HERCULE III PROGRAMME 2014-2020
UL
CALL FOR PROPOSALSREF. Hercule III - 2014 – LEGAL TRAINING AND STUDIES
E PROGRA
MME 2014-0
Deadline / Monday 8 September 2014Eligibility Period
For Activities / 1 December 2014 – 1 December 2015
ANTI-FRAU
The English version of the call is the original.
TABLE OF CONTENTS1.INTRODUCTION - BACKGROUND......
1.1 European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)......
1.2 Hercule III programme......
1.3 Annual work programme......
1.4 Financial Regulation and its Rules of Application......
2.OBJECTIVES......
2.1 Specific actions......
2.2 Expected results......
3.TIMETABLE......
4.BUDGET ALLOCATED FOR GRANTS......
5.DURATION OF ACTIONS......
6.PRIORITY TOPICS 2014......
7.EVALUATION PROCEDURE......
8.EVALUATION CRITERIA: 4 STEPS......
9.ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA......
9.1 Bodies eligible for funding......
9.2 Eligible dates and formal requirements......
10.EXCLUSION CRITERIA......
11.SELECTION CRITERIA......
11.1 Financial Capacity......
11.2 Technical Capacity......
12.AWARD CRITERIA......
13.CRITERIA FOR CO-FINANCING GRANTS UP TO 90% OF THE ELEGIBLE COSTS
14.INFORMATION ON THE OUTCOME OF THE EVALUATION......
14.1 Rejected applications......
14.2 Selected applications......
15.REPORTING......
16.HOW TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION......
17.PUBLICITY......
17.1 By the European Commission......
17.2 By the beneficiaries......
18.QUESTIONS......
19.DATA PROTECTION......
20.EARLY WARNING SYSTEM - CENTRAL EXCLUSION DATABASE......
21.COMPLAINTS TO THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN......
22.CALL DOCUMENTS......
1.INTRODUCTION - BACKGROUND
1.1 European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) was established by Commission Decision of 28 April 1999[1].OLAF is operationally independent but is nevertheless part of the European Commission and as such is bound by the administrative and legal provisions of the EU institutions.
The mission of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) is threefold: it protects the financial interests of theEuropean Union by investigating fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities; it detects and investigatesserious matters relating to the discharge of professional duties by members and staff of the EU institutions andbodies that could result in disciplinary or criminal proceedings; and it supports the EU institutions, in particularthe European Commission, in the development and implementation of anti-fraud legislation and policies.
1.2 Hercule IIIprogramme
On 26 February 2014, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted Regulation (EU) No 250/2014[2]establishinga programme[3]to promote activities in the field of the protection of the financial interests of the European Union (Hercule III Programme) and repealing Decision No804/2004/EC[4]. This programme entered into force on 21 March 2014.
1.3 Annual work programme
In accordance with Article 11 of the Hercule III Regulation and with Article 128of the Financial Regulation and article 188 of the Rules of Application[5], the Commission adopted the annual work programme on26 May 2014[6].
1.4 Financial Regulation and its Rules of Application
This call for proposals is in line with the legal and financial rules contained in the FinancialRegulation (FR) applicable to the general budget of the European Union[7] (and in particular Title VI of Part One) and its Rules of Application (RAP)[8].
2.OBJECTIVES
The general objective of the Hercule III Programme shall be to protect the financial interestsof the Union thus enhancing the competitiveness of the Union's economy and ensuring the protection of the taxpayers' money[9]. The specific objective of the Programme shall be to prevent and combat fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities affecting the financial interests of the Union[10].
The operational objectives[11] of the Programme shall be all ofthe following:
(a)to improve the prevention and investigation of fraud and other illegal activities beyond current levels by enhancing transnational and multi-disciplinary cooperation;
(b)to increase the protection of the financial interests of the Union against fraud, facilitating the exchange of information, experiences and best practices, including staff exchanges;
(c)to strengthen the fight against fraud and other illegal activities providing technical and operational support to national investigation, and in particular customs and law enforcement, authorities;
(d)to limit the currently known exposure of the financial interests of the Union to fraud, corruption and other illegal activities with a view to reducing the development of an illegal economy in key risk areas such as organised fraud, including cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting;
(e)to enhance the degree of development of the specific legal and judicial protection of the financial interests of the Unionagainst fraud by promoting comparative law analysis.
The specific objective of this call for proposals is to provide grants in particular to enhance the degree of development of the specific legal and judicial protection of the financial interests of the Union against fraud by promoting comparative law analysis.
2.1 Specific actions
The Commission (OLAF) will award grants for actions which have as objective:
- Developing high-profile research activities, including studies in comparative law;
- Improving the cooperation between practitioners and academics (through actions such as conferences, seminars and workshops), including the organisation of the annual meeting of the Presidents of the Associations for European Criminal Law and for the Protection of the EU Financial Interests;
- Raising the awareness of the judiciary and other branches of the legal profession for the protection of the financial interests of the Union, including the publication of scientific knowledge concerning the protection of the financial interests of the Union.
2.2 Expected results
The expected results for the actions with the indicators that enable the measurement of these results are:
1.The development of high profile research activities, including comparative law studies, measured through the number of research activities and comparative law studies co-financed and their quality and novelty aspects;
2.The improved cooperation between practitioners and academics expressed through the number of legal training events (conferences, seminars, workshops) co-financed, the number of participants attending these events and the satisfaction rate expressed by the participants;
3.The improved awareness of the judiciary and other branches of the legal profession for the protection of the financial interests of the Union measured through the number of scientific publications distributed to the stakeholders and the type and number of methods of dissemination of scientific knowledge concerning the protection of the financial interests of the Union used.
3.TIMETABLE[12]
Stages / Indicative DatePublication of the callfor proposals / Mid-June 2014
Deadline for submitting applications / Monday8September 2014
Information to the applicants / Mid-November2014
Signature of grant agreements / December 2014 - January 2015
Earliest possible date to startprojects / 1 December 2014
Latest date to finish projects / 1 December 2015
4.BUDGET ALLOCATED FOR GRANTS
The total amount proposed for co-financed projects in 2014 on the basis of this call for proposals is EUR 550 000. The maximum EU funding is 80% of the total eligible costs of the projects. In exceptional and duly justified cases, the financial support for an action may be increased to a maximum of 90% of the eligible costs. The criteria used to determine whether an action satisfies these conditions are set out in chapter13 of this Call. Applicants must therefore provide a minimum cost share of at least 20% of the total estimated eligible project costs.
The co-financing may take the form of the beneficiary's own resources (applicant's contribution), income generated by the action (direct receipts from the action) and financial contributions from third parties (external contributions).
The European Commission reserves the right not to award all available funds.The level of grants awarded varies depending on factors such as the type of the project, the number of participants and the countries involved.
5.DURATION OF ACTIONS
The activities under this call for proposals must relate to a project starting on 1 December2014at the earliestand finishing on or before1 December 2015at the latest[13].
6.PRIORITY TOPICS 2014
The priority topics for 2014 funding are as follows:
1.Future development of OLAF and other European bodies in charge with the protection of the financial interests of the EU (past experience and forward-looking suggestions);
2. Establishment of the European Public Prosecutor Office (EPPO);
3.Legal aspects of the cooperation between OLAF and all anti-fraud agencies, including the customs, police and judicial authorities;
4.Law and administrative practices relating to the fight against fraud in the Member States, including inspections and penalties in relation to VAT, in particular cooperation between fiscal and judicial authorities to investigate VAT fraud;
5.Law and administrative practices relating to OLAF investigations, with special reference to procedural guarantees;
6.Law and administrative practices in the field of fraud prevention[14] and fraud awareness raising, in particular blacklisting and early-warning system procedures in the policy areas in which the European Union provides substantial financial support or in which the European Union plays a significant role, such as External Assistance and Research and Development;
7.Penalties and limitation periods:
a.comparative law study on the impact of limitation periods on the protection of financial interests under criminal law, and the relation between criminal law procedures and limitation periods for recovery;
b.administrative penalties, disciplinary penalties and criminal penalties notably in the field of customs and smuggling and the relation between such and the procedures for applying them, taking into account administrative penalties in criminal law procedures and vice versa.
8.National and/or EU rules on evaluating the financial dimension of fraud against the Union's financial interests and recovery of funds;
9.Mechanisms to facilitate and improve the gathering, the quality and the reliability of evidence, both for and against ("à charge et à décharge") the person(s) under investigation during an investigation into and the trial of irregularities and suspected fraud against the financial interests of the EU;
10.Prospects for criminal law at EU level regarding the protection of the EU's financial interests:
a.approaches to specify the relations between national and European law for better synergies between the legislators and the authorities at a national and an EU level;
b.liability of company directors in a comparative criminal law context;
c.same treatment for European and national officials;
11.Enhancement of the exchange of information on suspicious transactions and its effectiveness for anti-fraud purposes:
a.banking secrecy, fiduciary secrecy and tax secrecy (Steuergeheimnis) and effective (administrative or judicial) assistance with regard to economic crime;
b.transnational corporate structures and enhanced (criminal and civil) liability for financial offences;
12.The identification of new threats against the EU's financial interests (both revenues and expenditures) as the result of new (policy) developments.
7.EVALUATION PROCEDURE
The applications will be evaluated by an Evaluation Committeepursuant to Article 204(1) of the Rules of Application[15], which will make recommendations for awarding grants to the Authorising Officer by Sub-Delegation (AOSD).
8.EVALUATION CRITERIA: 4 STEPS
Applications are assessed against four types of criteria, aslisted below:
Only applications which met all first three types of criteria will be assessed against the award criteria.
9.ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
To be eligible, applicationsmust fulfil all of the following criteria:
9.1 Bodies eligible for funding
National or regional administrations of aMember State and a participatingcountry[16] which promote the strengthening of action at Union level to protect the financial interests of the Union.
Research and educational institutes and non-profit-making entities provided that they have been established and have been operating for at least one year, in a Member State or a participatingcountry, and promote the strengthening of action at Union level to protect the financial interests of the Union.
Required supporting documents to prove that the applicant meets the required above-mentioned eligibility criteria: the statutes or articles of association of the applicant organisation sent as annex with the requested legal entity form.
9.2 Eligible dates and formal requirements
Applications must fulfil the following formal requirements:
Be sent (dispatched)in both paper and electronic format no later than 8September 2014 (date of postmark/deposit slip serving as evidence of timely delivery);
The proposed action must start on or after 1 December2014 at the earliest, and finish on or before 1 December2015 at the latest;
Be submitted in writing, using the official application form (without alterations) published on the Commission's(OLAF)website and including all supporting documents requested;
Drawn up in one of the official languages of the European Union;
Contain a balanced budget presenting the sources of co-financing other than the EU grant, taking into account that the EU co-financing cannot exceed 80 % of the total eligible costs (90% in exceptional and duly justified cases);
Applicants may only submit one proposal under this Call.
Only applications which meet the above eligibility criteria will be further processed.10.EXCLUSION CRITERIA
Applicants must be in conformity with articles 106(1) and 107 to 109[17] of the Financial Regulation5.In order to assess the exclusion criteria, applicants must sign the declaration of honour enclosed to the grant application form certifying that they are not in any of the situations referred to in Articles 106(1)and 107 to 109(2)(a) of the Financial Regulation14.
This is not required for low value grants[18], or when such certification has recently been provided in another award procedure.
Only applications which meet the above exclusion criteria will be further processed.11.SELECTION CRITERIA
In accordance with the Articles 132 and 133(1) of the Financial Regulation andArticle 202 of the Rules of Application, project proposals shall be evaluated on the basis of the selection criteria mentioned below.
11.1 Financial Capacity
Applicants must have the stable and sufficient sources of funding necessary formaintaining their activity throughout the period during which the proposed project is tobe carried out and for participating in its co-funding, as shown by the annual accounts (balance and profit and loss account) for the last financial year for which accounts have been closed and other financial information provided in the grant application form.
The financial capacity requirement does not apply to national and regional administrations.
Applicantsmust submit and sign the following documents attesting to their financial capacity:
For grants below or equal to EUR 60000:
Adeclaration on their honour on the selection criteria (enclosed to the application form).
For grants exceeding EUR 60000:
a declaration on their honour(enclosed to the application form);
one copy of the profit and loss account for the last financial year for which the accounts were closed;
one copy of the balance sheet for the lastfinancial year for which the accounts were closed.
Subject to the outcome of the assessment of the application and the examination of theapplicant's financial capacity in relation to the grant application, the applicant may beawarded a grant agreementwith an obligation to provide a guarantee for pre-financing,a grant agreement without pre-financing or a grant agreement with pre-financingpayments in several instalments. Such guarantee is notrequired forlow value grants.
11.2 Technical Capacity
Applicants shall demonstrate that they have the operational resources (technical, management) and the professional skills and qualifications needed to successfully implement the proposed action.
The applicant must have a strong track record of competence and experience in the field and in particular in the type of action proposed.This needs to be demonstrated by:
- The updated CVs (max 2 pages[19]) of the staff (internal and subcontracted) responsible for carrying out the action, showing all relevant professional experience (accompanied where appropriate by a list of relevant publications).
The Commission strongly recommends that CVs are presented in the Europass[20] CV format. Any CV should clearly indicate1) the job role/function in the project, 2) the contracting organisation for which the person works and 3) the relevant years of experience. The names indicated shall be reflected in the enclosed budget form.
- An exhaustive list of previous projects and activities performed andrelated to the objective of the Hercule III Programme.
- An organisation chart showing the structure of the organisation.
For low value grants (below or equal to EUR 60 000), applicants are required to sign the declaration on their honour on the selection criteria enclosed to the application form (same declaration as mentioned under 10.1).
Only applications which meet the above selection criteria will be further processed.12.AWARD CRITERIA
Only projects which have satisfied the requirements of the eligibility, exclusion and selection criteria indicated above will be considered for further evaluation by the evaluation committee according to the following award criteria:
Added value of the application for the protection of the financial interests of the Union;
Conformity with the operational objectives of the Programme;
Quality;
Value for money.
13. CRITERIA FOR CO-FINANCING GRANTS UP TO 90% OF THE ELEGIBLE COSTS [21]
The Hercule III Regulation provides for the possibility to increase the maximum co-financing rate of grants from 80% to a maximum of 90% in exceptional and duly justified cases[22].
According to the Financing Decision 2014[23], the criteria that will be used for the legal training and studies sector refer to actions undertaken by scientific organisations that are specifically created for the promotion of studies in European criminal law and for supporting the creation of networks in this area, and have as an objective the protection of the financial interests of the Union.
14. INFORMATION ON THE OUTCOME OF THE EVALUATION
The European Commission will notify applicants once the evaluation procedure is completed. Requests for information concerning the progress of the evaluation sent before the end of the evaluation procedure will not be answered.
The European Commission may contact applicants during the evaluation procedure to request additional information. It is entirely the responsibility of applicants to ensure that all contact information provided is accurate.
In case of any change of contact details, please send an e-mail indicating clearly the reference of this call for proposals: 'Hercule III– 2014 – Legal Training and Studies’ and your new contact details to: .
14.1 Rejected applications
Unsuccessful applicants will receive a letter stating the reasons for refusing their application.