Pre-Qualification Document...2021/07/06 · This Pre-Qualification Document (“PQD”) sets out the eligibility, exclusion and selection criteria, as part of a pre-qualification

PQ Ref. No.: CGIP/12/MDA/ARM/21 Page 1 of 36

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Pre-Qualification Document

PQD Ref. No.: CGIP/12/MDA/ARM/21

Archiving Services

06/07/2021


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Contents

1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 3

2. CONTENTS OF THIS PQD ................................................................................. 3

3. OVERVIEW OF THE PROCUREMENT REQUIREMENT ....................................... 4 3.1 Type of Procurement Procedure .................................................................................................................... 4 3.2 Procurement Process Steps and Timelines .................................................................................................... 4 3.3 The ESM “Sole Contact” Details ..................................................................................................................... 5 3.4 Clarification Matters ........................................................................................................................................ 5 3.5 Application Structure and Response Instructions ........................................................................................... 5 3.6 Coordinates and Guidelines for Submission of Applications .......................................................................... 6 3.7 Eligibility, Exclusion and Selection Criteria ..................................................................................................... 7

4. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS PQD .......................................................... 8 4.1 Rights of the ESM ........................................................................................................................................... 8 4.2 Cost of Participating in the Procurement Process .......................................................................................... 8 4.3 Trade Name, Logo and Marks ........................................................................................................................ 8 4.4 Confidentiality ................................................................................................................................................. 9 4.5 Involvement/Reliance on Third Parties ........................................................................................................... 9 4.6 Transfer of Undertakings .............................................................................................................................. 10 4.7 Environmental Considerations ...................................................................................................................... 11

5. BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW OF REQUIREMENTS .................................... 12

6. DESCRIPTION OF THE SERVICES AND DELIVERABLES .................................... 12 2.3 Deliverables .................................................................................................................................................. 19 2.4 Key Personnel .............................................................................................................................................. 20 2.5 Meetings ....................................................................................................................................................... 21 2.6 Place of Services Performance .................................................................................................................... 21 2.7 Service Level Agreement (SLA) and Key Performance Indicators (KPI(s)) .................................................. 22 2.8 Reporting ...................................................................................................................................................... 24 1.1. Declaration on the Eligibility, Exclusion Criteria, Economic, Financial and Operational Capacity and the Absence of Conflict of Interest.................................................................................................................................. 25 DECLARATION ON THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA ................................................................................................. 26 1.2. Non-Collusion Declaration ............................................................................................................................ 27 NON-COLLUSION DECLARATION ........................................................................................................................ 28 2. Selection Criteria .......................................................................................................................................... 29 3. Other Required Information and Documents ................................................................................................ 32 3.1. Cover Certification Form ............................................................................................................................... 32 COVER CERTIFICATION FORM ............................................................................................................................ 32 Submitted in Response to PQ Ref. No.: CGIP/12/MDA/ARM/21 ......................................................................... 32


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1. Introduction

The European Stability Mechanism (“ESM”) is a permanent crisis resolution mechanism established by the

euro area Member States as an intergovernmental organisation under public international law. Its purpose

is to ensure the financial stability of the euro area as a whole, and of its Member States experiencing severe

financing problems, by providing financial assistance through a number of instruments.

More background information about the ESM may be found on the website:

https://www.esm.europa.eu/

Neither Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014, nor

Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (as amended) apply

to the ESM. The ESM procures supplies, services and works on its own behalf and for its own account

pursuant to the ESM Procurement Policy as published on the ESM website. Please visit the ESM website for

further information.

This Pre-Qualification Document (“PQD”) sets out the eligibility, exclusion and selection criteria, as part of

a pre-qualification stage (“Stage 1”) of this two-stage procurement procedure, in order to assess the

suitability of a Candidate to participate further in this procurement procedure. Candidates, which are

successful at Stage 1 (pre-qualified Candidates) and, if applicable, chosen by the ESM among the eligible

and suitable Candidates, will be invited to participate in the subsequent Request for Proposal stage of the

procurement procedure (“Stage 2”).

For the purposes of this PQD, economic operators who wish to apply to this procurement procedure are

referred to as “Candidate” or “Candidates” and their response is referred to as an “Application” or

“Applications”.

Unless otherwise defined in this PQD, all capitalised terms used in this PQD have the meanings ascribed to

them in the ESM Procurement Policy.

2. Contents of this PQD

The PQD consists of the following documents:

No. Document Title Comment

1. Prequalification Document – Core Document This document

2. Annex 1 – Terms of Reference Included as Annex 1 to this PQD

3.

Annex 2 – Eligibility, Exclusion & Selection Criteria including declarations, forms, questions and other response elements to be addressed

Included as Annex 2 to this PQD




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3. Overview of the Procurement Requirement

The ESM intends to establish a contract (the “Contract”) with a single provider, (“Service Provider”) to

perform digitalisation of the physical ESM documents subject to archiving; maintaining the physical archive

of the ESM; providing a user-friendly electronic archiving system on a Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) basis

for storage of the digital copies of the ESM physical documents as well as the archived electronic documents

of the ESM, which could be accessed by up to 220 ESM staff (“Services”).The Contract to be awarded as a

result of this procurement procedure will have a four (4) year term, with the option to further extend for 4

years at the ESM’s sole discretion.

Further information can be found in Annex 1 to this PQD.

3.1 Type of Procurement Procedure

This procurement procedure is carried out by the ESM under a Negotiated Procedure in accordance with Article 9.1 (1) and (2) of the ESM Procurement Policy and is referred to in this PQD as a procurement procedure or a procurement process.

3.2 Procurement Process Steps and Timelines

The ESM plans to carry out the procurement process in accordance with the steps defined in the table below. The ESM reserves, at its sole discretion, the right to vary the steps and timelines.

No. Procurement Process Steps Timeline

1. Contract notice and PQD publication date 06/07/2021

2. Deadline for submission of clarifications/questions on the contract notice and the PQD

19/07/2021 11:00 hrs (local Luxembourg time)

3. Response to the clarifications/questions on the contract notice and the PQD

Regularly

4. Deadline for submission of Applications (the “Applications Deadline”)

28/07/2021 11:00 hrs (local Luxembourg time)

5.

Target date of notification of the ESM’s decision on pre-qualification to unsuccessful Candidates and dispatch of the RFP to the pre-qualified Candidates

11/08/2021


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3.3 The ESM “Sole Contact” Details

Commercial Legal and Procurement European Stability Mechanism 6a, Circuit de la Foire Internationale L-1347 Luxembourg Email: [email protected] Attention: Ms. Marion Courbis Unless notified otherwise, the person indicated above shall be the Candidates’ single point of communication with the ESM for the duration of this procurement process.

The ESM shall not be bound by and the Candidates agree not to rely upon any written or verbal statements or representations of any other persons, whether employed by the ESM or not.

3.4 Clarification Matters

During the procurement procedure, Candidates are entitled to submit in writing questions to the ESM within the deadline above indicated. ESM may provide additional information solely for the purpose of clarifying the procurement documents and taking into account the following aspects: a) Queries can be raised to the Sole Contact as identified in this PQD. b) Queries can be raised on any matter in the contract notice or this PQD. However, the ESM reserves the

right not to answer any particular query. c) The ESM will endeavour to respond to all queries and issue responses in a timely and professional

manner. The ESM reserves the right not to answer any queries received after the deadline for submission of the queries.

d) Subject to point e) below, responses to the queries will be uploaded on the ESM website if they are of relevance to all of Candidates.

e) If the ESM receives a query from a Candidate which, in the sole discretion of the ESM, constitutes a query relevant to that Candidate only, the ESM will provide response to that Candidate only.

Please note that the assessment of the Application will be done only during the evaluation phase and not

during the clarification period. In this context, Candidates are invited to submit evidence, which they

consider relevant to fulfil the PQD requirements.

3.5 Application Structure and Response Instructions

When preparing Applications, Candidates should observe the following:

All documents must be submitted in English.

Note limitations on any page/word limits specified. Any response exceeding the specified limits may be disregarded beyond that limit.

Answers should be as concise as possible, complete and comprehensive.

The ESM does not wish to receive any marketing or other promotional materials.

Responses to the eligibility, exclusion and/or selection criteria will be evaluated independently and cross-references between response elements are not permitted.

The Candidate should clearly identify in the Application any requirements specified in this PQD that the Candidate cannot satisfy.

mailto:[email protected]


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Application Structure

# Section Template and instructions Document format

1. Cover Certification

Form

Candidates are requested to provide a cover certification form dated and duly signed by an authorised representative on the Candidate’ s company letterhead (no. 3.1 of Annex 2)

Fully scanned copy with signature in PDF

2.

Declarations

Candidates are requested to submit completed, dated and duly signed declarations (nos. 1.1 and 1.2 of Annex 2)

Fully scanned copy with signature in PDF

3. General Response Candidates are requested to respond to the questions posed in this PQD as instructed (see Annex 2 Section 2. Selection Criteria)

PDF

4. Attachments Candidates are requested to include any attachments, as requested

PDF

3.6 Coordinates and Guidelines for Submission of Applications

Applications shall be submitted no later than the Applications Deadline specified at point 4 of the Procurement Process Steps and Timeline table and must be submitted only via e- mail to: Email: [email protected] PQ Ref. No.: CGIP/12/MDA/ARM/21 Attention: Ms. Marion Courbis

Only Applications received through these means will be accepted.

All digital copies of Applications shall be submitted in compliance with the following guidelines: a) One file per section as described above in the “Application Structure” table. b) Any supporting or additional files must be clearly named. c) All files should be named clearly with a sequential number and a relevant file name, e.g.

o “Annex 2: 1.1 – Declaration on the eligibility, exclusion criteria, economic, financial and

operational capacity and the absence of conflict of interest” o “Annex 2: 1.2 – Non-Collusion Declaration” o “Annex 2: 3.1 – Cover Certification Form”

d) All files must be provided in a standard non-editable format, such as PDF.

mailto:[email protected]


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3.7 Eligibility, Exclusion and Selection Criteria

In order to be eligible to participate in this procurement process, Candidates must be either natural persons or legal persons and state that they are not in one of the exclusion situations listed in the declarations nos. 1.1 and 1.2 included in Annex 2. If such circumstances arise in the course of the procurement process, the Candidate concerned must inform the ESM thereof without undue delay. Candidates may submit evidence to demonstrate their eligibility despite the existence of grounds for exclusion. The ESM may, in its sole discretion, decide whether such evidence is satisfactory. Candidates must comply with all eligibility and exclusion criteria to be assessed further.

ELIGIBILITY AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA – elements of the evaluation

Duly executed declarations as requested in Annex 2 nos. 1.1 and 1.2 Pass / Fail

In order to assess a Candidate’s capacity to perform the FA the ESM will apply the following selection

criteria (full information can be found in Annex 2 Section 2. Selection Criteria).

In the event that the Candidate submits an Application together with a third party/-ies and/or with sub-

contractor(s), the combined capacities of the Candidate and all such third party/-ies and/or

subcontractor(s)will be assessed for the purpose of meeting the selection criteria.

SELECTION CRITERIA – elements of the evaluation

Economic and financial standing Pass / Fail

Technical or professional ability Pass / Fail

Authorisation and suitability to carry out the relevant professional

activity Pass / Fail

Candidates must achieve a rating of “Pass” for all the “Pass / Fail” criteria to be considered successful at

Stage 1 (pre-qualified Candidates).


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4. Terms and Conditions of this PQD

4.1 Rights of the ESM

By submitting an Application, the Candidates confirm that they have taken note and accepted all terms and conditions of this PQD. The ESM reserves the right, at its sole discretion and in exceptional circumstances, to accept the Applications received after the closing deadline. After the ESM opens the Applications, it may request Candidates to submit, supplement, clarify or complete information or documentation, which is or appears missing, incomplete, inconsistent or erroneous within an appropriate time limit. The ESM reserves the right to reject from further consideration any such Applications.

The ESM reserves the right to request that Candidates provide documentary evidence in support of the statements made in their Applications.

Any effort by the Candidate to influence the ESM in the process of examination, evaluation and comparison of Applications, or in the decision regarding the pre-qualification process may result in the rejection of the Application.

The ESM may decide, at its sole discretion while complying with the general principles set forth in the ESM Procurement Policy, to cancel this procurement process in whole or in part at any time before the FA is awarded as a result of this procurement process. The cancellation does not give rise to any form of compensation for Candidates.

The ESM will ensure that the information provided by Candidates is treated and stored in accordance with the principles of confidentiality and integrity.

The ESM reserves the right to disclose the contents of Applications to its third party advisors (if applicable) who are bound by the same confidentiality and integrity obligations as the ESM.

If the ESM discovers, before the expiry of the deadline for submissions of Applications, a lack of precision, an omission or any other type of error in this PQD, it will rectify the error and inform all Candidates in writing.

4.2 Cost of Participating in the Procurement Process

All costs relating to the participation in this procurement process, including in particular any costs in relation to the preparation of Applications and of any other documents requested by the ESM and any subsequent follow-up shall be borne exclusively by the Candidate.

4.3 Trade Name, Logo and Marks

The ESM logo, covers, page headers, custom graphics, icons, and other design elements and words or symbols used to identify the description of the procurement requirement are either trademarks, trade names or service marks of the ESM and its licensors, or are the property of their respective owners. These marks may not be copied, imitated or used, in whole or in part, without the explicit prior written consent of the ESM.


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4.4 Confidentiality

If the Candidate considers that any part of its Application or other documents/information submitted to the ESM include Confidential Information within the meaning of this section, the Candidate must clearly mark such parts of the Application or other documents/information as ‘confidential’.

Candidates are advised that their participation in this procurement process constitutes Confidential

Information except for the announcement by the ESM of the successful Candidate on the ESM website in

accordance with Article 9.17 (3) of the Procurement Policy.

Except if required in a judicial or administrative proceeding, or if it is otherwise required to be disclosed by any law or regulation, or where information is already in the public domain, the ESM will: (a) not disclose the Confidential Information; (b) take all reasonable measures to preserve the confidentiality and avoid disclosure, dissemination or unauthorised use of Confidential Information; and (c) not use such Confidential Information for any purpose other than as is necessary in connection with this procurement process. Confidential Information does not include information which (a) was known to the ESM prior to receiving the information from the Candidate; (b) becomes rightfully known to the ESM from a third-party source not known to the ESM (after diligent inquiry) to be under an obligation to the Candidate to maintain confidentiality; (c) is or becomes publicly available through no fault of or failure to act by ESM; or (d) has been developed independently by the ESM or authorised to be disclosed by the Candidate. Confidential Information may only be shared with third parties (e.g. contractors) that have a need to know the Confidential Information in relation to this procurement process and provided that such third parties comply with the confidentiality obligations provided in this section.

In addition, if the Candidate has signed an ESM confidentiality undertaking the Candidate agrees to comply

with all obligations set forth in such confidentiality undertaking. If there is a conflict between such

confidentiality undertaking and this procurement procedure, the confidentiality undertaking will prevail.

4.5 Involvement/Reliance on Third Parties

If the Candidate intends to involve a third party in the supply of the services offered to the ESM the

Candidate has to ensure that any such third party is bound by the requirements set forth in this PQD.

If a Candidate submits its Application as part of a consortium with a third party/third parties, such Candidate must provide as part of its Proposal:

a. a clear description of the proposed consortium, its organisational hierarchy and structure, the names of

all consortium members and the roles, activities and responsibilities of the consortium leader and each

consortium member;

b. a document authorising the consortium leader to act on behalf of the consortium member(s) (e.g. power

of attorney);

c. a written undertaking from the consortium member(s) confirming that it/they will place, at the

consortium leader’s disposal, the resources necessary for the performance of the Contract. The written

undertaking must be signed by an authorised representative of each such consortium member.

d. information on whether the consortium will form a legal entity and if yes, details of the actual or

proposed percentage shareholding within such legal entity and other official documents confirming

existence of such legal entity. If not, full details of the proposed consortium arrangement including

submission of an executed consortium agreement.

If a Candidate considers any changes in the consortium structure it must immediately notify the ESM in

writing. The composition of a consortium (including the roles, activities and responsibilities of the

consortium leader and each consortium member) cannot be modified or members of the consortium


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cannot be exchanged, whether during the course of this procurement process or during the term of the

Contract, without the prior written consent of the ESM.

If a Candidate intends to sub-contract some of the services offered to the ESM to a third party, the

Candidate must provide as part of its Application:

a. a clear description of the proposed subcontracting arrangement, in particular which tasks the

Candidate intends to subcontract and their volume or proportion, the name(s) of the proposed

subcontractor(s) and its/their roles, activities and responsibilities; and

b. a document signed by a subcontractor stating its intention to collaborate with the Candidate should

the Candidate be awarded a Contract.

If a Candidate subcontracts some of the services under the Contract to subcontractors, it will nevertheless

remain fully liable towards the ESM for the performance of such services and responsible for the Contract

as a whole. The ESM will have no direct legal commitments with the subcontractor(s).

Where the information provided to the ESM indicates that subcontractor(s) is/are to play a significant role

in delivering the services offered to the ESM, any changes to the proposed subcontractors must be notified

immediately to the ESM. Candidates cannot exchange or replace the subcontractors or modify the nature

of the subcontracting arrangement (including the subcontracted tasks, their volume or proportion),

whether during the course of this procurement procedure or during the term of the Contract, without the

prior written consent of the ESM.

Moreover, any additional subcontractor(s) which was/were not assessed by the ESM during this

procurement procedure may only be appointed if the ESM’s has given its prior written consent.

4.6 Transfer of Undertakings

The Candidates acknowledge and accept the possibility that if they are awarded the Contract, the Contract may in some cases trigger the application of the relevant provisions of Luxembourg law or of a collective labour agreement regarding transfers of undertakings, in particular, but not limited to, Articles L.127- 1 to L.127-6 of the Luxembourg Labour Code as amended from time to time (collectively the “Regulations”). Consequently, the Candidates acknowledge and accept the possibility that if they are awarded a Contract the staff employed by the existing service provider performing the services to the ESM (the “Employees”) may, if necessary, be taken over and/or transferred automatically, by the virtue of the Regulations. The Candidates are therefore invited, if deemed appropriate and if not already included in the procurement documents, to request the ESM to provide any necessary information regarding the Employees. The ESM reserves the right to answer questions at a later stage of the procurement procedure if deemed appropriate in the ESM’s sole discretion. Should the Regulations be applicable, the existing service provider and the successful Candidate will fully

comply with all of their obligations under the Regulations and will take all necessary steps to facilitate the

takeover and/or transfer of the Employees. Any discussions regarding potential takeover and/or transfer

of the Employees will be directly between the existing service provider and the successful Candidate. All

the costs incurred by the successful Candidate in relation to the application of the Regulations will be borne

solely by such Candidate and will not give rise to any financial compensation from the ESM and will not

affect in any way the financial proposal submitted by the successful Candidate.

For the avoidance of doubt, no Employee will be transferred to the ESM.


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4.7 Environmental Considerations

The ESM is committed to minimising the environmental impact of its everyday business activities, including,

promoting an eco-friendly approach in its purchasing activity. Therefore, suppliers should also follow /

adopt such environmental considerations and strive to be eco-friendly (i.e. reduce water, energy and waste

consumption, actively recycle, using reusable / recyclable materials etc.) in their related business

operations.

In addition, the supplier shall ensure compliance with any European and national rules on environmental

protection, safety and health.


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ANNEX 1 - TERMS OF REFERENCE Terms of Reference

1. Background and Overview of Requirements

The European Stability Mechanism (the “ESM”) is a permanent crisis resolution mechanism established by

the euro area Member States as an intergovernmental organisation under public international law, with its

seat and principal office at 6a, Circuit de la Foire Internationale, L-1347 Luxembourg (the “ESM Office”). Its

purpose is to ensure the financial stability of the euro area as a whole and of its Member States

experiencing severe financing problems by providing financial assistance through a number of instruments.

The ESM manages a large number of different types of documents in different formats, which need to be

archived for extended periods or permanently in accordance with the ESM Records Management and

Archiving Policy.

In this context, ESM intends to conclude a Contract (the “Contract”) with a single provider (the “Service

Provider”), to perform digitalisation of the physical ESM documents subject to archiving; maintain the

physical archive of the ESM; and provide a user-friendly electronic archiving system on a ready to use

Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) basis for storage of the digital copies of the ESM physical documents as well

as the archived electronic documents of the ESM, which could be accessed by up to 220 ESM staff (the

“Services”).

2. Description of the Services and Deliverables

2.1 General Description of the Services and Deliverables

The ESM physical documents subject to archiving are transferred to the offices of the current service provider where they are digitalised by the service provider’s designated employees. Subsequently, they are uploaded in the service provider’s electronic archiving system. Following their digitalisation, the ESM physical documents are returned to the ESM Office and stored systematically in the ESM’s physical archive.

Currently, the ESM’s physical archive comprises around 100,000 pages of a wide variety of documents, ranging from institutional documents to commercial contracts, lending and back-office documents.

The objective of this procurement procedure is to identify a Service Provider, which is able to provide the

following Services:

Migration of the ESM electronic archive from the electronic archiving system provided by the current service provider to the new electronic archiving system of the Service Provider;

Collection of the ESM physical documents for digitalisation and archiving from the ESM Office on a weekly basis;

Preparation of the physical documents for digitalisation (i.e. removal of staples etc.);

Digitalisation of the ESM physical documents while guaranteeing the integrity, confidentiality and availability of information and maintaining the legal probative value of the digital copies of physical documents;

Provision of an electronic archiving system (the “Archiving System”) as a user-friendly repository for the digital copies of physical documents as well as archived electronic files of the ESM. The Archiving System is required to have an electronic two-way interface with Microsoft 365 SharePoint, which will be used as the ESM records management system. Such interface will allow


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seamless electronic transfer of ESM electronic files subject to archiving from the ESM records management system to the Archiving System and accessibility of the Archiving System for ESM staff.

Maintaining a link between the documents in the ESM physical archive and their digital copies in the Archiving System, so that the physical documents are easily retrievable;

Managing the ESM physical archive, including appropriate labelling and filing of documents and reporting on access requests. At the beginning of the Contract, the already archived physical documents would need to be re-arranged according to the defined archiving plan (currently they are stored in the order, in which they are received for archiving by the archivist). The archiving plan will be defined by the ESM in cooperation with the Service Provider.

i) Document types

The current ESM electronic archive includes only digitalised copies of physical documents, organised in 10 content type groups:

a. Back office f. Internal Governance

b. Compliance g. Litigation

c. Capital markets h. Lending

d. Financial Reporting i. Procurement and Commercial Contracts

e. Governance k. Signing forms

l. Human Resources m. Videos/Photos (if needed)

It is foreseen that during the term of the Contract, more content type groups will be created as the ESM electronic archive would be expanded to include both digital copies of physical documents as well as electronic files subject to archiving.

ii) Metadata

Metadata should be common to all document types including but not limited to the below examples:

In addition to these common metadata, different document types could have individual metadata requirements.

Common metadata

1. Reference number 2. Title 3. Date 4. Format 5. Subject and keywords 6. Confidentiality marking 7. Retention 8. Status 9. Institution concerned

(ESM/EFSF) 10. Document type


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iii) Scanning procedures

Each physical document subject to archiving must be scanned and digitalised so that ultimately all physical documents subject to archiving have a digital copy with identical legal value as the original. All digital copies must be saved in PDF/A format, the ISO standard format for long-term archiving (ISO 19005-1:2005), with Optical Character Recognition (OCR). The scanning software must use the XMP format for metadata.

The scanning must be done in the correct format of the ESM physical documents, of which most but not all are in A4 format. Colour scanning option must be available.

Regarding the OCR technology, Candidates must provide as a percentage the standard error rate that the ESM can expect to encounter in the scanning of documents. This percentage must be equal or higher than the one specified in Section 2.6 of this Terms of Reference. The Candidates must also provide any relevant information on factors which may improve (or have a detrimental effect) on the scanning of documents.

A unique link between the location of the physical document in the ESM physical archive and its digital copy must be established. Candidates must demonstrate how they will link the physical document located at the ESM physical archive and its digital copy located in the Archiving System to ensure that the physical documents are easily retrievable.

Furthermore, the file structure of the physical documents stored in the ESM physical archive and their digital copies must be aligned in order to facilitate easy identification and retrieval.

iv) Volume of physical records to be scanned

The figure below shows the number of physical pages that were digitised from 2018 until May 2021. The figure below is provided for illustration purposes only and does not imply that ESM will continue to produce similar volumes of physical documents for digitalisation during the term of the Contract. The actual volume of physical documents for digitalisation may vary from year to year during the term of the Contract and also in comparison to the period 2018-2021, depending on the ESM operational needs.

v) Timeline for digitalisation, archiving and electronic upload

80000

82000

84000

86000

88000

90000

92000

94000

96000

98000

100000

2018 2019 Until May 2020 May 2021

Volume of Pages per Year


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The maximum timeframe considered acceptable to have ESM physical documents digitalised and uploaded in the Archiving System is seven (7) working days from the collection of the physical documents from the ESM Office.

vi) Migration of ESM electronic archive

The Candidate must ensure that the ESM electronic archive maintained by the current service provider of archiving services is flawlessly migrated to the Archiving System provided by the Candidate according to the defined archiving plan and with minimum disruption of business. Candidates must indicate their experience in performing similar migrations and propose a high-level migration plan.

2.2 Archiving System

i) Import of digital documents to the Archiving System

The Archiving System will be able to import records using different methods, as follows:

a. import records directly from the ESM records management system (Microsoft 365 SharePoint) or fetch the record through browsing;

b. import records from OCR scanner; and

c. perform import of a single record as well as bulk import of a set of records organised in a systematic way.

ii) Metadata (record registration and classification)

The Archiving System must allow for the manual tagging of metadata (e.g. confidentiality marking, type of document, as mentioned above). Other mandatory metadata will depend on the document type. The solution must also be able to pre-fill metadata automatically after upload (i.e. automatic tags records after identifying the document type).

The import function will also allow for the importing of metadata that have already been attributed to records. There should be no requirement for the manual re-input of existing metadata.

When performing bulk import, a set of metadata should only be input once for all the records belonging to the set.

iii) Approval workflow

The Archiving System must allow for the setting up of approval workflows for accessing different types of documents. The ESM will establish an internal approval process once the record is uploaded in the relevant folder.

iv) Storage

The Archiving System must preserve and ensure integrity of the archived records (i.e. records cannot be modified/deleted). The ESM intends to store records in different folders depending on their type.

v) Interface between the Archiving System and ESM records management system

Search, retrieval and consultation of records within the Archiving System should be possible for all ESM users (up to 220 staff) according to access permissions that will be set by the ESM officer responsible for managing the access rights.


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The interface between the Archiving System and Microsoft 365 will allow users to access the Archiving System directly through Microsoft 365 i.e. on the basis of a single sign-on. For the avoidance of doubt, archived records will not be saved in Microsoft 365 – they will be saved in the Archiving System of the service provider.

The Archiving System will also meet the following access requirements:

a. All ESM users must be able to search within and across folders in the Archiving System by using metadata (i.e. document type, date) and keywords;

b. A fast consultation option, i.e. filter through selection of metadata, shall be possible;

c. Retrieval of a record should allow pre-visualisation of the record, opening of the full records and printing it;

d. When a printout is made, a cover page should also be automatically printed. The cover page must include as a minimum the date of printing, the confidentiality marking of the record, the record identifier, and the location of record in the archiving plan; and

e. the tool will allow ESM users to send a request to retrieve the physical copy of the record.

The Candidate must be able demonstrate how the above requirements will be implemented.

vi) User Profile Management

The Archiving System must allow for the setting up of different user profile types. Each user profile will have access to a certain set of functionalities. The Candidate must confirm that the following is included in the definition of user profiles:

a. functionalities related to managing the archived records i.e. tag, approve, search, retrieve, print, change metadata, export, approve a disposal;

b. functionalities related to administration of the electronic archive i.e. manage the structure of the archiving plan, change set of metadata, create a new archive; and

c. functionalities related to managing user access rights.

vii) Retention

When a record is uploaded to the Archiving System, the duration of retention must be defined (i.e. retention be defined as mandatory metadata). Records will not be deleted until the retention period has come to its end and users must receive notifications when the expiry of the retention period is approaching. Authorised users will have the following options:

a. to extend the retention period and keep the record in the system; or

b. to delete the record (this action will require record owner’s approval).

The Archiving System will produce a regular report with an overview of upcoming expiring records by folder.

viii) Disposal

The Archiving System will allow for the set-up of an approval workflow to dispose of archived records securely. At least two events will be required to trigger the disposal:

a. creation of a list of records to be disposed at a defined date; and

b. approval from both the record owner and the archivist. The approval implies a choice between the options of extending the retention period or disposing of the record (permanently deleting) (for options see retention paragraph above).


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Approval for disposal can be set for single records or for a group of records. Upon disposal, a choice between two options below will be given:

a. the record and associated metadata is deleted - the list of records approved for disposal will be archived itself in order to keep track of the approval for destruction; and

b. the metadata of the deleted record is retained, including metadata stating that the record was deleted upon approval of disposal by authorised persons - the list of records approved for disposal should also in this case be archived in order to keep track of the approval for destruction.

An audit trail will be required as evidence that a record has been disposed. In the case of human resources records, when these are securely destroyed, there is also need for a certificate of proof that the disposal has taken place.

ix) General administration

The Archiving System must be implemented in a way to enable the finding, display and correction of errors, the reconfiguration of system parameterisation and the configuration done during the set-up. The Archiving System enable the creation of one or more categories/sub-categories of archives.

x) Reporting function

The Archiving System must provide the following reporting capabilities:

a. extract of the ESM archiving plan;

b. list of archived records;

c. extract of user activity;

d. extract of access authorisation and security parameterisation;

e. report on the set of records to be disposed of (in days, weeks, months);

f. report statistics that enable the anticipation of future storage capacity increases;

g. number of documents/pages per document type; and

h. extract of metadata per document type.

xi) Audit trail

An audit trail of actions in the Archiving System must be kept for 10 years from the date of archiving. The audit trail must be extracted in a CSV file or similar (structured table). A file must be generated at a pre-defined frequency or on demand (e.g. between two dates).

The Archiving System should record only those data that are necessary to support the audit trail. At a minimum, it must include.:

a. actions initiated by a user, an administrator or by the system; and

b. successful actions as well as rejected actions.

The integrity of the audit trail must be ensured.

xii) Migration to another archiving system

Bulk transfer of records must be possible in case of migration to a new archiving system, on termination of the Contract with the Service Provider, however arising. All records, their metadata and audit trail must be part of the transfer. The Service Provider will use industry standard formats in the Archiving System to support easy


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duplication of the data and migration of the data on termination of the Contract, however arising. The Service Provider will delete or destroy the records (including their metadata and audit trails) in the Archiving System only upon receipt of specific written confirmation from the ESM that the successful migration to the new system is complete.

xiii) Technological obsolescence

The Service Provider will ensure that it anticipates and effectively mitigates the risks associated with technological obsolescence of the Archiving System both in terms of record format and storage medium.

xiv) Windows Active Directory authentication

ESM users will be authenticated to access the Archiving System using Windows Active Directory. Once users are authorised on the network domain, they should be able to access the Archiving System. Windows Active Directory groups will be used to manage access rights. In order to avoid the duplication of user information, the Archiving System must synchronise its user list with Windows Active Directory.

xv) Availability and Business Continuity

The Candidate will guarantee high availability of the Archiving System. ESM data stored in the Archiving System will be subject to synchronised storage at geographically diverse locations in real time. The Service Provider will ensure that no more than 24-hours’ worth of data could be lost in the event of critical outage. The Service Provider will ensure that the Archiving System is the subject of a disaster recovery plan that includes regular testing and exercising of the plan, and will share the plan with the ESM.

xvi) Environments

The Archiving System will provide segregated production, testing and development environments.

xvii) Usability

The graphical interface of the Archiving System will be designed to ensure usability, and a minimal number of clicks should be required for users to realise a task. In addition, users should be able to request help, benefit from a user guide, and consult a "thesaurus" which will aid users in defining their indexation.

xviii) Inventory of ESM physical archive

The Archiving System shall provide the following functionality in relation to the management of the ESM physical archive:

a. Manage an inventory of the physical records;

b. Manage the location of these physical records based on their document type;

c. Manage retrieval of physical records (track if a record has been retrieved, by whom, and until when. In addition, the Archiving System must alert these users to bring back the record they retrieved);

d. Enable the printing of standard box labels with a systematic structure for effective archive management.

xix) Maintenance and support

The Archiving System should have a well-defined and supported upgrade/patching release policy providing deployment flexibility to the ESM. At a minimum the following information will be provided:


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a. the date of the most recent major release;

b. the planned date of the next major release;

c. the frequency of major releases;

d. how many major releases back does the Candidate provide support for;

e. the quality assurance/testing processes to be followed; and

f. how upgrades are supported.

The Archiving System will have a well-defined product roadmap. The roadmap should detail:

a. commitment to product development;

b. commitment to support and maintenance for old versions; and

c. upgrade options.

The Candidate will maintain a user forum/network and/or other alternative methods by which the ESM may request specific changes or enhancements to be introduced to the Archiving System.

2.3 Deliverables

The Service Provider will be required to deliver the following deliverables in accordance with the below

requirements:

Name of deliverable Description - what you want to achieve? Reports, projects? Which format? Etc.

Deadlines for delivery

Number 1: Migration of already digitalised documents from the current ESM electronic archive to the new one provided by the Service Provider

Within one (1) month of the Contract effective date.

Number 2: Establish interface between the ESM Microsoft 365 SharePoint and the Archiving System.

Within one (1) month of the date of the completion of the migration

Number 3: Re-arrangement of the existing ESM physical archive according to the defined archiving plan (per document type and chronological order)

Within one (1) month of the Contract effective date.

Number 4: Continuous delivery of digitalization services for ESM physical documents and maintenance of the ESM physical archive as defined in the Terms of Reference.

Ongoing

Number 5: Continuous delivery of digitalization services for ESM electronic records subject to archiving.

Ongoing and to commence within one (1) month of the Contract effective date.


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2.4 Key Personnel

The Candidate should propose appropriate staff resources of their own for the provision of the Services, including details on the frequency of attendance of their staff at the ESM Office. The following staff resources will be required (this is not an exhaustive list; the Candidate may propose additional resources):

An account manager who will be responsible for the overall delivery of Services and will be the main point of contact for the ESM officer responsible for archiving services.

A project manager who will coordinate and implement the migration and seamless transition from the current ESM electronic archive provided by another service provider to the selected Service Provider. The project manager will also ensure the establishment of a two-way interface between the ESM Microsoft 365 SharePoint and the Archiving System.

An archivist. Regular presence (currently the ESM uses an archivist 4 hours per week) of an archivist that will be responsible for collecting the physical documents at the ESM Office and performing all relevant tasks so that the physical documents are stored in the ESM physical archive and their digitalised copies are properly uploaded in the Archiving System. The Service Provider will also ensure a back-up archivist is available to cover absences of the regular archivist in the event the regular archivist is unavailable. The replacement must be provided within two (2) working days when the primary dedicated archivist is absent.

The Candidate should explain:

to what extent will the Services be performed at the ESM Office;

whether any specialised equipment would need to be positioned at the ESM Office (it is expected that this would not be the case);

what background checks will they perform on their staff and what steps will they take to ensure that staff who have access to the ESM documents and Archiving System are aware of and comply with their confidentiality obligations;

what procedures are in place to prevent unauthorised access and to secure against loss in transit, if the Candidate’s proposal involves transport of ESM documents offsite for digitalisation;

what would be the level of experience and expertise of staff who will be used by the Candidate to deliver the Services.

Number 6: Provision of an Archiving System with the above mentioned specifications for the storage and management of both the digitalised ESM physical documents and any ESM electronic documents subject to archiving.

Ongoing

Number 7: Monthly report on the status of the defined KPIs Monthly

Number 8: Business Continuity Planning and continuous back up of documents uploaded in the Archiving System

Ongoing

Number 9: Training to ESM users on how to use the Archiving System as and when requested by the ESM.

Ongoing. The first training session will be within the first year of the Contract.

Key Personnel Task description and minimum experience required

Certification


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The Service Provider will ensure and verify prior to proposing the personnel to the ESM and at all times

during the Contract term that all personnel provided to the ESM have clean criminal records, all required

education, qualifications, including certificates and training, and required previous experience. The ESM

will inform the Service Provider whether it, acting reasonably, approves the proposed personnel. If not, the

Service Provider will be required to propose other personnel meeting the ESM requirements.

2.5 Meetings

The selected Service Provider will be required to organise and attend the following meetings:

The Service Provider will take minutes of all such meetings and will provide a copy to the ESM within one

(1) week of the date of the meeting. Unless agreed otherwise, meetings will take place virtually.

2.6 Place of Services Performance

The collection of the physical documents and the maintenance of the ESM physical archive will take place at the ESM Office. All other Services will be provided from the premises of the Service Provider. The ESM expects that the archivist will be on-site at the ESM Office four (4) hours per week. The ESM will provide the archivist with office space, computer with ESM system access as well as access to the ESM physical archive. The Service Provider will equip all members of its staff with all necessary equipment required for the delivery of the Services.

Account manager Manager at the Service Provider. Responsible for the overall delivery of Services and main point of contact for ESM on the delivery of the Contract.

Project manager Experience in migration and on-boarding of new clients. Experience in setting up interfaces between the Archiving System and Microsoft 365. 5 years of experience in records management and migration projects

Archivist Minimum 3 years of experience

Records management/Archivist certification

Meeting type Meeting content and format ( online, physical)

Frequency

Kick-off meeting Online One-off, upon commencement of the Contract

Update meetings Monthly review of KPIs, online

Weekly until the completion of the migration and the establishment of the interface with Microsoft 365. Then, monthly.

Annual meeting Annual review of service delivery and discussion on opportunities for improvement.

Annual, in person at the premises of the Service Provider.


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2.7 Service Level Agreement (SLA) and Key Performance Indicators (KPI(s))

i) Service Level Agreement

The Candidate will have a well-defined and documented support process. They shall describe at an overview level the complete lifecycle of a support call – from the point the ESM initiates the call to its resolution, specifically indicating:

a. the method of call logging;

b. standard SLAs;

c. integration of SLAs into the call logging system;

d. internal escalation procedures;

e. external escalation procedures;

f. remote support capability; and

g. capability to provide onsite resources as requested (indicate time to attend site).

The SLA provided by the Candidate must be a binding SLA, including response and resolution times for incidents. Full technical support must be provided during office hours (09:00-18:00 Luxembourg time, Monday-Friday). The Candidate shall also identify whether any support will be provided by a third party and if so how this will be delivered in accordance with the ESM’s requirements.

ii) Key Performance Indicators

After the completion of the migration of the ESM digitalised documents from the current ESM electronic

archive to the new Archiving System provided by the Service Provider under the Contract, the Service

Provider will perform the Services in accordance with the following key performance indicators.

a) The Service Provider will adhere to the Key Performance Indicators (“KPI(s)”) and associated Performance Thresholds as outlined in Table A below. “Performance Threshold(s)” means the minimum performance threshold the Service Provider must reach in order to successfully meet the associated KPI. The Service Provider will formally report all breaches of the Performance Thresholds to the ESM.

b) The Service Provider will monitor and report on its performance against the Performance

Thresholds to the ESM on a monthly basis.

c) In the event of a breach of a Performance Threshold, the ESM representative and the Service Provider’s representative will meet within 5 working days of the breach being reported by the Service Provider, or within 5 working days of the ESM identifying the breach, whichever occurs earlier. The Service Provider will present a plan to the ESM on how it will improve its performance against the specific Performance Threshold within an agreed and appropriate period to mitigate the opportunity for re-occurrence.

d) If there is a second breach of a given Performance Threshold, a service credit will become payable

by the Service Provider to the ESM. A service credit of two (2) % of the total monthly recurring costs of the Services will apply to each KPI where the Service Provider does not meet the corresponding Performance Threshold. The Service Provider will deduct the total calculated monthly service credits owed to the ESM in the next monthly invoice following the breach of the Performance Threshold(s). If the total amount of service credits payable to the ESM in a given


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month exceed the amount payable under the next monthly invoice, the Service Provider will pay the balance of the service credits to the ESM

e) Underperformance against the Performance Thresholds for each KPI may be considered, in the

ESM’s sole discretion, a material breach of the Contract. Payment of service credits to the ESM for failure to meet a corresponding Performance Threshold(s) will not limit the ESM’s ability to pursue any other remedies available to it under the Contract, or otherwise.

KPI Measurement Period Performance Measurement Performance Threshold

Archivist presence

Monthly The time during which the dedicated Archivist is available, excluding absences that are covered by the substitute Archivist.

98%

Archiving of Physical Documents

Monthly # of records collected, archived and digitised within 7 working days of collection of the records from the ESM.

99.9%

Legibility of pages scanned

Monthly Number of legible pages digitalised versus the total number of pages digitalised.

99.9%

OCR rate Monthly OCR rate 90%

Platform Availability

Monthly “Platform availability” means the percentage of time the Archiving System is capable of being used as intended. It excludes downtime for scheduled maintenance. Scheduled maintenance will be agreed between the Service Provider and the ESM in advance and where possible take place outside of working hours (i.e. Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm Luxembourg time).

98% with unavailability not exceeding more than 4 hours during the same working day (i.e. Monday to Friday 9 am to 6 pm Luxembourg time). If the platform is unavailable for 4 hours or more during a working day and the availability drops below 98% in any given month, both will be considered as independent breaches of the threshold.

Retrieval Time Monthly Retrieval of search results from the Archiving System is presented to Microsoft 365 in less than 2 seconds.

99.9%


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2.8 Reporting

The Service Provider will make the following reports available to the ESM:

- Weekly reporting including: o Number of physical documents collected for archiving o Number of digitalised documents according to the applicable archiving plan

- Monthly reporting including:

o The number of digitalised and archived physical documents for the current month and in total (including archived electronic records).

o Quality of scanned pages o Progress of electronic storage used in the Archiving System o Compliance with the KPIs, including total number of search requests and retrievals

against the defined KPI for retrieval time. o The archivist’s presence at the ESM’s Office per month in days/hours o Number of requests for retrieval of physical documents from the ESM physical

archive which have been handled by the archivist.


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ANNEX 2

ELIGIBILITY AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA, SELECTION CRITERIA AND

OTHER REQUIRED INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS

1. Eligibility and Exclusion Criteria

1.1. Declaration on the Eligibility, Exclusion Criteria, Economic, Financial and Operational Capacity and the Absence of Conflict of Interest

Candidates are requested to complete, date and duly sign by an authorised representative the below Declaration on the Exclusion Criteria, Economic, Financial and Operational Capacity and the Absence of Conflict of Interest.


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Annex 2 – 1.1 – PQ Ref. No.: CGIP/12/MDA/ARM/21

Maintenance and Digitalisation services for ESM Physical

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DECLARATION ON THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The undersigned, acting in his/her own name/acting as a duly appointed representative on behalf of

[……………………………………………………….], certifies that it

1. is not bankrupt or being wound up, subject to administration or in any similar situation provided for in national legislation or regulations.

2. is not guilty of grave professional misconduct, which renders its integrity questionable.

3. is not in breach of obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which it resides or is established or where the contract awarded as a result of this procurement process is to be performed.

4. has not shown significant or persistent deficiencies in the performance of another contract, or with its obligations under the law.

5. or its management, staff or agents are not subject to a conflict of interest.

6. has not seriously misrepresented information required by the ESM.

7. did not and will not contact other Candidates with the purpose of distorting competition, or try to unduly influence the ESM’s decision-making process.

If any circumstances arise during the course of the procurement process, which may affect the above, the

undersigned must inform the ESM thereof without undue delay. The ESM may, in its sole discretion, request

evidence of the above.

The Economic Operator may submit evidence to demonstrate its eligibility despite the existence of any of

the above grounds for exclusion. The ESM may, in its sole discretion, decide whether such evidence is

satisfactory.

By: Signature (Signed) _______________________________

Name and Title (Typed) _______________________________

Place and Date _______________________________


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1.2. Non-Collusion Declaration Candidates are requested to complete, date and duly sign by an authorised representative the below Non-Collusion Declaration.


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NON-COLLUSION DECLARATION

The undersigned, acting in his/her own name/as [a] duly appointed representative(s)* of [……………………………………………………….] declare(s) the following:

I refer to the PQ Ref. No.: CGIP/12/MDA/ARM/21, launched by the ESM in relation to which the Candidate has submitted an Application.

In relation to the PQ Ref. No.: CGIP/12/MDA/ARM/21, the Candidate has not breached any applicable provisions of competition law or other applicable laws. In particular, the Candidate has prepared the Application completely independently and certifies that it has not and will not divulge, discuss or compare its Application with other Candidates participating in this procurement process and has not and will not contact or collude with such other Candidates with the purpose of distorting competition. The Candidate will take all appropriate and necessary measures to ensure that its subcontractors or other third parties involved respect the same rules and principles.

The Candidate is not aware of any elements that could influence competition between the different Candidates participating in this procurement process. If the Candidate becomes aware of any such elements it will immediately and in writing disclose such elements to the ESM.

By: Signature (Signed) ________________________________ Name and Title (Typed) ________________________________ Place and Date ________________________________


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2. Selection Criteria

As part of their Application, Candidates are requested to address each item/question below and supply the requested evidence in the correspondingly named and numbered way.

Please note that for the purpose of the evaluation of the Applications the ESM will assess the responses provided to the items set out below in this Section 2.

2.1. Economic and financial standing

Candidates must comply with the following selection criteria in order to prove that they have the

necessary economic and financial capacity to perform the contract.

The selection criteria apply to the candidate as a whole, i.e. a consolidated assessment of the combined

capacities of all involved entities will be carried out.

2.2. Technical or professional ability Candidates must comply with the following selection criteria in order to prove that they have the necessary technical and professional capacity to perform the contract.

Item Number

Selection Criteria

Minimum level of capacity Evidence

1)

The candidate must prove experience in the provision of the services as outlined in terms of reference.

At least 3 similar (in scope and complexity) projects completed in the last three years preceding the submission deadline.

A list of projects meeting the minimum level of capacity. The list shall include details of their start and end date, total project amount and scope. No specific template is requested by ESM.

2) The candidate must prove experience in the field of digitalisation, archiving and providing an electronic archiving system on a SaaS basis.

At least three references from other clients for the provision of similar services should demonstrate a proven record of successful delivery.

Letters and/or emails of recommendations from other clients for the provision of similar services to those set out in Annex 1 to this PQD. No specific template is requested by ESM.

Item Number

Selection Criteria Minimum level of capacity Evidence

1) The candidate must prove Economic and Financial stability necessary for the performance of the Contract.

Min five (5) years of successful provision of similar services as set out in Annex 1 of this PQD, as evidenced by audited annual financial statements. Annual turnover, global revenue of at least 400,000 euros in each of the last two financial years as a result of the provision of similar services as set out in Annex 1 of this PQD.

Audited annual financial statements for the financial years from 2015 to 2020. A signed declaration from the candidate confirming the ability to fulfil the minimum level of capacity required. No specific template is requested by ESM.


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2.3. Authorisation and suitability to carry out the relevant professional activity Candidates must comply with the following selection criteria in order to prove that they have the

necessary legal and regulatory capacity to perform the contract.

Item Number

Selection Criteria Evidence

1)

Candidates must prove that they have legal capacity to perform the Contract and the regulatory capacity to pursue the professional activity necessary to carry out the work subject to this procurement procedure

Proof of company registration in a relevant trade register.

2)

The Candidate and the Archiving System must hold relevant accreditations, as follows:

1) PSDC certification by the Luxembourg authorities

or alternatively:

2) ISO/IEC 27001:2013 or an equivalent*

and one of the following or an equivalent*: ISO 14721, Moreq2, Moreq 10, or ISO 30301.

* Where an equivalent certification or standard is offered by the Candidate the alternative is to be described and compared to the specifications of the listed certification or standard.

Copies of all quality assurance certificates of the Candidate and the Archiving System provided by the Candidate.

FOR INFORMATION ONLY ITEMS

Item No [Description of the field/area] RESPONSE

1.1.

Will the Archiving System’s server(s) containing the ESM data

be located outside the 19 countries belonging to the euro area?

If yes, in which country(ies)?

1.2

Is the entity contracting with the ESM (“Contracting Entity”)

registered outside the 19 countries belonging to the euro area?


1.3

Is any entity directly or indirectly controlling the Contracting

Entity (e.g. a parent company) registered outside the 19

countries belonging to the euro area? If yes, in which

country(ies)?

1.4 Is any other entity with access to ESM data (e.g. a

subcontractor providing the IT infrastructure/servers)


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registered outside the 19 countries belonging to the euro area?


1.5.

Is the ESM data going to be encrypted and who will have access to the

encryption key?

a) No encryption

b) Encryption yes; Contracting Entity will have access to the

encryption key

c) Encryption yes; Contracting Entity will not have access to the encryption key, but only the ESM and/or a third party.


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3. Other Required Information and Documents

3.1. Cover Certification Form Candidates are requested to complete, date and duly sign by an authorised representative the below

Cover Certification Form.



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COVER CERTIFICATION FORM

Submitted in Response to PQ Ref. No.: CGIP/12/MDA/ARM/21 The undersigned, acting in his/her own name/acting as [a] duly appointed representative(s)* on behalf of [NAME OF THE CANDIDATE ], certify that this Application is made without prior understanding, agreement, or connection with any other person(s) or company(ies) submitting an Application in this procurement process and is in all aspects fair and without collusion or fraud. I certify that I am authorised to sign this Application on behalf of the Candidate. I further certify that:

The submission of this Application is deemed as acceptance of all the terms and conditions of this

PQD.

The content of this Cover Certification Form, the Declaration on Exclusion Criteria, Economic, Financial and Operational Capacity and the Absence of Conflict of Interest, the Non-Collusion Declaration and the Application are true, accurate and complete.

When providing an attestation/confirmation in my responses and justifications to the Selection criteria such responses and justifications are true, accurate and complete.

Required Information Response of Candidate

Exact legal name: Legal type (e.g. private limited liability company): City, Country: Nationality or Head Office Location: Registered office address: Telephone: Website: E-mail address:

Name of the authorised contact person for matters pertaining to this PQ

E-mail:

Name and title of representative(s) signing the Application on behalf of the Candidate:

By: Signature (Signed) ________________________________

Name and Title (Typed) ________________________________


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Place and Date ________________________________ *Delete as appropriate



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POWER OF ATTORNEY

The undersigned:

Signatory (Name, Function, Company, Registered address, VAT Number) having the legal capacity

required to act on behalf of his/her company,

HEREBY AGREES TO THE FOLLOWING:

1) To submit a joint application/proposal as a member of a group of economic operators (the

Group), constituted by Company 1, Company 2, Company N (Group members), and led by

Company 1 (Group leader), in accordance with the conditions specified in the procurement

document and the PQD to which this Power of attorney is attached.

2) If the ESM awards the contract resulting from this procurement procedure to the Group on the

basis of the joint application/proposal to which this power of attorney is attached, all Group

members shall be considered parties to the contract in accordance with the following

conditions:

(a) All Group members shall be jointly and severally liable towards the ESM for the performance

of the contract.

(b) All Group members shall comply with the terms and conditions of the contract and ensure

the proper delivery of their respective share of the services and/or supplies subject to the

contract.

3) Payments by the ESM related to the services and/or supplies subject to the Contract shall be

made through the bank account of the Group leader.

4) The Group members grant to the Group leader all the necessary powers to act on their behalf in

the submission of the application/proposal and the conclusion of the contract, including:

(a) The Group leader shall submit the application/proposal on behalf of all Group members

including all relevant questions, clarification requests, notifications, etc., that may be received

during the evaluation, award and until the contract signature.

(b) The Group leader shall sign any contractual documents — including the contract, and

amendments thereto — and issue any invoices related to the performance of the contract

on behalf of all Group members.

(c) The Group leader shall act as a single contact point with the ESM in the delivery of the

services and/or supplies subject to the contract. It shall co-ordinate the delivery of the

services and/or supplies by the Group to the ESM, and shall see to a proper administration of

the contract.


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Any modification to the present Power of attorney shall be subject to the ESM’s express approval.

This Power of attorney shall expire when all the contractual obligations of the Group have ceased to

exist. The parties cannot terminate it before that date without the ESM’s consent.

Place and date:

Name (in capital letters), function, company and signature



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Commitment letter by identified subcontractor

I, the undersigned,

Name:

Function:

Company:

Registered address:

VAT Number:

having the legal capacity required to act on behalf of the company [insert name of the entity] hereby confirm that our company agrees to participate as subcontractor in the application of [insert name of the candidate] for the PQD insert reference number] – [insert title of procedure] Lot [insert lot number].

In the event that the application/proposal of the aforementioned candidate is successful, [insert name of the subcontractor] commits itself to make available the resources necessary for performance of the contract as a subcontractor and to carry out the services that will be subcontracted to it in compliance with the terms of the contract. It further declares that it is not subject to conflicting interests which may negatively affect the contract performance and that it accepts the contractual provisions related to checks and audits.

Done at:

Name:

Position:


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Signature:



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Commitment letter by an entity on whose capacity is being relied

I, the undersigned,

Name:

Function:

Company:

Registered address:

VAT Number:

Having the legal capacity required to act on behalf of the company [insert name of the entity] hereby confirm that our company authorises the [insert name of the candidate] to rely on its financial and economic capacity in order to meet the minimum levels required for this PQD [insert reference number] – [insert title of procedure] Lot [insert lot number].

In the event that the application/proposal of the aforementioned candidate is successful, [insert

name of the entity] commits itself to make available the resources necessary for performance of the

contract. It further declares that it is not subject to conflicting interests which may negatively affect

the contract performance, and that it accepts the contractual provisions related to checks and

audits.

Done at:

Name:

Position:


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Signature: