1. PRAG PRACTICAL GUIDE TO CONTRACT PROCEDURES FOR EXTERNAL ACTIONS

2. The Project Cycle

3. What is the PRAG
The PRACTICAL GUIDE explains the contracting procedures which apply to EC external aid contracts.
The PRACTICAL GUIDE governs the award of service, supply and works contracts financed by the general budget of the European Communities (and EDF).

4. What is the PRAG Used since 01.02.2006 - altogether 129 p. + annexes
Can be downloaded from:
practical_guide_2006/index_en.htm
Explains the contracting procedures which apply to EC external aid contracts.

5. LAYOUT OF THE PRAG Introduction Basic Rules Service Contracts
Supply Contracts
Works Contracts
Grants
Relations with international organisations and other donors
NEW! Legal Texts
List of Annexes
BE AWARE! NEW (2.2): „In case of non-respect of the procedures established in the present Guide, the expenditure related to the operations involved are ineligible in terms of Community financing”

6. Approach Centralised - (European Commission is CA) Decentralised
Ex-Ante (DIS) decisions concerning the procurement and award of contracts are taken by the Contracting Authority (CA) of the beneficiary country and referred to the prior approval of the European Commission
Ex-Post (Extended DIS) decisions are taken by the CA of the beneficiary country, without prior reference to the EC

7. Role of the Contracting Authority
responsible for launching tender procedures:
submission of Contract Forecasts & Procurement Notices
Approval of ToR and TS
drafting the Tender Dossier (TD)
dispatch of Invitation to Tender and TD
receiving tender bids
chairing tender evaluation sessions
preparation of Tender Evaluation Reports
preparation & signature of contracts
publishing the award of contract on the Internet

8. Eligibility 2.3
Nationality
open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons of the EU Member States & the countries covered by the Regulation under which the contract is financed
applies to tenderers (also sub-contractors)
NEW! No restrictions on individual experts can be applied. //Council Regulation No 2112/2005 Article 4: All experts engaged by tenderers may be of any nationality//
Origin
all supplies and equipment purchased must originate in the EU or in an eligible country as defined above in the nationality rule

9. Eligibility (2.3) Member States (MS) Other Countries
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK
Candidate Countries (CC)
Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Turkey
Other Countries
Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia, Serbia/Montenegro

10. Eligibility (2) (2.2)
NEW! Only for contracts with value of 50,000 EUR and more, the proofs regarding exclusion and selection criteria are still required, optional for contracts with a lower value.
In the latter case, no pre-financing or interim payment may be made

11. Administrative and Financial Penalties (2.3.5)
In cases of fraud, corruption or participation in a criminal organisation or money laundering the candidate or tenderer will be excluded from awards;
Tenderers excluded from awards for up to 2 years for false declarations; (financial penalty 2%-10% of the total value of the contract being awarded)
Contractors failing to meet contractual obligations can receive financial penalties; (2%-10% of contract value or 4%-20% in case of repeat offence)
In the case of substantial errors or irregularities a contract can be suspended.

12. Visibility (2.3.6)
Contractors for services, supply, works or grants must take the necessary measures to ensure the VISIBILITY of the EU financing or co-financing
EU guidelines gives rules – to be found at:

13. Essentials - No Retroactive Award (2.3.7)
Contracts (and addenda) take effect from the date of signature of the last signatory.
No contract can be awarded after the end of the execution period.
All contracts must show the true date of signature.
No disbursements can be effected and no goods and services can be provided before the commencement date.

14. Essentials - Standard Documents (2.3.7)
Standard contracts and document formats must be used
These documents are in the Annexes to the PRAG which can be found at:

15. Essentials - Record Keeping (2.3.7)
Written records of the entire tendering and contracting procedure must be kept confidential and retained by the Contracting Authority
The records must be kept for 7 years
The records must include the originals of all tenders submitted with corresponding tender dossier and related correspondence
* In case the records are not kept it might lead to recovery of funds to the Commission

16. Fair Competition (2.3.10)
To avoid any conflict of interest, any firm or expert taking part in the preparation of a project must be excluded from taking part in tenders based on this preparatory work.
However, an expert preparing the Supplies Tender Dossier may participate in the evaluation of the subsequently received offers.