ACTION - Invitation to participate in the future EEPLIANT-4 concerted action + survey

Saatja: KeM Keskkonnaministeerium <[email protected]> Saadetud: 26.04.2023 16:24 Adressaat: KeA Info <[email protected]>; TTJA <[email protected]> Teema: FW: ACTION - Invitation to participate in the future EEPLIANT-4 concerted action + survey Tähtsus: Kõrgeim Manused: image001.png; Call Document for LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA.pdf; EEPLIANT4_Priority-Setting_v1.1.xlsx Tere Edastame projektis osalemise ettepaneku, kuna on sisuliselt seotud Keskkonnaameti ja Tarbijakaitse ja Tehnilise Järelevalve Ameti vastutusvaldkonnaga. LIFE programmi projektide osas saab Keskkonnaministeerium nõustada. Lugupidamisega Keskkonnaministeerium Üldosakond Paldiski mnt 96, 13522 Tallinn, Eesti [email protected] www.envir.ee From: Kyriakos Papazoglou <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2023 8:48 PM To: Prosafe EEPLIANT3 <[email protected]>; Ioana Sandu <[email protected]> Cc: SIVITOS Stamatis <[email protected]>; PIERS DE RAVESCHOOT Ronald <Ronald.PIERS- [email protected]>; [email protected] Subject: ACTION - Invitation to participate in the future EEPLIANT-4 concerted action + survey Importance: High Dear colleagues, PROSAFE has been invited by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) to coordinate, prepare and submit a proposal under the Programme for Environment and Climate Action (LIFE) and in response to the Call for Proposals “LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA” (attached) for a Concerted Action to support national Market Surveillance Authorities in enforcing EU product energy efficiency legislation, as a renewal of the current EEPLIANT3 Concerted Action. This email is sent to you as your organisation is listed in the LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA Call document referenced above. Consequently, your organisation is eligible to participate in the new Concerted Action, the EEPLIANT-4. We write to you in our capacity as the Project Coordinator of this Action, if successful. According to the Call, this new Action aims to strengthen the enforcement of the Ecodesign Directive, the Energy Labelling Regulation, and the Regulation on Labelling of Tyres, by supporting the coordination, monitoring, verification, and enforcement activities in particular for those products that represent the highest energy saving potential or those that represent new challenges. Similar to all the Actions of the EEPLIANT Trilogy, the proposed project activities will be led by MSAs and should cover both product-specific and horizontal activities, while building on the activities and results of previous actions. To identify the most important and impactful product-specific and horizontal activities to be included in the EEPLIANT-4 work programme, PROSAFE is launching a priority-setting survey. This survey is based on a preparatory needs analysis and pre-screening exercise conducted by PROSAFE in order to shortlist the products and sub-products that demonstrate a positive prioritisation potential according to a set of evaluation criteria and conditions (see the EXCEL attached). If your organisation is interested in taking part in one or more of the future product-specific and/or horizontal activities of EEPLIANT-4, please complete the survey here: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/EEPLIANT-4_Priority_Setting Completing the survey will take no more than 20-35 minutes, including the time for consulting the preparatory needs analysis (attached but also enclosed in the survey). Due to the tight submission timeframe, the deadline for responses to this survey is 28 April 2023. The duration of the future EEPLIANT-4 Concerted Action is expected to be 5 years, with an anticipated start date in December 2023 or January 2024 (TBD). The funding rate is 95%, which implies that interested partners will have to cover part of the costs — information on administrative aspects and the financial set-up of the action will follow for the authorities which will express interest. The deadline for the submission of our proposal is 25 May 2023. If your organisation is interested to join EEPLIANT-4 and, therefore, complete the survey, the responses you will provide and your commitment to participate will be considered binding at this stage. For this reason, it is important that the prioritisation choices you will be selecting via the survey represent topics your authority would commit to engage in as opposed to mere desiderate. To participate in EEPLIANT-4, your organisation needs to have a registered EU Participant Identification Code (PIC) – more info here: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding- tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/how-to-participate/participant-register. Before starting filling in the survey, please inform yourself over the availability of your organisation’s PIC and if not available please note that obtaining one is a rather simple process. We thank you in advance. Do not hesitate to contact Kyriakos Papazoglou, Programme Manager, at [email protected] should you need further information. Lastly, kindly share this email with your MSA network. Best regards, Ioana Sandu, Executive Director Kiri on saadetud väljastpoolt valitsemisala. Ärge avage kirjaga kaasa tulnud linke või manuseid enne, kui olete saatja õigsuses ja sisu turvalisuses kindel. Programme for the Environment and Climate Action (LIFE) Invitation to submit a proposal Concerted Action to support national Market Surveillance Authorities in enforcing EU product energy efficiency legislation (LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA) Version 1.0 29 September 2021  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA HISTORY OF CHANGES Publication Version Change Page Date 1.0 29.09.2021  Initial version (new MFF).    2  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA EUROPEAN CLIMATE, INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENVIRONMENT EXECUTIVE AGENCY (CINEA) CINEA.D – Natural Resources, Climate, Sustainable Blue Economy and Clean Energy CINEA.D.1 – LIFE Energy + LIFE Climate CALL FOR PROPOSALS TABLE OF CONTENTS 0. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 4 1. Background ............................................................................................................................... 7 What is the LIFE Programme? .................................................................................................... 7 Nature and Biodiversity ............................................................................................................. 8 Circular Economy and Quality of Life ........................................................................................... 8 Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation ................................................................................... 9 Clean Energy Transition ............................................................................................................10 2. Type of action — Objectives — Themes and priorities — Activities that can be funded — Expected impact ..................................................................................................................11 Type of action .........................................................................................................................11 Funding rate ...........................................................................................................................12 3. Available budget .......................................................................................................................12 4. Timetable and deadlines ............................................................................................................12 5. Admissibility and documents ......................................................................................................13 6. Eligibility ..................................................................................................................................14 Eligible participants (eligible countries) .......................................................................................14 Eligible activities ......................................................................................................................14 7. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion ...........................................................................14 Financial capacity ....................................................................................................................14 Operational capacity ................................................................................................................15 Exclusion ................................................................................................................................15 8. Evaluation and award procedure .................................................................................................16 9. Award criteria ...........................................................................................................................16 10. Legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements .....................................................................18 Starting date and project duration .............................................................................................18 Milestones and deliverables .......................................................................................................18 Form of grant, funding rate and maximum grant amount ..............................................................18 Budget categories and cost eligibility rules ..................................................................................18 Reporting and payment arrangements ........................................................................................20 3  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA Prefinancing guarantees ...........................................................................................................20 Certificates .............................................................................................................................21 Liability regime for recoveries ...................................................................................................21 Provisions concerning the project implementation ........................................................................21 Other specificities ....................................................................................................................21 Non-compliance and breach of contract ......................................................................................21 11. How to submit an application ....................................................................................................22 12. Help ......................................................................................................................................23 13. Important ..............................................................................................................................24 0. Introduction This is an invitation to submit a proposal for EU action grants in the field of Clean Energy Transition under the Programme for Environment and Climate Action (LIFE). The regulatory framework for this EU Funding Programme is set out in:  Regulation 2018/1046 (EU Financial Regulation)  the basic act (LIFE Regulation 2021/7831). The invitation is launched in accordance with Annex IV of the 2021-2024 Multiannual Work Programme2 and will be managed by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) (‘Agency’). It concerns the direct award for the Concerted Action to support national Market Surveillance Authorities in enforcing EU product energy efficiency legislation to the following entities3:  Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology – Division IV/ST5 - Automotive Technology, Austria  Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying (BEV), Bundesamt für Eich- und Vermessungswese, Austria, Austria  Austrian Institute of Construction Engineering, Austria  Federal Public Service Economy, S.M.E.s, Self-employed and Energy, Directorate- General Energy - Infrastructure and Controls Division (Energy labelling), Belgium  Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment, Directorate- General Environment (Ecodesign and tyre labelling), Belgium  Commission for Consumer Protection (energy labelling + tyre labelling), Bulgaria  Stage Agency for Metrological and Technical Surveillance -Directorate-General Market Surveillance (eco-design), Bulgaria  State Inspectorate, Croatia  Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry - Energy Service, Cyprus  State Energy Inspection, Czech Rebublic  Ministry of Transport, Czech Rebublic  Danish Safety Technology Authority, Denmark 1 Regulation (EU) 2021/783 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 establishing a Programme for the Environment and Climate Action (LIFE) (OJ L 172, 17.5.2021, p. 53). 2 Commission Implementing Decision C(2021)4997 final of 9 July 2021 on the financing of the LIFE Programme and the adoption of the work programme for the years 2021 to 2024. 3 Subject to confirmation by the members of the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling ADCO. 4  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA  Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority - Technical Department, Estonia  Environmental Inspectorate, Estonia  Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes), Finland  Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom), Finland  Ministère de la transition écologique- Direction générale de l’énergie et du climat - Bureau des économies d'énergie et de la chaleur renouvelable (ecodesign), FranceMinistère de la transition écologique – Direction générale de l’énergie et du climat - Service du climat et de l’efficacité énergétique - Service de surveillance du marché des véhicules et des moteurs (SSMVM)  Ministère de l'Économie, des Finances et de la Relance - Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes, France  Ministère de l'Économie, des Finances et de la Relance, - Direction Générale des douanes et droits indirects, France  Thüringer Ministerium für Umwelt, Energie und Naturschutz, Germany  Ministerium für Energie, Infrastruktur und Digitalisierung Mecklenburg- Vorpommern, Germany  Hessisches Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Energie, Verkehr und Wohnen, Germany  Landeseichamt Sachsen-Anhalt, GermanySächsisches Staatsministerium für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Verkehr, Germany  Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Energie, Klimaschutz, Umwelt und Landwirtschaft, Germany  Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Arbeit, Energie und Verkehr des Saarlandes, Germany  Ministerium für Umwelt, Energie, Ernährung und Forsten Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany  Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Verkehr, Landwirtschaft und Weinbau Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany  Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz, Germany  Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Technologie und Forschung, Germany  Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Umwelt, Energie, Bauen und Klimaschutz, Germany  Behörde für Umwelt,Klima, Energie und Landwirtschaft der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg - Energie und Klima, Germany  Der Senator für Umwelt, Bau und Verkehr, Germany  Ministerium für Umwelt, Klima und Energiewirtschaft Baden Württemberg, Germany  Ministerium für Energiewende, Landwirtschaft, Umwelt, Natur und Digitalisierung des Landes Schleswig-Holstein, Germany  Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany  BAM - Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing Department S, Working Group Product Requirements, Germany  Ministerium für Soziales, Gesundheit, Integration und Verbraucherschutz des Landes Brandenburg, Germany  Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Tourismus, Landwirtschaft und Forsten des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt; (energy labelling of cars: Landeseichamt Sachsen-Anhalt), Germany  Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Innovationen, Digitalisierung und Energie des Landes Nordrhein-  Westfalen, Germany  Die Senatorin für Klimaschutz, Umwelt, Mobilität, Stadtentwicklung und Wohnungsbau der Freien Hansestadt Bremen, Germany  Ministry of Development and Investments (MDI) - General Secretariat of Industry - Directorate of Technical Industrial Legislation, Greece  Ministry of Economy and Development – General Secretariat of Commerce and Consumer Protection - Directorate of Institutional Regulations and Market Surveillance of Products and Services, Greece 5  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA  Government Office of the Capital City Budapest - Metrological and Technical Supervisory Department - Market Surveillance Section, Hungary  Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Ireland  Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Ireland  Ministry of Economic Development - Directorate General for the Market, Competition, Consumers, Surveillance and Technical Standards, Italy  Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport -Directorate-General motorization, Italy  Agenzia Nazionale Per Le Nuove Tecnologie, L'energia E Lo Sviluppo Economico Sostenibile - Italian national Agency for new technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Italy  Camera Di Commercio Metropolitana Di Milano-Monza-Brianza-Lodi, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce of Milano-Monza-Brianza-Lodi, Italy  Consumer Rights Protection Centre, Latvia  State Non-Food Products Inspectorate, Lithuania  State Consumer Rights Protection Authority, Lithuania  ILNAS – Surveillance du Marché, Luxemburg  Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority - Market Surveillance Directorate, Technical Regulations Division, Malta  Netherlands Food and Product Safety Authority (NVWA) (energy labelling), Netherlands  Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (eco-design and tyre labelling), Netherlands  RDW, Netherlands  Office of Competition and Consumer Protection - Market Surveillance Department, Poland  Office of Competition and Consumer Protection - Trade Inspection Department, Poland  Office of Electronic Communications - Department of Monitoring, Poland  Food and Economic Safety Authority (ASAE), Portugal  National Authority for Consumers Protection, Romania  Ministry of Energy, Energy Efficiency Department, Romania  Ministry of Economy, Romania  Slovak Trade Inspection, Slovak Republic  Market Inspectorate, Slovenia  Inspectorate for Infrastructure, Slovenia  Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico - Secretaría de Estado de Energía -Dirección General de PolÍtica Energética y Minas - Subdirección General de Eficiencia Energética (Energy Labelling), Spain  Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Turismo – Dirección General de Industria y de la Pequeña y Mediana Empresa - Subdirección General de Calidad y Seguridad Industrial y Consejerías de las Comunidades Autónomas (Ecodesign), Spain  Ministerio de Consumo – Dirección General de Consumo - Subdirección General de Coordinación, Calidad y Cooperación en Consumo y Autoridades de las Comunidades Autónomas (Only visual checks of energy label on consumer products), Spain  Dirección General de Industria, Energía y Minas de la Comunidad de Madrid, Spain  The Swedish Energy Agency, Sweden  Fundación para el Fomento de la Innovación Industrial (FFII), Madrid, Spain  Österreichische Energiagentur, Austrian Energy Agency, Austria  Stichting Prosafe - The Product Safety Enforcement Forum Of Europe (Prosafe), Belgium Based on current information and subject to the condition they will be eligible for funding from LIFE by a potential future Association Agreement between the EU and their country, additional type of applicants would include:  The Housing and Construction Authority, Iceland  Office of Economic Affairs (AVW) - Energy Department, Liechtenstein 6  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA  The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), Norway  Public Roads Administration, Norway  Ministry of Industry and Technology - Directorate General for Safety and Inspection of Industrial Products, Turkey 4  National Measurement and Regulation Office, United Kingdom  International Vehicle Standards - Department for Transport, United Kingdom The call covers the following topic: - LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA: Concerted Action to support national Market Surveillance Authorities in enforcing EU product energy efficiency legislation We invite you to read the call documentation carefully, and in particular this Call Document, the Model Grant Agreement, the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual and the EU Grants AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement. These documents provide clarifications and answers to questions you may have when preparing your application:  the Call Document outlines the:  background, objectives, scope, activities that can be funded and the expected results (sections 1 and 2)  timetable and available budget (sections 3 and 4)  admissibility and eligibility conditions (including mandatory documents; sections 5 and 6)  criteria for financial and operational capacity and exclusion (section 7)  evaluation and award procedure (section 8)  award criteria (section 9)  legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements (section 10)  how to submit an application (section 11)  the Online Manual outlines the:  procedures to register and submit proposals online via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (‘Portal’)  recommendations for the preparation of the application  the AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement contains:  detailed annotations on all the provisions in the Grant Agreement you will have to sign in order to obtain the grant (including cost eligibility, payment schedule, accessory obligations, etc). You are also encouraged to visit the LIFE database to consult the list of projects funded previously. For the Clean Energy Transition sub-programme, projects funded previously (under the Horizon 2020 programme) can be found on the CORDIS website. 4 Under the condition that the entities from Turkey will be eligible for funding from LIFE based on the potential Association Agreement signed between the EC and Turkey 7  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA 1. Background What is the LIFE Programme? The LIFE Programme is the EU Programme for Environment and Climate Action. As such, it is one of the key contributors to the European Green Deal 5 which aims to:  transform the EU into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource- efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use and  protect, conserve and enhance the EU's natural capital, and protect the health and well-being of citizens from environment and climate related risks and impacts. The LIFE Programme will contribute to these priorities through its four sub- programmes in particular by:  boosting and integrating the implementation of the EU’s policy objectives for halting and reversing loss of wildlife habitats and species across all sectors  supporting the transition to a circular economy and protecting and improving the quality of EU’s natural resources, including air, soil and water among others  supporting implementation of the 2030 energy and climate policy framework, the EU’s climate neutrality objective by 2050, and the new EU strategy on adaptation to climate change and  building capacity, stimulating investments and supporting implementation of policies focused on energy efficiency and small-scale renewables. The LIFE Programme is structured in two fields and four sub-programmes (described in more detail below): Environment: - sub-programme Nature and Biodiversity - sub-programme Circular Economy and Quality of Life Climate Action: - sub-programme Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation - sub-programme Clean Energy Transition. Nature and Biodiversity The specific objectives of the sub-programme ‘Nature and Biodiversity’ are the following:  to develop, demonstrate, promote and stimulate scale up of innovative techniques, methods and approaches (including nature-based solutions and ecosystem approach) for reaching the objectives of the EU legislation and policy on nature and biodiversity, and to contribute to the knowledge base and 5 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: The European Green Deal (COM (2019)640 final). 8  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA to the application of best practices, including through the support of the Natura 2000  to support the development, implementation, monitoring and enforcement of EU legislation and policy on nature and biodiversity, including by improving governance at all levels, in particular through enhancing capacities of public and private actors and the involvement of civil society, also taking into due consideration the possible contributions provided by citizen science  to catalyse the large-scale deployment of successful solutions/approaches for implementing EU legislation and policy on nature and biodiversity, by replicating results, integrating related objectives into other policies and into public and private sector practices, mobilising investment and improving access to finance. Circular Economy and Quality of Life The specific objectives of the sub-programme ‘Circular Economy and Quality of Life’ are: - to develop, demonstrate and promote innovative techniques, methods and approaches for reaching the objectives of the EU legislation and policy on environment, and to contribute to the knowledge base and, where relevant, to the application of best practices - to support the development, implementation, monitoring and enforcement of the EU legislation and policy on environment, including by improving governance at all levels, in particular through enhancing capacities of public and private actors and the involvement of civil society - to catalyse the large-scale deployment of successful technical and policy- related solutions for implementing the EU legislation and policy on environment, by replicating results, integrating related objectives into other policies and into public and private sector practices, mobilising investment and improving access to finance. This sub-programme aims at facilitating the transition toward a sustainable, circular, toxic-free, energy-efficient and climate-resilient economy and at protecting, restoring and improving the quality of the environment. It will contribute to the EU priorities by: - reducing resource consumption and facilitating the transition toward a sustainable, circular, toxic-free, energy-efficient and climate-resilient economy - developing circular systems, in line with the new Circular Economy Action Plan and reflecting its focus on sustainable products, material and energy intensive sectors and circular business models for value retention - bringing down waste generation in line with the Waste Framework Directive 2019/10046 and the reduction of hazardous waste in view of the EU’s commitment under the Basel Convention7. - improving waste management with respect to collection and storage of waste, recovery options and end-of-life disposal, including in islands where waste management has to face specific challenges 6 Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1004 of 7 June 2019 laying down rules for the calculation, verification and reporting of data on waste in accordance with Directive 2008/98/EC (OJ L 163, 20.6.2019, p. 66). 7 Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal 9  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA - reducing emissions of pollutants to air and ensuring clean air for EU citizens in line with the EU legislation and the objectives of the Zero Pollution Action Plan - achieving and maintaining a good status of the EU water bodies - ensuring clean surface water and ground-water, in sufficient quantities for human and other species, including by increasing efficiency of water use - reducing production, use and emissions of hazardous chemicals as well as reducing the exposure of humans and the environment to those chemicals - promoting the development, commercialisation and uptake of safe and sustainable-by-design substances, materials and products - diminishing exposure to harmful noise levels - protecting the quality of EU soil, preventing soil degradation through sustainable practices of soil and land management, remediating from soil pollution and enhancing the capacity to improve water quality through reduced nitrate leakage and to reduce emissions through carbon storage. Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation The specific objectives of the sub-programme ‘Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation’ are: - to develop, demonstrate and promote innovative techniques, methods and approaches for reaching the objectives of the EU legislation and policy on climate action and to contribute to the knowledge base and to the application of best practice - to support the development, implementation, monitoring and enforcement of the EU legislation and policy on climate action, including by improving governance at all levels, in particular through enhancing capacities of public and private actors and the involvement of civil society - to catalyse the large-scale deployment of successful technical and policy- related solutions for implementing the EU legislation and policy on climate action by replicating results, integrating related objectives into other policies and into public and private sector practices, mobilising investment and improving access to finance. This sub-programme will contribute to the transformation of the EU into a climate- neutral and -resilient society, by supporting the implementation of the EU's climate policy and preparing the EU for the climate action challenges in the coming years and decades. Clean Energy Transition The specific objectives of the sub-programme ‘Clean Energy Transition’ are the following:  to develop, demonstrate and promote innovative techniques, methods and approaches for reaching the objectives of the EU legislation and policy on the transition to sustainable renewable energy and increased energy efficiency, and to contribute to the knowledge base and to the application of best practice  to support the development, implementation, monitoring and enforcement of the EU legislation and policy on the transition to sustainable renewable energy or increased energy efficiency, including by improving governance at all levels, in particular through enhancing capacities of public and private actors and the involvement of civil society 10  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA  to catalyse the large-scale deployment of successful technical and policy- related solutions for implementing the EU legislation on the transition to renewable energy or increased energy efficiency by replicating results, integrating related objectives into other policies and into public and private sector practices, mobilising investment and improving access to finance. This sub-programme aims at facilitating the transition toward an energy-efficient, renewable energy-based, climate-neutral and -resilient economy by funding coordination and support actions across Europe. These actions, of high EU added- value, aim at breaking market barriers that hamper the socio-economic transition to sustainable energy, typically engaging multiple small and medium-size stakeholders, multiple actors including local and regional public authorities and non-profit organisations, and involving consumers. The sub-programme will contribute to the implementation of the energy-related actions of the Green Deal, including the ‘Renovation wave’ initiative for the building sector, and will give due consideration to territories not connected to the European grids such as the EU outermost regions. It will contribute to the Just Transition objectives by accompanying the territories and the groups of citizens negatively affected by the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, by building capacity of actors and fostering clean energy investments, mainly in energy efficiency and locally available, sustainable, renewable energy sources. Activities related to biofuels will not be included. 2. Type of action — Objectives — Themes and priorities — Activities that can be funded — Expected impact Type of action The topic under this call for proposals concerns LIFE Other Action Grants (OAGs). Other Action Grants (OAGs) include:  Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) for projects focusing on the transition to renewable energy and increased energy efficiency by breaking market barriers, through activities including capacity building, dissemination of information and knowledge, and awareness raising; they may include directly awarded grants to bodies designated by Member States.  A Small Grant Facility on Biodiversity (BEST). Small grants (max 100 000 EUR) for projects in the EU Outermost Regions and the Overseas Countries and Territories on biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration and sustainable use of ecosystem services, including ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation and mitigation  Projects developed in the framework of the EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), which contribute to the objectives and implementation of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan  Pilot projects in the framework of the ‘New European Bauhaus’ to identify and address some key challenges helping Europe’s transformation into the first climate-neutral continent in view of having better spaces in which form not only follows function, such as in the historical Bauhaus movement, but also contributes to preserve the resources of the planet.  Action grants benefitting the organisations mentioned in Annex I of the LIFE Regulation 11  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA  Additional projects responding to the EU legislative and policy priorities determined following a consultation with Member States (PLP)  Other specific projects to identified beneficiaries (Article 195 EU Financial Regulation). LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA: Concerted Action to support national Market Surveillance Authorities in enforcing EU product energy efficiency legislation The action aims to strengthen the enforcement of the Ecodesign Directive, the Energy Labelling Regulation and the Regulation on Labelling of Tyres, by supporting the coordination, monitoring, verification and enforcement activities of national Market Surveillance Authorities (MSA), in particular for those products that represent the highest energy saving potential or those that represent new challenges (e.g. newly regulated products), thereby improving compliance and increasing energy savings and reducing environmental impacts of the products concerned. The action should not replace activities that are under the responsibility of Member States, but should add European value to them. The action is expected to cover both horizontal activities (i.e. actions that are not product specific) and vertical activities (i.e. actions targeting specific product groups). It may include exchange of information and best practices, training, development of user-friendly common methods, protocols, guidance, checklists or IT tools (e.g. web crawlers), including their management, hosting and maintenance, execution of joint surveillance and testing activities, strengthening the collaboration with customs authorities, communication, contributing to the establishment of Union testing facilities « EUTFs », support the development and proper use of the Energy Labelling products registration database, input into standardisation, addressing the challenges of distance selling, increasing awareness and knowledge of the economic operators concerned and other competent authorities not involved in the action, addressing challenging or emerging issues like verification of products integrated into products, circular economy aspects, defeat devices, circumvention, software updates, plausibility testing, support for international alignment of standards and requirements, improvement of enforcement and compliance strategies, including an economic operators targeted approach (e.g. those operators with a low compliance level on different product groups), assessing actual market compliance rates (e.g. by random checking/sampling) etc. Where relevant and appropriate, output of the actions, such as digital tools shall be made available to MSAs in the EU outside the action’s consortium. The action will liaise with the EUPCN, the ecodesign, energy labelling, tyre labelling ADCOs, national customs authorities and others, as appropriate. Product specific activities should include using and refining a uniform risk classification approach. The action shall be led by representatives of MSAs, who support the Coordinator in decisions relating to the technical content of the programme, preparation of plenary meetings, communication and dissemination and reporting in agreement with nominated representatives from the Commission. Each operational work package shall be led by a MSA representative, or other relevant entity formally appointed by its national MSA to perform market surveillance activities. Where relevant, MSAs shall be allowed and encouraged to be involved in the preparation of the proposal, e.g. by taking ownership of specific work streams (including WPs). In addition, the action shall build and expand on the activities of previous related work (e.g. EEPLIANT3), both on the number of product categories targeted and related quantities tested as well as potentially increasing the number of authorities involved, and by reusing, maintaining, updating or upgrading relevant, fit for purpose 12  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA tools and materials, also beyond the action’s duration. Efforts should be also put into assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of the action, including assessment of how the action durably improves market surveillance activities beyond its duration. Funding rate Other Actions (Coordination and Support Actions) — 95% 3. Available budget The available call budget is EUR 8 000 000. 4. Timetable and deadlines Timetable and deadlines(indicative) Call opening: 13 December 2022 Deadline for submission: 25 May 2023 – 17:00:00 CET (Brussels) Information on evaluation results: July 2023 GA signature: December 2023 5. Admissibility and documents Proposals must be submitted before the call deadline (see timetable section 4). Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System (accessible via the link in the invitation letter). Paper submissions are NOT possible. Proposals (including annexes and supporting documents) must be submitted using the forms provided inside the Submission System ( NOT the documents available on the Topic page — they are only for information). Proposals must be complete and contain all the requested information and all required annexes and supporting documents:  Application Form Part A — contains administrative information about the participants (future coordinator, beneficiaries and affiliated entities) and the summarised budget for the project (to be filled in directly online)  Application Form Part B — contains the technical description of the project (to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded)  Part C (to be filled in directly online) containing additional project data  mandatory annexes and supporting documents (to be uploaded):  detailed budget table (mandatory excel template available in the Submission System)  participant information  Optional annexes: 13  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA  letters of support Please note that the amounts entered into the summarised budget table (filled in directly online) must correspond to the amounts calculated in the detailed budget table. In case of discrepancies, the amounts in the online summarised budget table will prevail. At proposal submission, you will have to confirm that you have the mandate to act for all applicants. Moreover you will have to confirm that the information in the application is correct and complete and that the participants comply with the conditions for receiving EU funding (especially eligibility, financial and operational capacity, exclusion, etc). Before signing the grant, each beneficiary and affiliated entity will have to confirm this again by signing a declaration of honour (DoH). Proposals without full support will be rejected. Your application must be readable, accessible and printable. Proposals are limited to maximum 100 pages (Part B). Evaluators will not consider any additional pages. You may be asked at a later stage for further documents (for legal entity validation, financial capacity check, bank account validation, etc.). For more information about the submission process (including IT aspects), consult the Online Manual. 6. Eligibility Eligible participants (eligible countries) The grant is to be awarded to the beneficiaries identified in Annex IV of Commission Implementing Decision C(2021)4997 final of 9 July 2021 on the financing of the LIFE Programme and the adoption of the work programme for the years 2021 to 2024. The identity of the applicant (and compliance with general eligibility conditions) will be verified through the documents provided in the Participant Register during legal entity validation (copy of the resolution, decision or other official document establishing the entity, etc). Eligible activities Eligible activities are the ones set out in section 2 above. Projects must comply with EU policy interests and priorities (such as environment, social, security, industrial and trade policy, etc.). Financial support to third parties is not allowed 7. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion Financial capacity Applicants must have stable and sufficient resources to successfully implement the projects and contribute their share. Organisations participating in several projects must have sufficient capacity to implement all these projects. The financial capacity check will be carried out on the basis of the documents you will be requested to upload in the Participant Register during grant preparation (e.g. profit and loss account and balance sheet, business plan, audit report produced by an 14  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA approved external auditor, certifying the accounts for the last closed financial year, etc.). The analysis will be based on neutral financial indicators, but will also take into account other aspects, such as dependency on EU funding and deficit and revenue in previous years. The check will normally be done for all coordinators except:  public bodies (entities established as public body under national law, including local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations  if the project requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000. If needed, it may also be done for affiliated entities. If we consider that your financial capacity is not satisfactory, we may require:  further information  an enhanced financial responsibility regime, i.e. joint and several responsibility for all beneficiaries or joint and several liability of affiliated entities (see below, section 10)  prefinancing paid in instalments  (one or more) prefinancing guarantees (see below, section 10) or  propose no prefinancing  request that you are replaced or, if needed, reject the entire proposal. For more information, see Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment. Operational capacity Applicants must have the know-how, qualifications and resources to successfully implement the projects and contribute their share (including sufficient experience in projects of comparable size and nature). Entities that have been identified as named beneficiary(ies) in the Work Programme are in principle considered to have sufficient operational capacity to carry out the action. In case of doubt, the granting authority will however undertake an operational capacity check. Exclusion Applicants which are subject to an EU exclusion decision or in one of the following exclusion situations that bar them from receiving EU funding can NOT participate8:  bankruptcy, winding up, affairs administered by the courts, arrangement with creditors, suspended business activities or other similar procedures (including procedures for persons with unlimited liability for the applicant’s debts)  in breach of social security or tax obligations (including if done by persons with unlimited liability for the applicant’s debts) 8 See Articles 136 and 141 of EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046. 15  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA  guilty of grave professional misconduct9 (including if done by persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for the award/implementation of the grant)  committed fraud, corruption, links to a criminal organisation, money laundering, terrorism-related crimes (including terrorism financing), child labour or human trafficking (including if done by persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for the award/implementation of the grant)  shown significant deficiencies in complying with main obligations under an EU procurement contract, grant agreement, prize, expert contract, or similar (including if done by persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for the award/implementation of the grant)  guilty of irregularities within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Regulation No 2988/95 (including if done by persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for the award/implementation of the grant)  created under a different jurisdiction with the intent to circumvent fiscal, social or other legal obligations in the country of origin or created another entity with this purpose (including if done by persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for the award/implementation of the grant). Applicants will also be refused if it turns out that10:  during the award procedure they misrepresented information required as a condition for participating or failed to supply that information  they were previously involved in the preparation of the call and this entails a distortion of competition that cannot be remedied otherwise (conflict of interest). 8. Evaluation and award procedure Invited proposals will be checked against the formal requirements (admissibility and eligibility) and then evaluated by an evaluation committee for operational capacity and award criteria (see sections 7 and 9). If it is successful, it will be invited for grant agreement preparation. No commitment for funding — Invitation to grant preparation does NOT constitute a formal commitment for funding. We will still need to make various legal checks before grant award: legal entity validation, financial capacity, exclusion check, etc. Grant preparation will involve a dialogue in order to fine-tune technical or financial aspects of the project and may require extra information from your side. It may also include adjustments to the proposal to address recommendations of the evaluation committee or other concerns. Compliance will be a pre-condition for signing the grant. 9 Professional misconduct includes: violation of ethical standards of the profession, wrongful conduct with impact on professional credibility, false declarations/misrepresentation of information, participation in a cartel or other agreement distorting competition, violation of IPR, attempting to influence decision-making processes or obtain confidential information from public authorities to gain advantage. 10 See Article 141 EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046. 16  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA If you believe that the evaluation procedure was flawed, you can submit a complaint (following the deadlines and procedures set out in the evaluation result letter). Please note that notifications which have not been opened within 10 days after sending are considered to have been accessed and that deadlines will be counted from opening/access (see also Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions). Please also be aware that for complaints submitted electronically, there may be character limitations. 9. Award criteria The award criteria for this call are as follows: 1. Relevance (0-20 points)  Relevance of the contribution to one or several of the specific objectives of the LIFE Programme and the targeted sub-programme  Extent to which the proposal is in line with the description included in the call for proposals, including, where relevant, its specific priorities  Concept and methodology: soundness of the overall intervention logic  Extent to which the proposal offers co-benefits and promotes synergies with other policy areas relevant for achieving environment and climate policy objectives 2. Impact (0-20 points)  Ambition and credibility of impacts expected during and/or after the project due to the activities, including ensuring that no substantial harm is done to the other specific objectives of the LIFE Programme  Sustainability of the project results after the end of the project  Quality of the measures for the exploitation of project results  Potential for the project results to be replicated in the same or other sectors or places, or to be up-scaled by public or private actors or through mobilising larger investments or financial resources (catalytic potential). 3. Quality (0-20 points)  Clarity, relevance and feasibility of the work plan  Identification and mobilisation of the relevant stakeholders  Appropriate geographic focus of the activities  Quality of the plan to monitor and report impacts  Appropriateness and quality of the measures to communicate and disseminate the project and its results to different target groups 4. Resources (0-20 points)  Composition of the project team - in terms of expertise, skills and responsibilities and appropriateness of the management structure  Appropriateness of the budget and resources and their consistency with the work plan  Transparency of the budget, i.e. the cost items should be sufficiently described  Extent to which the project environmental impact is considered and mitigated, including through the use of green procurement. The use of recognised methods for the calculation of the project environmental footprint (e.g. PEF or OEF methods or similar ones such as PEFCRs/ 17  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA OEFSRs) or environmental management systems (e.g. EMAS) would be an asset  Value for money of the proposal Award criteria Minimum Maximum Weighting pass score score Relevance 10 20 1 Impact 10 20 1.5 Quality 10 20 1 Resources 10 20 1 Overall weighted (pass) score (without bonus) 55 90 N/A Maximum points (single stage): 90 points. Individual thresholds per criterion (single stage): 10 points. Overall threshold (single stage): 55 points. Proposals that pass the individual thresholds AND the overall threshold will be considered for funding — within the limits of the available call budget. Other proposals will be rejected. 10. Legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements If you pass evaluation, your project will be invited for grant preparation, where you will be asked to prepare the Grant Agreement together with the EU Project Officer. This Grant Agreement will set the framework for your grant and its terms and conditions, in particular concerning deliverables, reporting and payments. The Model Grant Agreement that will be used (and all other relevant templates and guidance documents) can be found on Portal Reference Documents. Starting date and project duration The project starting date and duration will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 1). Normally the starting date will be after grant signature. Retroactive application can be granted exceptionally for duly justified reasons — but never earlier than the proposal submission date. Milestones and deliverables The milestones and deliverables for each project will be managed through the Portal Grant Management System and will be reflected in Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement. Form of grant, funding rate and maximum grant amount The grant parameters (maximum grant amount, funding rate, total eligible costs, etc.) will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 3 and art 5). 18  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA Project budget (maximum grant amount): see section 3 above. The grant awarded may be lower than the amount requested. The grant will be a budget-based mixed actual cost grant (actual costs, with unit cost and flat-rate elements). This means that it will reimburse ONLY certain types of costs (eligible costs) and costs that were actually incurred for your project (NOT the budgeted costs). For unit costs and flat-rates, you can charge the amounts calculated as explained in the Grant Agreement (see art 6 and Annex 2 and 2a). The costs will be reimbursed at the funding rate fixed in the Grant Agreement (95%). Grants may NOT produce a profit (i.e. surplus of revenues + EU grant over costs). For-profit organisations must declare their revenues and, if there is a profit, we will deduct it from the final grant amount (see art 22.3). Moreover, please be aware that the final grant amount may be reduced in case of non-compliance with the Grant Agreement (e.g. improper implementation, breach of obligations, etc). Budget categories and cost eligibility rules The budget categories and cost eligibility rules are fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 3, art 6 and Annex 2). Budget categories for this call:  A. Personnel costs  A.1 Employees, A.2 Natural persons under direct contract, A.3 Seconded persons  A.4 SME owners and natural person beneficiaries  A.5 Volunteers  B. Subcontracting costs  C. Purchase costs  C.1 Travel and subsistence  C.2 Equipment  C.3 Other goods, works and services  E. Indirect costs Specific cost eligibility conditions for this call:  personnel costs: 11  SME owner/natural person unit cost : Yes 12  volunteers unit cost : Yes (without indirect costs) 13  travel and subsistence unit cost : No (only actual costs) 11 Commission Decision of 20 October 2020 authorising the use of unit costs for the personnel costs of the owners of small and medium-sized enterprises and beneficiaries that are natural persons not receiving a salary for the work carried out by themselves under an action or work programme (C(2020)7715). 12 Commission Decision of 10 April 2019 authorising the use of unit costs for declaring personnel costs for the work carried out by volunteers under an action or a work programme (C(2019)2646). 13 Commission Decision of 12 January 2021 authorising the use of unit costs for travel, accommodation and subsistence costs under an action or work programme under the 2021-2027 multi-annual financial framework (C(2021)35). 19  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA  equipment costs: depreciation  other cost categories:  costs for financial support to third parties: not allowed  land purchase costs: not applicable  indirect cost flat-rate: 7% of the eligible direct costs (categories A-D, except volunteers costs and exempted specific cost categories (land purchase), if any)  VAT: non-deductible VAT is eligible (but please note that since 2013 VAT paid by beneficiaries that are public bodies acting as public authority is NOT eligible)  other:  in-kind contributions for free are allowed, but cost-neutral, i.e. they cannot be declared as cost  kick off meeting: costs for kickoff meeting organised by the granting authority are eligible (travel costs for maximum 2 persons, return ticket to Brussels and accommodation for one night) only if the meeting takes place after the project starting date set out in the Grant Agreement; the starting date can be changed through an amendment, if needed  common information and dissemination activities: foresee resources to increase synergies between, and the visibility of LIFE and EU supported actions (for example 1 travel/year, 5 days)  other ineligible costs:  land purchase costs are not eligible  Large infrastructure costs are not eligible Indirect costs for volunteers are not eligible Volunteers costs — Volunteers costs are not a classic cost category. There are no costs because volunteers work for free, but they may nonetheless be added to the budget in the form of a prefixed unit cost (per volunteer) and thus allow you to benefit from the volunteers’ work for the grant (by increasing the amount of reimbursement up to 100% of the normal costs, i.e. cost categories other than volunteers). More information is available in the AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement, art 6.2.A.5. Reporting and payment arrangements The reporting and payment arrangements are fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 4 and art 21 and 22). After grant signature, you will normally receive a prefinancing to start working on the project (float of normally 40% of the maximum grant amount; exceptionally less or no prefinancing). The prefinancing will be paid 30 days from entry into force/financial guarantee (if required) — whichever is the latest. There will be one or more additional prefinancing payments linked to a prefinancing report. In addition, for longer or more complex projects, you may be expected to submit one or more progress reports not linked to payments. Payment of the balance: At the end of the project, we will calculate your final grant amount. If the total of earlier payments is higher than the final grant amount, we will ask you (your coordinator) to pay back the difference (recovery). 20  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA All payments will be made to the coordinator. Please be aware that payments will be automatically lowered if one of your consortium members has outstanding debts towards the EU (granting authority or other EU bodies). Such debts will be offset by us — in line with the conditions set out in the Grant Agreement (see art 22). Please also note that you are responsible for keeping records on all the work done and the costs declared. The Grant Agreement contains additional record-keeping rules (Data Sheet, point 3 and art 20). Prefinancing guarantees If a prefinancing guarantee is required, it will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 4). The amount will be set during grant preparation and it will normally be equal or lower than the prefinancing for your grant. The guarantee should be in euro and issued by an approved bank/financial institution established in an EU Member State. If you are established in a non-EU country and would like to provide a guarantee from a bank/financial institution in your country, please contact us (this may be exceptionally accepted, if it offers equivalent security). Amounts blocked in bank accounts will NOT be accepted as financial guarantees. Prefinancing guarantees are formally NOT linked to individual consortium members, which means that you are free to organise how to provide the guarantee amount (by one or several beneficiaries, for the overall amount or several guarantees for partial amounts, by the beneficiary concerned or by another beneficiary, etc). It is however important that the requested amount is covered and that the guarantee(s) are sent to us in time to make the prefinancing (scanned copy via Portal AND original by post). If agreed with us, the bank guarantee may be replaced by a guarantee from a third party. The guarantee will be released at the end of the grant, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement. Certificates Depending on the type of action, size of grant amount and type of beneficiaries, you may be requested to submit different certificates. The types, schedules and thresholds for each certificate are fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 4 and art 24). Liability regime for recoveries The liability regime for recoveries will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet point 4.4 and art 22). For beneficiaries, it is one of the following:  limited joint and several liability with individual ceilings — each beneficiary up to their maximum grant amount  unconditional joint and several liability — each beneficiary up to the maximum grant amount for the action or  individual financial responsibility — each beneficiary only for their own debts. In addition, the granting authority may require joint and several liability of affiliated 21  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA entities (with their beneficiary). Provisions concerning the project implementation IPR rules: see Model Grant Agreement (art 16 and Annex 5):  rights of use on results: Yes Communication, dissemination and visibility of funding: see Model Grant Agreement (art 17 and Annex 5):  communication and dissemination plan: Yes  additional communication and dissemination activities: Yes  special logos: Yes Specific rules for carrying out the action: see Model Grant Agreement (art 18 and Annex 5):  durability: No  specific rules for blending operations: No Other specificities n/a Non-compliance and breach of contract The Grant Agreement (chapter 5) provides for the measures we may take in case of breach of contract (and other non-compliance issues). For more information, see AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement. 11. How to submit an application All proposals must be submitted directly online via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System. Paper applications are NOT accepted. Submission is a 2-step process: a) create a user account and register your organisation To use the Submission System (the only way to apply), all participants need to create an EU Login user account. Once you have an EU Login account, you can register your organisation in the Participant Register. When your registration is finalised, you will receive a 9-digit participant identification code (PIC). b) submit the proposal Access the Electronic Submission System via the Topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section (or, for calls sent by invitation to submit a proposal, through the link provided in the invitation letter). Submit your proposal in 4 parts, as follows: 22  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA  Part A includes administrative information about the applicant organisations (future coordinator, beneficiaries, affiliated entities and associated partners) and the summarised budget for the proposal. Fill it in directly online  Part B (description of the action) covers the technical content of the proposal. Download the mandatory word template from the Submission System, fill it in and upload it as a PDF file  Part C containing additional project data. To be filled in directly online.  Annexes (see section 5). Upload them as PDF file (single or multiple depending on the slots). Excel upload is sometimes possible, depending on the file type. The proposal must keep to the page limits (see section 5); excess pages will be disregarded. Documents must be uploaded to the right category in the Submission System otherwise the proposal might be considered incomplete and thus inadmissible. The proposal must be submitted before the call deadline (see section 4). After this deadline, the system is closed and proposals can no longer be submitted. Once the proposal is submitted, you will receive a confirmation e-mail (with date and time of your application). If you do not receive this confirmation e-mail, it means your proposal has NOT been submitted. If you believe this is due to a fault in the Submission System, you should immediately file a complaint via the IT Helpdesk webform, explaining the circumstances and attaching a copy of the proposal (and, if possible, screenshots to show what happened). Details on processes and procedures are described in the Online Manual. The Online Manual also contains the links to FAQs and detailed instructions regarding the Portal Electronic Exchange System. 12. Help As far as possible, please try to find the answers you need yourself, in this and the other documentation (we have limited resources for handling direct enquiries):  Online Manual  Portal FAQ (for general questions). Please also consult the Topic page regularly, since we will use it to publish call updates. (For invitations, we will contact you directly in case of a call update). Contact For individual questions on the Portal Submission System, please contact the IT Helpdesk. Non-IT related questions should be sent to the following email address: CINEA-LIFE- [email protected]. Please:  send your questions at the latest 7 days before the submission deadline (see section 4)  indicate clearly the reference of the call and topic to which your question relates (see cover page). 23  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA 13. Important IMPORTANT  Don’t wait until the end — Complete your application sufficiently in advance of the deadline to avoid any last minute technical problems. Problems due to last minute submissions (e.g. congestion, etc.) will be entirely at your risk. Call deadlines can NOT be extended.  Consult the Portal Topic page regularly. We will use it to publish updates and additional information on the call (call and topic updates).  Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Exchange System — By submitting the application, all participants accept to use the electronic exchange system in accordance with the Portal Terms & Conditions.  Registration — Before submitting the application, all beneficiaries, affiliated entities and associated partners must be registered in the Participant Register. The participant identification code (PIC) (one per participant) is mandatory for the Application Form.  Coordinator — In multi-beneficiary grants, the beneficiaries participate as consortium (group of beneficiaries). They will have to choose a coordinator, who will take care of the project management and coordination and will represent the consortium towards the granting authority.  Consortium agreement — For practical and legal reasons it is recommended to set up internal arrangements that allow you to deal with exceptional or unforeseen circumstances (in all cases, even if not mandatory under the Grant Agreement). The consortium agreement also gives you the possibility to redistribute the grant money according to your own consortium-internal principles and parameters (for instance, one beneficiary can reattribute its grant money to another beneficiary). The consortium agreement thus allows you to customise the EU grant to the needs inside your consortium and can also help to protect you in case of disputes. 24  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA  Balanced project budget— Grant applications must ensure a balanced project budget and sufficient other resources to implement the project successfully (e.g. own contributions, income generated by the action, financial contributions from third parties, etc). You may be requested to lower your estimated costs, if they are ineligible (including excessive).  No-profit rule— Grants may NOT give a profit (i.e. surplus of revenues + EU grant over costs). This will be checked by us at the end of the project.  No double funding— There is a strict prohibition of double funding from the EU budget (except under EU Synergies actions). Outside such Synergies actions, any given action may receive only ONE grant from the EU budget and cost items may under NO circumstances declared to two different EU actions.  Completed/ongoing projects — Proposals for projects that have already been completed will be rejected; proposals for projects that have already started will be assessed on a case-by-case basis (in this case, no costs can be reimbursed for activities that took place before the project starting date/proposal submission).  Combination with EU operating grants— Combination with EU operating grants is possible, if the project remains outside the operating grant work programme and you make sure that cost items are clearly separated in your accounting and NOT declared twice (see AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement, art 6.2.E).  Resubmission — Proposals may be changed and re-submitted until the deadline for submission.  Rejection — By submitting the application, all applicants accept the call conditions set out in this this Call Document (and the documents it refers to). Proposals that do not comply with all the call conditions will be rejected. This applies also to applicants: All applicants need to fulfil the criteria; if any one of them doesn’t, they must be replaced or the entire proposal will be rejected.  Cancellation — There may be circumstances which may require the cancellation of the call. In this case, you will be informed via a call or topic update. Please note that cancellations are without entitlement to compensation.  Language — You can submit your proposal in any official EU language (project abstract/summary should however always be in English). For reasons of efficiency, we strongly advise you to use English for the entire application. 25  Call document LIFE-2022-CET-CAMARKET-IBA  Transparency — In accordance with Article 38 of the EU Financial Regulation, information about EU grants awarded is published each year on the Europa website. This includes: o beneficiary names o beneficiary addresses o the purpose for which the grant was awarded o the maximum amount awarded. The publication can exceptionally be waived (on reasoned and duly substantiated request), if there is a risk that the disclosure could jeopardise your rights and freedoms under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights or harm your commercial interests.  Data protection — The submission of a proposal under this call involves the collection, use and processing of personal data. This data will be processed in accordance with the applicable legal framework. It will be processed solely for the purpose of evaluating your proposal, subsequent management of your grant and, if needed, programme monitoring, evaluation and communication. Details are explained in the Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement. 26