Note: The tender deadline has been extended. A corrigendum has been published on e-Tendering website with new documents: declaration of honour (Anexo E in the Anexo D-H) and a new draft contract (Anexo A).
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This Call for Expressions of Interest was published in Official Journal S 211 on 30/10/2013 and the list resulting from this CEI is valid until 17/10/2017.
The European Fisheries Control Agency invites expressions of interest with a view to drawing up lists of experts to assist in the activities as detailed in the notice and related to the uniform application of the Common Fisheries Policy.
Natural persons interested are invited to submit an application in accordance with the rules set out in the notice for the purpose specified. The contracting authority will draw up a list of experts who meet the criteria laid down in point 12 of the notice. This list comprises sub lists, corresponding to each of the fields described at point 8 of the notice.
Fields covered by this CEI
The European Fisheries Control Agency ('the EFCA') is a European Union body located in Vigo, Spain, established to work in specialised areas of EU policy. Specifically, it was set up by the European Council (Council Regulation (EC) No 768/2005 of 25 April 2005 as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009), to strengthen the uniformity and effectiveness of enforcement of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) by pooling national means of fisheries control and monitoring resources and coordinating inspection activities.
The EFCA shall assist the Member States and the European Commission in the delivery of training for fisheries inspectors, in particular the delivery of core curricula for the training of the instructors of the inspectorate of the Member States and for the training of Union inspectors*.
The preparation of the Core Curricula requires to review and consolidate contributions via a web-based collaboration platform from national fisheries inspection services and the Commission and to fill gaps in the development of the Curricula in order to ensure consistency, coherence, uniformity and completeness.
The experts chosen within the framework of this call for expressions of interest shall provide technical assistance in the uniform application of the CFP, in particular the Core Curricula for fisheries inspectors. Therefore, these experts are required to have relevant experience, recognised expertise and specialised technical knowledge on the application of the CFP in preferably one or more domains of fisheries control and inspection.
*Article 7(a) and (b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 768/2005 as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.
The list will be drawn on the basis of the following fields:
A. TRAINING ENGINEERING
A.1. General training
A.2. Fisheries Inspectors profession
A.3. Methods
A.4. Implementation, monitoring and assessment
B. CORE CURRICULA AND HARMONISED STANDARDS OF INSPECTION
B.1. Collected know-how, expertise and best practices
B.2. Harmonised standards of inspection
B.3. Train the trainers
B.4. Community Inspectors
B.5. Collected know-how, expertise and best practices
Please note that Inclusion on the lists entails no obligation on the part of the EFCA concerning the award of the contract.
Validity of the list resulting from this CEI
The list resulting from this CEI will be valid until 17/10/2017.
Natural persons interested may submit an application at any time prior to the last three months of validity of the list.
Administrative forms
Natural persons interested are requested to complete the Application Form and to provide evidence of all documents as required. Full details of the application procedure can be found in the official publication of the call for expressions of interest: Official Journal S 211 on 30/10/2013
Questions
Any requests for additional information must be made in writing only to: CEI201301@efca.europa.eu.
Replies to requests for additional information will be provided to all applicants who have contacted the EFCA.
Data Protection Clause
The personal data collected by the EFCA in the applications is processed pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data. It is processed solely for the purpose of determining the inclusion of the applicant in the CEI list and, subsequently, the possible offer of a contract as external expert.
Files relating to the selection of applicants including personal data will be retained in the service in charge of the call for expressions of interest concerned until the end of the procedure for which it is submitted, and in the archives for at least five years from the date on which the European Parliament grants discharge for the budgetary year of the closure of the call for expressions of interest. Files relating to unsuccessful applicants will be retained in the service in charge of the call for expressions of interest concerned until the end of the procedure for which it is submitted, and in the archives for 2 years following the closing of the call for expressions of interest. The above limits can be extended until the end of a possible audit if one started before the end of the above periods.
In compliance with the ex post transparency requirement outlined in point 14 of the notice, the experts' names and the subject of the contracts will be published on EFCA's website no later than 30 June of the year following contract award. Where an expert has concluded a contract of more than €15 000, the name, the locality (region of origin), amount, and subject of the contract will be published. The information will be removed two years after the year of contract award.
The applicant has the right of access to his/her personal data and the right to rectify any such data that is inaccurate or incomplete. Should the applicant have any queries concerning the processing of his/her personal data, these shall be addressed to the Head of Unit Capacity Building. The applicant has right of recourse at any time to the European Data Protection Supervisor.
The CFCA has adopted its annual report for 2010 at the meeting of the Administrative Board held on 15 of March. The annual report highlighted all the activities undertaken by the CFCA during that year. Moreover, at the meeting the Board discussed the multiannual work programme for 2012-2016 as well as the annual work programme and draft budget for 2012.
This General Report has been adopted a few months before the forthcoming Communication on the Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy by the Commission. The reformed CFP will aim at ensuring a viable fishing sector based on the sustainability of available biological resources. The reformed CFP will then be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council by 2012.
New regulations on fisheries control and the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (so-called ‘IUU’) have already entered into force last year. Now there is a clear set of rules established to ensure that the law is applied in an equal, efficient and transparent manner.
“With these rules adopted, the focus moves to the implementation by the Member States. In this regard, the Agency has a crucial role to play at this very moment. Indeed, the model of the Agency of regional cooperation between national authorities is working effectively in practice,” said Serge Beslier, Chairman of the Administrative Board.
2010 results
During 2010, all objectives were achieved:
• The four JDPs in the North Sea / Western Waters, Baltic Sea, NAFO / NEAFC and Bluefin Tuna in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic, were executed. The CFCA also assisted the Member States and the Commission in the application of the EU regulation against IUU fishing.
• Several measures were adopted to enhance the quality and relevance of the control activities and hence ensure that Member States contribute in a satisfactory manner to the success of the Joint Deployment Plans. In this regard, Member States pooled an adequate number of means, a new Regional Risk Analysis was developed to facilitate the long term planning of joint campaigns, and steps have been taken to promote European Added Value at all stages of the JDP cycle (planning, implementation and assessment).
• The total number of inspections coordinated in the framework of the JDPs was more than 7000 in the four areas of operation.
• Approximately 1600 man days were deployed in joint teams; highlighting the cooperation between Member States through the creation of joint teams of inspectors of different nationalities. This is one of the main tools to foster cooperation, increase transparency of activities, exchange best practices and build confidence between the different national authorities.
• Periodically, there have been training seminars for the Community inspectors which work under the Joint Deployment Plans and training activities for the authorities involved in the fight against IUU fishing. Inspectors are now better trained and prepared and the quality of the work done by national and Community inspectors participating in joint inspection and surveillance activities under the JDP’s is improving.
Proposed Draft Budget for 2012
The draft budget for 2012 is €9,310,000. In 2011, the final budget was €12,850,000.
“The execution of these activities has contributed significantly to the uniformity and effectiveness of control, increased transparency of the inspection activities and thus to a level playing field for the European fishing industry. In times of financial austerity, this form of cooperation helps save public expenditure by ensuring better cost effective use of Member States’ inspection vessels and aircrafts,” said Harm Koster, Executive Director.
Within the framework of the joint deployment plan for cod in the North Sea coordinated by the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA), a possible infringement, in which blinders were being utilised by a Dutch fishing vessel, was detected in the course of a joint operation involving three Member States (the Netherlands, France and Belgium). In fact, joint deployment plans are the vehicle through which the CFCA organises the deployment of national human and material means of control and inspection pooled by Member States, thus ensuring European Added Value in the Union monitoring control and surveillance efforts.
During a control operation on the 8th November, for which the French fisheries monitoring centre (FMC) at CROSS A Etel was in charge, the French inspection vessel Themis entered Belgian waters with French European Union inspectors on board, to inspect a Dutch beam trawler. When the inspector approached the vessel, the skipper ran off the warps from the winches dumping the beam trawls on the sea bed. In a coordinated action, the Dutch inspection vessel Barend Biesheuvel went to the location and, as the captain of the fishing vessel was not willing to be cooperative in bringing the gear above the surface, requested the Dutch coastguard vessel Arca to dredge the net; an operation which lasted two days. In addition, Belgium contributed to the operation, by having their fishing patrol vessel Zeehond dredging and finding the first net.
As a result of the operation, the inspectors found out the utilisation of ‘blinders’, illegal gear attachments which obstruct the mesh opening and reduce the selectivity of the net, contravening Commission Regulation EEC 3440/84. In addition, the skipper of the fishing vessel hindered the inspection by obstructing the control operation.
The value of the fish and both port and starboard trawls were confiscated. The fishing vessel’s skipper will be prosecuted in the Netherlands. This operation has only been possible thanks to the cooperation among the Member States authorities in the framework of the joint deployment plan for the cod in the North Sea.