Directive 2004/18/EC
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s) I.2)Type of the contracting authorityEuropean institution/agency or international organisation
I.3)Main activityGeneral public services
I.4)Contract award on behalf of other contracting authoritiesThe contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: no
Section II: Object of the contract
II.1)Description
II.1.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:
'Your Europe Advice' — the European Union's free legal advice service.
II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performanceServices
Service category No 21: Legal services
Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance: The tasks are to be performed at the premises designated by the contractor. The service may be provided centrally, e.g. via a single central body. It may also be provided on a decentralised basis, e.g. via a contractor with a network of relays, for example at national and regional level. Other operational structures are also possible.
Where the need arises, 1 or more experts should be available for travel within each Member State of the European Union to participate in outreach activities.
NUTS code
II.1.3)Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)The notice involves a public contract
II.1.4)Information on framework agreement
II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase(s)
The European Commission is seeking to obtain services relating to the provision of the 'Your Europe Advice' service, which offers personalised advice to citizens and businesses on their rights based on EU legislation, especially regarding (but not limited to) the internal market. The EU's 'Your Europe' Web portal aims to provide detailed information on the rights available to citizens and businesses in the framework of the internal market. This information is complemented by the advice provided by the 'Your Europe Advice' service (hereafter 'the service'). If citizens are still unable to exercise their rights with the help of 'Your Europe Advice', they are signposted to problem solving services such as Solvit.
The contractor will be asked to provide practical information on the exercise of rights based on EU legislation in specific circumstances outlined by the enquirers in their enquiries and will advise and signpost on the next steps to be taken to overcome problems they may encounter in the exercise of those rights. The contractor will also reply to enquiries forwarded to the service on behalf of citizens by related services provided at EU and national levels, in particular European advice services and networks. By providing information on and analysis of the enquiries received by way of feedback reports, the contractor will also assist the European Commission in identifying issues which may need to be addressed to improve the functioning of the internal market.
The contractor will be able to use the existing IT application developed and managed by the Commission to manage the incoming queries and their subsequent handling.
II.1.6)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)79111000 Legal advisory services
II.1.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): yes
II.1.8)LotsThis contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.9)Information about variantsVariants will be accepted: no
II.2)Quantity or scope of the contract
II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:
The estimated maximum annual amount for the execution of all the tasks referred to in this call for tenders is, for the first contractual year, 1 850 000 EUR including all charges and expenses. This amount may be higher in the subsequent contractual years depending on the number of eligible questions. This amount includes:
(i) an annual fixed sum covering all administrative and management activities including all possible costs for start-up activities in order to make the service operational as of 1.7.2015, as well as any other operating activities except replying to enquiries;
(ii) remuneration for replying to all eligible enquiries per year; and
(iii) remuneration for any other activities foreseen in the contract (where specific remuneration is foreseen). No contract offer above this amount will be considered.
The contract can be renewed a maximum of 4 times, each time for a period of 12 months of effective running.
Estimated value excluding VAT: 1 850 000 EUR
II.2.2)Information about optionsOptions: no
II.2.3)Information about renewalsThis contract is subject to renewal: yes
Number of possible renewals: 4
In the case of renewable supplies or service contracts, estimated timeframe for subsequent contracts:
in months: 12 (from the award of the contract)
II.3)Duration of the contract or time limit for completionDuration in months: 12 (from the award of the contract)
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1)Conditions relating to the contract
III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:
The Commission may request tenderers to provide a guarantee or a performance guarantee under the conditions provided in the tender specification.
III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
Specified in the tender documents.
III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
Not applicable.
III.1.4)Other particular conditionsThe performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions: no
III.2)Conditions for participation
III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registersInformation and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Tenderers will fill in the form provided in the tender specifications and provide the documents requested in it.
III.2.2)Economic and financial abilityInformation and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: See the tender specifications.
III.2.3)Technical capacityInformation and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met:
See the tender specifications.
III.2.4)Information about reserved contracts
III.3)Conditions specific to services contracts
III.3.1)Information about a particular professionExecution of the service is reserved to a particular profession: no
III.3.2)Staff responsible for the execution of the serviceLegal persons should indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff responsible for the execution of the service: yes
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1)Type of procedure
IV.1.1)Type of procedureOpen
IV.1.2)Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate
IV.1.3)Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue
IV.2)Award criteria
IV.2.1)Award criteriaThe most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated below
1. Understanding of requirements and overall quality of the services proposed. Weighting 10
2. The quality of the technical and methodological approach proposed. Weighting 40
3. The organisation and manner in which the work will be carried out and the adequate allocation of time and resources. Weighting 50
IV.2.2)Information about electronic auctionAn electronic auction will be used: no
IV.3)Administrative information
IV.3.1)File reference number attributed by the contracting authority:
MARKT/2014/068/B.
IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive documentTime limit for receipt of requests for documents or for accessing documents: 20.11.2014
Payable documents: no
IV.3.4)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate20.11.2014
IV.3.5)Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
IV.3.6)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn upAny EU official language
IV.3.7)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tenderDuration in months: 9 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)
IV.3.8)Conditions for opening of tendersDate: 2.12.2014 - 14:00
Place:
European Commission, DG MARKT, rue de Spa 2, Meeting Room 01/A030, 1000 Brussels, BELGIUM.
Persons authorised to be present at the opening of tenders: yes
Additional information about authorised persons and opening procedure: The service provider or any person authorised by him/her may be present at the opening of tenders.
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1)Information about recurrenceThis is a recurrent procurement: no
VI.2)Information about European Union fundsThe contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no
VI.3)Additional information
VI.4)Procedures for appeal
VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal proceduresOfficial name: General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union
Postal address: rue du Fort Niedergrünewald
Town: Luxembourg
Postal code: 2925
Country: Luxembourg
E-mail: generalcourt.registry@curia.europa.eu
Telephone: +352 4303-1
Fax: +352 4303-2100
Internet address: http://curia.europa.eu
VI.4.2)Lodging of appealsPrecise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: Within 2 months of the notification of the plaintiff or, in the absence thereof, of the day on which it came to the knowledge. A complaint to the European Ombudsman does not have as an effect either to suspend this period or to open a new period for lodging appeals.
VI.4.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained
VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice:17.9.2014