B-Brussels: production and broadcasting in Farsi of programmes broadcast by an international TV news channel providing continuous coverage of international, European and EU current affairs, or by an international TV channel giving extensive coverage of international, European and EU current affairs

Country:

Belgium

City/Locality:

BRYJELLES

Notice/Contract Number:

eu:140308-2008

Publication Date:

Jun 7, 2008

Deadline:

Jul 11, 2008

Buyer:

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Original Language:

French

Address:

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
BRUSSELS
Belgium

Email:

Click here

Notice Type: C398
-
Contract notice
Regulation of Procurement: European Institution/Agency or International Organisation
EU Official Journal Publication: 105/2008
, #
140308-2008
Contract Nature: Service contract
Procedure Type: Negotiated procedure
Type of Bid Required: Global tender
Awarding Criteria: Not applicable

Summary:
Contract notice
Services
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name, addresses and contact point(s): European Commission,
Directorate-General for Communication, Directorate C, attn: Mr Thierry
Vissol, rue de la Loi, 200 BERL 05/273, B-1049 Bruxelles/Brussel. Tel.
(32-2) 299 44 18. Fax (32-2) 299 92 07. E-mail:
thierry.vissol@ec.europa.eu.
Internet address(es):
General address of the contracting authority:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/communication/index_fr.htm.
Further information can be obtained from:
Aforementioned contact point(s).
Specifications and additional documents (including documents for
competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained
from:
Aforementioned contact point(s).
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to:
Aforementioned contact point(s).
I.2) Type of contracting authority and main activity or activities:
European institution/agency or European organisation.
The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting
authorities: no.
Section II: Object of the contract
II.1) Description
II.1.1) Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:
Production and broadcasting in Farsi of programmes broadcast by an
international TV news channel providing continuous coverage of
international, European and EU current affairs, or by an international TV
channel giving extensive coverage of international, European and EU
current affairs.
II.1.2) Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of
performance: Services.
Service category No 25.
Main place of performance: on the contractor's premises.
II.1.3) The notice involves: A public contract.
II.1.5) Short description of the contract or purchase(s): The
Commission's information policy vis-à-vis the population residing on
European Union territory mainly aims to:
1 — contribute to the increase in information available on European and
international political and geopolitical situations,
2 — provide more comprehensive and systematic information on European
policies and affairs, and on their impact on EU residents and the rest of
the world.
The European Commission is therefore seeking:
— an international TV channel providing continuous news coverage,
— or an international TV channel devoting more than 20 % of its programmes
to political, economic and social information; to broadcast its programmes
in Farsi. The broadcasting time required will be at least 15 hours a day
and 7 days a week. However, depending on the budget available and the
prices given, the envisaged broadcasting time may be as long as 24 hours a
day and 7 days a week. High standard TV programmes produced and broadcast
in this language are able to improve knowledge of international and
European policies, via a clear and balanced approach to European and
international affairs both among Farsi speaking populations on EU
territory and in the geographical areas of central and western Asia
(Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, etc.) where this language is
commonly spoken. The TV channel selected will have complete editorial
freedom in this context, in accordance with the directive on television
without frontiers. This will be guaranteed by the editorial charter
covering all European Commission audio-visual information activities. Said
charter will form an integral part of the contract. The programmes on EU
affairs should include in particular: TV news, reports, documentaries,
interviews, live broadcasts, debates, topical issues, leading issues and
thematic analyses. Talk-shows, game-shows and entertainment on EU current
affairs will be allowed. These programmes on European affairs should
mainly give information on:
— political, economic, social and cultural current affairs in the European
Union and the rest of the world,
— current affairs, roles and policies of the EU institutions, and the
impact of these on the EU Member States and citizens, and on the rest of
the world,
— relations between Europe and the rest of the world, in particular with
central and western Asia,
— the life of residents of EU countries,
— the various peoples and cultures living in the EU and their relations
with the rest of the world. These programmes should in no way offer biased
information; they should present the various aspects of current situations
in a balanced manner, thus allowing viewers to form their own informed
opinion.
II.1.6) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV): 92220000, 92221000,
92111260, 92111250.
II.1.7) Contract covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA):
No.
II.1.8) Division into lots: No.
II.1.9) Variants will be accepted: No.
II.2) Quantity or scope of the contract
II.2.1) Total quantity or scope: The contract will be entered into for an
initial 1-year period and may then be renewed via additional clauses for 4
1-year periods at most to give a maximum term of 5 years. The value below
represents the estimated annual contract value.
Estimated value: EUR 3 000 000 excluding VAT.
II.2.2) Options: No.
II.3) Duration of the contract or time limit for completion: Duration: 60
months from the award of the contract.
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1) Conditions relating to the contract
III.1.1) Deposits and guarantees required: A guarantee will be required
against advance payments exceeding EUR 150 000.
III.1.2) Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or
reference to the relevant provisions regulating them: Payment will be in 6
instalments, based on requisite reports and on invoices drawn up in
accordance with the regulations concerned: advance payment on contract
signature (30 %), 5 mid-term payments during the contract's performance
(10 % each), final balance at the end of the contract (20 %). The same
system will apply should the contract be renewed annually.
III.1.3) Legal form to be taken by the grouping of economic operators to
whom the contract is to be awarded: Tenders may be submitted by groupings
of service providers/suppliers, who will not have to adopt a particular
legal form prior to the contract being awarded. They may, however, be
required to do so following contract award. However, a grouping of
companies must nominate 1 party to be responsible for the receipt and
processing of payments for members of the grouping, and for management and
coordination of the service. The documents required under point III.2 must
be furnished by all grouping members. Each member of a grouping is jointly
and severally liable vis-à-vis the Commission.
III.1.4) Other particular conditions to which the performance of the
contract is subject: No.
III.2) Conditions for participation
III.2.1) Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements
relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers: Information and
formalities necessary for evaluating whether requirements have been met:
(A) exclusion from participation in the procedure:
tenderers will be disqualified from taking part in this procedure if they:
(a) are bankrupt or being wound up, if their affairs are being
administered by the court or if they have entered into an arrangement with
creditors, if they have suspended business activities, if they are the
subject of proceedings of this nature or if they are in any analogous
situation arising from a similar procedure under national laws or
regulations;
(b) have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional
conduct by a judgment which has the force of res judicata;
(c) are guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which
the contracting authorities can justify;
(d) have not fulfilled their obligations regarding the payment of
social-security contributions or taxes in accordance with legal provisions
in their country of residence, or those of the country of the contracting
authority or those of the country in which the contract is to be carried
out;
(e) have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res
judicata for: fraud, corruption, conspiracy or any other illegal activity
detrimental to the Communities' financial interests;
(f) have been declared to be in serious breach of contract for failure to
comply with their contractual obligations following another procurement
procedure or grant award procedure financed by the Community budget. Means
of proof: candidates and tenderers must provide a solemn declaration duly
signed and dated, stating that they are not in any of the aforementioned
situations. The model for the declaration may be downloaded from the
following address: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/communication/procurements/
index_fr.htm.
The tenderer awarded the contract will need to provide the means of proof
listed hereafter, in support of the solemn declaration, within the
timescale allowed by the contracting authority and before the contract is
signed. For points (a), (b) and (e), a recently issued extract from the
judicial record or, failing this, an equivalent document, recently issued
by a judicial or administrative body in their country of origin or
provenance, showing that requirements have been met. The contracting
authority will accept, as sufficient proof that candidates or tenderers
are not in the situation specified in point (d), a certificate recently
issued by the appropriate body in the country concerned. Where the
document or certificate cited in the first paragraph is not issued in the
country concerned, and for the other exclusion cases referred to in points
(c) and (f) above, it may be replaced by a statement under oath or,
failing that, a solemn declaration made by the interested parties before a
judicial or administrative body, a notary or a qualified professional body
in their country of origin or provenance. These documents or certificates
must be valid on the final date for submission of tenders and, in any
event, must have been issued less than 12 months prior to said date. The
documents referred to in the aforementioned paragraphs apply to legal
entities and natural persons including, where considered necessary by the
contracting authority, company directors or any person with powers of
representation, decision-making or control in relation to the candidates
or tenderers, in accordance with national legislation in the country in
which candidates or tenderers reside.
(B) Exclusion from contract award:
contracts cannot be awarded to tenderers who, at the time of the contract
award procedure:
(a) are subject to a conflict of interests. The Commission must make sure
that, at the time of tender submission, none of the tenderers or
candidates are in a situation where there is a conflict of interest with
regard to this invitation to tender, with particular reference to a
conflict of interest arising from economic interests, political or
national affinities, family ties or personal relationships, or from any
other relationship or common interest. The Commission reserves the right
to check whether a conflict of interests exists. Tenderers are therefore
requested to specify whether their employees or shareholders include:
— former EU civil servants, contract staff, temporary officials or
auxiliary staff who were employed by the European Communities during the 3
years prior to this invitation to tender,
— EU civil servants on leave,
— former officials seconded to the EU institutions who worked for the
European Communities during the 3 years prior to this invitation to
tender,
— former trainees who undertook a period of training at the European
Communities during the year previous to this invitation to tender.
Tenderers must also state that:
— they have not submitted, and undertake not to do so, a tender of any
kind whatsoever where the holding of this contract could be turned to
their advantage,
— they have not agreed to, sought, tried to obtain or accepted any
inducement, whether financial or in kind, and undertake not to do so, for
or on behalf of any person which directly or indirectly would constitute
an illegal or corrupt practice serving as an incentive or reward linked to
the award of the contract,
— they undertake to inform the contracting authority without delay of any
situation constituting a conflict of interests or which could give rise to
an interest;
(b) are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required
by the contracting authority in order to participate in this procedure, or
if they have not supplied such information. Means of proof: the
contracting authority will accept a solemn declaration signed by tenderers
or candidates as sufficient proof that they are not in any of the
situations cited in points (a) and (b). The model for the declaration may
be downloaded from the following address:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/communication/procurements/index_fr.htm.
The Commission reserves the right to check this information.
(C) Tender submitted by a consortium or group of services providers
— Tender involving subcontracting: if the tender is submitted by a
consortium or by a contractor who intends to subcontract part of the work
or assign it to another economic operator, each economic operator involved
in the tender must comply with the aforementioned exclusion criteria. If
the tender is submitted by a consortium or a grouping of service
providers, each economic operator involved in the tender must furnish the
aforementioned documentary evidence with regard to the criteria for
exclusion from participation or contract award. For tenders involving
subcontracting, each subcontractor involved in the tender must furnish a
solemn declaration stating that none of the criteria for exclusion from
participation or contract award applies to him. Should the tenderer to
whom the contract is to be awarded intend to use subcontractors who will
be contributing directly to the major objectives of the contract, said
subcontractors must furnish, in addition to the solemn declaration, the
other documentary evidence specified above with regard to the criteria for
exclusion from participation or contract award. No documentary evidence is
required from subcontractors who will carry out less than 5 % of the total
contract value.
III.2.2) Economic and financial capacity: Information and formalities
necessary for evaluating whether requirements have been met:
proof of financial and economic capacity can be provided by 1 or more of
the following documents:
— appropriate bank references or proof of purchase of professional risk
insurance cover,
— annual accounts (balance sheets and profit and loss accounts) for at
least the past 2 financial years for which accounts have been closed,
where publication of balance sheets is required under company law in the
country in which economic operators are resident,
— overall turnover for the services referred to in the contract, for the
past 3 financial years.
III.2.3) Technical capacity: Information and formalities necessary for
evaluating whether requirements have been met:
channels wishing to participate must demonstrate (and provide proof):
1. that they are continuous news channels with a large international
audience, both in the EU and in the rest of the world;
2. that they broadcast internationally and devote at least 20 % of their
daily broadcasting time to international and European information
(regardless of the type of programme);
3. that they are capable of producing a language version differing from
their predominant language version, and not simply by translating the
latter;
4. that they already broadcast (both in analog and digital) in a large
number of countries where Farsi is spoken;
5. that they have proven experience in producing programmes in languages
other than the official EU languages;
6. that they are able to target all types of audiences interested in
political information and especially opinion formers and decision-makers;
7. that their editorial approach (defined in their editorial charter or in
their official mission statement) does not show a national bias but
attempts to give a European slant to international news;
8. that their programme schedule already includes (at least 1 hour of
broadcasting time per day) news and current affairs programmes linked to
European Union affairs (see below);
9. that they have an overall daily audience of at least 5 000 000 viewers
(based on studies by independent companies specialising in audience
analysis);
10. that they have, or will set up very shortly, an interactive
multilingual Internet site, a version of which can be made available in
Farsi. Evidence of technical capacity shall be provided by means of the
following documents:
— all elements proving that at least 20 % of the daily programme schedule
is given over to international or European political, economic or social
information (newspapers, documentaries, reports or any other programme
whose content is mainly informative),
— a detailed list of the types of information programme on the European
Union that have been produced and broadcast over the past 3 years, giving
details of their frequency, their scheduled broadcasting time and the
amount of daily broadcasting time devoted to them. The amount of daily
broadcasting time for European programmes must be at least 1 hour on
average,
— the type of programmes given over to the EU must contain TV news giving
daily information related to EU current affairs and specialised
documentaries. The list of topics covered over the past 3 months is to be
provided. The daily news programmes must include at least 1 topic relating
to EU current affairs,
— geographical broadcasting areas (whatever the type of technology used,
which must be specified) and the number of households covered in the
different areas and the actual audience figures,
— broadcasting coverage must be at least for all EU Member States and the
geographical areas of central and western Asia (Afghanistan, Iran,
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, etc.) where Farsi is commonly spoken,
— the number of households covered throughout the world must be more than
100 000 000,
— the average daily audience must comprise more than 5 000 000 viewers,
— any document describing the channel's mission (editorial charter, legal
or administrative documents); these documents must specifically contain
the editorial independence status vis-à-vis all political, administrative
or economic entities, and the transcription of this obligation of
independence into the internal regulations, as well as the measures and
provisions in force to ensure this independence is respected; these
documents must prove that the channel provides international information
which does not target any 1 country in particular,
— description of the Internet site, the number of pages visited per month,
number of single users per month and the space dedicated to European news,
— any document proving that the channel has experience in producing and
broadcasting programmes in languages other than those spoken in the EU.
Candidates with no prior experience will be disqualified. Candidates who
submit requests to participate which do not comply with the exclusion
criteria and/or the selection criteria will not be sent the
specifications. Tenderers who fail to furnish any of the documents
required under the exclusion and selection criteria in the specifications
will be disqualified.
III.2.4) Reserved contracts: No.
III.3) Conditions specific to service contracts
III.3.1) Execution of the service is reserved for a particular
profession: No.
III.3.2) Legal entities should indicate the names and professional
qualifications of the staff responsible for execution of the service: Yes.
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Type of procedure
IV.1.1) Type of procedure: Negotiated.
Candidates have already been selected: no.
IV.1.3) Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or
dialogue: Recourse to staged procedure to gradually reduce the number of
solutions to be discussed or tenders to be negotiated: no.
IV.2) Award criteria
IV.2.1) Award criteria: The most economically advantageous tender in
terms of the criteria stated in the specifications, in the invitation to
tender or to negotiate or in the descriptive document.
IV.2.2) An electronic auction will be used: No.
IV.3) Administrative information
IV.3.1) File reference number attributed by the contracting authority:
PN/2008-17/C.
IV.3.2) Previous notice(s) published concerning the same contract: No.
IV.3.4) Final date for receipt of tenders or requests to participate:
26.6.2008.
IV.3.5) Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to
selected candidates: 8.9.2008.
IV.3.6) Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be
drawn up: Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish,
French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian,
Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish or
Swedish.
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1) This is a recurrent procurement: No.
VI.2) Contract related to a project and/or programme financed by EU
funds: No.
VI.3) Additional information: This contract is being awarded in
accordance with the negotiated procedure in Article 127(1)(g) of the
detailed rules for implementation of the Financial Regulation applicable
to the general budget of the European Communities, covering 'service
contracts for the acquisition, development, production or co-production of
programme material intended for broadcasting by broadcasters and contracts
for broadcasting time'.
This contract will be awarded using a 2-stage procedure. The
specifications will only be sent to those tenderers who comply with the
exclusion and selection criteria.
Requests to participate must be sent in triplicate (1 copy should be left
unbound) in 1 of the official languages of the European Union, by 1 of the
following methods:
— by post or by courier, dispatched no later than 11.7.2008, as evidenced
by either the postmark, the date of dispatch or the date on the delivery
receipt,
— or delivered to the following address:
main entrance to the Commission's Central Mail Building, avenue du Bourget
1, B-1140 Bruxelles/Brussel (Evere), no later than 26.7.2008 (15:00).
Delivery of the request to participate will be confirmed in the latter
case by a receipt dated and signed by the official from the Commission's
Central Mail Department who takes delivery of the documents.
This department is open from 8:00 until 17:00, Monday to Thursday, and
from 8:00 until 16:00 on Fridays. It is closed at weekends and on
Commission holidays. Irrespective of the method chosen for their dispatch,
requests to participate must be sent in double envelopes. Both envelopes
must be sealed. The envelopes should be marked with the following
information:
— on the outer envelope, the exact address in point I.1,
— on the inner envelope, the exact address given in point I.1 and the
invitation to tender number (PN/2008-17/C) as well as the following: 'Ne
doit pas être ouvert par le service courrier ni par le secrétariat'. If
self-seal envelopes are used, they must be sealed with sticky tape, with
the sender's signature written across the tape.
VI.4) Procedures for appeal
VI.4.1) Body responsible for appeal procedures: Court of First Instance
of the European Communities, boulevard Konrad Adenauer, L-2925 Luxembourg.
Tel. (352) 43 03-1. Fax (352) 43 37 66. E-mail:
cfi.registry@curia.europa.eu. URL: http://curia.europa.eu.
Body responsible for mediation procedures:
European Ombudsman, 1, avenue du Président Robert Schuman, BP 403, F-67001
Strasbourg Cedex. Tel. (33) 388 17 23 13. Fax (33) 388 17 90 62. E-mail:
eo@ombudsman.europa.eu. URL: http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu.
VI.4.2) Lodging of appeals: Precise information on deadline(s) for
lodging appeals:
within 2 months of the plaintiff being notified or, failing this, of the
date on which it became known to them. A complaint made to the European
Ombudsman neither suspends this period nor opens a new period for lodging
appeals.
VI.4.3) Body from which information about the lodging of appeals may be
obtained: Court of First Instance of the European Communities, boulevard
Konrad Adenauer, L-2925 Luxembourg. Tel. (352) 43 03-1. Fax (352) 43 37
66. E-mail: cfi.registry@curia.europa.eu. URL: http://curia.europa.eu.
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice: 20.5.2008.

Update: Jun 7, 2008

Notice Type: C398
-
Additional information
Regulation of Procurement: European Institution/Agency or International Organisation
EU Official Journal Publication: 110/2008
, #
146937-2008
Referenced Document Number: 140308-2008
Contract Nature: Service contract
Procedure Type: Negotiated procedure
Type of Bid Required: Global tender
Awarding Criteria: The most economic tender

Summary:
Notice of corrigendum
('Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union' No S 105 of
31.5.2008, negotiated procedure, 140308-2008)
European Commission, Directorate-General for Communication, Directorate C,
attn: Mr Thierry Vissol, rue de la Loi, 200 BERL 05/273, B-1049
Bruxelles/Brussel. Tel. (32-2) 299 44 18. Fax (32-2) 299 92 07. E-mail:
thierry.vissol@ec.europa.eu.
for: IV.3.4) Final date for receipt of tenders or requests to participate:
26.6.2008.
IV.3.5) Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to
selected candidates: 8.9.2008.
VI.3) Additional information:
...
— by post or by courier, dispatched no later than 11.7.2008, as evidenced
by either the postmark, the date of dispatch or the date on the delivery
receipt,
— or delivered to the following address: main entrance to the Commission's
Central Mail Building, avenue du Bourget 1, B-1140 Bruxelles/Brussel
(Evere), no later than 26.7.2008 (15:00).
...
read: IV.3.4) Final date for receipt of tenders or requests to
participate: 11.7.2008.
IV.3.5) Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to
selected candidates: 15.9.2008.
VI.3) Additional information:
...
— by post or by courier, dispatched no later than 11.7.2008, as evidenced
by either the postmark, the date of dispatch or the date on the delivery
receipt,
— or delivered to the following address: main entrance to the Commission's
Central Mail Building, avenue du Bourget 1, B-1140 Bruxelles/Brussel
(Evere), no later than 11.7.2008 (15:00).
...

B-Brussels: production and broadcasting in Farsi of programmes broadcast by an international TV news channel providing continuous coverage of international, European and EU current affairs, or by an international TV channel giving extensive coverage of international, European and EU current affairs

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