applicant's guide interreg v a

MANAGING AUTHORITY NATIONAL AUTHORITY

MINISTRY OF REGIONAL

DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

ROMANIA BULGARIA

Applicant’s Guide

www.cbcromaniabulgaria.eu

Call for proposals no.1

March 2015

GOVERNMENT OF BULGARIA

GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIAEUROPEAN UNION

MINISTRY OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC WOKS

http://www.cbcromaniabulgaria.eu/

Applicant’s Guide Approved version March 2015

Table of Contents

Glossary of terms..........................................................................3

Glossary of Acronyms....................................................................5

Explanation of text-boxes..............................................................6

Legal basis....................................................................................6

I. GENERAL INFORMATION..............................................................8

I.1. Overview of Interreg V-A Romania-Bulgaria.....................................8

I.2. Programme Strategy........................................................................9

i. Programme Objectives...............................................................9

ii. Programme Priority Axes.......................................................10

I.3. Programme Implementation Structure...........................................11

I.4. Programme Financial Allocation.....................................................12

I.5. Programme Indicators....................................................................12

i. Output Indicators.....................................................................13

ii. Result Indicators.....................................................................14

I.6 Financial allocation for the call for proposals..................................15

I.7. State Aid.........................................................................................16

I.8. Revenue Generating Projects.........................................................18

II. RULES OF THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS.......................................19

II.1. Type of call for proposals..............................................................19

II.2. Eligibility Criteria...........................................................................20

i. Eligibility of Applicants.............................................................20

ii. Eligibility of Actions.................................................................25

iii. Eligibility of Expenditure........................................................34

II.3. How to apply for funding...............................................................35

i. How to get the Applicant’s Pack..............................................35

ii. How to fill in the Application Form and its Annexes................36

iii. How to submit the applications..............................................48

iv. Deadline for receipt of applications.......................................49

II.4. Evaluation and Selection of Applications.......................................50

III. Pre-Contractual conditions......................................................53

IV. Annexes....................................................................................................54

*common output indicator; **calculation basis for the flat rates4/21/2023 www.cbcromaniabulgaria.eu of 68



Glossary of terms




Applicant Any legal entity meeting the eligible criteria which submits an application to be financed by the programme

Beneficiary Any applicant whose application has been approved for financing

Biodiversity The variability of living bodies within the land, sea, continental aquatic ecosystems and ecological complexes; this comprises the intra-specific, inter-specific and ecosystems diversity

Discounting The process of adjusting the future value of cost and benefits to the present by a discount rate.

Discount rate

The rate at which future values are discounted to the present

Eligible expenditure

Expenditures made by a Beneficiary, related to the projects financed through the programme, which could be financed from the structural instruments, as well as from the state budget and/or own Beneficiary contribution

Eligible area/region

The Romanian counties and Bulgarian districts located in the border area, as mentioned in the programming document approved by the European Commission

Hard project

Project that has an infrastructure component or which grants more than half of its total eligible budget for the purchase of equipment

Internal rate ofReturn (IRR)

The discount rate at which a stream of costs and benefits has a net present value of zero. The internal rate of return is compared with a benchmark in order to evaluate the performance of the proposed project

Investment cost

Capital cost incurred in the construction of the project

Investment project

A project whose results involve the achievement of an objective by investing capital, which means that their main component is to carry out a work, without excluding the procurement of services (as consultancy or technical assistance) or goods (procurement of necessary equipments for the respective objective) related to the respective objective.

Joint Secretariat

The structure responsible for assisting the programme management bodies in carrying out their duties. Cross Border Cooperation Regional Office Calarasi for Romanian Bulgarian Border is hosting the Joint Secretariat for Interreg V-A Romania-Bulgaria Programme

Lead Beneficiary

A Beneficiary designated by the beneficiaries involved in a project responsible for coordinating the process of development, submission and implementation of that specific project

Managing Authority

The structure responsible for managing the operational programme. The Romanian Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration is the Managing Authority for Interreg V-A Romania-Bulgaria Programme

National The counterpart of the Managing Authority in the partner




Authority state. The Bulgarian Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works is the National Authority for Interreg V-A Romania-Bulgaria Programme

National Legislation

The legislation of the state on whose territory the beneficiary is located

Natural protected area

Land, aquatic and/or underground area hosting savage fauna and flora species, bio-geographical, landscape, geological, pale-ontological, speleological or other elements and systems with outstanding ecological, scientific or cultural value, governed by special preservation and protection rules in compliance with legal provisions

Net Present Value(NPV)

The sum that results when the expected costs of the investment are deducted from the discounted value of the expected benefits

Operating costs

Cost incurred in the operation of an investment, including cost of routine and extraordinary maintenance but excluding depreciation or capital costs

Priority Axis A strategic priority within the operational programme, that corresponds to a thematic objective and comprises one or more of the investment priorities of that thematic objective in line with the EU Regulations

Potential applicant

Any legal entity meeting the eligible criteria for submitting an application to be financed by the programme

Potential beneficiary

Any applicant or potential applicant is a potential beneficiary until the decision for financing its project has been issued

Project An operation comprising a series of works, activities or services intended in itself to accomplish an indivisible task of a precise economic or technical nature, which has clearly identified goals, expressed as the application form and its annexes.

Reference period

The number of years for which forecasts are provided in the cost benefit analysis

Residual value

The net present value of assets at the final year of the reference period selected for evaluation analysis

Revenuegenerating project

Any project involving an investment in infrastructure, the use of which is subject to charges borne directly by users, and any project involving the sale or rent of land or buildings or the provision of services against payment

Revenues Income to be expected from an investment through pricing or charges

Soft project Project that does not have an infrastructure component or which does not grant more than half of its total eligible budget to purchase of equipments

Secondary nodes

Secondary nodes are the branching or crossing points of the core and comprehensive networks, provided they represent cities (at least of regional importance) and/or multimodal connections

Tertiary nodes

Tertiary nodes are urban areas (regional towns, towns, cities) providing jobs and public and private services (e.g.




schools, health or social care, employment services, banks) beyond their administrative boundaries, and/or places of multimodal nodes




Glossary of Acronyms




AA Audit Authority

BG Bulgaria

CACertifying Authority (the Managing Authority took the role of Certifying Authority)

CBC Cross-Border Cooperation

CBA Cost Benefit Analysis

EC European Commission

ERDF European Regional Development Fund

EU European Union

GD Government Decision

ICT Information and Communication Technology

IRR Internal Rate of Return

IT Information Technology

MC Monitoring Committee

JS Joint Secretariat

MA Managing Authority

MRDPA Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration

MRDPW Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works

MF Ministry of Finance (Bulgaria)

MPF Ministry of Public Finance(Romania)

MEF Ministry of European Funds

MoIMemorandum on Implementation - Arrangements between MS participating in the Interreg V-A Romania Bulgaria Programme

MS Member States

NA National Authority

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

NUTS Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics

OP Operational Programme

PC Personal Computer

PROETC The Information System of the Programme

PSC Project Steering Committee

Programme Interreg V-A Romania – Bulgaria

R&D Research and Development

RTD Research and Technological Development

RO Romania




CBC RO Calarasi

Cross Border Cooperation Regional Office Calarasi for Romania-Bulgaria Border

SMEs Small and Medium sized Enterprises

SWOT Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats

VAT Value Added Tax

Explanation of text-boxes

Across the following pages you will find a series of highlighted text. Highlights draw attention on important issues, possible mistake or offer practical advices.

Legal basis

In the elaboration of this guide the following legal provisions have been observed:

Interreg V-A Romania-Bulgaria Programme;

Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on specific provisions for the support from the European Regional Development Fund to the European territorial cooperation goal

Commission Regulation (EU) No 1301/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Regional Development Fund and on the specific provisions concerning the Investment for growth and jobs goal and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006

Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006

Implementing Acts (http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/information/implementing/index_en.cfm)

Delegated Acts (http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/information/delegated/index_en.cfm)

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 481/2014 of 4 March 2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to specific rules on eligibility of expenditure for cooperation programmes

Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts



http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/information/delegated/index_en.cfm


Other relevant national and European legislation (Annex K).

Please note that all this legal provisions must also be observed by the applicants during both project elaboration and implementation phases.




I. GENERAL INFORMATION

This applicant’s guide aims to provide practical information for project applicants to the Interreg V-A Romania - Bulgaria. It is the most practical level of documentation needed for the successful submission of a project under this programme. This guide provides information on how to fill in the application, budget and related forms, the application procedure, the project selection criteria, the decision procedure and other practical advices.

Please bear in mind at all stages that this is a different Programme from the previous Romania-Bulgaria Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2007-2013. Therefore please read carefully this Guide in order to avoid confusion!

Please bear in mind that this call for proposals only concerns Priority Axis 1,2 and 3. Future calls will be launched for the rest of the Priority Axis (4 and 5).

I.1. Overview of Interreg V-A Romania-Bulgaria

This programme is financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund and co-financed by Romania and Bulgaria through contributions from state budget and from project beneficiaries.

The programming document drafted jointly by the two countries through a large partnership with national, regional and local stakeholders was approved by the European Commission on 12th of February 2015. It sets out the general framework of intervention of ERDF in the Romania – Bulgaria cross-border area.

The programme continues the evolution of the EU’s cross-border initiatives with Romania and Bulgaria, reflected in Phare CBC Programmes from 1999 to 2006 and subsequently in the Romania-Bulgaria Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2007-2013.

The programme’s eligible are includes 7 counties from Romania (Mehedinti, Dolj, Olt, Teleorman, Giurgiu, Calarasi, Constanta) and 8 districts from Republic of Bulgaria (Vidin, Montana, Vratsa, Pleven, Veliko Tarnovo, Ruse, Silistra, Dobrich).

The Programme and annexes are available on www.cbcromaniabulgaria.eu.





I.2. Programme Strategy

The programme was drafted starting from the status of current links between the two countries at border level.

The core element of the programme strategy is to bring together the cross-border communities as the first step towards sustainable cooperation and to promote their common actions to overcoming the physical and socio-cultural barriers, and to better exploit the opportunities offered by the development of the cross-border area for a mid-long-term sustainable growth.

The strategy of cooperation focuses on the problems and opportunities where the border is an important factor and where cross-border action is a key requirement. It is intended as a coherent and effective response to the needs, obstacles and weaknesses identified in the area and intends to be the vehicle for its cross-border socio-economic sustainable development.

The strategy takes due account of the following strategic considerations:

The connectivity in terms of physical infrastructure and communication services is the basis for an effective cooperation.

The natural features of the area represent valuable assets that may only be safeguarded through joint interventions.

Establishing common business interests shall drive the improvement of the level of economic co-operation and prevent the economic divergence in the border regions of the two countries.

Knowing each other is the basic requirement for both economic and social connections, which shall be reflected in the priorities given to social and cultural linkages.

The programme takes due note of the limited contacts and low base of cross-border cooperation during a long lasting period and recognizes the need for overcoming the natural geographic, psychological and language barriers (preconditions to understanding and trust) in order to transform the border from a line of separation into a place for communication and cooperation, meant to promote the potential of the area for integrated development and to integrate the cross-border area between two EU new member states.

i. Programme Objectives

The strategy, therefore, sets out to address the specific needs of the Bulgaria-Romania border area both in the short and longer term and supports the overall strategic goal:

To bring together the people, communities and economies of the Romania-Bulgaria border region to participate in the joint development of a cooperative area, using its human, natural and environmental resources and advantages in a sustainable way.




The overall aim of the programme, with the core elements of the strategy derived from the SWOT analysis, together led to the formulation of the following specific objectives of the Interreg V-A Romania-Bulgaria, which must be taken into account when preparing a project:

Specific objective 1.1: Improve the planning, development and coordination of cross border transport systems for better connections to TEN-T transport network

Specific objective 1.2: Increase transport safety on waterways and maritime transport routes

Specific objective 2.1: To improve the sustainable use of natural heritage and resources and cultural heritage

Specific objective 2.2: To enhance the sustainable management of the ecosystems from the cross-border area

Specific objective 3.1: To improve joint risk management in the cross-border area

Specific objective 4.1 To encourage the integration of the cross-border area in terms of employment and labour mobility

Specific objective 5.1: To increase cooperation capacity and the efficiency of public institutions in a CBC context

The above specific objectives focus on the establishment of a sound basis for joint development of the eligible area.

For further details on programme strategy please refer to the programming document and to the Project Implementation Manual.

ii. Programme Priority Axes

In order to achieve the objectives set out in the programming document, the partner states have jointly agreed upon the main directions on which the interventions under this programme should focus. These main directions are called Priority Axes and are as follows:

Priority Axis 1: A well connected region Specific Objective 1.1 Improve the planning, development and

coordination of cross-border transport systems for better connections to TEN-T transport network

Specific Objective 1.2 Increase transport safety on waterways and maritime transport routes




Priority Axis 2: A green region

Specific Objective 2.1 To improve the sustainable use of natural heritage and resources and cultural heritage

Specific Objective 2.2 To enhance the sustainable management of the ecosystems from the cross-border area

Priority Axis 3: A safe region

Specific Objective 3.1 To improve joint risk management in the cross-border area

Priority Axis 4: A skilled and inclusive region

Specific Objective 4.1 To encourage the integration of the cross-border area in terms of employment and labour mobility

Priority Axis 5: An efficient region

Specific Objective 5.1 To increase cooperation capacity and the efficiency of public institutions in a CBC context

Priority Axis 6: Technical Assistance

Only the first five priority axes finance projects submitted by regular applicants while the sixth one is dedicated to ensuring the proper functioning of the programme implementation bodies.

I.3. Programme Implementation Structure

According to the EU Regulations on Structural Instruments, the two partner states in the programme - Romania and Bulgaria - have established a number of bodies forming the implementation and monitoring mechanism of the programme. The most relevant bodies for the potential beneficiaries are:

Managing Authority – the Romanian Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration - is responsible for managing and implementing the operational programme in accordance with EC Regulations and the principles of sound financial management. The Managing Authority signs the ERDF subsidy contracts with the Lead Beneficiaries as well as the co-financing contracts with the Romanian project partners (for the co-financing granted from the Romanian state budget). The Managing Authority took over the role of certifying the expenditures (role of Certifying Authority).

National Authority - the Bulgarian Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works – is the counterpart of the Managing Authority and will sign the co-financing contracts with the Bulgarian project partners (for the co-financing granted from the Bulgarian state budget).

Monitoring Committee (MC) is formed of representatives at national, regional and local level from both countries, supervises the programme and selects the projects. All the decisions relevant for the Programe implementation are taken by the Monitoring Committee.




Joint Secretariat (JS) is based in Calarasi (Romania), within the Cross Border Cooperation Regional Office Calarasi for Romania-Bulgaria Border. It assists the Managing Authority in carrying out their respective duties and is the main contact point between the programme and the potential beneficiaries/project partners.

A JS Antenna (JSA) is a structure within the CBC RO Calarasi branch, located in Ruse, Bulgaria, that develops information and monitoring related activities, having as main role to serve as local contact point for potential beneficiaries/project partners (tasks related to information and monitoring).

For further details on programme implementation structure please refer to the programming document.

I.4. Programme Financial Allocation

The total budget of the programme for the entire 7-year programming period is 258,504,126 Euro, of which 215,745,513 Euro is represented by EU contribution through the European Regional Development Fund. The remaining 42,758,613 Euro are national contributions from state budgets and project partners.

The breakdown of the total budget of the programme on priority axes and national contributions approved by the European Commission as part of the programme is shown in the table below:

Priority axes by source of funding (in euro)Community

Funding ERDF (a)

National counterpart

Total funding

(a) (b) (a)+(b)Priority Axis 1 – A well connected region

81,983,295 14,467,641 96,450,936

Priority Axis 2 – A green region

53,936,379 9,518,185 63,454,564

Priority Axis 3 – A safe region

40,991,647 7,233,821 48,225,468

Priority Axis 4 – A skilled and inclusive region

15,102,186 2,665,093 17,767,279

Priority Axis 5 – An effective region

10,787,276 1,903,637 12,690,913

Priority Axis – Technical Assistance

12,944,730 6,970,236 19,914,966

Total 215,745,513 42,758,613 258,504,126




*Includes the contributions from state budgets and local budgets from both countries

For further details on programme financial provisions please refer to the programming document and to the Project Implementation Manual.

Please note that the programme financial allocation is not broken down by state or NUTS III eligible region (county/district).

I.5. Programme Indicators

The focus in the 2014-2020 programming period is on the results. The Programme results are measured by indicators. The performance framework is one of the tools to achieve a result-orientation of the ESI Funds. It is a table in which a set of milestones and targets is defined for each priority in the programme. The achievement of milestones will be assessed by the European Commission in 2019 and in case of failure it could lead to the suspension of payments. The achievements of final targets will be assessed in 2025 and might form the basis of financial corrections.

Indicators measure whether the project has achieved its objectives or not. In this respect, each project must contribute to the achieving of the programme indicators (both output and result indicators). The choice of appropriate indicators and the way your project contributes to the Programme results is important for the project and its selection by the Monitoring Committee.

i. Output Indicators (baseline for output indicators is always 0) and financial indicators from the performance framework for the first 3 priority axes. Targets are counted based on finalized projects.

Priority Axis 1: A well connected region




IndicatorTarget 2018

Target 2023

Total length of reconstructed or upgraded roads 60 KM of roads to be upgraded or reconstructed for which

tenders have been launched

120 KM

Number of joint mechanisms (e.g. route guidance, incidents/emergencies detection and management, studies on traffic flows, feasibility studies addressing cross-border transport issues, traffic safety measures, black-spot maps, awareness raising activities); to facilitate the connection of secondary/tertiary nodes to TEN-T infrastructure

NA30

Number of studies, strategies and action plans to improve safety of the navigation on the Danube and the Black Sea supported

NA5

Total length of new or improved inland waterway

NA20 km

Financial indicator 8 000 000 96,450,936

Priority Axis 2: A green region


Target 2023

Increase in expected number of visits to supported sites of cultural and natural heritage and attraction (COI)

2 000 10 000

Number of integrated tourism products/services created

10 100

Number of common strategies, policies or management plans for valorising (including raising awareness) the cultural and natural heritage through its restoration and promotion for sustainable economic uses

NA 50

Surface area of habitats supported to attain a better conservation status (ha) (COI)

NA20.000 ha





Priority Axis 3: A safe region


Target 2023

Population benefiting from actions of risk management

NA 2 500 000

Population benefiting from flood protection measures

NA 1 250 000

Population benefiting from forest fire protection measures

NA 1 250 000

Number of joint partnerships in the field of joint early warning and emergency response

10 50





ii. Result Indicators for the first 3 priority axes (for further details on the methodology used to set the Programme baselines, which will be the same methodology to measure these indicators throughout the lifetime of the Programme, please consult Annex J).

Priority Axis

Specific Objective

Result Indicator

Baseline

Target How it’s measured

A well connected region

Improve the planning, development and coordination of cross border transport systems for better connections to TEN-T transport network

Cross border population served by modernized infrastructure leading to TEN-T

626.140 1.250.000

The indicator is built through the superposition of a 2 km zone on the layouts of the roads taken into account by the programme. This map of the programme catchment area is used to quantify the number of inhabitants, counting those from every locality within the 2 km zone (population is given by the census).

Increase transport safety on waterways and maritime transport routes

% of the RO-BG CBC Danube length and Black Sea where safety of the navigation has been improved by joint actions

1,29% 25% Data available from the previous financed projects (km with safety of navigation improves vs. total length).

A green region

To improve the sustainable use of natural heritage and resources and cultural heritage

Number of tourists overnights in the CBC region

6.668.515

7.200.000

Romanian and Bulgarian national statistical survey




To enhance the sustainable management of the ecosystems from the cross-border area

NATURA 2000 sites in the cross border area with coordinated management tools

2 10 No. of Natura 2000 sites with coordinated management plans

A safe region*

To improve joint risk management in the cross-border area

The quality of the joint risk management in the CBC area

2 3 Survey: How is the quality of joint risk management in the RO-BG CBC area appreciated?1–strongly inappropriate; 2–somewhat inappropriate; 3–satisfactory; 4–appropriate; 5–strongly appropriate; 0–do not know/no answer.




*Since this is a qualitative indicator, a quantification of your project contribution cannot be made at the present moment, therefore, instead, projects may explain how, by what means, they intend to contribute to the result indicator.

For further details on programme indicators and performance framework please refer to the programming document (including annexes).

I.6 Financial allocation for the call for proposals

The total amount allocated for this call for proposals for the three priority axes, matched by national public and private funding and is of 208.130.968 Euro, broken down as follows:

Indicative allocation for first deadline (soft projects):

Priority Axis

Community Funding ERDF (a)

National counterpart*

Total funding


8,198,330 446764.1 1,446,764 9,645,094


10,787,276 1,903,637 12,690,913


4,099,165 723,382 4,822,547

Total 23,084,771 4,073,783 27,158,554




*Includes the contributions from state budgets and local budgets from both countries

Indicative allocation for first deadline (hard projects):

Priority Axis

Community Funding ERDF (a)

National counterpart*

Total funding


73,784,965 13,020,877 86,805,842


43,149,1037,614,548 50,763,651


36,892,482 6,510,439 43,402,921

Total 153,826,550 27,145,864 180,972,414




Summed up, the allocation for this call matches the entire allocation available for these three Priority Axis (1,2,3) therefore, please note that this could be the only call for proposals available for this PAs (a

separate call will soon follow for PA 4 and 5)

I.7. State Aid

Considering the activities financed under the current call, activities for which the beneficiaries do not act as economic operators and for which there are no considerations to assume that the competition will be distorted, the projects shall not be subject to state aid rules.

To this end, the following provisions shall be fulfilled by each project:

All expenditure must be made according to the national laws on public procurement of the country on whose territory the partner which organizes the procedure is located. For Romanian NGOs a special procedure is applicable. The procedure for the Romanian NGO may be changed unilaterally by the Managing Authority. The procurement procedure (performed by either Romania/Bulgarian partners) has to be open (to allow all interested and qualified bidders to participate in the process), transparent, sufficiently well-publicized, non-discriminatory and unconditional. When a tender procedure complies with these principles, it can be presumed that the transactions are in line with normal market conditions. For direct procurements the market price level is observed (try to refer to any well-known suppliers available at national level - print screen from websites are accepted and recommended).

The project must not create an economic advantage to an economic operator/undertaking. The undertakings are defined as entities engaged in an economic activity, regardless of their status and the way in which are financed. The classification of a particular entity as an undertaking thus depends entirely on the nature of its activities. This general principle has three important consequences:

First, the status of the entity under national law is not decisive. For example, an entity that is classified as an association or a sports club under national law may nevertheless have to be regarded as an undertaking within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty. The only relevant criterion in this respect is whether it carries out an economic activity.

Second, the application of the state aid rules as such does not depend on whether the entity is set up to generate profits.




Third, the classification of an entity as an undertaking is always relative to a specific activity. An entity that carries out both economic and non-economic activities is to be regarded as an undertaking only with regard to the former. Any activity consisting in offering goods and services on a market is an economic activity.

A service that is reimbursed at market price is not conveying an advantage.- All studies or other results of the non-investment research and development projects shall be made available for free to all interested individual or legal persons, in a non-discriminatory way.

In the field of research&development&innovation activities, the following activities are generally of a non-economic character:

a) primary activities of research organisations and research infrastructures, in particular:

education for more and better skilled human resources. Public education organised within the national educational system, predominantly or entirely funded by the State and supervised by the State is considered as a non-economic activity

independent R&D for more knowledge and better understanding, including collaborative R&D where the research organisation or research infrastructure engages in effective collaboration

wide dissemination of research results on a non-exclusive and non-discriminatory basis, for example through teaching, open-access databases, open publications or open software.

b) knowledge transfer activities, where they are conducted either by the research organisation or research infrastructure (including their departments or subsidiaries) or jointly with, or on behalf of other such entities, and where all profits from those activities are reinvested in the primary activities of the research organisation or research infrastructure. The non-economic nature of those activities is not prejudiced by contracting the provision of corresponding services to third parties by way of open tenders.

Where a research organisation or research infrastructure is used for both economic and non-economic activities, public funding falls under state aid rules only insofar as it covers costs linked to the economic activities. Where the research organisation or research infrastructure is used almost exclusively for a non-economic activity, its funding may fall outside state aid rules in its entirety, provided that the economic use remains purely ancillary, that is to say corresponds to an activity which is directly related to and necessary for the operation of the research organisation or research infrastructure or intrinsically linked to its main non-economic use, and which is limited in scope. This should be considered to be the case where the economic activities consume exactly the same inputs (such as material, equipment, labour and fixed capital) as the non-economic activities and the capacity allocated each year to such economic activities does not exceed 20 % of the relevant entity’s overall annual capacity. Making the project results available only for certain individual or legal persons is strictly forbidden! Also, the




project results should not create an economic advantage to a certain undertaking/activity/the production of certain goods.

Special provisions regarding state aid are included in the sections of this Guide dedicated to the eligibility of actions under a priority axis.




I.8. Revenue Generating ProjectsRevenue generating projects shall be financed under the present call for proposals. A revenue-generating project means:

any project involving an investment in infrastructure the use of which is subject to charges borne directly by users or

any project involving:o the sale or rent of land or buildings or o any other provision of services against payment.

Eligible expenditure on revenue-generating projects shall not exceed the current value of the investment cost less the current value of the net revenue from the investment over a specific reference period for:(a) investments in infrastructure; or(b) other projects where it is possible to objectively estimate the revenues in advance.Where not all the investment cost is eligible for co-financing, the net revenue shall be allocated pro rata to the eligible and non-eligible parts of the investment cost. The potential net revenue generated by the project shall be determined in advance by calculating the discounted net revenue of the project, according to Article 61(3)b of Regulation 1303/2014. Applicants shall respect the provisions of Section III of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 480/2014 when calculating the discounted net revenue of operations generating net revenue. The net revenue generated during implementation of the project, resulting from sources of revenue not taken into account in determining the potential net revenue of the project, shall be deducted from the eligible expenditure of the project, no later than in the final payment claim submitted by the beneficiary.Where it is objectively not possible to determine the revenue in advance, the net revenue generated within three years of the completion of a project, or by the deadline for the submission of documents for programme closure, whichever is earlier, shall be refunded to the MA and/or to NA according to the ERDF and national state budget contributions.

The implementation of the provisions mentioned above is done by the following measures:

In the preparation phase, in the application form, the applicants shall mention if their project is revenue generating. From the cost-benefit analysis, the project’s generated net revenues are deducted from the investment cost, thus establishing the eligible costs of the project.

The project’s budget annexed to the application form shall not include the net revenue, net revenue shall be mentioned however,

in the application form.

In the implementation phase, a monitoring of the generated revenues shall be done throughout the implementation period of the project or for the next 3 years following the completion of the project.




II. RULES OF THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS

II.1. Type of call for proposals

The financing under the Interreg V-A Romania – Bulgaria shall be made available to potential beneficiaries through a competitive

process. The Managing Authority together with the National Authority and the Joint Secretariat are launching the present call for

proposals with deadlines for submitting the applications (30th of June for soft projects, 30th of September for hard projects). Nevertheless, the applicants may submit their applications

throughout the entire period of the call for proposals, up until the mentioned deadline. The evaluation process starts after each

deadline.

The present call for proposal has the goal of establishing solid partnerships in the eligible area by financing both “soft” projects (as studies, strategies, seminars, know-how exchanges) and “hard” projects (projects involving investments with a concrete impact to the cross-border area or which grants more than half of its total eligible budget to purchase of equipments).

All investment projects must observe the relevant national provisions regarding the elaboration, financing and approving (see Annex K- Relevant national and EU legislation).

II.2. Eligibility Criteria

In order to be eligible for funding under the programme, a project should meet three criteria: the eligibility of applicants, activities and expenditure.

i. Eligibility of Applicants

The applicants have to comply with a set of requirements related to their:- legal status,- geographical location,

- professional and financial background.

(1) The applicants must fulfill the following criteria:

Be Romanian or Bulgarian non-profit making bodies/organizations, legally established according to the national legislation of the state on whose territory they are located;




Be non-governmental organizations (associations or foundations), public sector operators, bodies governed by public law1, local/regional/national authorities which fulfill one of the following criteria:

have their headquarters in the eligible cross border region or;

are organizations whose headquarters are not situated in the eligible area, but are located in Romania or Bulgaria and have local/regional branch offices with legal statute (legal entity) established in the eligible area.

are Romanian or Bulgarian national public authorities whose area of competence, established by legal acts, extends to the eligible area of the programme.

The applicants, located in Romania and Bulgaria, but whose headquarters are not situated in the eligible area and cannot legally open a local/regional branch office with legal personality in the eligible area may participate in projects provided that their budget is limited to 20% of the project’s total budget

Be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action together with their partners, not acting as an intermediary;

Appoint, for each project, a lead beneficiary among the project partners. The tasks of the Lead Beneficiary are provided in the framework subsidy contract (Annex G) and in the model partnership agreement (Annex I);

Have at least one partner on the other side of the border, which must fulfill the same eligibility criteria. Applicants without any partners from the other

side of the border will not be eligible (with the exception of sole beneficiaries, as defined art. 12 of Regulation 1299/2013);

The maximum number of beneficiaries in a project will be five (5), including the Lead Beneficiary!

Have stable and sufficient financing sources to ensure the continuity of the operation of their organization throughout the project and, if necessary, to play a part in financing it;

Be able to demonstrate their capacity to manage their share of activities in the project for which the subsidy is requested;

Be the body/institution entitled to take action in the field/fields addressed by the project;

1 The definition of a body governed by public law is the following according to Article 1 of Directive2004/18/EC:A "body governed by public law" means any body:(a) established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest, not having anindustrial or commercial character;(b) having legal personality; and(c) financed, for the most part, by the state, regional or local authorities, or other bodies governedby public law; or subject to management supervision by those bodies; or having an administrative,managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the state,regional or local authorities, or by other bodies governed by public law.




Have not benefited of financing support from public funds in the past 5 years before the deadline for submitting the applications under this call for proposals for the same project in terms of objectives, activities and results (for infrastructure projects, this provision refers to the same infrastructure/segment of infrastructure).

For investment projects, the applicants must prove they hold a right under the real property law over the land and/or building by the following documents:

a) the applicant is the owner of the land/or building:

1. for public authorities:

-the legal act (e.g. government decision, law, government ordinance, decision of local counties, Council of Ministers Decrees etc) stating the public property on the land and/or building;

-documents related to the registration of property of the respective applicant on the land and/or building in the relevant public registers.

2. for NGO’s

- property act on the land and/or building;

- documents related to the registration of the land and/or building in the relevant public registers.

b) the applicant has received the land and/or building is in concession or holds any other right under the real property law:

1. for public authorities:

-the legal act (e.g. government decision, law, government ordinance, decision of local counties, contracts etc) proving the concession or the real property right; it must be proved that the duration of the concession or the real property right of the land is in line with the provisions of article 71, paragraph 1 from Regulation 1303/2013 and that the owner has given its written agreement saying that the applicant may perform the investment.

- declaration from the land and/or building owner that the land and/or building is:

o free of any encumbrances;

o not the object of an pending litigation;

o not the object of a claim according to the relevant national legislation.


2. for NGO’s




- the legal act proving the concession or the real property right; it must be proved that the duration of the concession of the land and/or building is in line with the provisions of article 71, paragraph 1 from Regulation 1303/2013 and that the owner of the land and/or building has given his written agreement saying that the applicant may perform the investment.

- Declaration from the land and/or building owner that the land and/or building is:

o free of any encumbrances;

o not the object of an pending litigation;

o not the object of a claim according to the relevant national legislation.


The land and/or building, which are subject of the application for financial support for investment, must:- Be free of any encumbrances;- Not be the object of a pending litigation;- Not be the object of a legal claim according to the relevant

national legislation.

The applicants for the projects financed under priority Axis 2: A green region, must also observe the following rules:a) If the applicant is another entity than the administrator of the protected area which the project refers to and the administrator is not a partner in the project the applicant must have the written approval of the administrator of the respective protected area;b) In case a protected area is not administered by a certain entity and the responsible environment authority is not a partner in the project the applicant must have the written approval of the responsible environmental authority or the responsible environment authority is a partner in the project.

Partnerships not involving strong commitment and contributions (observing at least joint development and implementation and additionally either joint staffing or financing) from the part of all partners shall be rejected!

Political parties are not eligible!

(2) Exclusion criteria

All applicants (Lead beneficiaries and Project Beneficiaries) shall prove their professional and financial liability by not falling under any of the cases presented below.

Potential applicants are not allowed to participate in calls for proposals if:




(a) they are bankrupt or being wound up, they have their affairs administered by the courts, they have entered into an arrangement with creditors, they have suspended business activities, they are the subject of proceedings concerning those matters or they are in any analogous situation, arising from a similar procedure provided for in the national legislation or EU regulations;

(b) the legal representative has been convicted of an offence concerning professional conduct by a judgment which has the force of res judicata (i.e., against which no appeal is possible);

(c) the legal representative is guilty of serious professional misconduct proven by any means;

(d) they have not fulfilled obligations related to the payment of debts to the central or local budget;

(e) the legal representative has been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organization or any other illegal activity detrimental to the Communities or national financial interests;

(f) they have been declared to be in serious breach of contract for failure to comply with their contractual obligations in connection with a procurement procedure or other grant award procedure financed by the Community or national budget.

Applicants are also excluded from participation in calls for proposals or the award of financial support if, at the time of the call for proposals, they:

(g) are subject to a conflict of interests; the conflict of interests represents any circumstances that may affect the evaluation or implementation process, in an objective and impartial manner. Such circumstances may result from economic interests, political or national preferences or family connections.

(h) are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the Managing Authority/ Joint Secretariat as a condition of participation in the call for proposals or fail to supply this information;

(i) have attempted to obtain confidential information or influence the evaluation bodies during the evaluation process of current or previous calls for proposals;

In the cases referred to in points (a), (c), (d), (f), (h) and (i) above, the exclusion applies for a period of two years from the time when the infringement is established. In the cases referred to in points (b) and (e), the exclusion applies for a period of four years from the date of notification of the judgment.

In the signed “Declaration of eligibility” included in the application form (Annex A.4), applicants must declare that they do not fall into any of the above categories (a) to (i).(3) A general eligibility criteria that has to be filled in by all applicants concerns the professional and financial eligibility, meaning:-The applicants shall have the necessary professional background, experience and knowledge in the field of action they are applying for;




- The applicants shall have stable and sufficient professional and financial resources in order to manage and financially implement the project.

The applicants must state their financial and administrative capacity to manage their share of the project, namely:

a) have the capacity to ensure their own contribution and the financing for non-eligible expenditures of the project; they must also have the capacity to ensure the temporary availability of funds until they are reimbursed by the programme. The own contribution represents the share of the total eligible expenditure that will be supported by the beneficiaries of the project;

b) the value of the own contribution of the applicant, the list of eligible expenditures and the list of Ceilings for expenditure (Annex C to the present Guide, the prices are calculated without VAT) must be followed when completing the budget of the project in the Application Form. Any non-eligible expenditure and any additional expenditure that may appear in the implementation period of the project shall be covered by the applicants.

All applicants shall annex to the Application form the Declaration of Commitment (Annex A.5) regarding the coverage of expenditures related to the project.

According to the Declaration of Commitment, the applicants shall:- provide their own contribution to the eligible expenditure and ensure the temporary availability of funds necessary to run the project before and between the reimbursements from the programme; - cover all non-eligible expenditures corresponding to their activities incurred during project implementation;- ensure that the representatives in the project management team are available throughout the entire project implementation period;- ensure the availability of all other resources planned to be used for implementing the project, as they were described within the Application Form.

The Managing Authority or the Joint Secretariat may demand at any time additional documentary evidence and argumentations regarding financial capacity.

Indicative examples of potential applicants for all Priority axes:

County Councils/ District Administrations;

Local Councils/Municipalities;

Associations of local public authorities;

Chambers of Commerce/ SMEs associations;

Educational institutions (schools, universities etc.);

Ministries and their local/regional departments/bodies;*common output indicator; **calculation basis for the flat rates4/21/2023 www.cbcromaniabulgaria.eu of 68



Non-profit research institutes;

Other NGO’s acting in the fields financed by the programme

EGTCs.

Given the provisions of the General Regulation concerning the durability of operations, the duration of an entity acting as beneficiary under this programme, according to its legal establishing documents, should be at least 5 years from the final payment to the beneficiary.

All State Aid provisions must be observed! (see I.7 and sections dedicated to the eligibility of actions –II.2.ii)

ii. Eligibility of Actions

The project must be in line with at least one of the indicative operations from an investment priority under a priority axis as stipulated in the Interreg V-A Romania-Bulgaria.

The activities have to be implemented in the Programme eligible area. However, in case a project has to be implemented partially

outside the eligible area, it has to prove that it is in for the benefit of the programme area. The total costs incurred outside of the

eligible area (related to any activity or any category of expenditure) shall be limited to 20% of the ERDF total eligible project budget,

irrespective of the location of the partner.

All State Aid provisions must be observed for any type of action! (see I.7)

Please pay special attention to the types of actions marked with a * or **, which were identified as being most susceptible to be subject

of state aid provisions!

Soft project: project that does not have an infrastructure component or which does not grant more than half of its total eligible budget to purchase of equipments

Hard project: project that has an infrastructure component or which grants more than half of its total eligible budget for the purchase of equipment

The feasibility studies or the equivalent technical documents shall be prepared/updated with maxim 1 year before the project submission date.

The types of actions financed under each Priority axis and Investment Priority, as well as projects duration and budget limits are described below:




Priority Axis 1 – A well connected region :

Specific Objective 1.1 Improve the planning, development and coordination of cross-border transport systems for better connections to TEN-T transport networks

State aid: for the actions marked with * the following conditions must also be observed:

* the operation and administration of the infrastructure are tendered out/procured in accordance with the EU and national legislation respecting the principle of open, transparent and non-discriminatory procurement

* the royalty, for the leased infrastructure, must be established in an objective and transparent manner in order to ensure that does not confer an economic advantage, therefore the royalty must be proportional to the value of the leased infrastructure

Indicative operations

1. Developing cross-border/joint action-based solutions, management plans, strategies, feasibility studies, environment impact assessments etc., related to works projects for public infrastructure (waterways, roads etc.) in order to connect secondary and tertiary nodes to TEN-T infrastructure and to reduce transportation time and optimising logistics;

2. Developing co-ordinated concepts, standards and tools on the cross-border level for improved mobility services in the public interest (e.g. for disadvantaged groups, for shrinking regions,);

3. Facilitating active cooperation among the providers of traffic and travel information and value added services in order to improve the local public transport in the cross-border area and the connection between twin cities (e.g., harmonisation of timetables, provision of bilingual information on cross-border timetables, operating cross-border transport public services especially between twin cities);

4. Exchanging experience and knowledge, including raising awareness (trainings, seminars, and workshops) in the field of traffic safety measures in the cross-border area (e.g., improved traffic network configurations, introduction of traffic calming measures, utilisation of roundabouts, speed materials).

5. Improving the cross-border secondary and tertiary nodes connections to TEN-T infrastructure (e.g., improve/build bicycle routes, bicycle-sheds, construction and modernization of road infrastructure)

6. Setting up of joint traffic management for smart mobility in the cross-border area (e.g. route guidance, incidents/emergencies detection and management, studies on traffic flows, traffic safety measures, black-spot maps)




Project duration

For “soft” projects, the duration of a project should not exceed 24 months from the starting date of the project.

For “hard” projects, the duration of a project should not exceed 36 months from the starting date of the project.

Project budget

For “soft” projects, the total financial support from the programme for one project will range between 250,000 Euro and 1,500,000 Euro.

For “hard” projects, the total financial support from the programme for one project will range between 1.000,000 Euro and 8,000,000 Euro. In case a entire new road is constructed, the budget could go up to 10,000,000 Euro.

The ERDF will finance 85% of the eligible expenditure and the state budgets of the two countries shall provide an additional 13% to public bodies and NGOs. 2% represents own contribution of project partners.

Please note that only roads proving cross border impact and connecting secondary or tertiary nodes to TEN-T infrastructure (core

or comprehensive) will be financed!

Figure 1: Infrastructure map, including indicative secondary and tertiary nodes (indicative map)




Specific Objective 1.2 Increase transport safety on waterways and maritime transport routes


*the beneficiaries may be only public bodies which have the right to declare a service as a service of “general economic interest” and when applying for a project, the service must be defined through a legal/administrative act as a “service of general economic interest”;

•the infrastructure for implementing the project has to be the property of the public body, only the administration and services may be entrusted to an economic operator through a public tender procedure, and only under the condition that the economic operator pays a proportional market royalty to deliver this service) and only in such manner that the rent for the infrastructure administration and the royalty for service operation paid by the economic operator are at the market price (e.g. if a ferry crossing point is developed, the public authority must be the owner of the infrastructure-port and ferryboat- and the service of transferring passengers may be externalized to an economic operator, through a public tender procedure, and only under the condition that the economic operator pays a market royalty to deliver this service);

• the beneficiary has the obligation to stipulate in the contract that all renovation or reparation works must be supported by the economic operator to who the contract is awarded.

The existence of state aid is excluded where the State acts by exercising public power or where authorities emanating from the State act in their capacity as public authorities. Any entity may be deemed to act by exercising public powers where the activity in question is a task that forms part of the essential functions of the State or is connected with those functions by its nature, its aim and the rules to which it is subject. Generally speaking, unless the Member State concerned has decided to introduce market mechanisms, activities that intrinsically form part of the prerogatives of official authority and are performed by the State do not constitute economic activities. Examples are activities related to: the army or the police; air navigation safety and control; maritime traffic control and safety; anti-pollution surveillance and the organisation, financing and enforcement of prison sentences.


1. Raising awareness regarding the importance of developing and improving environment-friendly transport systems in the cross-border area;

2. Exchanging experience: joint seminars, study visits, surveys and trainings leading to implementation of new methods in order to maintain the navigability of the Danube/Black Sea during winter as well.




3. Investing (infrastructure and equipment) in improved freight and passenger on river and sea transport on cross-border level;

4. Developing integrated plans and measures in order to improve the navigation conditions for the common sector of the Danube and the Black Sea in the cross-border area (e.g., joint feasibility studies, engineering planning documents, morphological and hydrodynamic studies in establishing the sediment accumulation conditions etc. on river regulation works, unify the reference system used in Romania and Bulgaria on the Danube and introduce the River Information system, elaboration of maritime spatial plans (MSP) for the Black Sea);

5. Developing and implementing joint co-ordinated strategies, tools and pilot applications to improve the development of multimodal nodes and port services;

Project duration



Project budget


For “hard” projects, the total financial support from the programme for one project will range between 500,000 Euro and 8,000,000 Euro.



State aid: Please note that the costs for participation of undertakings in fairs are not eligible.





* Research infrastructures may perfom both economic and non-economic activities. In order to avoid granting state aid to economic activities through public funding of non-economic activities, the costs and financing of economic and non-economic activities should be clearly separated. Where an infrastructure is used for both economic and non-economic activities, the funding through state resources of the costs linked to the non-economic activities of the infrastructure does not constitute state aid. If the infrastructure is used almost exclusively for a non-economic activity, its funding may fall outside state aid rules in its entirety, provided that the economic use remains purely ancillary, that is to say, an activity which is directly related to and necessary for the operation of the infrastructure or intrinsically linked to its main non-economic use, and is limited in scope. This should be considered to be the case where the economic activities consume exactly the same inputs (such as material, equipment, labour and fixed capital) as the non-economic activities and the capacity allocated each year to such economic activities does not exceed 20 % of the relevant entity’s overall annual capacity. * Wide dissemination of common tourism products and services on a non-exclusive and non-discriminatory basis. The tourism products/cultural events must not grant an advantage in a selective way to certain undertakings or categories of undertakings, therefore their must not contain any reference to a particular tour operator /some tour operators

Specific Objective 2.1 To improve the sustainable use of natural heritage and resources and cultural heritage


1.Preparing joint studies, strategies, management plans etc. in the field of common preservation, development and utilisation of cultural/natural heritage

2. Raising awareness regarding the protection, promotion and development of natural and cultural heritage

3. Preserving, promoting and developing the intangible cultural heritage, mainly through cultural events with a cross-border dimension*

4. Supporting the promotion and utilisation of cultural/natural heritage potential by investments in joint and sustainable touristic infrastructure

5. Modernizing/constructing roads to natural and cultural heritage interest points that will be part of a cross-border tourism product

6. Reconstructing cultural infrastructure:, recovery and promotion of cultural monuments based on relevant cross-border strategies/concepts

7. Developing common tourism products and services based on the natural and cultural heritage and joint promotion*

8. Developing coordinated management of natural parks, nature reserves and other protected areas

Project duration






Project budget




Specific Objective 2.2: To enhance the sustainable management of the ecosystems from the cross-border area


1. Coordinating actions and exchanging information to reinforce the implementation of relevant policies (Water Framework Directive), and biodiversity conservation (Flora, Fauna, Habitat Directive and Birds Directive), organise knowledge transfer, exchange of good practice examples, networking and development of innovations on protecting/preserving ecosystems

2. Protecting ecosystems using classification, mapping and spatial planning and other structural cooperative measures in the field of nature and landscape protection

3. Preparing and implementing joint researches, studies, strategies, plans related to NATURA 2000 sites

4. Raising awareness for the general public by acknowledging and promoting the potentials related to NATURA 2000 sites

5. Joint designation and management of protected sites and species of the NATURA 2000 network

6. Supporting and promoting cross-border investments regarding the green infrastructure (e.g. urban tree canopy, corridors connecting habitats)

7. Protecting/preserving/monitoring the ecosystems, especially in NATURA 2000 sites by purchasing the necessary equipment.

8. Creating/reinforcing cross-border coordinated infrastructure that protects/restores biodiversity/soil/promotes ecosystem services, including through NATURA 2000




Project duration



Project budget

For “soft” projects, the total financial support from the programme for one project will range between 250,000 Euro and 1,500,000.




Specific Objective 3.1 To improve joint risk management in the cross-border area


1.Increasing co-ordination and efficient reactions of the authorities in the emergency situations caused by natural disasters (flood, fire, heat waves, earthquakes, storms), as well as setting up common rules/legislation on deforesting and construction in the areas affected by natural and anthropic hazards

2. Setting-up and integrating harmonized standards and systems for better forecasting and managing natural and anthropic hazards in the CBC area (flood, earthquake, fire, storms), including preparing/updating hazard maps and ecosystem-based solutions(for floodplains, wetland preservation, forest management)

3. Setting up of harmonised integrated tools for risk prevention and mitigation (including detection, early warning and alert systems, risk mapping and assessment) - creation of joint structures for urgent, unexpected situations (including highly specialized response units/civil protection modules), and development of small-scale regional level cross-border infrastructure in the field of emergency preparedness (e.g. transport accidents, disasters, etc.), including in cases of weather-related risks (such as storms, extreme temperature events, forest fires, droughts, floods) and geophysical risks (such as landslides, earthquakes).

4. Elaborating of joint detailed maps and data bases indicating natural and technological risks, and land use for regional planning authorities, environmental agencies and emergency services;




5. Exchanging experience and knowledge, including raising awareness in the field of efficient risk prevention and management in the cross-border area (including training and learning programmes, community-based training initiatives, bilingual maps, information sheets, brochures about natural and anthropic hazards) targeted at specific target groups (children/youth, development planners, emergency managers, local government officials etc.)

6. Land improving for regions with high and medium hazard risk level, preferably by nature-based ecosystem solutions (including: sanitation and reforestation of river banks, building green infrastructure flood and coastal defenses, building flood and coastal defence (dikes, reservoirs), forestation/reforestation of non-permanent vulnerable land to torrential formations, reducing desertification tendencies and high drought risks, replanting floodplain forests) rainwater harvesting, reforestation)

7. Measuring/monitoring environmental parameters that are important for early warning and effective mitigation measures (e.g. emission levels, water purity, analysis of soil and water samples etc.), through the purchasing of common equipment and joint assessment of results;

Project duration



Project budget

For “soft” projects, the total financial support from the programme for one project will range between 250,000 Euro and 1,500,000.

For investment projects, the total financial support from the programme for one project will range between 500,000 Euro and 6,000,000 Euro.


Rules applicable for all projects

Cooperation criteria

The projects must have direct CBC impact, which shall be understood in terms of respecting at least joint development and joint implementation and, additionally, one of the two: joint financing or joint staffing

Additional points in the evaluation will be granted for respecting all four cooperation criteria!




Joint development – means that the project must be designed in common by partners from both sides of the border. This means that project proposals must clearly integrate the ideas, priorities and actions of stakeholders on both sides of the border. The Lead Beneficiary is the coordinator of this process but should include other partners from the beginning of the development process;

Joint implementation – means that activities must be carried out and coordinated among partners on both sides of the border. It is not enough that activities run in parallel. There must be clear content-based links between what is happening on either side of the border and regular contact between the two sides. The Lead Beneficiary is responsible for ensuring that activities are properly coordinated, that schedules are kept and that the right quality levels are achieved;

Joint staffing – means that the project should not duplicate functions on either side of the border. Therefore, regardless of where the person is located, there should be one joint project manager, one joint financial manager etc., (of course more staff may be required for larger projects). These staff will be responsible for project activities on both sides of the border. The Lead Beneficiary is generally the employer of core project staff;

Joint financing – means that there will be only one contract per project and therefore there must be one joint project budget. The budget should be divided between partners according to the activities carried out. A project with 0 Euro or very small financing from one side of the border cannot be considered as having joint financing. There is also only one project bank account for the ERDF contribution (held by the Lead Beneficiary) and payments representing EU support are made from the programme to this account. The Lead Beneficiary is responsible for administration and distribution of these funds and for reporting on their use. Match-funding should come from both sides of the border and illustrates the commitment by each partner to the joint project.

Applicable lawThe projects must be in line with the relevant national and European legislation (including on equal opportunities, environmental protection and public procurement). The project must observe the European legislation provisions on information and publicity.

The project must include activities for information and publicity, according to the European Commission Regulations and observing the Visual Identity Manual of the Programme (soon to be published at www.cbcromaniabulgaria.com).

Programme financing



http://www.cbcromaniabulgaria.com/


The ERDF will finance 85% of the eligible expenditure and the state budgets of the two countries shall provide an additional 13% to public bodies and NGOs. 2% represents own contribution of project partners. This means that every single cent financed from the operation shall be reimbursed from these three sources, not that part of the expenditures will be financed by ERDF and part from national cofinancing.

iii. Eligibility of Expenditure

There is one single list of eligible expenditures at Programme level (please consult Annex D)

Only “eligible costs” can receive financial support. The categories of eligible expenditures are detailed in Annex DThe beneficiaries shall also respect the following conditions for eligibility of expenditure during preparation and implementation of the project.

Conditions for eligible costs

is necessary for initiating and carrying out the project and must comply with the principles of sound financial management, in particular value for money and cost-effectiveness.

it does not exceed the ceiling set in the present Guide (Annex C). Please note that the prices in the annex exclude the VAT, so in case your organization does not recover the VAT you can add it in the prices budgeted for the project. In case one item is not found in Annex C, the projects must submit evidence about the market price of that particular item (either 3 offers from operators well-known on the market – print-screens from websites of such operators are accepted - or an independent evaluation of the cost of that particular item). In case of 3 offers, the budgeted prices must not exceed the median value of the 3 offers (calculated at the Inforeuro exchange rate from March 2015). Annex C values will be periodically updated and during the implementation period of the projects, the beneficiaries may use the updated version, provided the total budget per category of expenditure is not exceeded.

is in line with the provisions of the subsidy contract, co-financing contracts / national and European legislation;

the costs are definitively borne by the partner and would not have arisen without the project.

Is paid out by the beneficiary the latest in 2 months after the project implementation period, but no later than 31.12.2023 (but please note the expenditures committed after the implementation period are not eligible, the commitment for the expenditure must be made at the latest before the finalization of the implementation period).




the expenditure has actually been paid out. Expenditure is considered to be paid when the amount is debited from the partner institution bank account. The date when the invoice was issued, recorded or booked in the accounting system does not count as a payment date.

is recorded in the beneficiaries’ accounts and tax documents, is identifiable and verifiable, and is backed up by supporting documents;

is verified and validated as eligible by the first level controllers;

has not been subject to financing from other public funds;

Preparation costs are eligible if they are incurred between 1.01.2014 and the submission of the Application Form, as provided in the Applicant’s Guide.

Preparation costs include: travel and accommodation costs related to meetings between project beneficiaries, external expertise and services, feasibility study or equivalent technical document, Cost Benefit Analysis, studies and costs for documentation necessary to obtain the necessary endorsements and authorizations, documentation concerning the urban planning plan, impact assessments, location studies/appraisals, including their technical verification and shall be reimbursed as real costs (support documents will be necessary).

Preparation costs are eligible in a 10% limit applied to the direct costs (Travel and accommodation, External expertise and services, Equipment, Infrastructure and works)

Implementation expenditures are eligible from the first day after approval of the project by the Monitoring Committee.

The Programme decided to use simplified costs on overheads (office and administrative costs) and staff costs. For details please consult both Annex D-List of Eligible Expenditures and Annex E-Simplified

costs).

Using this option means that no justification, no support documents will be requested by any Programme bodies for staff costs and office

and administrative costs.

(first level control, Managing Authority, Audit Authority).

However, if an irregularity is flagged regarding this type of expenditures, you will have the obligation to presented all support

documents and justifications.

II.3. How to apply for funding

i. How to get the Applicant’s Pack

The Applicant’s Pack is available on the following websites:




- programme website (www.cbcromaniabulgaria.eu);

- Managing Authority’s website (www.mdrap.ro);

- National Authority’s website (www.mrrb.government.bg);

- CBC RO Calarasi website (www.calarasicbc.ro).

ii. How to fill in the Application Form and its Annexes

Make sure you fill in by computer, correctly and completely, the application form and its annexes and annex all related documents. The annexes are part of the Application Form.Applications and annexes must be submitted using the forms included in the Applicant’s Guide (pay particular attention to observing the limit of characters imposed in the template of application form-character includes space).The application and its annexes must be filled in using English. The supporting documents issued by national/local authorities or other bodies shall be attached in the original language accompanied by a translation in English (authorized translations are not required!!).Where the format of the annexes requires, they should be signed and stamped by the legal representative of the lead partner or of the partner to which the annex refers (in case of annexes which should be annexed for each partner) or by an empowered person (a letter of empowerment will be attached) wherever this is requested by the standard forms.

The page number (which will continue from the Application Form until the last page of the last annex) should be written /stamped , in a visible place (without overlapping other numbers/letters/images). The first and last page number of each annex should be specified in the OPIS.Modifying the standard templates of the application form or its annexes will result in the rejection of your application!

All documents should be valid at the date of submitting the application form!

The Application Form will be filled in by the Lead Beneficiary. The Annexes are part of the Application Form and must also be filled in and submitted together with the Application form.

ii.1. Application Form

First page of the Application Form - the cover page

The project title and the name of the Lead beneficiary, the priority axis, specific objective, type of project (soft/hard) must be stated, in English (Priority axis and specific objectives are detailed in sections I.2.i and I.2.ii of the Applicant’s Guide).

The first page of the Application Form (the cover page) must be bound/glued to the package/envelope.

Project registration section of the first page of the Application Form shall be filled in by the JS*common output indicator; **calculation basis for the flat rates4/21/2023 www.cbcromaniabulgaria.eu of 68


http://www.calarasicbc.ro/

http://www.mrrb.government.bg/

http://www.mdrap.ro/



Second page of the Application Form - OPIS of the Application Form and annexes

Each document should be mentioned stating its exact title and the partner to which it refers while keeping the corresponding form code in the second column.

Section 1. of the Application Form - Project identification

Section 1.1. - Project Information

State the full name of the project.

Give a short name or acronym, which the project can be referred to.

Indicate the programme priority axis and specific objective

(see sections I.2.i and I.2.ii of the Applicant’s Guide) where your project fits.

Insert the name of the Lead Beneficiary.

State the total number of project beneficiaries (including Lead Beneficiary). Insert the number of implementation months necessary for the project (taking into account the maximum project durations from section II.2.ii).

Section 1.2. - Project summary

Give a short and very clear overview of the project (in the style of a press release) and describe:

the problem you’re addressing

the objective you’re aiming for

how you are going to achieve the objectives (main activities)

the result you’re going for (and how is that related to the Programme indicators)

No more than 1500 characters can be used in this section.

Section 1.3 - Applicant information

The set of information described below must be filled-in for each project beneficiary!

Indicate the role of the beneficiary in the project: Lead beneficiary or beneficiary.

The Lead Beneficiary is responsible for the implementation of the entire project. The Lead Beneficiary will be the addressee of the entire correspondence during the application evaluation and selection process and will also be responsible for reporting to the JS after project approval for co-financing. More information about the role and tasks of the Lead Beneficiary are included in the draft contracts annexed to this Applicant Pack (Annex G, H, I).

State the beneficiary’s organisation name and abbreviation in native language and then in English.

Choose the legal status of the beneficiary from public or private law body and then fill-in the type of beneficiary, using the following list:




1. Central Public Administration2. Local Public Administration3. Public Institution financed totally or partially form own resources:

3.1 state universities3.2 high schools3.3 hospitals3.4 research and development institutes3.5 libraries3.6 museums3.7 other

4. NGOs:4.1 churches4.2 regional development agencies4.3 intercommunity development associations4.4 metropolitan associasions4.5 CBC ROC4.6 Other

5. Body governed by public law (see details from section II.2.i Eligibility of applicants of the Applicant’s Guide)

Indicate the beneficiary’s country and county and then state the town, address and postal code.




All beneficiaries must fulfill the eligibility criteria described in section II.2.i Eligibility of applicants of the Applicant’s Guide!

Fill-in the full name of the beneficiary’s legal representative and position within the organisation.

Fill-in the full name of the beneficiary’s contact person, together with the related phone number, fax, email and website.

The contact person may differ from the legal representative of the beneficiary. The data provided for the contact person of the Lead Beneficiary will be used during the entire application evaluation and selection process.

Indicate the Fiscal Code / National Identification code and detail if the organization is entitled to recover VAT based in national legislation for the activities implemented in the project: Yes/No/Partly. If the entity is partly entitled to recover VATm list the activities for which the VAT is recoverable.

Indicate the beneficiary’s (main) object of activity.

Detail the relevance of the beneficiary for the field addressed by the project – explain which are its thematic competences and experiences relevant for the project.

Beneficiaries are declaring to be the entities entitled to take action in the field / fields addressed by the project within Annex A.4.

Describe in brief the previous EU financing experience of the beneficiary (if any) that is relevant for the field addressed by the project, only for projects started after January 1, 2007:

experience from cross-border cooperation programmes implemented during 2007-2013:

State for each relevant project: 1. Programme that awarded the financing; 2. project name; 3.project MIS code/reference number

other relevant EU funded projects (maximum 3 relevant projects)

State for each relevant project: 1. Programme that awarded the financing; 2. project name; 3. project MIS/SMIS code/reference number; 4.Start date and end date of the project; 5.Project partners; 6.Project objectives and activities; 7. Total eligible value in euro (for finalized projects: total eligible value after project implementation - financial execution; for ongoing projects: total contract eligible value)




Partnerships having at least 2 beneficiaries with previous average weighted financial execution rates (also taking into consideration the value of their

budgets) of less than 50% for projects financed under Romania-Bulgaria CBC Programme 2007-2013 will not be accepted for financing!

Section 2. of the Appplication Form - Project description

Section 2.1. - Problems to be tackled

Provide a short and coherent description of:

the relevance of your project for the programme area in terms of common challenges.

why is cross-border cooperation needed - explain why the project objectives cannot be efficiently reached acting only on a national/regional/local level and/or describe what benefits the project beneficiaries/target groups/ project/programme area gain in taking a cross-border approach.

In case statistical data, studies, specific analisys are available, please mention them.

Section 2.2. – Project objectives and results

Indicate your project objective and expected result(s).

Explain how it is linked to our Programme aimed result (for the priority axis you apply for)

Choose the related programme result indicator your project will contribute to (programme results indicators are described in section I.5. of the Applicant’s Guide).

Quantify /explain how your project will contribute to the achievement of the selected programme result indicator (quantification is mandatory for quantitative programme result indicators).

Please note that if your project does not prove that it contributes to the accomplishment of a programme result indicator, it shall be rejected!

Considerable contribution to a result indicator will be extra scores during assessment!

Section 2.3. - Project activities

Predefined activity PP1 – Project preparation

Indicate the activity start and end month (PP 1, PP 2, PP 3 …PP n, where PP1=the month the project preparation started and PP n is the month when the project was submitted).

Indicate the beneficiary that was the main responsible for the activity and other beneficiaries that were involved in implementing the activity.




Give a short and clear description of the resources (staff, material) each beneficiary used for implementing the activity.

Present the activity, why it is necessary for the project. Make sure the explanations are correlated to the amounts budgeted in Section 3.1 Budget (e.g. if 100.000 euro are budgeted at Project preparation but only one meeting was organized, this will be considerate unjustified, make sure the activities presented reflect the budget)

Each beneficiary must prove having sufficient resources to implement the project!

Not predefined project activities – will be numbered A1, A2,…An

Indicate the activity title and the activity start and end month (1, 2, 3 …, where 1= the month the financing contract is signed and month n=month when the implementation is finalized).

Indicate the beneficiary that is the main responsible for the activity and other beneficiaries that are involved in implementing the activity.

Give a short and clear description of the resources (staff, material) each beneficiary used for implementing the activity.

Present the activity, why it is necessary for the project; explain the necessity of envisaged costs for implementing this activity –for necccesary equipment, services and works detail according to the table provided; for other necessary provide explanations

Make sure the explanations are correlated to the amounts budgeted in Section 3.1 Budget (e.g. if 100.000 euro are

budgeted at Travel and accomodation but only one meeting is presented as activity, this will be considerate unjustified!

Make sure the activities presented reflect the budget!

Make sure you underline if your project offers a green solution or, for PA 1 if it ensures a direct connection with TEN-T

infrastructure (core or comprehensive), this will give you extra points in evaluation!

In case the purchase of equipments/services is mandatory for carrying out the activity, you should describe for each such equipment/service:

Number E1/S1, E2/S2,….continuous throughout the entire Application Form (so that all equipment/service purchased in the framework of your project can be counted from E1/S1 to En/Sn);

Name of the equipment/service to be purchased - list the planned contracts with external experts and service providers. In case the same equipment/service is purchased by more than one partner, one row for each purchase will be filled in.




Short description – mandatory including the duly justification of the need to use such equipment/service and their link to project activities. For equipments, provide a list of all technical specifications and permits (if the case) required for the purchase of the equipment, according to the national legislation. If such permits are available, scan and attach them to the Application Form; otherwise indicate when you expect them to be available.

No activities that are foreseen to be externalised will be also performed by own staff (especially in case of projects externalising parts or hole of the project management, including external expertise related to the organisation of the public procurements for the project, services related to the financial and technical reporting for the project or other activities).

In case project management is externalized, these will be deducted from the basis of calculus for the flat rates (mechanism described in

Annex E)! The formulas from the budget form in the application form are constructed accordingly!

Beneficiary that is responsible for the purchase

Quantity that is needed for the activity implementation.

In case the items you describe in this section are not included in Annex C – Ceilings for expenditure to the Applicant’s Guide, projects must submit evidence about the market price of that particular item: either 3 offers from operators (preferably print screen for that particular item from well-known suppliers from the market or an independent evaluation of the cost of that particular item (and English translation, if issued in other language than Enghish). The budgeted price (in case of 3 offers justifications) must not exceed the median value of the 3 offers (calculated at Inforeuro exchange rate from March 2015).

Please note that the prices included in the list of ceilings do not include VAT, so make sure that, when drafting the project budget, you include the VAT (in case you do not recover the VAT)!!!

The Ceilings for expenditures shall have a role in the evaluation phase, the number of items (equipment aso) you have presented in the application form will be correlated with the ceilings and your budget. Coherence will be scored in the evaluation phase.

Also, ceilings will have a role in the implementation phase. These ceilings will apply in implementation, for all items listed. Exceeding these ceilings will be performed on the own risk of the beneficiary (the difference between the ceilings and the paid price which exceeds the ceiling will be supported by the beneficiary).

The programme bodies will constantly update the price list (this annex will be published on the programme website www.cbcromaniabulgaria.eu).

In case the purchase of works is mandatory for carrying out the activity, you should describe for each such work:





Number W1, W2,….continuous throughout the entire Application Form (so that all works purchased in the framework of your project can be counted from W1 to Wn)

Name of the work/investment;

Overall description of the work, including technical documentation as annex. Explain the need for the work/investment to achieve project objectives and results. Describe clearly the cross-border relevance of the investment.

Beneficiary that is responsible for the purchase.

Location of the work/physical investment – concrete address where the work will take place (if available);

Description of the risks associated with the work, go/no-go decisions etc., if any;

Investment documentation – list all technical specifications and permissions (e.g. feasibility study, technical project) required for the work according to the respective national legislation. For Romanian beneficiaries it should be annexed: feasibility study for new investments/DALI plus energetically audit plus technical expertise for upgrading/reconstruction. For Bulgarian beneficiaries it should be annexed: preliminary design (including estimation of bill of quantities and values) for new investments or technical design for upgrading/reconstruction.

The quality of the Feasibility Study will be scored during assessment!

Indicate the ownership situation – who is the owner of the site where the work is located? Who will retain ownership of the work at the end of the project? Who will take care of maintenance of the work and how will this be done?

Documents certifying the beneficiaries’ right of property / concession / administration / rent / loan on the land and/or building (if the case) must be attached to the Application Form!

Describe the contribution to programme output indicators:

Indicate how do the activities contribute to the Programme outputs and quantify

Consistent contribution to one or more programme output indicators receives extra points in evaluation! Relation between the budget and the

contribution to indicators shall also be analysed!

Activities outside the programme area

If your project has activities that will be carried out outside the programme eligible area, describe how the programme area will benefit of these activities and why the project cannot be implemented if these activities outside the eligible area are not carried out.




Mention the total indicative eligible budget of the activities that will be carried out outside the programme eligible area.

The total indicative budget of the activities that will be carried out outside the programme eligible area are limited to maximum 20% at project level, irrespective of the location of the beneficiary! (of the ERDF total eligible project budget).

Figures will use maximum 2 decimals!

Section 2.4. – Project outputs

Indicate how will project will contribute to the Programme outputs

Choose the related programme output indicator/(s) your project will contribute to.

Quantify your project contribution to the achievement of the selected Programme output indicator/(s).

Considerable contribution to an output indicator will be extra scores during assessment!

Make sure the results are correlated with the budget!E.g. A project with a budget covering 20% of the axis but only contributing with 5% of the output indicators of the axis is not

recommended!

Section 2.5. - Target groups

Indicate the relevant specific target groups that will benefit from project results and outputs.

Indicate the size and location of the specific target groups Provide a short and clear description of how does the project tackle the

needs of the selected target group.

Section 2.6 - Project coherence with other programmes/strategies/projects

Section 2.6.1 How does the project contribute to wider strategies and policies?

In this section you should indicate if and how your project contributes to EU 2020 Strategy, EU Strategy for the Danube Region, Blue Growth Strategy other relevant European, national, regional or local strategies and policies.

Section 2.6.2 - Does the project build on implemented initiatives? Are there synergies/complementarities with past or current EU and other projects or initiatives the project makes use of?

Describe in brief the experiences/lessons learned the project draws on, and other outputs and results of past implemented initiatives the project capitalises on.




Section 2.7. of the Application Form - Project coherence with horizontal themes

Explain how your project will contribute towards the promotion of equal opportunities and non-discrimination, equality between men and women and sustainable development.

Under some key areas of intervention it might be expected that there should be a significant and positive contribution under a particular horizontal theme.

Projects implementing positive specific measures to clearly promote of horizontal themes will be extra scored during assessment!

Accomplishing the minimum requirements of law in the fields of promotion of equal opportunities and non-discrimination, equality between men and women and sustainable development is mandatory and will not be extra scored.

Section 2.8. of the Application Form - Revenue generating

The beneficiaries must specify if the project is revenue generating and to offer any relevant details, including analysis and amount resulted as estimated revenue.

All estimated revenues must be deducted before filling in the budget in the Application Form!

All amounts mentioned will be filled in in Euro, using maximum 2 decimals.

Section 3. of the Application Form - Financial information

Section 3.1. – Budget

The budget refers only to large categories of expenditures. Flexibility within these categories of expenditures is granted to the beneficiaries (provided the programme ceilings – see Annex C - Ceilings for expenditures - are observed (please note that the prices in the list exclude the VAT!) and provided the number of equipments/description of necessary services/works from the description of activities is observed and correlation with activities is clear for all costs).

The Application Form provides 2 templates for filling-in the budget – one for hard projects and one for soft projects. According to the type of your project – hard or soft - choose the corresponding table and fill it in.

Within the budget table, the nationality of each beneficiary must be selected (choosing from RO or BG) and amounts will be filled in for each beneficiary for each of the following categories of expenditure: Travel and accommodation; External expertise and services, with mentioning separately the amounts for external expertise and services related to the project management (including external expertise related to the organisation of the public procurements for the project, services related to the financial and technical reporting for the project), if any; Equipment; Infrastructure and works and Project preparation. The other cells in the table will be generated automatically based on your inputs in the table.




Please note that the format for budget within the application form is actually an Excel table. The formulas behind it are locked (to avoid mistakes). However, in case you find it useful to see the

formulas behind the document, please note that the table with the formulas unlocked will be available on the Programme website,

separately from the Guide (this is just for information purposes, it cannot be used in the application form and is not part of the

Applicants Pack).

Amounts will include VAT corresponding to eligible expenditure, if eligible.

The budget will be filled in in Euro, using maximum 2 decimals!

All amounts will exclude net revenues in the case of revenue generating projects.

Considering flat rates apply, these will be generated automatically by applying percentages to direct costs you fill in in the budget form, according to the rules of the call for proposals - see Annex E- Simplified Costs).

When drafting the budget (considering the expenditures you may encounter), please bear in mind that during the implementation period beneficiaries will be requested to submitted scanned documents (maximum 500MB per document) via the PROETC electronic system.

If one of the applicants is located outside the eligible area and it is in the legal impossibility to open a branch with legal personality in the eligible area please note that its budget is limited to 20% from the total eligible budget of the project!

Advance will be granted in a percent established by each Members State, from national cofinancing, probably 60-80% from the 13%

(national cofinancing). The information will be inserted in the cofinancing contracts (and also published on Programme website

and Facebook page of the Programme, this information is presented here to allow you to perform a better planning of your budget.

Section 3.2. – Non-eligible expenditure

The amount of non-eligible expenditure for each beneficiary must be filled in and described, including correlations with the Feasibility studies/similar document (for investment projects).

The table will be filled in Euro. Only 2 decimals will be used!

Section 3.3. - Financing history

Specify if the project has been submitted before for request for financing from another programme, either as such, parts of it or as part of a bigger project.




If yes, indicate the programme name, the source of financing, the date of submission, the current status of the project (under evaluation / approved / rejected) and any other information you consider relevant.

Beneficiaries benefiting of financial support in the past 5 years before the deadline for submitting the applications under this call for proposals for the same project in terms of objectives, activities and results (for infrastructure projects this provision refers to the same infrastructure / segment of infrastructure) are not eligible!

Section 4. of the Application Form - Exit / continuation strategy

Applicants should describe what impact their project results may have five years after the project has ended. The kind of follow-up actions that are planned (i.e., exit/continuation strategy) and what are the chances for them to be achieved should be also stated here. In general, it is expected that the results of a project would outlive the lifetime of the project itself. Based on the results of this projects, the applicants should estimate what other projects or activities can be developed in the benefit of the communities in the cross-border area.

ii.2 Annexes to the Application Form

No legalization of documents or official translations is necessary!

All annexes duly filled in by each beneficiary (where this is required) will be scanned together with the Application Form and will be

submitted in electronic format together with the paper versions of the documents!

In case more than 3 annexes to the Application Form are missing in the initial package, the project will be rejected without further analysis!! For this purpose, annexes partially filled-in will be

considered also as missing annexes.

Annex 1 to the Application Form - Declaration of submission of the Application Form

The format provided in Annex A.1 must be filled in, duly signed and stamped by the legal representative of the Lead Beneficiary or by an empowered person (a letter of empowerment and its translation in English, if the case, will be attached to the Application Form in this case) and annexed to the Application Form.

There is no need to sign and stamp every single page of the documentation (just where the format requires so, see below). The legal person takes the full responsibility of everything submitted by signing this form! Please note

that in case any differences between the annexes the scanned version prevails!

Annexes 2 to the Application Form - Legal documents of the applicants




All legal documents of all beneficiaries and their English translation (if issued in other language than English) must be copied and attached to the Application Form. Legal documents of the applicants: documents proving the establishing of the project partner entities (law, decree, government decision, statute, registration act, article of association etc.) – if the legal document is a law, government decision or any similar very large document, please attach to the Application Form only the relevant sections of the document.

Annex(es) 3 to the Application Form - Mandates of delegation from the legal representatives of beneficiaries (in case the application form and annexed declarations are not signed by the legal representatives of the Lead beneficiary / beneficiaries) and English translation (if issued in other language than English) will be annexed to the Application Form.

Annexes 4 to the Application Form - Declarations of Eligibility

The format provided in Annex A.4 will be filled in by each beneficiary, duly signed and stamped by the legal representative of the Lead Beneficiary and beneficiaries or by an empowered person (a letter of empowerment and English translation, if issued in other language than English will be attached to the Application Form in this case) and will be annexed to the Application Form.

Annexes 5 to the Application Form - Declarations of Commitment


Annexes 6 to the Application Form - Partnership declarations


Annex 7 to the Application Form - Cost-Benefit Analysis

Investment projects will be rejected without further analysis in case the Cost-Benefit Analysis (Annex A.7) is not included in the initial

package of the Application Form!

The Cost-Benefit Analysis and English translation (if issued in other language than English) will be annexed to the Application Form.

This annex is mandatory for all applications including infrastructure as it is an evaluation instrument regarding the advantages of the investments from the point of view of all interested target groups, on the basis of the monetary values for all positive and negative consequences of the investment.




Annex(es) 8 to the Application Form - Documents certifying the right of property/ concession/ administration/ rent/ loan on the land and/or building and English translation (if issued in other language than English) will be annexed to the Application Form.

Investment projects will be rejected without further analysis in case the documents certifying the right of

property/concession/administration/rent/loan on the land and/or building (Annex A.8) are not included in the initial package of the

Application Form!

Annex(es) 9 to the Application Form - Feasibility studies / equivalent technical documents and English translation (if issued in other language than English) will be annexed to the Application Form. For Romanian beneficiaries it should be annexed: feasibility study for new investments/DALI plus energetically audit plus technical expertise for upgrading/reconstruction. For Bulgarian beneficiaries it should be annexed: preliminary design (including estimation of bill of quantities and values) for new investments or technical design for upgrading/reconstruction.

Investment projects will be rejected without further analysis in case the Feasibility Study / equivalent technical documents (Annex A.9)

are not included in the initial package of the Application Form!

In order to evaluate the technical characteristics of a new investment project, the applicants must annex the feasibility studies or the equivalent technical documents for the investment project to the application form. The elaboration and approval of the feasibility studies or equivalent technical documents must observe the national provisions in this matter (see Annex K Relevant national and EU legislation).

The Feasibility Study or equivalent technical documents should not have been elaborated or updated more than one year before the deadline for the submission of the project proposal (the document must bear the date of elaboration/revision). However, this/these document/-s should be submitted as annex to the application form and should be accompanied by the legal agreements and approvals.

Annex 10 to the Application Form - Urban planning permit (mandatory for applications including infrastructure related activities) and English translation (if issued in other language than English) will annexed to the Application Form. Only Romanian beneficiaries have to submit the Urban planning permit.

Annex 11 to the Application Form - Environmental agreement (mandatory for applications including infrastructure related activities) and English translation (if issued in other language than English) will annexed to the Application Form.

The applicants must present an official statement/act from the competent environment authority stating that the investment project either:

observes the legal provisions of environment protection or

completed the first phase of the EIA procedure - screening.




Annex 12 to the Application Form - Environmental Impact Survey (mandatory for applications including infrastructure related activities) and English translation (if issued in other language than English) will be annexed to the Application Form.

For the applications which need a study containing data on the estimated impact on the environment of the investment project as required by the national legislation, a description of the project’s impact on the environment must be submitted together with the Application Form.

Annex 13 to the Application Form - Traffic study (mandatory for applications including transport infrastructure related activities) and English translation (if issued in other language than English) will be annexed to the Application Form.

The traffic study must contain:

1. Introduction

Details about the location

Road traffic history in brief

Sources of data used for the present study

2. Present context

Including, if necessary, details about:

- Physical shape of the road

- Traffic safety

Road construction characteristics

Road signals

Pedestrian traffic and facilities for pedestrians

Parking places and parking restrictions

Crossroads design

Access to commercial properties

- Traffic analysis by types of vehicles (commercial/personal… car/buses/trailers … ) and road sections (if relevant)

- Traffic capacity




3. Future traffic evolution perspectives

4. Difficulties / obstacles in traffic

5. Solution proposed and explanation for its necessity

6. Conclusion

Annex 14 to the Application Form - Environmental Impact Study (for applications including infrastructure related) and English translation (if issued in other language than English) will be annexed to the Application Form.

For the applications which need a study containing data on the estimated impact on the environment of the investment project as required by the national legislation, the submission of the document as annex to application form is not mandatory, but it must be presented during the pre-contractual phase, if the project is selected for funding.

iii. How to submit the applications

Each application form should be bound (together with its annexes) in the way that pages could not be taken away from a whole set. The very first page of the Application Form should be visible, where <Project Title>, <Name of the Lead Beneficiary>, <Priority Axis>, <Specific Objective> and <Type of project: soft/hard> should be written by the applicant.

A full scanned version of the Application Form and its annexes must be also included on a CD/DVD (English translations should be provided, if documents are issued in other language than English). The electronic version from the CD/DVD will include both Word and scanned version of the Application Form. The electronic format must contain exactly the same proposal as the paper version enclosed, if differences, the scanned version prevails. Each component of the application must be submitted in a separate and unique electronic file (one file for application form and one file for each one of the annexes).

Applications must be received in a sealed envelope/box by registered mail, private courier service or by hand-delivery (a signed and dated certificate of receipt will be given to the deliverer) at the address below:

Postal address, Address for hand delivery or by courier service

Biroul Regional pentru Cooperare Transfrontalieră Călăraşi / CBC Regional Office Calarasi

Calarasi, Chiciu area, part of the main building representing the Passengers and Goods Transport Public Service headquarter at PCTF Calarasi(Romania) – Silistra (Bulgaria), Calarasi county,Tel. +40 242 313 091

Fax +40 242 313 092

E-mail: [email protected]




Applications sent by any other means (e.g. by fax or by e-mail) or delivered to other addresses will be rejected.

Applications (application form and annexes) shall be submitted in one original and 1 (one) copy, bound, in A4 format (except drawings which may have bigger formats).

Please check if the content of CD or DVD is working properly and all the requested documents are included.

In case that there are differences between the hard copy and the electronic copies, the electronic format will prevail!

The first page of the application form should also be attached to the front side of the envelope for identification.

iv. Deadline for receipt of applications

Applications may be submitted to the JS at any time during the period from the launching day of the present call for proposals and until the deadlines. No application will be opened before the deadline.

30th of June 2015 (16:00 o’clock)-for soft projects30th of September 2015 (16:00 o’clock)-for hard projects

At 16:00 the doors will be closed and only the applications of the persons present at the CBC RO Calarasi premises until the deadline will be accepted.

The evaluation of the projects shall be made after each deadline, for the applications submitted before the respective deadline. If hard projects are submitted at the deadline for soft projects, they can only be evaluated after the deadline for hard projects.

Any application submitted after the deadline will automatically be rejected.

II.4. Evaluation and Selection of Applications

The project evaluation and selection criteria prepared by the Managing Authority together with the Bulgarian National Authority and the Joint Secretariat are approved by the Monitoring Committee and are available to potential beneficiaries as annex to the present Applicant’s Guide (Annex B).

The project evaluation is performed by the Joint Secretariat.




The evaluation of the projects shall be made after each deadline, for the applications submitted before the respective deadline. If hard projects are submitted at the deadline for soft projects, they can

only be evaluated after the deadline for hard projects.

In order to be proposed for financing, the applications must respect the administrative and eligibility criteria and receive at least 60 points at the technical and financial evaluation.

The projects are evaluated in the order they are received. In case a project has at least 90 points as final score it goes immediately to the Monitoring Committee for approval and, after observing the contracting procedure, the financing contracts are signed.

The rest of the projects are proposed for financing when the evaluation is finalized, according to the score received, in the limit of the available financing. At the proposal of the Managing Authority, the Monitoring Committee may decide to create a reserve list.

The projects are pre-ranked in descending order according to the score awarded and, taking into consideration also the contribution to Programme indicators (output and result), grouped into two categories:

1. projects proposed for financing;

2. projects proposed for rejection.

The projects proposed for financing are those projects which scored at least 60 points and whose aggregated eligible budgets are within the limit set for the call for proposals. The contribution to Programme indicators (output and result) shall also be taken into consideration.

After the pre-ranking, the projects are forwarded to the Monitoring Committee, which selects the projects for financing and approves the list of rejected projects.

Subsequently, all Lead Beneficiaries will receive notification on the approval/rejection of their projects and may appeal the decision.

The complaints will be analyzed by a special committee appointed by the Monitoring Committee, according to the procedure described in Annex F to the present Guide.

One beneficiary cannot simultaneously have more than four projects in implementation. In case 5 projects are selected, the fifth one shall be put on a reserve list (and could be contracted after the finalization of at least one of the other projects, provided the Programme has the financial allocation available).

The decision of the Monitoring Committee is followed by the pre-contractual phase and then the contracts will be concluded.




Since the focus on 2014-2020 period is on the results, please note that an analysis will be performed at the selection moment when projects contribute to indicators (in theory, by contracting) in a percent of at least 120% and when the financial indicators from the Performance framework are secured (in theory, by contracting). Depending on the analysis (performed at Programme level) the Monitoring Committee may decide to stop contracting although the financial allocation was not reached.

Any attempt to obtain confidential information or to influence the evalutors within the evaluation process will lead to your

discalification!

The clarifications provided in the evaluation phase cannot bring new elements that would alter the initial content of the application form.

You will be excluded in case it is proven that you are guilty of serious misleading of the evaluators by providing false information, that are being taken into consideration in the evaluation process or if you did not inform the evaluators on issues that would have led to

a different decision of the evaluators.




4.Project evaluation and selection procedure


Application form and annexes

JS headquarters

Assessment Working Group withing the Joint Secretariat

Monitoring Committee

Pre-contractual phase

Contracting

The applications must be submitted within the deadline specified for the call for proposals

Beneficiaries appoint the Lead Beneficiary and start drafting the project (application and annexes)

The applications are assessed by the assessment working group formed with JS staff.

The applications are ranked according to the score and submitted to the Monitoring Committee of the programme for approval / rejection / revision

Additional documents and information may be requested and verified by the JS or MA, on-the-spot visit may take place

The ERDF contract is signed between the Lead Beneficiary and MA; separate co-financing contracts from state budgets are concluded with each beneficiary by MA/NA.



III. Pre-Contractual conditions

After the Monitoring Committee approves the projects, the JS notifies each Lead Beneficiary if its project has been approved, or rejected.

The starting date for the eligibility of expenditures except the project preparation expenditures (which are eligible starting with 1st of January 2014) is the first day after approval of the project by the Monitoring Committee. Therefore, the day after the project approval by the Monitoring Committee, the project can proceed with expenditures (other than the ones for preparing the project). These expenditures will be eligible from this date (subject to the MA signing of the contract with the related final budget).

For the projects approved, the JS prepares the subsidy contracts (for ERDF contribution), which are concluded between the MA and the Lead Beneficiary. The JS also prepares the co-financing contracts, which are concluded between the National Authority (Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works from Bulgaria) and the Bulgarian partners on one hand and between the Managing Authority (Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration from Romania) and Romanian partners on the other hand.

Please bear in mind that the Managing Authority has the right to decide not to sign a financing contract in case a Beneficiary already has in implementation 4 projects. After the finalization of one project the decision may be reconsidered, provided the financial allocation is available.

Before signing the contracts, other documents may be requested by the JS/MA (e.g. proof that there are no debts to the consolidated budgets or to the Programme budget, proof that the VAT is non-recoverable from other sources etc.) and on-the-spot visits may also take place. On-the-spot visits may be performed by the MA, NA, JS and by any other body with responsibilities in the implementation of the programme. All partners have the obligation to provide all necessary documents and to be available for the on-the-spot visits in order for the contracts to be signed (e.g. partnership agreement - see Annex I for model - must be presented to the MA/JS before the signing of the contract). Please take into consideration that failure to provide the requested documents within the set deadlines during pre-contracting period will lead to the rejection of the project.

All partners in a project must sign a partnership agreement before the signing of the subsidy contract with the MA that stipulates the rights and duties of the partners. A model of partnership agreement is annexed to the present Guide. The partners may decide, with prior agreement of the MA, to stipulate additional or more restrictive provisions than those mentioned in the model partnership agreement.

A project may submit a reimbursement claim at any given time (the latest being at 5 months after the project is finalized), for one or more beneficiaries, the only condition being that it is not lower than 5.000 euro (the Programme will detail rules related to implementation in a Project Implementation Manual).

Progress reports will be submitted independently of reimbursement claims (once every three months).




The schedule for submitting first level control claims is submitted in the pre-contractual phase (for each beneficiary).

Due attention is to be paid to the schedule, particularly to the amount set for the middle of the implementation period (this sum will be mandatory to be established and its planning is extremely important, since at the middle of the implementation period, the Programme will analyse this particular amount, and may decide to decommit funds from your project). The schedule of reimbursement shall mention the amounts to be requested for reimbursement for each beneficiary, according to the template provided by MA. At the half of the implementation period (the execution at half on the implementation period is mandatory to be mentioned in the schedule), the JS shall analyse the project financial execution, as compared to the initial schedule. In case the project has a financial execution lower than:

- 75%, a 10% decommitment will apply to the budget of the beneficiaries who have not respected the initial schedule of reimbursement.

- 50%, a 25% decommitment will apply to the budget of the beneficiaries who have not respected the initial schedule of reimbursement.

The Lead Beneficiary will be granted a two weeks deadline to submit a revised budget and in case such a budget is not provided within the deadline, the decommitment will be applied proportionally to all budgetary lines for the concerned beneficiaries. The Lead Beneficiary and its beneficiaries may decide to stop implementing the project, but in this case all the paid funds shall be reimbursed.

The subsidy contracts will be signed by MA and then sent to the Joint Secretariat. The partners and Lead Beneficiaries will be invited to the Joint Secretariat to sign the contract until a certain deadline. In exceptional circumstances, the contracts may also be submitted for signature via post. In this case, the LB has a 5 working days deadline, from the receipt of the contacts, to submit the signed contract back to the JS (stating the date of the signature on the contract), otherwise the MA may decide to cancel the financing.

MA and NA may decide to grant advance payments to beneficiaries in an amount ranging between 60%-80% of the national co-financing. The contracts annexed to this Guide are only indicative; the final version of all contracts will be presented to the beneficiaries of the selected projects in the pre-contractual phase).

IV. Annexes

Annex A. Application Form and its annexes

A.1. Declaration of submission the application form.

A. 2. Legal documents of the applicants




A. 3. Mandates of delegation (in case the application form is not signed by the legal representative of the Lead Beneficiary)

A. 4. Declarations of Eligibility

A. 5. Declarations of Commitment

A. 6. Partnership declarations

A. 7. Cost-Benefit Analysis (if the case)

A. 8. Documents certifying the right of property/ concession/ administration/ rent/ loan on the land and/or building (if the case)

A. 9. Feasibility studies / equivalent technical documents (if the case)

A. 10. Urban planning permit (if the case)

A. 11. Environmental agreement (if the case)

A. 12. Environmental Impact Survey (if the case)

A. 13. Traffic study (if the case)

A. 14. Environmental Impact Study (if the case)

Annex B. Evaluation grids

Annex C. Ceilings for expenditures (the prices are calculated without VAT)

Annex D. List of eligible expenditures

Annex E. Simplified costs

Annex F. Complaint procedure for evaluation results

Annex G. Template Framework subsidy contract

Annex H. Template co-financing contract

Annex I.Template Partnership Agreement

Annex J. Programme methodology for result indicators

Annex K. Relevant national and EU legislation

Although we do not plan to, in case changes to the present Guide are necessary, please note that we will use the following means of communication:

1. Announcement on the Programme website: www.cbcromaniabulgaria.eu

2. Announcement on the Programme Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RomaniaBulgariaCbcProgramme



https://www.facebook.com/RomaniaBulgariaCbcProgramme



3. E-mail to the JS database

4. Also, you can send an e-mail to [email protected] and MA will make sure you are informed, directly to the e-mail indicated, to any corrigenda/material errors on the present Guide.

We will use methods 3 and 4, but please rely on methods 1 and 2, since e-mail disfunctionalities may appear.

We wish all the potential beneficiaries best of luck! We rely on your proposals to improve the eligible area according to the set

objectives!



mailto:[email protected]

applicant's guide interreg v a

Documents

programme indicators

programme strategy

programme objectives

programme financial

programme management

programme priority axes

eligibility of applicants

eligible criteria