Call for proposals IX-2009/01 — Grants to political parties at European level

The European Parliament has published in the Official Journal of the EU dated 28 June a Call for proposals IX-2009/01 — Grants to political parties at European level.

Article 191 of the Treaty establishing the European Community says that the political parties at European level are an important factor for integration within the Union. They contribute to forming a European awareness and express the political will of the citizens of the Union. In this context, Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 (1) lays down the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding.

The Regulation provides, in particular, for an annual grant from the European Parliament, in the form of an operating subsidy to political parties that apply and which satisfy the conditions laid down in the Regulation.

This call for proposals relates to grant applications for the financial year 2009 covering the period of activity from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009.

In order to be eligible for a grant, a political party at European level must satisfy the conditions laid down in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003, i.e.:

(a) it must have legal personality in the Member State in which its seat is located;

(b) it must be represented, in at least one quarter of Member States, by Members of the European Parliament or in the national Parliaments or regional Parliaments or in the regional assemblies, or it must have received, in at least one quarter of the Member States, at least three per cent of the votes cast in each of those Member States at the most recent European Parliament elections;

(c) it must observe, in particular in its programme and in its activities, the principles on which the European Union is founded, namely the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law;

(d) it must have participated in elections to the European Parliament, or have expressed the intention to do so.

(g) documents certifying that the applicant meets the conditions laid down in Articles 3(b) (2) of Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003;

(h) documents certifying that the applicant meets the conditions laid down in Articles 3(d) of Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 (or declaration that there have been no changes to documents already forwarded);

(i) programme of the political party (or declaration that there have been no changes to documents already forwarded);

(j) comprehensive financial statement for 2007 certified by an external auditing body;

(k) provisional operating budget for the period concerned (1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009) indicating expenditure eligible for funding from the Community budget.

In accordance with Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003, the available appropriations for the financial year 2009 will be distributed as follows among the political parties at European level which have obtained a positive decision on their application for funding on the basis of the admissibility, eligibility, exclusion and selection criteria:

(a) 15 % will be distributed in equal shares;

(b) 85 % will be distributed among those which have elected members in the European Parliament, in proportion to the number of elected members.

The budget for the financial year 2009 is estimated at a total of EUR 10 858 000, subject to approval by the budgetary authority. The maximum amount paid to the beneficiary by the European Parliament may not exceed 85 % of the eligible operating costs of political parties at European level. The burden of proof shall lie with the political party concerned.

Community funding shall take the form of an operating grant as provided for by the Financial Regulation and the Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities. The arrangements for paying the grant and the obligations governing its use will be set out in a grant award agreement, a specimen of which appears in Annex 2 to the Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 29 March 2004.

The closing date for forwarding the applications is 1 November 2008. Applications forwarded after that date will not be considered.

Applications must:

— be made on the grant application form,

— be signed, without fail, by the applicant or his duly authorised agent,

— be submitted under double cover; the two envelopes mustbe sealed.

In addition to the address of the recipient department as given in the call for proposals, the inner envelope must bear the following:

CALL FOR PROPOSALS — 2009 grants to political parties at European level

NOT TO BE OPENED BY THE MAIL SERVICE OR BY ANY OTHER UNAUTHORISED PERSON

If self-adhesive envelopes are used, they must be sealed with adhesive tape with the signature of the sender affixed across it. The signature of the sender shall be deemed to comprise not only his hand-written signature, but also his organisation's stamp,
— be forwarded at the latest on the closing date laid down in the call for proposals either by registered mail, as evidenced by the postmark or by courier service as evidenced by the date of the deposit slip.

The outer envelope must be addressed to:

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Mail Service
KAD 00D008
L-2929 Luxembourg

This envelope must also show the sender's address.

The inner envelope must be addressed to:

President of the European Parliament
via Mr Vanhaeren, Director-General of Finance
SCH 05B031
L-2929 Luxembourg

The following texts are available on the European Parliament's Internet site at the following address:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/tenders/invitations.htm

(a) Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 on the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding;

(b) Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 29 March 2004 laying down procedures for implementing Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding;

(c) grant application form;

(d) specimen agreement.

Any questions relating to this call for proposals with a view to the awarding of grants should be sent by e-mail, quoting the publication reference, to the following address:

Helmut.Betz@europarl.europa.eu

You can see the full text of the call for proposals here:

Call for proposals IX-2009/01 — Grants to political parties at European level (76.84 Kb)