tenders and grants

partnership

On 13 June 2002 the Council of the EU adopted a Decision, hereinafter referred as the ARGO Decision, establishing an action programme for administrative cooperation in the fields of external borders, visas, asylum and immigration. This action programme covers the period 2002 to 2006. The 2003 budget is EUR 8 000 000.

1. AIMS OF THE ACTION PROGRAMME
The main aim of the ARGO action programme is to promote administrative cooperation between national services responsible for implementing Community rules in the areas of Articles 62 and 63 of the EC Treaty. The general objectives as laid down in Article 3 of the ARGO decision are the following:
- to promote cooperation between national agencies in implementing Community rules with special attention to the pooling of resources and coordinated and homogeneous practices,
- to promote uniform application of Community law in order to harmonise decisions taken by the national agencies of Member States, thereby avoiding malfunctioning likely to prejudice the progressive establishment of an area of freedom, security and justice,
- to improve the overall efficiency of national agencies in the carrying-out of their tasks when implementing Community rules,
- to ensure that proper account is taken of the Community dimension in the organisation of national agencies contributing to the implementation of Community rules,
- to encourage transparency of actions taken by national agencies by strengthening their relations with the relevant national and international governmental and non-governmental organisations.
This action programme should also lead to a reinforcement of the mutual understanding between the national services and the development of a shared working methodology that would facilitate the necessary bilateral contacts between them.

2. ACTIONS COVERED BY THIS PROGRAMME
Based on the responsible organisation and the way they are implemented, the actions foreseen by the ARGO programme are divided into three categories:
I. ACTIONS PROPOSED BY THE MEMBER STATES IN RESPONSE TO THE ANNUAL CALL FOR PROPOSALS
The ARGO action programme supports different activities in the areas of external borders, visas, asylum and immigration laid down in Articles 4 to 7 of the ARGO decision. The types of actions (see Article 8 of the ARGO Decision) are the following:
- training actions including, in particular, the elaboration of harmonised curricula and common core-training programmes to be organised by national agencies and complementary actions aimed at making national agencies receptive to the best working methods and techniques developed in other Member States,
- staff exchanges ensuring that seconded staff participate effectively in the work of the host national agencies,
- actions promoting, on one hand, the use of computerised handling of files and procedures, including use of the most up-to-date techniques for electronic data exchange and, on the other hand, the collection, analysis, distribution and exploitation of information making the fullest use of information technology, in particular, the establishment of information points and websites,
- evaluation of the impact of common rules and procedures based on Articles 62 and 63 of the Treaty,
- actions intended to promote the development of best practices with a view to improving working methods and equipment, simplifying procedures and shortening deadlines,
- operational activities which might include setting up of common operative centres and of teams composed of staff drawn from two or more Member States,
- studies, research, conferences and seminars involving staff of the Member States and the Commission and, where appropriate, staff of the relevant national and international governmental and non-governmental organisations,
- mechanisms for consulting and associating the relevant national and international governmental and non-governmental organisations,
- Member States' activities in third countries, in particular fact-finding missions in countries of origin and transit,
- the fight against document fraud.
The actions proposed shall be in line with at least one of the specific objectives and thematic priorities established for each year (see point 3).

II. SPECIFIC (URGENT) ACTIONS PROPOSED BY THE MEMBER STATES IN CONFORMITY WITH ARTICLE 9 OF THE ARGO DECISION
The objective of this type of action is to deal with urgent situations derived for instance from unexpected political events or crisis situations exposing national administrations to exceptional circumstances when implementing a common policy in the areas of visas, control of external borders, asylum and international protection and management of migration flows. The co-financing request will be triggered by a spontaneous application of one national agency when such a situation arises.
These specific actions are therefore not covered by the annual call for proposals. However, the eligibility criteria as well as the selection criteria laid down in the ARGO Decision, except for the selection criterion regarding conformity with the annual work programme, shall apply. In accordance with Article 12 of the same decision the ARGO Committee will be consulted.
EUR 800 000, corresponding to the annual budget for 2003, has been earmarked for this type of action. The amount not committed could be used for the benefit of the other actions proposed by the Member States and/or the Commission in accordance with the rules laid down in points I and III of this annual work programme.

III. ACTIONS PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION
The Commission proposes in the annual work programme certain actions that it intends to undertake in order to promote and facilitate administrative cooperation pursuing the general objectives aforementioned and supporting activities in the areas of this action programme (see Article 4, 5, 6 or 7 of the ARGO Decision). The Commission actions for 2003 are described under point 3.
Interested parties should not submit any tender, proposal or expression of interest of any kind in relation to these actions at this stage. If appropriate, the relevant call for tenders will be published in accordance with the procedures applicable thereto.
EUR 650 000, corresponding to the annual budget for 2003, has been earmarked for this type of action. The amount not committed could be used for the benefit of the other actions proposed by the Member States in accordance with the rules laid down in point I of this annual work programme.

3. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES, PRIORITIES AND COMMISSION ACTIONS FOR 2003 This chapter constitutes the core of the annual work programme indicating for each area (external borders, visas, asylum and immigration) the specific objectives and thematic priorities for the year 2003. The conformity with these objectives and priorities is one of the main selection criteria of the actions proposed in response to the annual call for proposals.
The specific objectives and priorities for 2003 reflect a continuity with the ones elaborated for 2002. Special attention from a financial point of view (see point 4 ‘budget’) is given to the area of external borders due to the great importance that not only the Council but also Parliament attaches to it. The latter requested the allocation of an additional amount of EUR 3 000 000 for Member States' activities to secure the external borders.
Involvement of candidate countries from 2003 until effective accession will be regarded as a ‘horizontal’ priority and is therefore encouraged in all areas of action of the ARGO programme. After concluding the accession negotiations with 10 candidate countries at the European Council in Copenhagen, the Accession Treaties will be signed in 2003, the national agencies of the future Member States should, as far as possible, be involved in the actions proposed.
The proposed Commission actions also reflect a certain continuity with 2002. Concrete steps will only be possible once the results of the visa information system study launched under the 2002 annual work programme are available and the Council has decided on the follow-up.
EXTERNAL BORDERS
Activities in the area of external borders covering in particular the Presidency Conclusions of the Seville Council and the plan for the management of the external borders of the Member States of the EU, including the development of a border management strategy and border management cooperation
Specific objectives and priorities
- Follow-up of the plan for the management of the external borders of the Member States of the EU, communication on border management, the feasibility study on a European border guard and of the police and border security workshop
- Implementation of a common risk analysis model
- Development of a harmonised curriculum and training for border guards
- Harmonisation of instructions given to the authorities responsible for checks and elaboration of a handbook for border guards (practical instructions and legislation)
- Strengthening cooperation between services responsible for the management of external borders including joint operations and common operative centres
- Activities addressed to the competent civil servants and judges (e.g. staff exchange, visits, conferences, etc)
- Pilot projects aiming at better management of land, sea and air external borders
- Further development of the ILO (immigration liaison officers) network
- Improvement of sea border controls and surveillance including the follow-up of the feasibility study on maritime border controls.
VISAS
Activities in the area of visa policy covering in particular the improvement of document security, the strengthening and development of common consular cooperation, the feasibility of a visa information system and the visa consultation network
Specific objectives and priorities
- Improvement of document security following the technological developments, in particular biometrics
- Strengthening of consular cooperation, e.g. mutual assistance in the training of staff for information exchange, elaborating best practices and management for dealing with a huge amount of visa applications
- Promoting harmonisation in the examination of visa applications, including common administrative structures and procedures
- Improvement of consultation procedures
- Activities addressed to the competent civil servants and judges (e.g. staff exchange, visits, conferences, etc)
- Examining the feasibility and specific details of a visa information system.
In this context the Commission will undertake the following actions:
- Study on specific technical and financial details of a visa information system including quality assurance and risks analysis
According to points 36 to 38 of the action plan on illegal immigration, adopted by the Council on 28 February 2002, and the guidelines for the introduction of a common system for an exchange of visa data, adopted by the Council on 13 and 14 June 2002, the Commission has launched a study on specific technical and financial aspects of a visa information system (VIS). The work on the study started in September 2002.
It will be the aim of the study to provide a range of possible solutions, that could meet the objectives of VIS and to assess the impact of each solution/concept in relation to these objectives with a translation into necessary financial and human resources. The results of the study can be expected for spring 2003.
After the final report of the study, it will be up to the Council to decide, which solution should be further developed. According to the conclusions of the Council, a follow-up study on specific technical and financial details of the chosen solution to be launched by the Commission has to be foreseen as well as measures for quality assurance and risks analysis. An indicative amount of EUR 450 000 has been reserved for this follow-up study.
- Study on the integration and use of biometric identifiers, methods and procedures in relation to visas and identity documents
In order to improve identification of persons and protection of visas and other official documents for border crossing against counterfeiting and falsification, the Commission has to consider at regular intervals, in line with technological developments, what changes should be made to the security features built into these documents, especially incorporation and use of new biometric features.
For this purpose, a study has to be foreseen to be launched by the Commission, which should provide feasible solutions linked to existing or future technologies focused on the abovementioned visas and identity documents. An indicative amount of EUR 200 000 has been reserved for this study.
ASYLUM
Activities in the area of asylum covering temporary protection, reception conditions for asylum applicants, determination of the Member State responsible for examining an asylum application, qualification for refugee and/or subsidiary protection status and asylum procedures
Specific objectives and priorities
- Management of cases of mass influx of displaced persons
- Running of accommodation centres, organisation of material reception conditions and reception granted to persons with special needs
- Assistance to actions designed to implement the Dublin II Regulation
- Assistance to actions designed to implement the refugee qualification Directive (including jurisprudence concerning the interpretation of the 1951 Refugee Convention and on the granting, cessation or exclusion from subsidiary protection status)
- Improving the quality of first instance asylum decisions (including gathering, sharing and disseminating of country of origin information and using such information for the assessment of the claim for asylum). It includes activities to enhance the knowledge on practices of the competent civil servants and judges
- Follow-up to the Commission working document on the relationship between safeguarding internal security and complying with international protection obligations and instruments (e.g. identification of individuals covered by the exclusions clauses who do not deserve international protection, procedural requirements needed if a person applies again for asylum after closure of the penal proceedings). Activities to enhance the knowledge on practices and Community legislation of the competent civil servants and judges
- Human resource strategies and psychological counselling of staff and caseworkers dealing with applications for asylum, in particular their exposure to stress and trauma. Activities to enhance the knowledge on best practices to deal with stress and trauma
- Follow-up to the studies on ‘processing abroad of asylum applications’ and ‘the single asylum procedure’ with a view to the second phase of the harmonisation process. For example, promoting cooperation between Member States with respect to processing abroad (e.g. by staff exchanges, visits, working conferences, etc). Activities to enhance the knowledge on national legislation and on practices of the competent civil servants and judges concerning a single procedure.
IMMIGRATION
Activities covering the admission and conditions of residence of third-country nationals, including the recruitment of labour migrants, monitoring of migration flows and actions to combat illegal migration and the return of illegal residents
Specific objectives and priorities
- implementation of relevant European legislative instruments adopted recently:
(a) Council Directive 2001/40/EC on the mutual recognition of decisions on expulsions of third-country nationals;
(b) Council Directive 2001/51/EC supplementing the provisions of Article 26 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 concerning carriers liability,
- Monitoring of the application of the Council Regulation extending the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 to nationals of third countries who are not already covered by these provisions solely on the ground of their nationality ( Regulation in process of adoption; applications for grants relating to this priority will be considered only if the regulation is adopted and only for activities undertaken after the regulation is formally adopted and published in the Official Journal. )
- Implementation of the action programme on illegal immigration adopted by the Council on 28 February 2002
- Implementation of the Return action programme adopted by the Council on 28 and 29 November 2002, in particular, measures aiming at the improvement of operational cooperation between Member States and the development of country specific return programmes
- Improving exchange of information on immigration policy and migration flows in particular their interactions with other policy areas notably economic and social policy, development and trade policy
- Improving exchange of information and best practice concerning the selection and recruitment of labour migrants in the Member States
- Cooperation on the development, exchange and regular updating of information concerning the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purpose of work or study in the EU Member States, including practical information designed for third-country nationals and made available to them both in the EU Member States and in countries of origin
- Activities addressed to the competent civil servants and judges (e.g. staff exchange, visits, conferences, etc).

4. BUDGET AND TIMETABLE FOR THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2003
The budget foreseen for the ARGO action programme for 2003 is EUR 8 million leaving technical and administrative assistance support expenditure apart.
An indicative distribution of the earmarked budget according to the areas of the programme and to the promoter of the actions is as follows:

Indicative timetable for the 2003 call for proposals:

5. GENERAL FINANCING RULES
5.1. Eligible applicants
Proposals must be submitted by national agencies meaning the administrative and judicial authorities of the Member States or other bodies delegated by those authorities to implement Community legislation founded on Articles 62 and 63 of the Treaty and on Article 66 of the Treaty in so far as it concerns cooperation between national agencies in the areas covered by the said Articles 62 and 63.
5.2. Eligible proposals
Proposals submitted by a national agency of one Member State must:
(a) involve:
- at least two other Member States, or
- another Member State and a candidate country, where the aim is to prepare for its accession, or
- another Member State and a third country, where this would be beneficial for the purpose of the action proposed;
(b) pursue one of the general objectives referred to in Article 3 of the ARGO Decision;
(c) implement one of the activities in the respective policy area referred to in Article 4, 5, 6 or 7 of the ARGO Decision and;
(d) be in line at least with one of the specific objectives and thematic priorities established for each year (see point 3).
5.3. Budgetary rules
A maximum of 60 % of expenditure directly chargeable to the implementation of an action and incurred during the period laid down in the agreement can be co-financed. In exceptional circumstances the level of co-financing could be raised to a maximum of 80 %. As far as the sequence of operations is concerned, it is important to note:
- owing to the payment procedures applied by the Commission, the pre-financing of actions will fall on the applicants,
- any action co-financed under the 2003 budget must have started and progressed before the end of 2003,
- actions have to be completed, at the latest, a year after the decision to grant the subsidy. Any possible request for extension must be submitted officially in writing.
Applications, which do not comprise a detailed forward budget, which makes it possible to appreciate the adequacy of expenditure in relation to the different contents of the action, will not be examined. A budget form is accessible on the Internet (see below).

6. HOW TO SUBMIT APPLICATIONS IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE ANNUAL CALL FOR PROPOSALS
6.1. Application form and supporting documents
Applications MUST be submitted with the application form and budget form, which are available on the Europa website: http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/funding/argo/funding_argo_en.htm
Applicants must carefully respect the application and budget format and follow the page order. Applicants must apply in one of the 11 official EU languages. When possible, English or French should be used.
The form must be completed in word-processing format; otherwise it will not be eligible.
You must return the ELECTRONIC VERSION of the completed forms on diskette plus two print-outs of the forms, the budget and the timetable, and one copy of each annex including the signed financial identification. The annexes must be clearly numbered and presented in the prescribed order. They must remain separate from the two copies of the form. The use of bound folders, ring binders, etc. is prohibited.
6.2. Where and how to send the applications
Applications must be received in a sealed envelope by registered mail, by express messenger or by hand delivery (a signed and dated certificate of receipt will be given to the deliverer) to the address indicated below:
Postal address
European Commission
DG Justice and Home Affairs
Unit A2 — Immigration and Asylum
Mr J-L. De Brouwer (LX-46, 6/54)
B-1049 Brussels.
Address for hand delivery
European Commission
DG Justice and Home Affairs
Unit A2 — Immigration and Asylum
Attention: Mr J-L. De Brouwer
Rue du Luxembourg/Luxemburgstraat 46
B-1050 Brussels.
Applications sent by any other means (e.g. by fax or by e-mail) or delivered at other addresses will be rejected.
The envelope must bear the reference number of the notice of publication for the call for proposals, the full name of the applicant, the address of the organisation, and the words ‘Not to be opened by the internal mail service’.
Applicants must verify that the application is complete.
6.3. Deadline The deadline for receipt of applications is:
- either by registered mail, posted not later than 30 september 2003 (postmark),
- either by delivery (in person or by an authorised representative or private courier service) not later than 30 september at 16:00 CET, in which case a receipt must be obtained as proof of submission, signed and dated by the official who took delivery.
Any application received after the deadline will be automatically rejected.
6.4. Further information
Questions may be sent by e-mail or by fax to the address listed below, indicating clearly the reference of the call for proposals
E-mail address: JAI-ARGO@cec.eu.int
Fax (32-2) 299 80 53
Regarding the outcome of the call for proposals, no further information will be given to applicants until the selection committee has reached a final and formal decision. The vade-mecum on grant management is available at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/funding/intro/funding_intro_en.htm
All applicants are assumed to have taken note of the rules in this vade-mecum.
6.5. Acknowledgement of receipt
Following the opening of proposals, the European Commission will send an acknowledgement of receipt to all applicants, indicating whether or not the application was received prior to the deadline and informing them of the reference number of their application.

7. SELECTION AND EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS
Proposals meeting the eligibility requirements set out in point 4 will be evaluated and selected against the following criteria:
(a) conformity with the annual work programme, the general objectives set out in Article 3 and the activities in the respective policy area set out in Article 4, 5, 6 or 7 of the ARGO Decision;
(b) the European dimension of the proposed action and/or scope for participation by the candidate countries;
(c) compatibility with the work undertaken or planned within the framework of the Community's political priorities in the areas covered by Articles 62 and 63 of the Treaty;
(d) complementarity to other past, present or future administrative cooperation actions;
(e) the ability of national agencies to implement the proposed action;
(f) the inherent quality of the proposed action in terms of its conception, organisation, presentation and expected results;
(g) amount of the support requested under the ARGO programme and proportionality with the expected results;
(h) impact of the expected results on the general objectives set out in Article 3 and on the activities in the respective policy area set out in Article 4, 5, 6 or 7 of the ARGO Decision.
Proposals will be ranked on the basis of points.
The maximum allocation of points for each of the abovementioned criteria is described below.