TENDER SPECIFICATIONS - European Commission · or Medium Size Enterprise in accordance with Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC. This information is used for statistical purposes

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION

DIRECTORATE-GENERAL MIGRATION and HOME AFFAIRS

Directorate E: Migration and Security Funds

CALL FOR TENDERS

HOME-2016-FW-LECO-0001

Framework contract on Legal Compliance Assessment and Legal

Consultancy Services in the area of Migration and Home Affairs

TENDER SPECIFICATIONS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... 2

1. INFORMATION ON TENDERING .......................................................................... 1

1.1. Participation ......................................................................................................... 1

1.2. Contractual conditions.......................................................................................... 1

1.3. Compliance with applicable law .......................................................................... 1

1.4. Joint tenders.......................................................................................................... 1

1.5. Subcontracting ...................................................................................................... 2

1.6. Structure and content of the tender ...................................................................... 2

1.7. Identification of the tenderer ................................................................................ 3

2. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ............................................................................. 3

2.1. Background .......................................................................................................... 3

2.2. Subject of the Framework contract ...................................................................... 4

2.3. Nature of the contract ........................................................................................... 6

2.4. Implementation of single FWC ............................................................................ 7

3. EVALUATION AND AWARD OF THE FRAMEWORK CONTRACT ................. 7

3.1. Verification of non-exclusion............................................................................... 8

3.2. Selection criteria ................................................................................................... 8

3.3. Award criteria ..................................................................................................... 12

3.4. Ranking of tenders ............................................................................................. 13

4. ANNEXES

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1. INFORMATION ON TENDERING

1.1. Participation

Participation in this procurement procedure is open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons

coming within the scope of the Treaties, as well as to international organisations.

It is also open to all natural and legal persons established in a third country which has a special

agreement with the Union in the field of public procurement on the conditions laid down in that

agreement. Where the plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement1 concluded within the World

Trade Organisation applies, the participation to this procedure is also open to all natural and legal

persons established in the countries that have ratified this Agreement, on the conditions it lays down.

1.2. Contractual conditions

The tenderer should bear in mind the provisions of the draft contract which specifies the rights and

obligations of the contractor, particularly those on payments, performance of the contract,

confidentiality, and checks and audits.

1.3. Compliance with applicable law

The tender must comply with applicable environmental, social and labour law obligations established by

Union law, national legislation, collective agreements or the international environmental, social and

labour conventions listed in Annex X to Directive 2014/24/EU2.

1.4. Joint tenders

A joint tender is a situation where a tender is submitted by a group of economic operators (natural or

legal persons). Joint tenders may include subcontractors in addition to the members of the group.

In case of joint tender, all members of the group assume joint and several liability towards the

Contracting Authority for the performance of the contract as a whole, i.e. both financial and operational

liability. Nevertheless, tenderers must designate one of the economic operators as a single point of

contact (the leader) for the Contracting Authority for administrative and financial aspects as well as

operational management of the contract.

After the award, the Contracting Authority will sign the contract either with all members of the group,

or with the leader on behalf of all members of the group, authorised by the other members via powers of

attorney.

1 See http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_E/gproc_e/gp_gpa_e.htm

2 Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and

repealing Directive 2004/18/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65).

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1.5. Subcontracting

Subcontracting is permitted but the contractor will retain full liability towards the Contracting Authority

for performance of the contract as a whole.

Tenderers are required to identify all subcontractors whose share of the contract is above 20 % and

whose capacity is necessary to fulfil the selection criteria.

During contract performance, the change of any subcontractor identified in the tender or additional

subcontracting will be subject to prior written approval of the Contracting Authority.

1.6. Structure and content of the tender

The tenders must be presented as follows:

Part A: Identification of the tenderer (see section 1.7)

Part B: Non-exclusion (see section 3.1)

Part C: Selection (see section 3.2)

Part D: Technical offer

The technical offer must cover all aspects and tasks required in the technical specifications and

provide all the information needed to apply the award criteria. Offers deviating from the

requirements or not covering all requirements may be rejected on the basis of non-compliance

with the tender specifications and will not be evaluated.

Part E: Financial offer

The tenderer's attention is drawn to the following points:

- The price for the tender must be quoted in euro. Tenderers from countries outside the euro

zone have to quote their prices in euro. The price quoted may not be revised in line with

exchange rate movements. It is for the tenderer to bear the risks or the benefits deriving

from any variation.

- Prices must be quoted free of all duties, taxes and other charges, including VAT, as the

European Union is exempt from such charges under Articles 3 and 4 of the Protocol on the

privileges and immunities of the European Union. The amount of VAT may be shown

separately.

- The Price Schedule (Table of Unit Prices), to be submitted according to the form

attached in Annex 3, will constitute the future contractual basis for the pricing for the

“specific contracts”.

Bidders must provide the fees for each professional profile These personnel fees must be fixed and

include all costs (project management, quality control, training of the contractor's staff, support

resources, etc.) and all expenditure (management of the firm, secretariat, social security,

salaries, etc.) incurred directly and indirectly by the contractor in performance of the tasks

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which may be entrusted to him. In particular, the personnel fees must also include the travel

and subsistence costs for services provided.

Price revision is not applicable to this FWC.

1.7. Identification of the tenderer

The tender must include a cover letter signed by an authorised representative presenting the name of the

tenderer (including all entities in case of joint tender) and identified subcontractors if applicable, and the

name of the single contact point (leader) in relation to this procedure.

In case of joint tender, the cover letter must be signed either by an authorised representative for each

member, or by the leader authorised by the other members with powers of attorney. The signed powers

of attorney must be included in the tender as well. Subcontractors that are identified in the tender must

provide a letter of intent signed by an authorised representative stating their willingness to provide the

services presented in the tender and in line with the present tender specifications.

All tenderers (including all members of the group in case of joint tender) must provide a signed Legal

Entity Form with its supporting evidence. The form is available on:

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entities_en.cfm

Tenderers that are already registered in the Contracting Authority’s accounting system (i.e. they have

already been direct contractors) must provide the form but are not obliged to provide the supporting

evidence.

The tenderer (or the leader in case of joint tender) must provide a Financial Identification Form with its

supporting documents. Only one form per tender should be submitted. No form is needed for

subcontractors and other members of the group in case of joint tender. The form is available on:

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/index_en.cfm

The tenderer (and each member of the group in case of joint tender) must declare whether it is a Small

or Medium Size Enterprise in accordance with Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC. This

information is used for statistical purposes only.

2. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

2.1. Background

It falls within the responsibility of the Commission as a whole and of DG HOME in the area of migration

and home affairs to ensure that Union legislation is correctly implemented by the Member States (for

Schengen related legislation, the Schengen associated countries shall also be taken into consideration). This

includes the verification of the correct transposition of DG HOME acquis by checking the conformity of

national implementing measures with the EU acquis. The incomplete transposition of legal acts (e.g

directives) or their incorrect transposition or implementation can lead to actions by the Commission under

Article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union requiring any infringement of the

legislation to be remedied and to be followed, where necessary by a referral to the Court of Justice.

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The compliance assessments3 and the legal consultancy ad-hoc queries will be related to any legal act

adopted or to be adopted in the Migration and Home Affairs areas, which includes the following policies

(non-exhaustive list)4:

Legal migration and integration of third-country nationals;

Irregular migration and return;

Asylum;

Visa;

Management of the EU external borders;

Large-scale IT systems (SIS, VIS, etc.);

Crisis management and fight against terrorism;

Fight against crime;

Trafficking in human beings;

Police cooperation and access to information;

Anti-Drugs policies;

Research, innovation and industry for security aspects;

2.2. Subject of the Framework contract

The purpose of the contract is to provide DG HOME with timely evidence-based services of an intellectual

nature to support its compliance assessment activities, and to provide legal consultancy services in relation

to ad hoc queries which may arise throughout the duration of the contract. The required services may cover

not only the EU Member States, but also all third countries participating in the Schengen area and not being

EU MS5.

The framework contract envisages two distinct types of service which may be requested:

3 As an example, the following instruments are among the instruments for which compliance assessments could be

required in the coming months: Directive 2014/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February

2014 on the conditions of entry and stay of third-country nationals for the purpose of employment as seasonal workers;

Council Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA of 18 December 2006 on simplifying the exchange of information and

intelligence between law enforcement authorities of the Member States of the EU (also known as the 'Swedish

Initiative')

4 For a complete overview of the activities that fall under the responsibility of DG HOME, please visit:

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/index_en.htm.

5 Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland

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2.2.1 Compliance assessments

To ensure that Union law is correctly and fully applied, it is essential that the national measures which

transpose and implement EU legal acts are assessed and checked systematically and analysed in order to

detect any failure to fully comply with EU legislation. This analysis is done by means of a compliance

assessment, i.e. the assessment of both the completeness of the transposition into national law and of the

conformity of the transposed provisions in national law with the EU legal act.

DG Migration and Home Affairs will identify the Directives, Framework Decisions or any other instrument

whose transposition and implementation in national law is to be assessed. A compliance assessment may be

requested in respect of just one Member State, of a number of Member States or in respect of all of them.

The contractor will be requested to carry out the following tasks (non exhaustive list):

Analyse the EU legal instrument to prepare the transposition study;

Prepare an Article by Article check list (known as a transposition table) in cooperation with

the Commission services;

Analyse all national measures notified by the Member State in respect of their conformity

with the relevant Union legislation;

Analyse any other instruments of national legislation or non-legislative measures to which

reference is made in the national transposition measures or in explanatory documents (for

instance in notified correlation tables) or any other relevant national instruments to ensure a

thorough verification of the Member State's compliance with Union legislation;

Take into account pertaining case law of the European Court of Justice and, where

appropriate, relevant national case law;

In the case of a Member State with a federal structure, extend the conformity assessment to

the measures adopted by the central authorities as well as those adopted by the federal

entities;

In case of partial transposition, analyse the notified measures and indicate which articles

have been fully, partially or not transposed;

Point out which national measures have been notified but only partially comply with the

obligations imposed by the instrument under assessment;

Draft and provide an individual compliance assessment for each MS (and if relevant

associated countries) which will include (non exhaustive list):

1. a list of the national laws, regulations, and administrative provisions purporting to transpose

the instrument;

2. a list of the problems (if any) in conformity of those measures with the instrument, the

reasons for which the contractor concludes that there are problems in conformity, any

vagueness in conformity or any suspected non-conformity, etc.;

3. the option chosen in national law if the Directive allows optional implementation of certain

provisions;

4. an evaluation of the impact of any identified conformity problem;

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5. a Table of Correspondence setting out the relevant national provision(s), which transpose

each article of the instrument. The Table of Correspondence should be structured as follows:

Draft an overall consolidated report based on the initial results of individual reports;

Update an already existing compliance assessment; also provide an update in the case of

legislative development during the contractual period of the specific contract.

Compliance assessment reports will be delivered to DG HOME in electronic format, both Word and

PDF format. Unless agreed otherwise, all assessments should be drafted in English.

2.2.2 Ad hoc legal consultancy

In some cases an overview of the application of a certain piece of legislation in some or all Member States

may be requested. Also queries on specific issues may be commissioned such as for example an assessment

of the obligations on Member States, or on a particular Member State, arising out of a particular instrument

or an assessment of how a legal provision is being applied in one or more Member States.

In that respect the following assignments may be requested (non-exhaustive list):

Collection of quantitative and qualitative information through: desk research, experts groups,

case studies, etc.;

Development of a legal argument;

Collection and analysis of legislation, data and other information on implementation objectively;

Submission of conclusions and recommendations on specific issues.

2.3. Nature of the contract

Single framework contract

A single framework contract will be concluded with the winning tenderer.

I II III IV V VI VII

Article/

Annexe/

Appendice

of the

instrument

Citation of the

Article/

Annexe/

Appendice of

the instrument

(in English or

French)

Citation of the

Article/

Annexe/

Appendice of

the instrument

(in the national

language)

Identification of the

corresponding

national measure

(article references)

Citation of the

corresponding

national provision

in the main

language of the

Member State

When English or

French is not the main

language of the

Member State,

translation of the

national provision into

English or French

Clear

conclusion on

completeness

and/or

conformity

(conforms,

does not

conform,

doubtful)

Justification for

the conclusion.

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The model framework contract applicable in this instance is reproduced in Annex 4; the tenderer hereby

declares that he accepts this model contract, which he will be obliged to take into account when

preparing his bid.

The tenderers’ attention is drawn to the fact that the framework contract does not constitute an order in

itself but merely seeks to lay down the legal, financial, technical and administrative provisions

governing the relations between the contracting parties during the period of validity of the contract.

Orders may be placed solely on the basis of specific contracts in accordance with the provisions of

Annex III of the Framework Contract.

Signature of the framework contract does not commit the Commission to placing orders and does not

give the contractor any exclusive rights to the services covered by the framework contracts. In any case,

the Commission reserves the right, at any time during the framework contract, to cease placing orders

without the contractor thereby having the right to any compensation.

2.4. Implementation of single FWC

The contracting authority orders services by sending the contractor a specific contract in paper format.

Within 10 working days, the contractor must either:

- send the specific contract back to the contracting authority signed and dated; or

- send an explanation of why it cannot accept the order.

If the contractor repeatedly refuses to sign the specific contracts or repeatedly fails to send them back on

time, the contractor may be considered in breach of its obligations under this FWC as set out in Article

II.18.1 (c) of the contract (see annex 4).

3. EVALUATION AND AWARD OF THE FRAMEWORK CONTRACT

The evaluation is based solely on the information provided in the submitted tender. It involves the

following:

Verification of non-exclusion of tenderers on the basis of the exclusion criteria

Selection of tenderers on the basis of selection criteria

Verification of compliance with the minimum requirements set out in these tender specifications

Evaluation of tenders on the basis of the award criteria

The contracting authority may reject abnormally low tenders, in particular if it established that the

tenderer or a subcontractor does not comply with applicable obligations in the fields of environmental,

social and labour law.

The tenders will be assessed in the order indicated above. Only tenders meeting the requirements of one

step will pass on to the next step.

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3.1. Verification of non-exclusion

All tenderers must provide a declaration of honour (see Annex 1), signed and dated by an authorised

representative, stating that they are not in one of the situations of exclusion listed in that declaration of

honour.

In case of joint tender, each member of the group must provide a declaration of honour signed by an

authorised representative.

In case of subcontracting, subcontractors whose share of the contract is above 20 % and whose capacity

is necessary to fulfil the selection criteria must provide a declaration of honour signed by an authorised

representative.

The Contracting Authority reserves the right to verify whether the successful tenderer is in one of the

situations of exclusion by requiring the supporting documents listed in the declaration of honour.

The successful tenderer must provide the documents mentioned as supporting evidence in the

declaration of honour before signature of the contract and within a deadline given by the contracting

authority. This requirement applies to each member of the group in case of joint tender and to

subcontractors whose share of the contract is above 20 % and whose capacity is necessary to fulfil the

selection criteria.

The obligation to submit supporting evidence does not apply to international organisations.

A tenderer (or a member of the group in case of joint tender, or a subcontractor) is not required to

submit the documentary evidence if it has already been submitted for another procurement procedure

and provided the documents were issued not more than one year before the date of their request by the

contracting authority and are still valid at that date. In such cases, the tenderer must declare on its

honour that the documentary evidence has already been provided in a previous procurement procedure,

indicate the reference of the procedure and confirm that that there has been no change in its situation.

A tenderer (or a member of the group in case of joint tender, or a subcontractor) is not required to

submit a specific document if the contracting authority can access the document in question on a

national database free of charge.

3.2. Selection criteria

Tenderers must prove their legal, regulatory, economic, financial, technical and professional capacity to

carry out the work subject to this procurement procedure.

The tenderer may rely on the capacities of other entities, regardless of the legal nature of the links which

it has with them. It must in that case prove to the Contracting Authority that it will have at its disposal

the resources necessary for performance of the contract, for example by producing an undertaking on the

part of those entities to place those resources at its disposal.

The tender must specify the proportion of the contract that the tenderer intends to subcontract.

The tenderer (and each member of the group in case of joint tender) must declare whether it is a Small

or Medium Size Enterprise in accordance with Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC. This

information is used for statistical purposes only.

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3.2.1 Declaration and evidence

The tenderers (and each member of the group in case of joint tender) and subcontractors whose capacity

is necessary to fulfil the selection criteria must provide the declaration of honour (see Annex 1), signed

and dated by an authorised representative, stating that they fulfil the selection criteria applicable to

them. In case of joint tender or subcontracting, the criteria applicable to the tenderer as a whole will be

verified by combining the various declarations for a consolidated assessment.

This declaration is part of the declaration used for exclusion criteria (see section 4.1) so only one

declaration covering both aspects should be provided by each concerned entity.

The Contracting Authority will evaluate selection criteria on the basis of the declarations of honour.

Nevertheless, it reserves the right to require evidence of the legal and regulatory, financial and economic

and technical and professional capacity of the tenderers at any time during the procurement procedure

and contract performance. In such case the tenderer must provide the requested evidence without delay.

The Contracting Authority may reject the tender if the requested evidence is not provided in due time.

N.B. For this Call for Tender, due to the specific nature of the services, the Commission requires

that the bidder and any subcontractor who is to deliver at least 20% of the services provide the

requested evidence as listed under Economic and Financial Capacity Criteria and Technical and

Professional Capacity Criteria at the moment of submission of the offers.

After contract award, the successful tenderer will be required to confirm the evidence mentioned below

before signature of the contract and within a deadline given by the contracting authority. This

requirement applies to each member of the group in case of joint tender and to subcontractors whose

capacity is necessary to fulfil the selection criteria (any such subcontractors should be clearly identified

by the tenderer in his tender).

A tenderer (or a member of the group in case of joint tender, or a subcontractor) is not required to

submit the documentary evidence that has already been submitted for another similar procurement

procedure and provided the documents were issued not more than one year before the date of their

request by the contracting authority and are still valid at that date. In such cases, the tenderer must

declare on its honour that the documentary evidence has already been provided in a previous

procurement procedure, indicate the reference of the procedure and confirm that that there has been no

change in its situation.

A tenderer (or a member of the group in case of joint tender, or a subcontractor) is not required to

submit a specific document if the contracting authority can access the document in question on a

national database free of charge. In such case, the necessary links should be provided in the tender in a

clear way.

3.2.2 Legal and regulatory capacity

Tenderers must prove that they are allowed to pursue the professional activity necessary to carry out the

work subject to this call for tenders. The tenderer (including each member of the group in case of joint

tender) must provide the following information in its tender if it has not been provided with the Legal

Entity Form:

- For legal persons, a legible copy of the notice of appointment of the persons authorised to represent the

tenderer in dealings with third parties and in legal proceedings, or a copy of the publication of such

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appointment if the legislation applicable to the legal person requires such publication. Any delegation of

this authorisation to another representative not indicated in the official appointment must be evidenced.

- For natural persons, if required under applicable law, a proof of registration on a professional or trade

register or any other official document showing the registration number.

3.2.3 Economic and financial capacity criteria

The tenderer must have the necessary economic and financial capacity to perform this contract until its

end. In order to prove their capacity, the tenderer must comply with the following selection criteria.

- Criterion F1: Turnover of the last two financial years above EUR 2.000.000; this criterion applies to

the tenderer as a whole, i.e. the combined capacity of all members of a group in case of a joint tender.

Criterion F2: Ratio between assets and liability above 1:1; this criterion applies to each member of the

group in case of joint tender as well as any subcontractor declared as delivering at least 20% of the

services.

Evidence to be provided with the tender:

- the completed "Simplified balance sheet" and "Simplified Profit & Loss Account" completed for the

last 2 years (Annex 2)

and

- a copy of the profit and loss accounts and balance sheet for the last two years for which accounts have

been closed from each concerned legal entity;

If, for some exceptional reason which the Contracting Authority considers justified, a tenderer is unable

to provide one or other of the above documents, it may prove its economic and financial capacity by any

other document which the Contracting Authority considers appropriate. In any case, the Contracting

Authority must at least be notified of the exceptional reason and its justification. The Commission

reserves the right to request any other document enabling it to verify the tenderer's economic and

financial capacity.

3.2.4 Technical and professional capacity criteria and evidence

A. Criteria relating to tenderers

Tenderers (in case of a joint tender the combined capacity of all members of the group and identified

subcontractors) must comply with the criteria listed below. The evidence must be provided with the

tender.

The project references indicated below consisting of a list of relevant services provided in the past three

years, with the sums, dates and clients, public or private, accompanied by statements issued by the

clients.

Criterion A1: The tenderer must prove experience in the field of legal research and legal compliance

assessment

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Evidence A1: the tenderer must provide references for at least 3 projects delivered in this field in the

last three years with a minimum value for each project of € 100.000.

Criterion A2: The tenderer must prove expertise in the policy areas (see point 2.1) under the

responsibility of DG Migration and Home Affairs

Evidence A2: the tenderer must provide references at least 3 projects delivered in the last three years

with a minimum value for each project of € 15 000.

Criterion A3: The tenderer must prove capacity to draft reports in English.

Evidence A3: the tenderer must provide one document of at least 10 pages (report, study, etc.) in this

language that it has drafted and published or delivered to a client in the last two years. The verification

will be carried out on 5 pages of the document.

B. Criteria relating to the team delivering the service:

The team delivering the service should include, as a minimum, the following profiles.

Evidence will consist of CVs of the team responsible for delivery of the service. Each CV should

indicate the intended function in delivery of the service.

B1 - Project Director(s): At least 12 years of professional experience as project Director in project

management and covering at least 10 EU Member States. The professional experience shall include

the overall responsibility for quality control and the continuity of service in case the contractor is in

charge of several specific assignments running in parallel.

Evidence: 1 CV

B2 - Project Manager(s): At least 6 years' experience in project management as project manager in

similar projects in terms of size (at least 100.000 EUR) and coverage (geographical scope of at least

10 Member States). A project back-up manager with the same profile should also be provided in the

tender. Project manager(s) must have EN native language level as guaranteed by a certificate or

relevant past.

Evidence: 2 CV

B3 - Senior Legal Analyst(s): Relevant higher education degree in Law (Masters and or PhD) and

at least 6 years of legal professional experience of which at least 3 years of experience in EU

affairs. The senior legal analyst may also be a national legal expert.

Evidence: at least 1 CV

B4 - Country expert with legal background for each Member State (at least 28 experts) and

Country expert for Schengen participating countries which are not MS (at least 4 experts).

Relevant higher education degree in Law (Masters and or PhD) and 3 years of legal professional

experience in the country proposed for assessment. Nb: one Country expert can be proposed to

cover several countries provided that he/she can justify a minimum of 3 years of legal professional

experience in each additional country.

Evidence: Minimum of 32 CVs

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B5 - Junior Legal analyst(s): Relevant higher education degree in Law (Masters and or PhD) and

3 years of legal professional experience. –. Junior legal analysts may not be Country experts.

Evidence: at least 5 CVs

B6 - English drafting skills – at least 1/3 of the proposed team members must be English native

speakers or have equivalent knowledge (C2 level).

Evidence: a language certificate or past relevant experience

3.3. Award criteria

The contract will be awarded based on the most economically advantageous tender, according to the

'best price/quality ratio' award method. The quality of the tender will be evaluated based on the

following criteria. The maximum total score is 100 points.

1. Understanding of services to be performed (10 points – minimum score 70%)

This criterion will assess the tenderer's understanding of the purposes of the services and of the

nature of the activities to be undertaken under the framework contract. The tenderer should also

provide an assessment of the difficulties to achieve the expected results and the mitigation

measures to address identified risks (a few specific examples to develop efficient and

appropriate solutions should be provided). This criterion will not be used in the evaluation

of the case studies, but in the evaluation of the overall presentation of the bid

2. Quality assurances system (10 points – minimum score 70%)

This criterion will assess the quality assurance system put in place during the provision of the

services (a few specific examples should be provided) and the operational process for coping

with multiple assignments run in parallel. This criterion will not be used in the evaluation of

the case studies, but in the evaluation of the overall presentation of the bid

3. Quality of the proposed methodology (40 points – minimum score 70%)

This criterion will assess the quality of the proposed methodology, tools and approach put in

place by the tenderer to allow meeting the requirements. It also assesses the clarity,

appropriateness and efficiency of the proposed methodology (ex: identification of adequate

sources of information, sampling methodology, data collection method and analysis, and use of

the information to achieve the expected results). Finally this criterion will consider how the

services/tasks will be organised to ensure high-quality delivery and adequate geographical

coverage. This criterion will be used in the evaluation of the overall presentation of the bid

(10 points) and of the case studies (30 points)

4. Project management and team (40 points – minimum score 70%)

This criterion will assess how the roles and responsibilities of the proposed team are distributed

for each task. It will also assess the balance of the proposed team members in the fields of

expertise relevant for the required service. The tenderer should provide details on the allocation

of time and human resources and the rationale behind the choice of this allocation. The tenderer

should be demonstrative and explain how the organisation and structure of the proposed team

will allow requirements to be met and expected results to be delivered. This criterion will be

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used in the evaluation of the overall presentation of the bid (10 points) and of the case

studies (30 points)

Tenders must score minimum 70% for each criterion and minimum 75 % in total. Tenders that

do not reach the minimum quality levels will be rejected and will not be ranked.

Award Criteria Points Sub-total max points

Understanding of

services to be

performed

10 max Max 10 for overall

presentation

10

Quality assurances

system

10 max Max 10 for overall

presentation

10

Quality of the

proposed

methodology

40 max

Max 10 for overall

presentation

40

Max 30 for case

studies

Case study 1- max 17

points

Case study 2 - max 13

points

Project

management and

team

40 max

Max 10 for overall

presentation

40

Max 30 points for

case studies

Case study 1 - max 17

points

Case study 2 - max 13

points

TOT: 100

3.4. Ranking of tenders

The contract will be awarded to the most economically advantageous tender, i.e. the tender offering the

best price/quality ratio determined in accordance with the formula below.

A weight of 60/40 is given to quality and price.

N.B. For the purpose of this call for tender the total price of the tenderers' offer will be

calculated on the basis of 2 case studies described in Annexes 5 and 6. The financial offer

will be assessed with the following weighting 75% of the price of case study 1 and 25% of the

price of case study 2, which prices will be based in turn on the specific unit prices set out in

the price schedule in the Framework Contract.

Price (P financial offer) = 0.75 * P(case study 1) + 0.25 * P(case study 2)

score for tender X =

cheapest price*

price of tender X

* 100 * 0.4 + total quality score (out of 100)

for all award criteria of tender X * 0.6

The tender ranked first after applying the formula will be awarded the contract.

14

Remarks:

Tenderers’ attention is drawn to the fact that the Commission will be in a position to make a proper

assessment of the tenders on the basis of the above qualitative criteria only if they contain full

particulars relating to all aspects of this specification. Lack of detail and vague and perfunctory

information will be penalised.

As the tenders will be evaluated on the basis of the quality of the services proposed, they should fully

explore all the points included in this specification so as to obtain the best possible mark.

Simply repeating the guidelines given in the specification of this invitation to tender without going into

detail or expanding on them will result in a very poor mark.

Furthermore, if any essential points of this specification are not expressly covered by the tender, the

Commission may decide to give a zero mark for the relevant quality award criteria.

4. ANNEXES

1. Declaration by the Tenderer (relating to the exclusion criteria)

2. Simplified balance sheet Form + profit & loss account Form

3. The Price Schedules

4. Draft Service Contract

5. Case study 1

6. Case study 2

7. Financial Offer forms for case studies

15

Annex 1

Declaration of honour on exclusion criteria and selection criteria

16

Declaration on honour on

exclusion criteria and selection criteria

The undersigned [insert name of the signatory of this form], representing:

(only for natural persons)

himself or herself

(only for legal persons) the following legal person:

ID or passport number:

(‘the person’)

Full official name:

Official legal form:

Statutory registration number:

Full official address:

VAT registration number:

(‘the person’)

I – SITUATION OF EXCLUSION CONCERNING THE PERSON

(1) declares that the above-mentioned person is in one of the following

situations:

YES NO

(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;

(b) it has been established by a final judgement or a final administrative decision

that the person 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 contracting authority is

located or those of the country of the performance of the contract;

(c) it has been established by a final judgement or a final administrative decision

that the person is guilty of grave professional misconduct by having violated

applicable laws or regulations or ethical standards of the profession to which

the person belongs, or by having engaged in any wrongful conduct which has

an impact on its professional credibity 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;

(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 contracting

authority during the award procedure;

(v) attempting to obtain confidential information that may confer upon it

undue advantages in the award procedure;

(d) it has been established by a final judgement that the person is guilty of the

following:

17

(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) of Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA, as well as

corruption as defined in the legal provisions of the country where the

contracting authority is located, the country in which the person is

established or the country of the performance of the contract;

(iii) participation in a criminal organisation, as defined in Article 2 of

Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA;

(iv) money laundering or terrorist financing, as defined in Article 1 of

Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;

(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;

(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;

(e) the person has shown significant deficiencies in complying with the main

obligations in the performance of a contract 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 person 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:

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; or

v. decisions of exclusion by an authorising officer of an EU institution, of a

European office or of an EU agency or body.

18

II – SITUATIONS OF EXCLUSION CONCERNING NATURAL PERSONS WITH POWER OF REPRESENTATION,

DECISION-MAKING OR CONTROL OVER THE LEGAL PERSON

Not applicable to natural persons, Member States and local authorities

(2) declares that a natural person who is a member of the administrative,

management or supervisory body of the above-mentioned legal person,

or who has powers of representation, decision or control with regard to

the above-mentioned legal person (this covers company directors,

members of management or supervisory bodies, and cases where one

natural person holds a majority of shares) is in one of the following

situations:

YES NO N/A

Situation (c) above (grave professional misconduct)

Situation (d) above (fraud, corruption or other criminal offence)

Situation (e) above (significant deficiencies in performance of a contract )

Situation (f) above (irregularity)

III – SITUATIONS OF EXCLUSION CONCERNING NATURAL OR LEGAL PERSONS ASSUMING UNLIMITED

LIABILITY FOR THE DEBTS OF THE LEGAL PERSON

(3) declares that a natural or legal person that assumes unlimited liability

for the debts of the above-mentioned legal person is in one of the

following situations:

YES NO N/A

Situation (a) above (bankruptcy)

Situation (b) above (breach in payment of taxes or social security

contributions)

IV – GROUNDS FOR REJECTION FROM THIS PROCEDURE

(4) declares that the above-mentioned person: YES NO

(h) has distorted competition by being previously involved in the preparation of

procurement documents for this procurement procedure.

V – REMEDIAL MEASURES

If the person declares one of the situations of exclusion listed above, it must indicate 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 this declaration. This does not apply for situations referred

in point (d) of this declaration.

19

VI – EVIDENCE UPON REQUEST

Upon request and within the time limit set by the contracting authority the person must provide

information on the persons that are members of the administrative, management or supervisory body. It

must also provide the following evidence concerning the person itself and concerning the natural or

legal persons which assume unlimited liability for the debt of the person:

For situations described in (a), (c), (d) or (f), production of a recent extract from the judicial record is required or, failing that, an equivalent document recently issued by a judicial or administrative authority in the country of establishment of the person showing that those requirements are satisfied.

For the situation described in point (a) or (b), production of recent certificates issued by the competent authorities of the State concerned are required. These documents must provide evidence covering all taxes and social security contributions for which the person is liable, including for example, VAT, income tax (natural persons only), company tax (legal persons only) and social security contributions. Where any document described above is not issued in the country concerned, it may be replaced by a sworn statement made before a judicial authority or notary or, failing that, a solemn statement made before an administrative authority or a qualified professional body in its country of establishment.

The person is not required to submit the evidence if it has already been submitted for another

procurement procedure. The documents must have been issued no more than one year before the date of

their request by the contracting authority and must still be valid at that date.

The signatory declares that the person has already provided the documentary evidence for a previous

procedure and confirms that there has been no change in its situation:

Document Full reference to previous procedure

Insert as many lines as necessary.

VII – SELECTION CRITERIA

(5) declares that the above-mentioned person complies with the

selection criteria applicable to it individually as provided in the

tender specifications:

YES NO N/A

(a) It has the legal and regulatory capacity to pursue the professional

activity needed for performing the contract as required in section

3.2.2 of the tender specifications;

(b) It fulfills the applicable economic and financial criteria indicated in

section 3.2.3 of the tender specifications;

(c) It fulfills the applicable technical and professional criteria indicated in

section 3.2.4 of the tender specifications.

20

(6) if the above-mentioned person is the sole tenderer or the leader in

case of joint tender, declares that:

YES NO N/A

(d) the tenderer, including all members of the group in case of joint

tender and including subcontractors if applicable, complies with all

the selection criteria for which a consolidated asseessment will be

made as provided in the tender specifications.

VII – EVIDENCE FOR SELECTION

The signatory declares that the above-mentioned person is able to provide the necessary supporting

documents listed in the relevant sections of the tender specifications and which are not available

electronically upon request and without delay.

The person is not required to submit the evidence if it has already been submitted for another

procurement procedure. The documents must have been issued no more than one year before the date of

their request by the contracting authority and must still be valid at that date.

The signatory declares that the person has already provided the documentary evidence for a previous

procedure and confirms that there has been no change in its situation:

Document Full reference to previous procedure

Insert as many lines as necessary.

The above-mentioned person may be subject to rejection from this procedure and to administrative

sanctions (exclusion or financial penalty) if any of the declarations or information provided as a

condition for participating in this procedure prove to be false.

Full name Date Signature

1

ANNEX 2

SIMPLIFIED BALANCE SHEET

Currency ….

Unit ….

Year

N N-1 N-2

Assets

Fixed assets (a)

Current assets (b = c+d+e) 0 0 0

of which:

Stocks ( c)

Cash (d)

Other current assets( e)

Total assets (A = a+b) 0 0 0

Liabilities (B=f+g) 0 0 0

of which,

Short term liabilities (f)

Long term liabilities (g)

Net assets (Own Funds) (C= A-B) 0 0 0

Name of the tenderer

Legal representative' s name

Signature

2

ANNEX 2

SIMPLIFIED PROFIT & LOSS ACCOUNT

Currency ….

Unit ….

Year

N N-1 N-2

Operating income

Operating expenses

Gross operating profit/loss 0 0 0

depreciation

Net operating profit/loss 0 0 0

Financial income

Financial expenses

Profit/Loss on ordinary activity 0 0 0

19. Extraordinary income

Extraordinary expenses

20. Profit tax

21. Profit/Loss for the financial year 0 0 0

Name of the tenderer

Legal representative' s name

Signature

1

ANNEX 3

The Price Schedules

Company: _____________________________________________________________

Surname and first name:

_______________________________________________________________________

Date: __________________________________________________________________

Signature: ______________________________________________________________

1

PRICE SCHEDULE

COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENT

Instrument Member State

BE BG CZ DK DE EE IE EL ES FR IT CY LV LT

Price per page*

Instrument Member State

LU HU MT NL AT PL PT RO SO SK FI SE UK HR

Price per page*

2

Instrument Schengen non-EU Member State

NO IS CH LI

Price per page*

* page= as published in Eur-Lex (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en), PDF version, language source EN. The page count shall begin on the first page where the first article appears (i.e. pages with recital only are to be excluded from the applicable page count).

The cost of project management activities are all costs inclusive (e.g. coordination and reporting activities, presence at meetings) must be included within the price given in the price schedule. These costs will not be invoiced as separate items.

Where applicable, the price per page must be inclusive of the extension of the conformity assessment to the measures adopted by the central authorities as well to those adopted by the federal entities or any other State entities.

1

Price schedule

Ad hoc legal consultancy

IMPORTANT REMARKS

The daily rate per profile should be all cost inclusive (e.g. coordination and reporting activities,

presence at meetings).

PROFILE PRICE/€

PROJECT DIRECTOR EUROS/PERSON/DAY

PROJECT MANAGER EUROS/PERSON/DAY

SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST EUROS/PERSON/DAY

JUNIOR LEGAL ANALYST EUROS/PERSON/DAY

COUNTRY EXPERT EUROS/PERSON/DAY

2

ANNEX 4

DRAFT

Framework SERVICE CONTRACT

3

ANNEX 5

Case study 1: Conformity Assessment

The objective of the case studies is for the tenderers to demonstrate they are able to carry out

the proposed services.

The case study is based on a real Directive, with some fictional assumptions related to the status of

implementation. For the purposes of this case study please note that the applicable page count is 24

pages (PDF version).

Background Information

The Commission – in its role as Guardian of Union law – shall check the implementation of

Directives into the national law of all Member States concerned. In accordance with the principle of

promoting better implementation of EU legislation, DG HOME intends to undertake a thorough

check of the conformity of the laws of the Member States with Directive 2016/801/EU of the

European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the conditions of entry and residence of

third-country nationals for the purposes of research, studies, training, voluntary service, pupil

exchange schemes or educational projects and au pairing (recast)6.

Objective

The tenderer shall present how it will carry out the conformity assessment of the implementation of

a Directive into national law, including the drawing up of transposition tables by Member States.

This case study must provide sufficient detail on the process, approach, tools and methodology, as

well as provide examples of legal analysis.

Scope

The conformity assessment shall cover all Member States bound by the Directive.

For the purposes of this case study it shall be assumed that at the date of transposition 10 of the

Member States had notified completed transposition of the Directive to the Commission; 7 had

notified partial transposition and 8 Member States had not communicated any transposition

measures to the Commission.

On the basis of the above information, and in around 12,000 words (footnotes included), the

tenderer shall demonstrate to the Commission that he/she is able to properly implement the services

as proposed in its bid.

The tender should thus provide:

1. Outline of the team

6http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ%3AJOL_2016_132_R_0002

4

2. Legal Analysis. This should consist of two parts:

A general overview of the key elements of the above- mentioned Directive, including its

background and purpose, and an identification of any potential difficulties of interpretation

or other difficulties which may be anticipated.

A specific analysis of Article 21 of the Directive identifying the specific issues which may

be anticipated during the conformity assessment and specifying how Member States'

transposing measures will be assessed for completeness and conformity.

3. Outline as to how research will be conducted for each Member State. This includes the list and

short description of the main deliverables that the bidder will provide.

4. An outline of any anticipated difficulties which may be encountered and mitigating measures.

5. Work plan, organisation and resources allocation.

6. For the purposes of the financial evaluation the bidders shall provide a price for the full

evaluation of the transposition of the Directive. This shall be based on the Price Schedule in

Annex 3, and shall use the form in Annex 7. For the purposes of the financial evaluation of this case

study the bidders will provide a price which assumes that the Directive must be transposed in ALL

Member States and also in those third countries participating in Schengen but which are not EU MS

(i.e. Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).

Please note that this part of the case study does not require the provision of actual data or results of

actual research. The tender is not required to consist of a full and complete study, but rather it

should allow the Commission to assess whether the tendering party can demonstrate both an

understanding of the requirements of the case study and the ability to put together an appropriate

methodology and a team to undertake the task.

For the purpose of this case study the maximum duration of the tasks is set at 12 months.

5

ANNEX 6

Case study 2: Ad-hoc query

Background Information

Directive 2008/115/EC7 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 sets

out common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third country

nationals. The Directive allows for the limited use of detention for the purpose of removal. Article

15(5) and 15(6) sets out the maximum length of time for which detention for the purpose of

removal will be allowed.

Objective

In no more than 8000 words (including footnotes) present a case study following a request by the

Commission to investigate the legal framework on the length of the duration of detention of third

country nationals who are the subject of return procedures8 and its implementation in practice in all

Member States which are subject to the Directive.

The bidder must present an analysis of the implementing national legislation and administrative

practices in relation to Article 15 of the Directive across all Member States (MS).

The tenderer should provide the following details:

1. Outline of the team, specifying the role and tasks of each member.

2. Legal Analysis. This should consist of two parts:

A general overview of the key elements of Chapter IV of Directive 2008/115/EC.

A specific analysis of Article 15 of the Directive. This analysis should identify any specific

issues which may be anticipated relating to implementation of this article, and should

specify how the implementation of these provisions by the Member States, both through

national legislation and administrative practices, will be assessed.

3. Tenders should describe how the data relating to average length of detention and number of

detainees will be collected and provide a thorough methodology on the comparative analysis of

application of this.

4. Description of any anticipated difficulties and mitigation measures.

5. Work plan, organisation and resources allocation.

7 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:348:0098:0107:EN:PDF

8 Article 15 of the Directive

6

6. Quality assurance arrangements.

7. For the purposes of the financial evaluation the bidders shall provide a price for the completion of

this case study. The form in Annex 7 should be used for this purpose.

The tender is not required to consist of a full and complete study, but rather it should allow the

Commission to assess whether the tendering party can demonstrate both an understanding of the

requirements of the case study and the ability to put together an appropriate methodology and a

team to undertake the task.

For the purpose of this case study the maximum duration of the tasks is set at 3 months and the

maximum budget is 150.000€.

7

ANNEX 7

Financial Offer forms for case studies

Financial Offer : 0.75 * Price case study 1 + 0.25 * Price Case study 2

1

FINANCIAL OFFER FORM CASE STUDY 1- COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENT - HOME-2016-FW-LECO-0001- Annex 7 Instrument Member State

BE BG CZ DK DE EE IE EL ES FR IT CY LV LT

Price per page

N° pages 24

Tot per country

Instrument Member State

LU HU MT NL AT PL PT RO SO SK FI SE UK HR

Price per page

N° pages 24

Tot per country

2

Instrument Schengen non-EU Member State

NO IS CH LI

Price per page N° Pages 24 Tot per country

TOTAL PRICE CASE STUDY 1

Overall price for all countries.

Inclusive of all expenses

3

FIXED PRICE INCLUSIVE OF ALL EXPENSES: EUR ……

FINANCIAL OFFER FORM CASE STUDY 2- AD HOC QUERY – Annex 7

HOME-2016-FW-LECO-0001 RESOURCES

Name(s) of the proposed

team members and specified profiles.

Service providers Level of

expertise

Task 1:

(complete)

Task 2:

(complete)

Task 3:

(complete)

Task 4:

(complete)

Task 5:

(complete)

Task 6:

(complete)

Add as many

columns as

necessary for your

methodology and to

meet the

requirements…

TOTAL

Name of tenderer and, where

applicable, names of partners or subcontractors which will

perform this task

Senior or

junior

Number of

days

Number of

days

Number of

days

Number of

days

Number of

days

Number of

days

Number of days Number

of days

Estimated

breakdow

n of price,

as a guide

1 EUR

2 EUR

3, etc. EUR

TOTAL WORKLOAD (persons/days)

for the management of the services

EUR

1 EUR

2 EUR

3,etc

TOTAL WORKLOAD (persons/days)

for the Activities and Deliverables

EUR

OVERALL STAFF TOTAL (PERSONS/DAYS) EUR