The BalkanMed Programme opens its 1st Call for Project Proposals

Deadline: Apr 15, 2016  
CALL EXPIRED

Applicants are invited to submit their Project Proposals targeting one of the Specific Objectives of the Programme between 16 December 2015 and 15 April 2016.

The Programme accepts applications under both Priority Axes:

• Priority Axis 1: Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• Priority Axis 2: Environment

The Terms of Reference are available for dowload here »

The Application Package is available for download here » (.rar file) or here » (.zip file) 

The Application Package consists of the Application Form (Excel worksheet) and its guide, the Application Documents, as well as the Project Selection Criteria, the Programme Manual and the Project Implementation Manual.

In order to draft their proposals, it is imperative for applicants to study carefully all Programme documents, including the Cooperation Programme and the Programme Manual, as well as the specific documents related to the Call. Applicants should send their questions electronically to the emails ntatari@mou.gr and tchatzikonstantinou@mou.gr. All questions will be grouped and the answers will be uploaded at the BalkanMed Programme's websites.

Thessaloniki, 16.12.2015 Prot. Number: 302277/MA5873 ADA: ..........................................

 

Terms of Reference

Transnational Cooperation Programme Interreg Balkan‐Mediterranean 2014‐2020

CCI 2014TC16M4TN003

Adopted by the Monitoring Committee in Corfu, on 26.11.2015

Balkan-Mediterranean is co-financed by European Union and National Funds of the participating countries

 

Context

The ‘Balkan‐Mediterranean 2014‐2020’ is a new transnational cooperation programme (hereinafter BalkanMed Programme or BMP), deriving from both, the split of the ‘South East 2007–2013’ and the strong will of the ‘Balkan‐Mediterranean’ participating countries to promote cooperation in the area. The Programme brings together five (5) countries, three (3) EU member states (Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece) and two (2) candidate countries, Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

It is the first time ever that the European cooperation addresses the Balkan Peninsula and the Eastern Mediterranean Sea together, in a joint effort across maritime and terrestrial borders, to contribute to the “EU 2020” strategy, for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

After a long period of various cooperation forms, the BalkanMed Programme has been identified as a structured tool to strengthen cooperation in the area, capitalising on experiences and results achieved so far. Accordingly, the Programme supports the know‐how and experiences’ sharing, improvement of the public policies and networking, between national, regional and local authorities and other territorial actors of the whole Balkan‐Mediterranean cooperation area. It is a new cooperation opportunity that enriches the ‘European territorial cooperation goal’ of the new programming period ahead, 2014 – 2020.

In view of the needs and challenges of the Programme area, the BalkanMed Programme’s overall objective is to build on shared territorial assets and promote integrated territorial development and cooperation for a more competitive and sustainable Balkan – Mediterranean area.

To meet its overall objective the BalkanMed Programme is built on two priorities:

Priority Axis 1: Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Priority Axis 2: Environment

The Balkan – Mediterranean Programme is co‐financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with 28.330.108,00 Euros. The total support from the Instrument for Pre‐Accession Assistance (IPA) fund accounts for 5.126.138,00 Euros. Therefore, the total budget of the Programme, including national contribution, is 39.727.654,00 Euros.

For the overall cooperation area, a co‐financing rate of 85% is applied. The official language of the Programme is English.

Suspension Clause

1. For IPA project partners in Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the reimbursement of expenditure is subject to the entering into effect of the respective Financing Agreements between the European Commission, the Managing Authority and the Republic of Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

2. For Greek project partners the 1st Call for Project Proposals is subject to the signing of the Ministerial Decision on Management and Control System.

1st Call for Project Proposals, Page 2 of 22

TNCP Balkan – Mediterranean 2014 – 2020

Main Reference Documents

The BalkanMed Programme has been designed under the objectives of the transnational cooperation of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), thus the Programme shall first and foremost be administered according to the regulations of the ERDF Instrument.

The main reference documents for the submission of any project proposal for the BalkanMed Programme for the programming period 2014‐2020 are:

• -  Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (hereinafter “Common Provisions Regulation – CPR”);

• -  Regulation (EU) No 1301/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Regional Development Fund and on specific provisions concerning the Investment for growth and jobs goal and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 (hereinafter “ERDF Regulation”);

• -  Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on specific provisions for the support from the European Regional Development Fund to the European territorial cooperation goal (hereinafter “ETC Regulation”);

• -  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 481/2014 of the European Commission of 4 March 2014 supplementing to Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to specific rules on eligibility of expenditure for cooperation programmes;

• -  Framework Agreement between Republic of Albania and the European Commission on the arrangements for the implementation of Union financial assistance under IPA II signed on 27th of February 2015;

• -  Framework Agreement between the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the European Commission on the arrangements for the implementation of Union financial assistance under IPA II;

• -  Financing Agreement between the European Commission, the Managing Authority and Republic of Albania in accordance with Article 26 of Regulation (EU) No1299/2013 (to be concluded);

• -  Financing Agreement between the European Commission, the Managing Authority and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in accordance with Article 26 of Regulation (EU) No1299/2013 ( to be concluded);

 

 

- The Interreg V‐B ‘Balkan – Mediterranean 2014 – 2020’ Cooperation Programme, as approved by the European Commission Decision C(2015)6619, dated 25.09.2015;

Partners are suggested to consult the applicable Community and National legislation, not expressly recalled in this document.

IPA project partners shall follow the provisions of the relevant Financing Agreements, including those described in the ‘Practical Guide to Contract Procedures for EU External Actions (PRAG Rules)’ for the award of service, supply and work contracts among others.

Further and/or complementary information on specific provisions for the management and implementation of transnational projects are laid down in:

• the ‘Programme Manual;’

• the ‘Project Implementation Manual’;

• the ‘Project Selection Criteria’;

• the ‘Application Package’;

  • -  The ‘Application Form’ and its Guide;

  • -  AD1a‐ The ‘Partnership Declaration’;

  • -  AD1b‐ The ‘Observer Declaration (if applicable);

  • -  AD2‐ The ‘Co‐financing – Non Double Financing Statement per partner’;

  • -  AD3‐ The ‘Declaration of non generating Revenues’,

  • -  AD4‐ The ‘Specification of Budget’ and its Guide;

  • -  AD5‐ The ‘Maturity Sheet per partner’;

  • -  AD7‐ The ‘Documentation for IPA Project Partners’

    All applicants are invited to carefully study and consult all above mentioned main reference documents before submitting any project proposal. For reference information, please visit the websites of the BalkanMed Managing Authority and of the Responsible Authorities in the Partner States:

• BMP Managing Authority’s website in Greece at www.interreg.gr.

• Ministry of European Integration in Albania at www.integrimi.gov.al.

• Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works in Bulgaria at

  www.mrrb.government.bg.

• Directorate General for European Programmes, Coordination and Development in Cyprus at www.structuralfunds.org.cy/edafikisinergasia.

• Ministry of Local‐Self Government in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at http://mls.gov.mk.

1st Call for Project Proposals, Page 4 of 22

TNCP Balkan – Mediterranean 2014 – 2020

Priorities in the Balkan­Mediterranean Area

The BalkanMed Programme is divided into two Priority Axes. Within each Priority Axis, three specific objectives are defined.

 

Balkan‐Mediterranean Programme Priorities & Specific Objectives

 

PA1: Entrepreneurship & Innovation

PA2: Environment

 

SO 1.1:

Competitive territories: stimulating business performance and extroversion through transnational linkages, clusters and networks

SO 1.2:

Innovative territories: unleashing territorial potential to improve the transnational innovation capacity of the business sector

SO 1.3:

Territories of knowledge: entrepreneuri al learning and knowledge transfer for more competitive SMEs

SO 2.1:

Biodiversity:

promoting ecological connectivity and transnational ecosystems’ integration

SO 2.2:

Sustainable territories: fostering transnational cooperation for resource efficiency and climate change resilience

SO 2.3:

Delivery on environmenta l legal framework: improving transnational governance capacities

The present Call for Project Proposals is open to both BalkanMed Programme priorities and to all specific objectives. Project applicants are invited to submit their project application under one of the specific objectives of the Programme listed above. The project objectives and the proposed activities shall be clear and in‐line with the Programme priorities and both shall have an impact on the Balkan‐Mediterranean area.

Balkan­Mediterranean Programme Area

The TNCP “Balkan‐Mediterranean 2014‐2020” from the list of eligible regions and areas for the transnational strands of the European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) objective covers the following areas:

‐ ‐

The EU Member States

• -  Bulgaria: the entire country

• -  Cyprus: the entire country

• -  Greece: the entire country

  The IPA Partner States

  Albania: the entire country
  The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: the entire country

Specific Objective (SO)

TNCP Balkan – Mediterranean 2014 – 2020

Financing Activities located outside the programme area

The BalkanMed programme area covers three EU Member States and two IPA Partner States, as mentioned above. In principle, all activities of a project should take place within this programme area. If a project plans to finance activities or events outside the programme area, this is possible in the context of cooperation Programmes and in duly justified cases, provided that Article 20 of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 is respected and the total amount allocated to activities located outside the Programme area shall not exceed 20% of the support from the ERDF at programme level. The 20% threshold of ERDF at programme level will be brought down to the project level.

If activities (including travel and accommodation) and/ or events are planned outside the programme area, the following conditions need to be satisfied:

1. a)  the activity and/ or event are for the benefit of the Programme area;

2. b)  the activity and/ or event are essential for the implementation of the project;

3. c)  the implementation and/ or the relevance of the activity and/ or the event

   have been approved by the Programme beforehand.

   Partners located outside the programme area

The participation of partners located outside the Balkan‐Mediterranean area is possible only under the observer partner status. Observer partners are not eligible to receive EU funding.

Timing of the Call

The 1st Call for Project Proposals is published upon BalkanMed Monitoring Committee’s approval of this document. The Call will be open from 16 December 2015 to 15 April 2016.

Budget Available and Co­Financing Rate

The total budget available for the 1st Call for Proposals is 20.132.788,00 Euros (including national contribution) and it is allocated by Fund and indicatively per Priority Axis, as follows:

 

Breakdown of available budget per priority axis for the 1st Call for Proposals

2 - Environment

areas,
- sustainable cultural tourism approaches, including methods of labeling and branding,

Priority axis

contribution

financing Indicative Actions * rate

1 - Enterpreneurship & Innovation

- transnational collaborations like "triple helix" (business sector, public sector and research / academic centers) or "quad helix" (business sector, public sector, research / academic centers and civil society organizations)

Fund EU support

National contribution

Total Co-

ERDF 5.609.361 €

989.887 €

6.599.249 €

85% and non-technological solutions,
- «green» - 'blue' economic and social development, - application of new business models,

IPA 1.014.975 €

179.113 €

1.194.089 € 85%

- joint organization of training schemes for the promotion of entrepreneurial culture,
- tailor-made learning schemes for enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs, including, inter alia, studies and field visits,

ERDF 8.881.489 €

1.567.322 €

10.448.810 €

- integrated maritime and coastal planning for the 85% protection of marine and coastal heritage, including the identification and management of marine protected

IPA 1.607.044 €

283.596 €

1.890.640 € 85%

- jointly developed strategies / policies / programmes / models and tools on resource issues, energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste, recycling water and soil protection (and chemical pollution of the groundwater)

- clusters, incubators and business cooperation networks to improve transnational competitiveness,
- joint development and rapid transfer of technological

- benchmarking / rationalization and reorientation of tools or processes for promoting business, social, "green", "blue" and digital innovation.

- transnational entrepreneurial mentoring networks / training programs towards growth and employment.
- joint action plans and strategies to promote sustainable management of protected areas (cultural and environmental), including Natura 2000 sites,

 

Total
Total Grand Total

ERDF 14.490.850 € IPA 2.622.020 € 17.112.870 €

2.557.209 € 462.709 € 3.019.918 €

17.048.059 € 3.084.729 € 20.132.788 €

* Please note that these actions are only indicative. Further analysis is provided in the Cooperation Programme, as approved by the European Commission.

The EU co‐financing rate is 85%.

1st Call for Project Proposals, Page 8 of 22

- application of environmentally friendly technologies and pilot actions, related to prevention of climate related risks and to climate change adaptation,
- pilot and demonstration projects reducing energy use, decoupling economic growth from resource consumption and repositioning business against friendly investment environment.

- joint training programmes for public authorities, the managers of protected areas and NGOs to exchange mutual learning anchored to environmental legislation enforcement,

- training and technical/scientific skills’ development of public administrators dealing with EU environmental targets’ monitoring and peer review management in order to increase compliance with EU environmental legislation and overall requirements.

Project Size

For a project to be effective and efficient, result‐oriented and of benefit for all participating countries, call‐specific eligibility criteria shall be respected, as regards limitations set to (1) the EU contribution, 2) the financial balance between partners, (3) financial balance between participating countries.

Project budget requirements (incl. EU & National Funds)

Partners budget requirements (incl. EU & National Funds) – Limitation on ERDF & IPA contribution

Threshold on the financial balance between partners

Additional requirements must be consolidated:

•  Preparation costs shall be calculated on a real costs basis up to 4% and not more than 20.000 euro of the total project budget. The preparation costs are eligible if they are incurred and paid between January 1st, 2014 and within two months after the date of last signature at the Subsidy Contract for the present Call for Project Proposals. Payments made after this date cannot be considered as preparation costs.

•  Staff costs shall be calculated at partner level on a real cost basis or on a flat rate basis (up to) 20% of direct costs other than the staff costs related to the project (Art. 19 of the ETC Regulation), where direct costs are the sum of Travel

1 ‐ Entrepreneurship & Innovation

2 ‐ Environment

minimum project budget: 500.000,00€ maximum project budget: 1.000.000,00€

minimum project budget: 500.000,00€ maximum project budget: 1.500.000,00€

ERDF partners

IPA partners

The budget of each ERDF partner is not lower than 100.000 euro to prove its active involvement in the project.

In case of IPA partners, the budget (1) is not lower than 50.000 euro and (2) is equal or superior to 5% of the total eligible budget of the project to prove its active involvement in the project.

per Partner

per Country

One partner must not concentrate more than 35% of the total eligible budget of the project.

Partners from a single country must not concentrate more than 50% of the total eligible budget of the project.

TNCP Balkan – Mediterranean 2014 – 2020

& Accommodation, External Expertise & Services, Equipment and Infrastructure & Works.
Staff costs for each project partner cannot exceed 40% of its total budget (having subtracted before the amount of staff costs and office and administration costs from the initial total budget), regardless of the calculation option selected.

•  Office & Administration costs shall be calculated at partner level on a real cost basis or on a flat rate basis (up to) 15% of direct staff costs (Art. 68(1)(b) of the Common Provisions Regulation).
  Office and Administration costs for each project partner cannot exceed 7% of its total budget (having subtracted before the amount of office & administration costs from the initial total budget), regardless of the calculation option selected.;

•  With regard to management costs, each project partner cannot exceed 10% of its total budget (having subtracted before the amount of management costs from the initial total budget); the management costs for the Lead Partner shall be limited to 15% of its total budget. For the above limits, costs related to (1) WP1 ‐ Deliverable 1.x.1 – Cost item xxx for the preparation activities’ and (2) WP1 ‐ Deliverable x.x.x – Cost item: Audits for the verification of expenditure – external auditors (First Level Control) are not considered.

•  First Level Controllers costs shall be according to specific national regulations and limitations applicable in each country;

  Eligibility of Expenditure

  As a general rule, at Programme level expenditure shall be eligible if it has been actually paid between 01 January 2014 and 31 December 2023, for projects or part of projects implemented.

  However, within IPA Countries, the signature of the Financing Agreement for projects or part of operations implemented and incurred is an additional prerequisite for reimbursement.

  The final date of eligibility of expenditure under no circumstances may exceed the 31st December 2023 (the N+3 deadline for the final funds committed on 31 December 2020).

  Eligible expenditures can be distinguished between preparation costs, implementation costs and project closure costs.

  The travel and accommodation costs for observer partners are eligible as long as they are paid by the partner(s) organizations listed in the Application Form. They need to be budgeted and reported under external expertise.

  Detailed eligibility rules on activities and related expenditure are described in the Project Implementation Manual.

 

TNCP Balkan – Mediterranean 2014 – 2020

Project Duration

Projects should be concluded within a maximum period of twenty four (24) months after the signing of the Subsidy Contract (SC) between the Managing Authority and the Lead Partner. Projects that have started their implementation before the signing of the contract, and in any case after 1/1/2014, should not have been concluded before the application for funding at the 1st Call for Project Proposals.

This limit applies for the operative phase of the project and does not include the preparation phase.

Eligible Partnerships

The partnership

Projects selected shall involve beneficiaries from at least three (3) participating countries, at least one (1) of which shall be from an EU Member State. An operation may be implemented in a single country, provided that transnational impacts and benefits are identified.

The partnership scheme must consist of at least three (3) partners and not to exceed a maximum of eight (8) partners, including the Lead Partner. All partners must have clear roles in the development and implementation of operations. In case of observer partners, please note that their participation shall be declared in the Application Form, although they are not considered part of the partnership scheme, their relevance and involvement should be clearly defined. At each project, the participation of partners under the observer partner status is limited to two organizations. Observer partners shall follow the general criteria for eligibility of partners.

There is a limitation in the number of Project Proposals that each partner can participate as Lead Partner, which is set to a maximum of two (2) project proposals; in case of universities and research centers the above‐mentioned limitation is considered per department. Non‐compliance with this limitation shall result to the rejection of all project proposals submitted by the same Lead Partner.

All partners shall co‐operate in:

a) Joint development
b) Joint implementation

In addition, they shall cooperate in at least one of the following ways: c) Joint staffing

d) Joint financing

NB: The partnership scheme cannot be consisted solely of non‐profit bodies governed by private law.

1st Call for Project Proposals,

 

TNCP Balkan – Mediterranean 2014 – 2020

The Lead Partner

All projects shall be developed and managed according to the Lead Partner Principle. The Lead Partner or Lead Beneficiary (hereinafter LP) located in one of the Balkan‐ Mediterranean Partner States will be designated by all the beneficiaries participating in a project to carry out the tasks laid down in Article 13 of the ETC Regulation. In particular, the LP shall assume responsibility for ensuring implementation of the entire operation (including the arrangements for recovering amounts unduly paid); furthermore for ensuring that the expenditure presented by other beneficiaries has been incurred and corresponds to the activities agreed between all the beneficiaries, that it has been verified by a controller, and that the other beneficiaries receive the total amount of the contribution from the funds.

The Project Partner

The Project Partner or Final Beneficiary (hereinafter PP) is an entity that, in addition to the Lead Partner, commit itself to implement a project awarded by the BalkanMed Monitoring Committee and sign a Partnership Agreement.

All partners participate in designing and implementing the project by carrying out the activities assigned to them in the approved Application Form. The expenses generated are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the Lead Partner. They must, therefore, satisfy the same eligibility criteria as the ones applicable for the Lead Partner.

The Observer Partner

An Observer Partner (hereinafter OP) is any actor invited by the partnership to take part in the project in an observant role or with advisory capacity.

Furthermore,

• Partners located outside the Balkan‐Mediterranean area; and/ or

• Partners from IPA Partner States (in case BMP is run out of IPA financial resources)

  can participate in a project only under the observer partner status as follows:

  Even though observer partners are not considered part of the partnership scheme, their participation is declared in the Application Form, where their relevance and involvement are clearly defined. The observer partner has to sign an observer declaration. The general criteria for eligibility of partners apply to the observer partners as well.

  Observer partners are not eligible to receive EU funding. The travel and accommodation costs for observer partners are eligible as long as they are paid by the partner(s) organisations listed in the Application Form. They need to be budgeted and reported under external expertise. In case the observer partner covers any

 

TNCP Balkan – Mediterranean 2014 – 2020

expenditures on his own, this expenditure should not be included in the project budget.

Eligibility of Partners

In line with Article 2(10) of the CPR, beneficiaries are responsible for initiating and/or implementing projects. They can be public or private legal entities or international organisations acting under the national law of any BalkanMed Partner State; and shall cooperate in accordance with Article 12(4) of the ETC Regulation.

As a general principle, eligible applicants of the BalkanMed Programme shall be located (registered) in the Programme area (i.e. the whole territory of the Programme). The participation of partners located outside the Programme area (within the EU or in third countries) is also possible only under the observer partner status.

Types of eligible partners from BalkanMed Partner States using EU Funding

According to Article 2(10) of the CPR, a wide range of actors such as public authorities, public equivalent bodies and any legal body governed by public or private law can be beneficiaries of EU funding (ERDF & IPA) and therefore are able to participate in the BalkanMed Programme as partners and receive direct financial support (EU funding).

The following types of partners are eligible under the Balkan Med Programme:

1. Public bodies (national, regional or local public authorities)
   Public bodies are organizations which are founded and governed by public law. Their main purpose is to fulfill the needs of the public.

2. Bodies governed by public law

   The definition of a body governed by public law is the following according to Article 1 of Directive 2014/24 /EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts and in compliance with the national legislation of each participating country:

   A "body governed by public law" means any body:
   (a) established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character;
   (b) having legal personality; and
   (c) financed, for the most part, by the state, regional or local authorities, or other bodies governed by public law; or subject to management supervision by those bodies; or having an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the state, regional or local authorities, or by other bodies governed by public law.
   Non‐exhaustive lists of bodies and categories of bodies governed by public law are set out in Annex III of the above mentioned Directive.

 

TNCP Balkan – Mediterranean 2014 – 2020

c. Non‐profit Bodies governed by private law

In the context of the Balkan Med Programme, ‘bodies governed by private law’ are all organizations which are founded by private law such as chambers of commerce, trade unions or non‐governmental organisations. They may receive ERDF funding if they fulfill the following criteria:

• -  they are established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character;

• -  they have legal personality;

• -  they make available the results of the project to the general public;

• -  they apply the principles of public procurement.

  Bodies governed by public law (under category b. above) and non‐profit bodies governed by private law (under category c. above) must be operational for at least 24 months to apply as Lead Partners or at least 12 months to apply as Project Partners before the launching of the 1st Call for Proposals.

  It should be noted that private entities not falling under the above categories b. and c. are not eligible.

  Please note that it may vary from country to country as to whether a certain type of organisation falls under public or private law.

  International organisations acting under international law are not eligible. However, international organisations acting under the national law of any BalkanMed Partner State can be considered as eligible if they fulfill the criteria foreseen for the non‐profit bodies governed by private law.

  Each project partner is responsible for its own budget, based on activity plan and division of tasks. In order to be considered for funding and generate ERDF funding, the partner must provide the needed co‐financing for its part. Co‐financing cannot be covered by funding from other projects. The Programme accepts both public and private funds as co‐financing.

  Whether co‐financing is reported as public or private co‐financing depends on the type of organization and on the respective national laws of a country:

NB: The participation of profit‐making private entities and political parties is not eligible.

Type of organization

Funding counted as

Co‐financing rate

Public bodies

Public

85%

Bodies governed by public law

Public

85%

Non‐profit Bodies governed by private law

Public or Private

85%

International organisations

Public or Private

85%

 

 

Guidelines for the Submission of Applications

The Application Package

All Applicants must refer to the Application Package and to all relevant documents for the 1st Call for Project Proposals. Project Proposals should be submitted according to the guidelines below.

The original Application Package is provided only in electronic format on the website of the BalkanMed Managing Authority and Responsible Authorities in the Partner States may provide relevant links. For all documents, a standard form is made available.

The Application Form presents in detail the objectives of the project, the anticipated budget, the type of activities, their location and the cooperation area covered as well as the planned outputs and results and the structure of the partnership. A detailed budget has to be approved as well.

Further to this, Lead Applicants (on behalf of the partnership) will have to submit the following documents:

The ‘Application Form’ (standard excel form provided), officially signed and stamped by the legal representative of the Lead Partner, in original version (not copy or digital). In case the Application Form and the declarations are not signed by the legal representatives of the Lead Partner, an authorization document from the legal representatives of LP is required – original or notary certified copy.

Documents attached to the Application Form (ERDF, IPA‐II, CP documents):

The ‘Partnership Declaration’ (standard form provided), officially signed and stamped by the legal representatives of the participating partners;

The ‘Observer Declaration per partner’ (standard form provided), officially signed and stamped by the legal representatives of the observer partner (where applicable);

The ‘Co‐financing – Non Double Financing Statement per partner’ (standard

form provided), officially signed and stamped by the legal representative of each partner separately;

The ‘Declaration of non generating Revenues’ (standard form provided),

completed, officially signed and stamped by the legal representative of the Lead Partner. In case a project generates revenue, the Managing Authority shall be notified in due time and a cost ‐ benefit analysis 1 shall be prepared and submitted to the MA and a decreased co‐financing rate will be applied to the project;

1 * (using the “Guide to cost-benefit analysis of investment projects Published by DG Regional Policy in 2008” available at: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docoffic/working/sf2000_en.htm)

 

The ‘Specification of Budget Form’ (standard excel form provided), completed,

officially signed and stamped by the legal representative of the Lead Partner;

The ‘Maturity Sheet per partner’ (for services, equipment and small‐scale investment per partner) completed, officially signed and stamped by the legal representative of each partner separately;

In the case of small‐scale investment activities the relevant accompanying documents must be included [e.g. licenses, permits, any other required approvals (e.g. feasibility study), technical documentation (if needed), a document certifying the land/building ownership or documentation of transferring the operation rights for the period of five (5) years after the end of the project, environmental impact assessments etc., if applicable] proving the maturity of the proposed project. The MA/JS may also request additional documentation for clarification.

Due to the transnational character of the BalkanMed Programme, the budgetary limits and the small‐scale investment options provided, adequate maturity is required, in order the project to be viable and effective.

The ‘Documentation for the eligibility of Project Partners’:

• Bodies governed by public law (of article 6.b above) official documents providing evidence that the requirements of article 6.b of the present Call are met. In case that the nature of a public body is not clearly delivered from the submitted documents, the MA/ JS may request additional documentation for clarification.

• Non profit Bodies governed by private law (of article 6.c above):

• -  Statutes including all modifications;

• -  Official document indicating the composition of the administrative/managerial

  or supervisory board (if applicable);

• -  Official document indicating the supervision by national, regional or local

  authorities, or other bodies governed by public law (if applicable);

• -  Official document indicating the sources of the body’s revenues, during the last two years for LPs and one year for PPs preceding the presentation of the

  project proposal (if applicable);

• -  Official Document providing proof for the non distribution of profits or

  declaration for the non distribution of profits if the first is not applicable;

• -  Any official document certified by a public administration authority, providing that the organisation operates for at least two years for LPs and one year for

  PPs before the launch of the specific call for proposals (if applicable);
  In case that the nature of a non profit private body is not clearly delivered from the submitted documents, the MA/ JS may request additional documentation for clarification.

  According to the ‘Practical Guide to Contract Procedures for EC External Actions

  (PRAG)’, the ‘Documentation for IPA Project Partner’ officially stamped and signed:
  a) The ‘Legal Entity Form – for IPA Public, Private, Governed by Public Law’

  (standard form provided) for IPA Project Partners (including LP);

b) The ‘Financial Identification Form’ (standard form provided) for IPA Lead Partners only;

IPA partners shall refer to the ‘Practical Guide to Contract Procedures for EC External Actions (PRAG)’ for further guidance on filling in the documents under point 7a, b above.

Particularly IPA partners should take into account the following:

• -  The Legal Entity Form must be duly completed and signed by the IPA partner, accompanied by the justifying documents which are requested therein.

• -  A Financial Identification Form conforming to the model included in the application package, certified by the bank to which the payments will be made. This bank must be located in IPA Partner State.

The templates of the respective forms are also available on:

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/?header_description=DEVCO+Prag+to+financial+ and+contractual+procedures+applicable+to+external+actions+financed+from+the+gen eral+budget+of+the+EU+and+from+the+11th+EDF&header_keywords=ePrag%2C+eur opa

Two (2) ‘CD/DVD‐ROMs’ must also be submitted including the electronic version

of the Project Proposal; in the event of differences, the paper version is the binding one:

• -  the ‘Application Form’ in the required excel format;

• -  the ‘Specification of Budget Form’ in the required excel format;

• -  all documents referred to under points 1‐7, in electronic version (scanned

  version in case of documents signed and stamped or pdf).

Submission Modalities

One (1) original paper version officially stamped and signed and one (1) paper copy have to be sent to the MA/ JS following the indication of Guidelines for the Submission of the Application.

The non‐submission of the above requested documentation (points 1‐7), where applicable, in one (1) original paper version officially stamped and signed and one (1) paper copy, and two (2) CD/DVD ROMs (point 8) including the ‘Application Form’ and the ‘Specification of Budget’ in the MS Excel format required, shall result to the project proposal rejection.

In the exception of the provision above, the Application Documents 1a, 1b, 2, and 3 shall also be accepted in a scanned version. In this case the originals can be submitted upon request at a later stage.

Regarding the “Partnership Declaration” (AD2), the MA/JS shall accept the signature of each partner in a separate page.

Any inconsistency (e.g. wrong name of partners, wrong project title or budget, wrong name of undersigning person if not entitled to sign) among the information provided in the documents under points 1 and 2‐4 will lead to the project proposal rejection (deviations of decimals – amounts lower than 1€ in budget reference can be accepted).

The Application Package is compiled in English language.

The supporting documents for (a) the eligibility of Project Partners and (b) the maturity of project activities shall be submitted in the national language (if not available in English language) and their accuracy will be checked by the National Coordination Points (NCPs). They have to be submitted both in hard copy and electronic version.

There is a limitation in the number of Project Proposals that each partner can participate as Lead Partner, which is set to a maximum of two (2) project proposals; in case of universities and research centers the above‐mentioned limitation is considered per department. Non‐compliance with this limitation shall result to the rejection of all project proposals submitted by the same Lead Partner.

Each Project Proposal must be submitted in a single envelope/ package and must bear the following indications:

1st Call for Project Proposals
of the TNCP ‘Balkan – Mediterranean 2014 – 2020’ Priority Axis: .....
Specific Objective: .....
Project Acronym: .....
Lead Partner/ name/ address: .....
Envelope shall not be opened before the evaluation session.

ATTENTION: The envelope with the application documents must bear the above indication in English. Project Proposals without the above indication on the envelope will be automatically rejected.

The Project Proposal must be submitted to the BalkanMed Managing Authority/ Joint Secretariat by post or by private courier service or by hand‐delivery at the following address:

To be recognized as submitted within the fixed deadline, a Project Proposal must be submitted until 15, April 2016, at 16:00 local time at the latest.

Submission must be within the submission deadline ‐ date of the postmark on the official envelope as proof, determining if the deadline of the Call for Proposals has been respected ‐; any other document will not be accepted. This same date must be

Managing Authority
of the TNCP ‘Balkan‐Mediterranean 2014‐2020’
65, Leoforos Georgikis Scholis, Pilea, GR‐57001, Thessaloniki, Greece

visible on the official envelope sent. In any case, a Project Proposal is admissible not later than ten (10) calendar dates from the submission deadline, which is 15, April 2016.

A dated certificate of receipt with the register number of the MA/ JS will be handed to the deliverer, as proof of timely submission. Project Proposals delivered after this date will not be considered as eligible.

Supplementary documents can be accepted only if they are submitted within the deadline as described above in a single envelope/ package and must bear the following indications:

1st Call for Project Proposals
of the TNCP ‘Balkan – Mediterranean 2014 – 2020’ SUPPLEMENTARY DOCUMENTS
Priority Axis: .....
Specific Objective: .....
Project Acronym: .....
Lead Partner/ name/ address: .....
Envelope shall not be opened before the evaluation session.

Selection Process

The project applications will go through a one step selection procedure based on the Project Proposal and on the project selection criteria.

The aim of the selection process is to select projects which contribute most to the achievements of programme objectives. It begins with the received project applications and finishes with the selection of the projects. There are three phases within the selection process:

1. a)  administrative check,

2. b)  eligibility check,

3. c)  quality assessment;

all to be followed by a ranking procedure.

The final decision on the projects to be funded will be taken by the Monitoring Committee of the BalkanMed Programme. Contracting of the selected projects will follow.

Administrative and eligibility criteria of projects

To be eligible, the projects of the BalkanMed Programme must necessarily fit the administrative and eligibility criteria provided by the official eligibility chart of the BalkanMed Programme in the framework of each Call for Project Proposals within the

Application Package.

Further details on the selection procedure and the assessment criteria are provided in the Project Selection Criteria.

Additional Information on the Submission of Applications

To obtain additional information on the project application procedure, please contact:

Ministry of Economy, Development & Tourism
Managing Authority of European Territorial Cooperation Programmes Address: 65, Leoforos Georgikis Scholis, Pilea, GR‐57001, Thessaloniki, Greece Ms Nikoletta Tatari, Mr Themistoklis Chatzikonstantinou
Tel: +30 2310 469600 ‐ Fax: +30 2310 469602
Email: interreg@mou.gr
Website: http://www.interreg.gr

Ministry of European Integration

Address: Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit, Sheshi Nënë Tereza 1010, Tirana, Albania

Ms Ana Xhilaga, Mr Gentian Xhaxhiu

Tel: +355 (0)4 228623 ext. 455 ‐ Fax: +355 (0)4 256267
Email: ana.xhilaga@integrimi.gov.al; gentian.xhaxhiu@integrimi.gov.al Website: www.integrimi.gov.al

Ministry of Regional Development & Public Works, Directorate General ‘Territorial Cooperation Management’

Address: 17‐19 Kiril i Metodi str., 1202, Sofia, Bulgaria

Mr Marius Mladenov

Tel: +359 2 9405 697 ‐ Fax: +359 2 9405 594
Email: mmladenov@mrrb.government.bg, mobretenov@mrrb.government.bg Website: www.mrrb.government.bg

Directorate General for European Programmes, Coordination and Development

Address: 29 Byron Avenue, 1096 Nicosia, Cyprus
Ms Litsa Kastanou, Ms Evita Michaelides
Tel:+357 22602890,+357 22602860‐ Fax:+357 22666810
Email: lkastanou@dgepcd.gov.cy, emichaelides@dgepcd.gov.cy Website: www.structuralfunds.org.cy/edafikisinergasia

Ministry of Local Self ‐Government

Address: Ss Cyril and Methodius 54, Skopje, 1000, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Ms. Mjellma Mehmeti Petersen

Tel: +389 23253932 – Fax: +389 23253930 Email: mjellma.mehmeti@mls.gov.mk Website: http://mls.gov.mk

A comprehensive description of the programme’s strategy and priorities, together with a socio‐economic analysis of the BalkanMed Programme area are included in the Balkan‐Mediterranean Cooperation Programme.

Information Sessions regarding the 1st Call for Project Proposals shall take place in all five (5) participating countries. The date and time of these events will be announced at the websites of the BalkanMed Managing Authority and of the Responsible Authorities in the Partner States (see at § Main Reference Documents).

Potential applicants may pose questions in written to the Managing Authority, no later than twenty (20) days before the deadline for the submission of proposals. The answers shall be published at the official website of the BalkanMed Programme. Answers shall be published no later than ten (10) days before the deadline for the submission of Project Proposals.

Potential applicants are invited to regularly consult the official websites of the BalkanMed Programme.

MINISTRY OF ECONOMY, DEVELOPMENT & TOURISM Special Secretary for ERDF & CF funded Sectoral OPs

Eugenia Fotoniata

1. The

1. The ‘Application Form’ and its Guide;

2. AD1a‐ The ‘Partnership Declaration’;

3. AD1b‐ The ‘Observer Declaration per partner;

4. AD2‐ The ‘Co‐financing – Non Double Financing Statement per partner’;

5. AD3‐ The ‘Declaration of non generating Revenues’,

6. AD4‐ The ‘Specification of Budget Form’ and its Guide;

7. AD5‐ The ‘Maturity Sheet per partner’ (for equipment, small‐scale infrastructure and services

   per partner);

8. AD7‐ The ‘Documentation for IPA Partner’ (according to PRAG Rules)

Annexes:

‘Application Package’ (all standard forms provided);

1. the ‘Project Selection Criteria’;

2. the ‘Project Implementation Manual’;

3. the ‘Programme Manual’

 

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