Support for a preparatory action to create an EU Festival award and an EU Festival label in the field of culture – EFFE (Europe for Festivals – Festivals for Europe) - EAC/S05/2016 - Creative Europe programme

Date de clôture : 21 juin 2016  
APPEL À PROJET CLÔTURÉ

INTRODUCTION – BACKGROUND

Cultural festivals have grown immensely in Europe over the last decade and are an important player in the cultural life of Europeans. In addition to their direct benefits on culture and the arts, they also have a significant impact on social, economic, educational development and help bring citizens together. Festivals bring together people from all strands of society by providing a festive and creative environment which makes them valuable platforms for audience participation. They also contribute to tourism, jobs and growth.

In addition, most of the festivals are international players, which cooperate and create with other festivals from other European countries. To that extent, festivals embrace transversal values fundamental to the European integration process.

The pilot project "Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe1" finished at the end of 2015. The results of this pilot project have been very satisfactory, with more than 760 labelled festivals from 31 countries and 12 festivals awarded.

The pilot project established a network of 24 hubs in 21 Member States, whose role was to act as contact points for artists, festivals, businesses, policy-makers and local audiences.

The hubs endeavoured to establish, develop and promote the EFFE Platform in their countries. Festival Hub Experts – personalities and experts on festivals – were selected by the festival hubs to evaluate each country’s applications. If an EU Member State did not have a festival hub, EFFE made sure that applications from that country were assessed.

There is a need to continue this work with a view of consolidating the award and the label as a truly European initiative covering all culture festivals and of recognising and rewarding the innovation efforts made by these festivals. On the basis of the pilot project success, the preparatory action will continue to channel the energy of festivals into supporting cultural diversity in Europe as well as economic benefit and job creation.

 

2. OBJECTIVES

Building on the results of the pilot project, the preparatory action should contribute to the objectives of the EU in the field of culture as stated in the art. 167 of the Treaty: to "contribute to the flowering of the cultures of the Member States, while respecting their national and regional diversity" and encourage "cooperation between Member States and, if necessary, supporting and supplementing their action" in the field of culture.

The preparatory action also seeks to cover wider objectives and policies of the EU: it seeks to generate and deliver an added value to the activities carried out by festivals in Europe which contribute to the Europe 2020 strategy of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth thanks to their spill-over capacity in the cultural and creative sectors, in the field of tourism, regional and urban development, etc.

It will also capitalise on the potential of festivals in order to maximise their contribution to various EU policies, including innovation, social inclusion, education, youth work and intercultural dialogue.

Last, by promoting the visibility of Europe's values through festivals, the action proposed will reach a large number of citizens across Europe, in particular young people.

2.1 Expected results:

The preparatory action will continue the work of the pilot project and prepare the ground for the development of the award and the label into a permanent action, possibly European Festival Award and European Festival Label. More specifically, it is. The expected results are:

(a) the establishment of a solid, credible and transparent mechanism for the selection of European festivals to receive a label and/or award during a high quality and visible awards ceremony;

(b) the development of a branding strategy in the continuity of the pilot project, for a recognisable and valuable label and award;

(c) high visibility for the award and label, the winners and the values that labelled festivals promote, engaging different target groups for the label and awards;

(d) a strong network with a view to ensuring the sustainable impact of the label and awards.

 

2.2 Target audience

The Festivals should be selected among all cultural and creative sectors2 for their excellence and innovative approaches in one or several of the following priorities:

• -  Stimulate the transnational mobility of artists through an international programming

• -  Foster the development of emerging talent through the inclusion of new artists in the programme

• -  Contribute to greater audience development through extensive use of information and communication technologies and innovative approaches

• -  Develop new business models through innovative approaches to funding, production and management.

  To be eligible for the label and the award, the festivals should take place in the countries participating in Creative Europe. 

   

2.3 Tasks to be carried out by the beneficiary(ies):

The applicants should describe how they intend to carry out the following activities, on

the basis of the priorities described:

• -  attract a sufficient number of festivals from all Member States and all cultural sectors to join the platform and apply for the EFFE Label and Award;

• -  define and apply the criteria to be met by the Festivals to receive the EFFE label;

• -  define and apply the procedures for the granting of a maximum of 10 (ten) awards to the labelled festivals, on a biannual basis; awards can be divided in different categories;

• -  organise, on a biannual basis, an Award Ceremony for the awarded festivals, collated to a suitable event in the field that will ensure sufficient exposure to the press;

• -  proactively promote networking activities among the festivals;

• -  develop and maintain a website dedicated to the action . At the end of the action, the beneficiary is obliged to ensure handover of the hosting domain and all its content in the relevant formats. The handover of hosting domain and content shall allow possible/potential future beneficiary/ies, or the Commission, to pay for the annual fees or other costs and continue to upload content in the same platform.
• Such handover should ensure continuity of the action, visibility of EU funding and coherent citizen’s perception towards the European Union and the EU Festival award and EU Festival label in the field of culture EFFE;
• develop and implement a branding strategy for the action aiming at a recognisable and valuable label and award for festivals4;
• disseminate the results of the action to the general public and stakeholders in the field of culture;
• publicize the EU support to the preparatory action.

 

3 FRAMEWORK PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

The Commission intends to support EFFE through a three-year framework partnership agreement, for the period 2017-2019, subject to the funds being made available by the European Parliament, on an annual basis.

The framework partnership agreement will set out the conditions governing annual grants for an action, on the basis of a three-year strategic plan. The framework partnership agreement defines the respective roles and responsibilities of the Commission and the selected organisation(s) in implementing the partnership. It presents the common objectives agreed by the organisation(s) and the Commission; the type of activities envisaged; the procedure to conclude a specific agreement for an annual grant for an action as well as the general rights and obligations of each party under the specific grant agreements. The framework partnership agreement does not constitute an obligation for the Commission to conclude a specific agreement for an annual grant for an action.

The organisation(s) is/are required to submit an overall work programme for the framework agreement period as part of the application for the framework partnership agreement. This shall comprise an overall description of activities and outputs for the entire period of the framework partnership agreement, and a description of how these will be divided into annual work plans. In addition, a detailed work plan is requested for the first year (2017 edition of the EFFE), which will be subject to a specific grant agreement concluded at the same time as the framework partnership agreement.

For years 2 and 3, subject to the funds being made available by the European Parliament, the Commission will annually invite the organisation(s) with whom the framework partnership agreement has been signed to provide a detailed work plan for the next year of operation and a corresponding budget, in order to conclude a specific agreement for a grant for an action for the following year of operation.

Please note that concluding the specific agreement for a grant for an action is subject to the Commission's evaluation of the detailed annual work plan and the corresponding detailed budget, as well as to the availability of budgetary appropriations.

 

 

 

4. TIMETABLE

 

Stages

Date and time or indicative period

a)

Publication of the call

26/04/2016

b)

Deadline for submitting applications

21/06/2016 (16:00)

c)

Evaluation period

Mid-June – Mid-August 2016

d)

Information to applicants

End of August 2016

e)

Signature of grant agreement or notification of grant decision

September 2016

f)

Starting date of the action/ work programme

September/October 2016

 

5. BUDGET AVAILABLE

The total budget earmarked for co-financing this project for the 2017 edition of the EFFE scheme, is estimated at 350,000 EUR, which will also be the maximum amount granted. Due to the specific and unique nature of the scheme, the Commission expects to fund only one proposal under this preparatory action.

This amount will cover the work plan for the 2017 edition of the EFFE scheme.

The budgets for the two subsequent years (of an estimated similar amount as for the first year) will be confirmed by the Commission on an annual basis, subject to the preparatory action being renewed, and the budget being voted, by the European Parliament.

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

 

 

6 ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Applications must be sent no later than the deadline for submitting applications referred to in section 4.

Applications must be submitted in writing (see section 15), using the application form.

Applications must be drafted in one the EU official languages. Failure to comply with those requirements will lead to the rejection of the application.

 

7. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA5

7.1. Eligible applicants

The call is open to entities or consortia of entities fulfilling the following conditions: Eligible countries:
Only applications from legal entities established in the EU Member States are eligible

Eligible countries are the Member States of the EU. Actions may include Associate Partners from third countries, but the cost of their participation must be financed entirely by non-EU resources.

Applicants:

The applicant(s) must be active in the cultural and creative sectors as defined in article 2 of the Regulation n° 1295/2013 of European Parliament and of the Council on establishing the Creative Europe programme. Proof of this activity will be required (such as for instance statutes).

The applicant(s) must have had a legal personality for at least 2 years on the date of the deadline for submission of applications and must be able to demonstrate their existence as a legal person.

In case the application is submitted by several entities working together (consortium), the above criteria apply to all entities.

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

• -  The legal entity identification form (http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entitie s_en.cfm) duly completed and signed by the person authorised to enter into legally binding commitments on behalf of the applicant organisation(s);

• -  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,

• -  proofs establishing that the person named as legal representative is the statutory legal representative of the applicant organisation(s)

The following entities will be considered as non-eligible:

• -  natural persons;

• -  entities without legal personality:

7.2. Eligible activities
The following activities are eligible under this call of proposals:

- activities aimed at engaging stakeholders
- activities aimed at selecting and evaluating applications
- organisation of award ceremonies
- awareness and dissemination actions;
- actions aiming at the creation and improving of networks, exchanges of good practices; - financial support to third parties (see section 12.1. f)).

 

8. EXCLUSION CRITERIA

8.1. Exclusion from participation:

Applicants will be excluded from participating in the call for proposals procedure if they are in any of the following situations:

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

2. (b)  it has been established by a final judgement 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;

3. (c)  it has been established by a final judgement 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:

   (i) 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;

   (ii) entering into agreement with other persons with the aim of distorting competition;

   (iii) violating intellectual property rights;

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

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

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

   (i) 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;

   (ii) corruption, as defined in Article 3 of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of EU Member States, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 May 1997, and in Article 2(1)

5. of Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA, as well as corruption as defined in the legal provisions of the country where the authorising officer is located, the country in which the applicant is established or the country of the performance of the contract;
6. (iii) participation in a criminal organisation, as defined in Article 2 of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA;
7. iv) money laundering or terrorist financing, as defined in Article 1 of Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;
8. (v) 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;
9. (vi) 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;

10. (e)  it has shown significant deficiencies in complying with the 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;

11. (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;

12. (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:

    i. 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;

    ii. 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;

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

    iv. 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.

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

8.2. Exclusion from award:

Applicants will not be granted financial assistance if, in the course of the grant award procedure, they:

(a) is in an exclusion situation established in accordance with Article 106;

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

(c) was previously involved in the preparation of procurement documents where this entails a distortion of competition that cannot be remedied otherwise.

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

8.3. Supporting documents6

Applicants must sign a declaration on their honour certifying that they are not in one of the situations referred to in articles 106(1) and 107 to 109, filling in the relevant form attached to the application form accompanying the call for proposals.

9. SELECTION CRITERIA7

9.1. Financial capacity8

For the purposes of the evaluation of the selection criteria, the amount taken into account is the total estimated budget for the whole period of the FPA. The financial capacity will be assessed based on the following methodology and its annexes.

Applicants must have stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain their activity throughout the period during which the action is being carried out or the year for which the grant is awarded 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:

a) Grants with a pre-financing value of EUR 600 000 or less

For grants of this type, proof of financial capacity is constituted by a solemn declaration by the grant applicant (Annex 3 – Declaration on honour of the Application Form).

However, in case of doubt and only for grants exceeding EUR 60 000, the assessment committee reserves the right to request supporting documents and to carry out a financial analysis as described at point 4 of the above mentioned methodology (cf. Article 131(3) of the FR).

Moreover for grants exceeding EUR 60 000, entities falling into one of the high-risk categories mentioned at point 3.1 of the methodology must provide proof of their financial capacity and are required to undergo the financial analysis provided for in point 4 of the same methodology.

b) Grantswithapre-financingvalueofEUR600000ormore

For grants of this type, proof of economic and financial capacity is provided by the following documents:

• - solemn declaration certifying the economic and financial capacity of the economic operator (Annex 3 – Declaration on honour of the Application Form );

• -  the economic and financial capacity analysis form showing the financial data of the economic operator, completed and signed by the operator (see Annex "Economic and Financial Capacity Analysis Form" of the Application Form);

• -  for economic operators required under national law to keep a complete set of accounts: the balance sheet, profit and loss account and annexes of the last financial year for which accounts have been closed;

• -  for economic operators required under national law to keep a simplified set of accounts: the schedule of actual expenditure and income and the annex showing assets and liabilities for the last financial year for which accounts have been closed.

In addition, in case of grants for an action ≥ EUR 750 000 or operating grants ≥ EUR 100 0009, an audit report produced by an approved external auditor certifying the accounts shall be provided for the last two financial year available for FPAs.

On the basis of the documents submitted and after a risk analysis including, among other, the results of the financial capacity evaluation, the RAO may:

1. request further information;
2. propose a grant agreement without pre-financing;
3. propose a grant agreement with a pre-financing paid in instalments;
4. propose a grant agreement with a pre-financing covered by a bank guarantee (see section 12.4 below);
5. where applicable, require the joint and several financial liability of all the co- beneficiaries;
6. reject the application.

 

9.2. Operational capacity

Applicants must have the professional competencies as well as appropriate qualifications necessary to complete the proposed action or work programme.

Applicants must justify:

• -  Proven experience of minimum 1 year with cultural and creative sectors in order to understand their specificities and needs and to be able to identify eligible hubs in different EU countries. At least one part of the team should have an expert with a minimum of 2 years of professional experience in the cultural and creative sector. Experience with cultural and creative sectors can be proven either through the profiles (CVs) of the proposed team or by other means, including publications.

• -  Ability to communicate easily in several languages with festival partners and hubs across the different EU countries and regions.

• -  Proven experience of at least 1 year in transnational projects at EU-level.

   

In this respect, applicants have to submit a declaration on their honour, and the following supporting documents:

1. 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);
2. the organisations’ activity reports;
3. 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.

 

10 AWARD CRITERIA

• Eligible applications/projects will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:
• Relevance of the proposal its compliance with the objectives of the call (0-40 points)
• This criterion will assess:
• The extent to which the proposed action can attract a sufficient number of festivals from all cultural sectors and a wide geographical scope to the action.
• The nature and suitability of the mechanisms (procedure and criteria) proposed to organise the selection of labelled and/or awarded festivals, following the priorities described in section 2.2 and ensuring a geographical and sectorial balance.
• The nature and suitability of the concept proposed for the award ceremony with a view to ensuring a high quality, high profile and accessible event, good for the visibility, attractiveness and establishment of the Award and suitable for the sector
• Impact and dissemination – (0-35 points)
• This criterion will assess:
• The suitability of the proposed dissemination and communication activities with a view to developing a valued and recognisable label and award for European Festivals
• The plans for sustainability of the label and award, and the networking activities, beyond the proposed action,
• How the dissemination plan, beyond the publicity requirement that come from the call for proposals, will have a positive impact on the visibility of the European Union
• Quality of the project design and implementation – (0-25 points)
• This criterion will assess: 
•  
• - The appropriateness and quality of the means of implementation and the resources deployed in relation to the objectives envisaged, including management structures, decision making strategies and organisation of partnerships with the relevant sector(s), and this, particularly in terms of cost-effectiveness.

The Commission will assess on that basis how the applicants seek to address the priorities set for this project. Points will be allocated to eligible applications out of a total of 100 on the basis of the above-specified weighting. A minimum threshold of 60 points will be applied for all award criteria taken together. Applications below this threshold will be rejected.

11. LEGAL COMMITMENTS

In the event of a grant awarded by the Commission, a framework partnership agreement, and a specific agreement, drawn up in euro and detailing the conditions and level of funding, will be sent to the beneficiary, as well as the procedure in view to formalise the obligations of the parties.

       Agreement:

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

Please note that the award of a grant does not establish an entitlement for subsequent years.

 

12 FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

12.1 General Principles

a) 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 the sources and amounts of Union funding received or applied for the same action or part of the action or for its functioning during the same financial year as well as any other funding received or applied for the same action.14

b) 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 the need to start the action before the grant agreement is signed or the grant decision is notified.

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

c) Co-financing

Co-financing means that the resources which are necessary to carry out the action or the work programme may not be entirely provided by the EU grant.

Co-financing of the action or of the work programme may take the form of:

• −  the beneficiary's own resources,

• −  income generated by the action or work programme,

• −  financial contributions from third parties.

d)  Balanced budget

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

   The budget must be drawn up in euros.

   Applicants which foresee that costs will not be incurred in euros, are invited to use the exchange rate published on the Infor-euro website available at http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/inforeuro/inforeuro_en .cfm .

e)  Implementation contracts/subcontracting 

1. Where the implementation of the action or the work programme 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 and retain the documentation for the event of an audit.

   In the event of procurement exceeding € 60 000, the beneficiary must abide by special rules as referred in the grant agreement annexed to the call. Moreover the beneficiary is expected to clearly document the tendering procedure and retain the documentation for the event of an audit.

   Entities acting in their capacity of contracting authorities in the meaning of Directive 2004/18/EC or contracting entities in the meaning of Directive 2004/17/EC20 shall abide by the applicable national public procurement rules.

   Sub-contracting

   Sub-contracting, i.e. the externalisation of specific tasks or activities which form part of the action/work programme as described in the proposal must satisfy the conditions applicable to any implementation contract (as specified above) and in addition to them the following conditions:

   - it may only cover the implementation of a limited part of the action;
   - subcontracting of core activities or coordination tasks is not permitted;

   - it must be justified having regard to the nature of the action and what is necessary for its implementation;

• supply contracts and public service contracts.
• - it must be clearly stated in the proposal. 

f) 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

- 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 and the criteria for determining the exact amount.

In case the financial support is intended to take the form of a prize, the application shall at least contain:

(a) the conditions for participation; 
(b) the award criteria;
(c) the amount of the prize.
 

The amount of financial support per third party for the duration of the action must not exceed 60.000 euros (except if it takes the form of a prize).

 

12.2. Funding forms

Mixed financing grants are calculated on the basis of a detailed estimated budget indicating clearly the costs that are eligible for EU funding. The grant amount may neither exceed the eligible costs nor the amount requested. Amounts are indicated in euros.

Maximum amount requested
The EU grant is limited to a maximum co-funding rate of 80% of eligible costs.

Consequently, part of the total eligible expenses entered in the estimative budget must be financed from sources other than the EU grant (see section 12.1c).

Eligible costs
Eligible costs are costs actually incurred by the beneficiary of a grant which meet all the

following criteria:

they are incurred during the duration of the action or of the work programme, 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 or the grant decision.
If a beneficiary can demonstrate the need to start the action before the agreement is signed, expenditure may be authorised before the grant is awarded. Under no circumstances can the eligibility period start before the date of submission of the grant application (see section 12.1b).

•  they are indicated in the estimated budget of the action or work programme;

•  they are necessary for the implementation of the action or of the work programme

  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.

  Eligible direct costs

  The eligible direct costs for the action/ work programme 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 or the work programme and which can therefore be booked to it directly, such as :

  - the costs of personnel working under an employment contract with the applicant or equivalent appointing act and assigned to the action, comprising actual salaries plus social security contributions and other statutory costs included in the remuneration, provided that these costs are in line with the applicant's usual policy on remuneration. Those costs may include additional remuneration, including payments on the basis of supplementary contracts regardless of their nature, provided that it is paid in a consistent manner whenever the same kind of work or expertise is required and independently from the source of funding used;

  - costs of the personnel of national administrations to the extent that they relate to the cost of activities which the relevant public authority would not carry out if the project concerned were not undertaken;

  - subsistence allowances (for meetings, including kick-off meetings where applicable, conferences etc) provided that these costs are in line with the beneficiary's usual practices,

  - costs of travel (for meetings, including kick-off meetings where applicable, conferences etc), provided that these costs are in line with the beneficiary's usual practices on travel,

  - depreciation cost of equipment (new or second-hand): only the portion of the equipment's depreciation corresponding to the duration of the action/project and the rate of actual use for the purposes of the action may be taken into account by the Commission,

  - costs of consumables and supplies, provided that they are identifiable and assigned to the action/project;

  - costs entailed by implementation contracts awarded by the beneficiaries for the purposes of carrying out the action/project, provided that the conditions laid down in the grant agreement or grant decision are met;

  - costs of financial support to third parties provided that the conditions laid down in the grant agreement or grant decision are met;

- costs arising directly from requirements linked to the implementation of the action/project (dissemination of information, specific evaluation of the action, translations, reproduction);

- costs relating to a pre-financing guarantee lodged by the beneficiary of the grant, where required;

- costs relating to external audits where required in support of the requests for payments;

Eligible indirect costs (overheads)

- a flat-rate amount of maximum 7% of the total eligible direct costs of the action, is eligible under 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.

Applicants’s attention is drawn to the fact that in the case of organisations receiving an operating grant, indirect costs are not eligible under specific actions.

Ineligible costs

• –  return on capital;

• –  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 a beneficiary and covered by another action receiving a European Union grant. In particular, indirect costs shall not be eligible under a grant for an action awarded to a beneficiary who already receives an operating grant financed from the Union budget during the period in question;

• –  contributions in kind;

• –  excessive or reckless expenditure;

• –  value added tax ("VAT").

  Calculation of the final grant amount

  The final amount of the grant to be awarded to the beneficiary is established after completion of the action or work programme, upon approval of the request for payment containing the following documents25:

  - a final report providing details of the implementation and results of the action/work programme ;

  - the final financial statement of costs actually incurred,

  EU grants may not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit within the framework of the action or the work programme of the beneficiary. Profit shall be defined as a surplus of the receipts over the eligible costs incurred by the beneficiary, when the request is made for payment of the balance. In this respect, where a profit is made, the

  24 Indirect costs do not apply to operating grants. 25 Art. 135 FR

 

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 action or work programme.

 

12.3. Payment arrangements 

A pre-financing payment corresponding to 70% of the grant amount will be transferred to the beneficiary within 3028 days either of the date when the last of the two parties signs the agreement, provided all requested guarantees have been received. This pre-financing payment may be reduced, and/or an interim payment may be introduced.

The Commission will establish the amount of the final payment to be made to the beneficiary on the basis of the calculation of the final grant amount (see section 12.2 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 order29.

12.4. Pre-financing guarantee30

Subject to a risk analysis, the authorising officer may, on a case by case basis, request a pre-financing guarantee for up to the same amount as the pre-financing 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 Member State of the European Union. When the beneficiary is established in a third country, the authorising officer responsible may agree that a bank or financial institution established in that third country may provide the guarantee if he 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 by 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 payments of balances to the beneficiary, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the grant agreement.

 

13. PUBLICITY

13.1. 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.

For graphic requirements, please refer to:

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/communication/services/visual_identity/index_en.htm and the European Commission's visual identity guidelines. For further details you may also contact comm-visual-identity@ec.europa.eu.

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

13.2. 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 level32 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.

 

14. DATA PROTECTION

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 are required to evaluate the application in accordance with the specifications of the call for proposal will be processed solely for that purpose by Karel Bartak, Head of Unit D2, DG EAC, European Commission. Details concerning the processing of personal data are available on the privacy statement at: http://ec.europa.eu/dataprotectionofficer/privacystatement_publicprocurement_en.pdf.

Personal data may be registered in the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) if you are in one of the situations mentioned in Article 106 of the Financial Regulation33. For more information, see the Privacy Statement on http://ec.europa.eu/budget/explained/management/protecting/protect_en.cfm )

 

15. PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Proposals must be submitted in accordance with the formal requirements and by the deadline set out under section 6.

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 for the correction of clerical mistakes, the Commission may contact the applicant for this purpose during the evaluation process34.

Applicants will be informed in writing about the results of the selection process.35 Submission on paper

Application forms are available at http://ec.europa.eu//programmes/creative- europe/calls/general/2016-eac-s05_en.htm.

Applications shall be submitted on the correct form, duly completed, dated, showing a balanced budget (revenue/expenditure), submitted in 3 (three) copies (one original clearly identified as such, plus 2 (two) copies plus a copy on CD or USB stick), and hand-signed by the person(s) authorised to enter into legally binding commitments on behalf of the applicant organisation(s).

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

Applications must be sent

- by post, date as postmark, or by courier service, date of receipt by the courier service, to the following address36:

European Commission – Directorate-General for Education and Culture Directorate D – Culture and creativity
Unit Creative Europe programme – CALL EAC/S05/2016
Mr Karel Bartak

J-70 – 2/019 B-1049 Brussels Belgium

- or hand-delivered in person, date as receipt, at the following address (opening hours: Monday to Friday, 08.30 – 17.00)

European Commission Avenue du Bourget 1 B-1140 Brussels Belgium

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

The contact point for any questions is: EAC-CALL-EFFE-PA@ec.europa.eu

 

FAQ (Frequently asked questions will be published at the following url:

http://ec.europa.eu//programmes/creative-europe/calls/general/2016-eac- s05/faqs_en.pdf

•  Annexes:

•  Application form including checklist of documents to be provided

•  Annex A (methodology for assessing the financial capacity of the beneficiaries of grants, for information) + Annexes 1 (Declaration on the honour) and 2

  (Economic and financial capacity analysis form) to be filled in

•  Annex 3: Budget forms for information on estimated budget, to be completed

•  Model framework partnership agreement and model specific grant agreement, for

  information

 

Lien officiel :   Disponible pour les utilisateurs enregistrés