Information and training measures for workers' organisations

Deadline: May 6, 2020  
CALL EXPIRED

1. INTRODUCTION – BACKGROUND

1.1. Legal base

The legal basis of this call for proposal is the Commission Decision C(2019)6522 of 16 September 2019 concerning the adoption of the 2020 annual work programme for grants and procurements for DG EMPL prerogatives and specific competencies, serving as financing decision.

1.2. Policy and economic background

Budget heading 04030105 is intended to cover grants for information and training measures for workers' organisations1 in accordance with Article 154 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

The measures should help workers' organisations to contribute to addressing the overarching EU employment and social policy challenges as laid down in particular in:

• the Political Guidelines presented by Ursula von der Leyen in “A Union that strives for more – My agenda for Europe” and the Commission Work Programme;

• Commission communication “A strong Social Europe for just transitions”;

• the Commission Communication Establishing a European Pillar of Social Rights (COM(2017)0250) as well as the related joint proclamation of European Parliament, Council and Commission of November 2017 on the European Pillar of Social Rights;

• the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy, the Joint Employment Report and the recommendations addressed to the Member States in the context of the European Semester.

  The budget heading can be used to finance actions involving representatives of workers' organisations from the Candidate Countries2.

 

2. OBJECTIVES – PRIORITIES – TYPES OF ACTIONS - EXPECTED RESULTS

2.1. Objectives – Priorities – Definitions

This call aims at strengthening the capacity of workers' organisations to address, at EU/transnational level, challenges related to changes in employment and work and social dialogue such as:

• -  modernisation of the labour market, job creation and job matching, employment in SMEs;

• -  new forms of work;

• -  quality of work, anticipation, preparation and management of change and restructuring;

• -  digitalisation of the economy and society – including artificial intelligence;

• -  the greening of the economy, sustainability, transition to a climate-neutral economy;

• -  flexicurity, skills;

• -  intra-EU labour mobility, migration, youth employment, health and safety at work, modernisation of social protection systems;

• -  reconciliation of work and family life, gender equality, action in the field of anti- discrimination, active ageing, healthier and longer working lives, active inclusion and decent work.

Actions are also expected to contribute to the priorities and activities of European social dialogue, including those laid down in the work programmes of the EU cross-industry and sectoral social dialogue committees, as well as those that form part of the June 2016 Statement of the Presidency of the Council, the European Commission and the European social partners on "a new start for social dialogue"3. In that context, particular emphasis is put on strengthening collective bargaining and the involvement of social partners in the European Semester and enhancing their contribution to EU policy making.

Measures which contribute to addressing the employment, social and economic challenges as identified in the European Pillar of Social Rights will also be particularly welcome.

Definitions used in the context of this call:

a) “social partner organisation” is either an organisation representing workers – often also referred to as "trade union" – or an organisation representing employers. They engage in some form of "social dialogue", discussing and often negotiating such issues as wages, working conditions, training, etc.

 

 

b) European-level social partner organisations (or “European-level social partners”): either organisations that are consulted in accordance with Article 154 TFEU (an up-to-date list can be found here) or other European social partner organisations fulfilling the definition of social partner organisations representing workers (also referred to as trade union) or employers at regional, national or European level that are engaged in "social dialogue" i.e. the discussion and negotiation of wages, working conditions, training, etc. that are not included in this list, but which: (1) demonstrate that they represent several national social partners (fulfilling as well the definition above); (2) have a mandate of these organisations to engage in social dialogue at European level on their behalf; and (3) are involved in the preparation and functioning of European social dialogue at sector level.

General remark

Activities funded under this call for proposal should pay adequate attention to gender equality and avoid discrimination. Access for people with disabilities should be guaranteed.

2.2. Type of activities to be funded

The types of activities which may be funded under this call for proposals include: conferences, seminars, round tables, studies, surveys, publications, training courses, development of training tools, the setting up of networks and the development and exchange of best practices.

2.3. Expected results

Improved expertise for workers' representatives for participation in European social dialogue, better understanding of issues discussed in European social dialogue, sharing of ideas/experience on European social dialogue as well as improving the capacity of workers' organisations.

2.4. Other elements to be taken into account

When drafting the proposal, applicants are invited to pay particular attention to the following elements:

• The proposal should provide a clear explanation of the rationale and problem definition/analysis underpinning the proposed action, as well as the specific contribution of the action to the objectives of the call for proposals and its expected impact;

• In case of follow-up action submitted by the same applicant on similar or related topics, the added value of the new project proposal as compared to ongoing and previous actions4 should be clearly explained;

• The choice of organisations involved and countries covered should be duly explained and justified as regards their relevance towards the specific objectives of the action.

  The Commission welcomes in particular projects that provide for a full project cycle, including preparatory, implementation and dissemination, follow-up and reporting activities.

   

Including projects funded under other budget headings. 5

Taking account of beneficiaries' interest, the Commission may organise a networking day in Brussels for beneficiaries under this call (date to be defined). Applicants are encouraged to ensure that the travel, daily subsistence allowances and accommodation costs for up to 2 persons – the Project Manager and possibly the Financial Manager – to attend this meeting are included in their proposed project budget. If the applicant fails to do this, the Commission will not be able to fund the beneficiary's participation in the networking day.

 

3. TIMETABLE

 

 

a) Publication of the call

February

b) Deadline for questions and requests for clarification

26 April 2020

c) Deadline for submitting proposals

06 May 2020

Swim, Courier and Post : 24:00 Brussels' time (CET)

Hand deliveries 16:00 Brussels' time (CET)

d) Evaluation period (indicative)

July 2020

e) Information to applicants (indicative)

September 20205

f) Signature of the Grant Agreement (indicative)

October 20206

g) Starting date of the action (indicative)

01 January 2021

3.1. Starting date and duration of the projects

The actual starting date of the actions will be the first day of the month following the date when the last of the two parties signs the Grant Agreement or a date agreed upon between the parties.

Applicants should note that if their project is selected, they may receive the grant agreement after the start date of the action that they have indicatively set in the application form. It is therefore advisable to number the months in the work plan instead of indicating the precise name of the month or the date.

No expenditure can be incurred before the date of submission of the application. Any expenditure incurred before the signature of the grant agreement will be at the applicant’s risk.

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

The project's duration should indicatively be between 12 and 24 months.

 

And in any case no later than 6 months after the submission deadline.

And in any case no later than 3 months after the date of information to applicants. 6

 

4. AVAILABLE BUDGET

The total budget earmarked for the EU co-financing of projects under this call is estimated at EUR 5.528.435.

The EU grant requested should indicatively be between EUR 150 000 and EUR 500 000.

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

The Commission reserves the right to increase the amount of the funds and distribute them to proposals admitted in the reserve list, if available. This top-up is limited to 20% of the initial budget of the call.

4.1. Co-financing rate

Under this call for proposals, the EU grant may not exceed 90 % of the total eligible costs of the action. The applicants must guarantee their co-financing of the remaining amount covered by the applicants' own resources or from other sources other than the European Union budget7.

 

5. ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Applications must be sent no later than the deadline for submission referred to in section 3(c).

Applications (meaning the application form, including budget and description of the action including work plan) must be submitted using the electronic submission system available at https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/swim, and by sending a signed, printed version of the complete application form and the other afore-mentioned documents by post or courier service (one original dossier and one copy; see section 16).

Failure to comply with the above requirements may lead to the rejection of the application.

Applicants are encouraged to submit their project proposal in English, French or German in order to facilitate the treatment of the proposals and speed up the evaluation process. It should be noted, however, that proposals submitted in any of the official languages of the EU will be accepted. In this case, applications should be accompanied by an executive summary in English, French or German (see section 16, checklist point 3).

7Letters of commitment are required from co-applicants, affiliated entity and third party providing financial contributions to the eligible costs of the action (see section 16, checklist, point 5).

 

 

6. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant.

For British applicants: Please be aware that following the entry into force of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement8 on 1 February 2020 and in particular Articles 127(6)9, 13710 and 13811, the references to natural or legal persons residing or established in a Member State of the European Union are to be understood as including natural or legal persons residing or established in the United Kingdom. UK residents and entities are therefore eligible to participate under this call.12

6.1. Eligibility of the applicants (lead and co-applicants) and affiliated entities13

a) Place of establishment

Legal entities properly established and registered in the following countries are eligible as single applicants or lead applicants:

• EU Member States;
Legal entities properly established and registered in the following countries are eligible as

co-applicants, affiliated entities or associate organisations 14:
• EU Member States;
• CandidateCountries:Albania,NorthMacedonia,Montenegro,SerbiaandTurkey15.

b) Types of entities:

• Single applicants, lead applicants, co-applicants and affiliated entities must be legal entities. In application of Article 197.2.c) of the Financial Regulation, social partner organisations without legal personality are also eligible provided that the conditions of the Financial Regulation related thereto are met16;

c) Types of entities for single applicant or consortia17 c1) Single applicants

The single applicant must be a social partner organisation representing workers at European level.

Affiliated entities and associate organisations may be part of the single-applicant proposal.

Affiliated entities and associate organisations must fall within one of the following categories: social partners, non-profit-making organisations, universities and research institutes, public authorities, international organisations.

c2) Consortia18
Actions may involve consortia. To be eligible as consortium, actions must include a lead

applicant and at least one co-applicant.
The following eligibility criteria must be complied with:

-The lead applicant must be a social partner organisation representing workers at European, national or regional level.

If the lead applicant is not a social partner organisation at EU level, the consortium must foresee the participation of at least (1) one organisation from a different eligible country to that of the lead applicant and (2) a European-level social partner organisation. 19

In order to be eligible, at least one of the organisations mentioned in the above paragraph must participate as co-applicant, while the other(s) can participate as co-applicant, affiliated entity of the lead applicant or co-applicant(s) (see point d below) or associate organisation(s) (see point e below).

Affiliated entities and associate organisations are eligible for consortia.

Co-applicants, affiliated entities and associate organisations must fall within one of the following categories: social partners, non-profit-making organisations, universities and research institutes, public authorities, international organisations.

d) Affiliated entities

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

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

e) Associate organisations

Associate organisations are allowed to participate provided their role and added value is clearly defined in the technical proposal. An associate organisation can participate in the action but may not declare eligible costs.

Conditions of rejections

If a single applicant is considered not to be eligible, the application will be rejected.

For consortia, if the lead applicant is considered not to be eligible, the application will be rejected.

If a co-applicant is considered not to be eligible, this organisation will be removed from the consortium. The related activities and costs of the removed will be removed as well from the proposal. The eligibility of the modified consortium will then be re-evaluated without them. If the application is accepted for funding, the work plan and budget will have to be adapted as appropriate.

6.2. Eligible activities a) Geographical Location

To be eligible, actions must be fully carried out in the Member States of the European Union or the Candidate Countries. This applies equally to International Organisations. However, in duly justified circumstances, project management costs incurred in the headquarters of International Organisations established outside the EU Member States or the candidate countries could be considered eligible.

b) Types of activities

The grant will finance inter alia the activities indicated in section 2.2. 10

c) Core activities

The project management of the action and the role of coordinator (in the case of a multi- beneficiary Grant Agreement) as laid down in Article II.2.3 of the Grant Agreement, are considered to be core activities and may not be subcontracted20.

6.3. Ineligible activities

Financial support to third parties as defined in point 3 of the Financial Guidelines is not eligible under this call.

National capacity-building activities which could be funded under the European Social Fund (Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013 on the European Social Fund, Article 6.2) are not eligible.

 

7. EXCLUSION CRITERIA

Applicant(s) (single applicant or lead applicant and each co-applicant) must sign a declaration on their honour signed in their name (and on behalf of their respective affiliated entities, should they be part of the application), certifying that they are not in one of the situations referred to in article 136 and 141 of the Financial Regulation concerning exclusion and rejection from the procedure respectively, using the relevant form attached to the application form available at

https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/swim/external/displayWelcome.do. 7.1. Exclusion

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

1. (a)  the applicant 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 EU or national laws or regulations;

2. (b)  it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the applicant is in breach of its obligations relating to the payment of taxes or social security contributions in accordance with the applicable law;

3. (c)  it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the applicant is guilty of grave professional misconduct by having violated applicable laws or regulations or ethical standards of the profession to which the applicant belongs, or by having engaged in any wrongful 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 eligibility or selection criteria or in the performance of a contract, a grant agreement or a grant decision;

subcontracting and implementing contracts.

See section 4.2.2.3 of the Financial Guidelines for detailed information on procedures regarding 11

2. (ii)  entering into agreement with other applicants with the aim of distorting competition;

3. (iii)  violating intellectual property rights;

4. (iv)  attempting to influence the decision-making process of the [Commission] [Agency] during the award procedure;

5. (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 judgment that the applicant is guilty of any of the following:

   1. (i)  fraud, within the meaning of Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Article 1 of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 July 1995;

   2. (ii)  corruption, as defined in Article 4(2) of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 or Article 3 of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of Member States of the European Union, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 May 1997, or conduct referred to in Article 2(1) of Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA, or corruption as defined in the applicable law;

   3. (iii)  conduct related to a criminal organisation, as referred to in Article 2 of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA;

   4. (iv)  money laundering or terrorist financing within the meaning of Article 1(3), (4) and (5) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council;

   5. (v)  terrorist 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;

   6. (vi)  child labour or other offences concerning trafficking in human beings as referred to in Article 2 of Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council;

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

6. (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;

7. (g)  It has been established by a final judgement or final administrative decision that the applicant has created an entity in a different jurisdiction with the intent to circumvent fiscal, social or any other legal obligations of mandatory application in the jurisdiction of its registered office, central administration or principal place of business;

8. (h)  it has been established by a final judgement or final administrative decision that an entity has been created with the intent referred to in point (g);

9. (i)  for the situations referred to in points (c) to (h) above, the applicant is subject to:

   1. (i)  facts established in the context of audits or investigations carried out by European Public Prosecutor's Office after its establishment, the Court of Auditors, the European Anti-Fraud Office or the internal auditor, 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;

   2. (ii)  non-final judgments or 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;

   3. (iii)  facts referred to in decisions of persons or entities being entrusted with EU budget implementation tasks;

   4. (iv)  information transmitted by Member States implementing Union funds;

   5. (v)  decisions of the Commission relating to the infringement of Union competition law or of a national competent authority relating to the infringement of Union or national competition law; or

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

7.2. Remedial measures

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

7.3. Rejection from the call for proposals

The Commission shall not award a grant to an applicant who:
a. is in an exclusion situation established in accordance with Section 7.1; or

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

c. was previously involved in the preparation of calls documents used in the award procedure where this entails breach of the principle of equality of treatment, including a distortion of competition that cannot be remedied otherwise.

 

The same exclusion criteria apply to affiliated entities of the applicant. These affiliated entities must therefore, be specified in the above-mentioned declaration(s).

Administrative sanctions may be imposed on applicants, or affiliated entities where applicable, who are guilty of misrepresentation, if any of the declarations or information provided as a condition for participating in this procedure prove to be false.

 

8. SELECTION CRITERIA

The single applicant or lead applicant and each co-applicant must have the financial and operational capacity to complete the activities for which funding is requested. Only organisations with the necessary financial and operational capacity may be considered for a grant.

8.1. Financial capacity

Single applicants, lead applicants and co-applicants must have access to solid and adequate funding to maintain their activities for the period of the action and to help finance it as necessary.

The verification of financial capacity will NOT apply to public bodies and to international organisations.

The single applicant's or lead applicant's and each co-applicant's financial capacity will be assessed on the basis of the following supporting documents to be submitted with the application:

• Declaration on honour, including financial capacity to carry out the action (see section 16, checklist point 4);

• Annual balance sheet and profit and loss accounts for the last financial year available (see section 16, checklist point 14);

• Summary balance sheet and profit and loss accounts using the template provided in SWIM (see section 16) and signed by the legal representative (see section 16, checklist point 15).

• Information on the financial capacity provided by the applicant and in particular the information provided in section "Financial Resources" of the SWIM application form;

• For grants of EUR 750 000 or more per beneficiary or affiliated entity, an audit report produced by an approved external auditor certifying the accounts for the last financial year available, where such an audit report is available or whenever a statutory audit report is required by Union or national law. If the audit report is not available AND a statutory report is not required by law, a self-declaration signed by the applicant's authorized representative certifying the validity of its accounts for the last financial year available. (see section 16, checklist point 16).

The financial capacity will be evaluated on the basis of the following two ratios:

- A first ratio between the total assets in the applicants' balance sheet and the total cost

of the action of the project (single applicants) or the part of the project budget for 14

• -  Formula in the case of single applicant: own assets/total cost of the action > 0.70

• -  Formula for each applicant in the case of consortia: applicant's own assets/part of the budget of the action corresponding to that applicant > 0.70

• - which that organisation is responsible for according to the budget in the application form (lead and co-applicants). The (co)applicant is considered to have a strong financial capacity when the ratio is equal or greater than 0.70.

A second ratio between the 1st prefinancing and the annual total revenue. For each (co)-applicant the share of the 1st prefinancing is equal to his share in the total estimated budget. The co-applicant is considered to have a strong financial capacity when the ratio is equal or lower than 0,70

- Formula in the case of single applicant and each applicant in case of consortia: 1st prefinancing corresponding to that applicant/annual total revenue per applicant<0.70

If the single applicant or lead applicant is considered not to have a strong financial capacity, the application as a whole will be rejected.

If a co-applicant is considered not to have the required financial capacity, this co-applicant will be removed from the consortium and the application will be evaluated without this co- applicant21. In addition, the costs that were allocated to the removed co-applicant will be removed from the project and its budget. If the application is selected, the work plan may have to be slightly adjusted.

If a co-applicant or several co-applicants are considered not to have a strong financial capacity, the Commission will also take into account any other relevant information on the financial capacity provided by the applicant and in particular the information provided in section "Financial Resources" of the SWIM application form.

If, in case of removal of a co-applicant with weak capacity, the application would happen not to comply with the eligibility criteria any longer, then the Commission may take various proportional mitigating measures depending on the level of weaknesses identified, which may be to:

1. propose a Grant Agreement without pre-financing;

2. propose a Grant Agreement with a pre-financing paid in several instalments;

3. propose a Grant Agreement with 1st or total pre-financing payment(s) covered

   by (a) financial guarantee(s);

4. propose a Grant Agreement with joint financial liability of 2 or more applicants.

5. propose a Grant Agreement with a mix of the previous measures2, 3 and 4

21 This includes a re-evaluation of the eligibility of the modified consortium. 15

In the case of mitigating measure 3, the Commission may request a pre-financing guarantee for up to the same amount as the 1st or total 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 EU Member States. When the beneficiary is established in a third country, the Commission may agree that a bank or financial institution established in that third country may provide the guarantee if it considers that the bank or financial institution offers equivalent security and characteristics as those offered by a bank or financial institution established in a Member State. Amounts blocked in bank accounts shall not be accepted as financial guarantees.

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

 

 

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