacy_statement_edes_en.pdf).

14. PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS 

Proposals must be submitted by the deadline set out under section 3.

No modification to the application is allowed once the deadline for submission has elapsed. However, if there is a need to clarify certain aspects or to correct clerical mistakes, the Commission may contact the applicant during the evaluation process.

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

 

Application forms are available at https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/newsroom/call-proposals/all.

Applications must be submitted in the correct form, duly completed and dated. They must be submitted in 3 copies (one original clearly identified as such, plus 2 copies) and signed by the person authorised to enter into legally binding commitments on behalf of the applicant organisation.

Where applicable, all additional information considered necessary by the applicant can be included on separate sheets.

Applications must be sent to the following address:

European Commission

Directorate General Communication Networks, Content and Technology

Directorate I – Unit I3- Audiovisual Industry and Media Support Programmes 

Office: BU25 05/130

1049 Brussels 

Belgium

 

by post, date as postmark;

in person, date as receipt,

by courier service, date of receipt by the courier service.

Applications sent by fax or e-mail will not be accepted.

 

Electronic submission

In addition to the submission by registered mail, an electronic version of the following documents must be submitted by 15 September 2017, 12.00, Brussels time at the latest to the following email address:

CNECT-I3@ec.europa.eu

- grant application form

- grant application budget

- declarations of honour

- financial viability check tools

 

 

Contacts

Questions and requests for clarification may be sent to:

- CNECT-I3@ec.europa.eu 

 

Questions will be gathered and published anonymously in the FAQs section on:

https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/newsroom/call-proposals/all.

 

 

 

Annexes:

Application form

Estimated budget form

Legal entity form

Bank account form

Financial viability check tool

Declaration of honour

Checklist of documents to be provided

Lien officiel :   Disponible pour les utilisateurs enregistrés