EU Funding and Government Procurement Sectors
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MR-95/ The European Investment Bank (updated 2012)
Summary
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the financing arm of the European Union. The EIB finances major investment projects in the EU in the areas of telecommunication, energy, environment, health and socio-economic infrastructure. The bank lends to both public and private borrowers for investment projects in the European Union, in EU candidate countries and in developing countries. Companies interested in obtaining a loan for large investment projects from the EIB may contact the bank directly, while smaller loans are negotiable through commercial banks in the country of the project. This report also outlines the opportunities for experts in project development through a new joint EIB/EC/EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) initiative. The U.S. Commercial Service at the US Mission to the EU has developed a specific tenders database that gathers all EIB supported projects outside the European Union, which are open to participation by US-based companies.
MR-167/ European Union- Defense Procurement Directive (Updated 2011)
Summary
The time has come to an end when ministries of defense were purchasing defense equipment according to their own national rules. The new law, the “EU Defence Procurement Directive”, governs the procurement procedures for defense and non-military security supply, services and works contracts. This law is applicable in all EU Member States. EU Directive 2009/81/EC must be transposed in each Member State’s body of legislation by August 2011. The aim of this Directive is to harmonize acquisition procedures throughout the EU: first by increasing competition and encouraging cross-border bidding among European bidders, so as to prevent systematic sole-source procurement or non-competitive procurement from national suppliers; second, by increasing transparency through the obligation to advertise defense contracts in the EU Official Journal. Various contract performance conditions will make indirect offsets in defense contracts illegal (see our separate report on: “EU Policy on Offsets”).It is important for U.S. firms to fully understand the implications of this new EU Directive with regard to the rights and obligations of procurement authorities in the EU. U.S. companies should also be cognizant of the effects of the new EU Directive on their negotiations to ensure the compatibility of their bids with EU law.
Summary
For the period 2007-2013, the European Union has replaced the PHARE, ISPA, SAPARD, Turkey and CARDS pre-accession instruments with the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). The IPA consolidates the management and objectives of those financing programs and streamlines the financing process. As a result of this consolidation of the pre-accession financing schemes some new guidelines, including reciprocity, should be consulted to successfully bid on EU contracts originating in candidate or potential candidate countries and financed through the IPA. Currently, the EC has allocated EUR 11.468 billion to candidate and potential candidate countries over the next funding period.
MR-158 / European Neighborhood & Partnership Instrument Fund
Summary
For the period 2007-13, the European Union has replaced the existing TACIS and MEDA Programmes for Eastern and Mediterranean countries by the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI). The ENPI Regulation serves as a framework that establishes a unified instrument. It aims at supporting the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) towards Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Russia, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine. The European Commission has allocated EUR 12 billion for the 2007-2013 period – 32% more than the amount allocated for TACIS and MEDA. After the mid-term program review in 2009, over EUR 5.7 billion will be allocated for the period 2010-2013, within which EUR 1.6 billion are expected in 2010.
MR-157 / European Union: Selling goods and services to EU institutions
Summary
There are various ways to sell goods and services to European institutions. This report outlines some of the most useful websites that vendors should be familiar with in order to bid on contracts with European institutions. For example, the European Commission, the Council Secretariat and the European Parliament all need a wide array of goods and services, ranging from consultancy on policies and legislation, to office equipment and data management systems. For example, around 9,000 contracts are awarded each year through public procurement procedures by the European Commission. This may be a business opportunity for your company!
MR-149 / EU Energy Stimulus Funding Opportunities
Summary
In order to deal with the global financial crisis and help achieve the European Union's ambitious climate change goals, the EU has set out €5 billion for the European Energy Program for Recovery for 2009-10. The European Investment Bank has also increased loans on energy efficiency by 30% to €15billion. And the EU Cohesion Fund will advance payments on environment/transport to €11billion. In addition, many of the 27 Member States are setting aside national spending for Economic Recovery.
The EU will also encourage its member states to develop innovative financing models, reprogram funding, reduce VAT rates for green products and services aimed at improving energy efficiency of buildings.
The European Economic Recovery Plan will dedicate new funds to large infrastructure projects and will also accelerate and redirect funds to research, implementation of projects and commercialization of products to market. This report summarizes the major sources of EU financial assistance that can be used to finance energy projects.
MR-148 / European Union: Green Public Procurement in the EU
Summary
The 2004 EU Public Procurement Directive allows public contracting authorities in the EU Member States to include environmental considerations into their procurement procedure for public works, services and supplies contracts. The Directive specifically mentions the possibilities for adopting environmental considerations in technical specifications, award criteria and contract performance clauses. With this legislation, the European Commission hopes to encourage green purchasing, thereby encouraging green production and help environmentally friendly technologies conquer the market. Moreover, in the framework of the promotion of “green” public contracts (to have less impact on the environment), the Competitiveness Council, in September 2008, concluded that 50% of public procurement contracts in the EU should be awarded with ecological considerations. This supports the European Commission’s initiative to strengthen the greening of public procurement; the Council has then welcomed the definition of joint arrangements for greening public procurement, such as selection criteria, technical specifications, award criteria and performance clauses. It will then be up to the Member States to set their own objectives for each sector in order to be able to reach the overall 50% target. U.S. companies are advised to become aware of a growing trend for green products in the European Union market; this report aims to help them be well prepared to respond successfully to tenders for such products.
MR-137 / EU Funds for security research
Summary
While most security funding in Europe remains at the national level, a growing number of European Union funding sources do exist.
Notably, the EU Seventh Framework Program (FP7) funded by the European Commission, includes a security arm worth €1.4 billion from 2007 to 2013 for multinational consortia, in which American organizations and individuals may participate.
The European Commission, with its Critical Infrastructure Protection initiative (CIP), and the European Defense Agency also support some smaller programs.
While funding opportunities for Americans at the European level remain limited, they do exist and are growing. This report analyzes some of the most prominent sources of funding for research into security as well some dual-use technologies (for civil and military applications) and offers a list of websites on EU programs/events/think tanks in security research.
MR-135 / NATO Procurement processes
Summary
Businesses interested in procuring contracts with NATO headquarters or operational divisions are advised to use various resources to increase the probability of getting their company details into vendors’ databases.
NATO has a number of different agencies that have their own acquisition processes, and the procurement of goods is generally based on the identification of a particular budgetary line instead of the needs of particular agencies. In this regard, the most prominent agencies are NAMSA, NC3A, NCSA, NACMA and NAPMA, along with procurement from NATO headquarters.
NATO procurement offers great potential trade opportunities for U.S. companies in sectors ranging from security and defense to maintenance and repair services. However, the alliance’s procurement regime can be daunting.
This IMI details some of the points of contact for companies interested in doing business in the defense, aerospace, military, safety and security areas primarily, as well as a handful of other sectors of indirect interest.
Summary
The European Union Cohesion Fund provides financial support to projects in the transport and environment sectors for 15 EU Member States, among the least developed of the EU. It totals EUR 61.5 billion for the 2007-2013 period. Grants from the Cohesion Fund are part of the EU regional cohesion policy, which also comprises the EU Structural Funds that finance a different set of projects. EU Structural and Cohesion Funds cover around thirty five percent of the total budget of the EU, and represent its main tools for economic infrastructure development. Generally, U.S. firms are eligible to participate in Cohesion Fund-financed projects with sectoral restrictions, as detailed in this report. A related Report on EU Structural Funds for 2007-2013 is also available on the U.S. Department of Commerce on-line library.
MR-118 / EU Structural Funds for 2007-2013
Summary
Around thirty five percent of the European Union’s (EU) budget is spent developing the environmental, transport, tourism, medical, and information and communication technology infrastructure in the less developed areas of the 27 EU Member States. Grants from the Structural and Cohesion funds and loans from the European Investment Bank are the main instruments used to further the EU economic development policy. The new EU Structural Funds amount to € 308 billion for its 27 Member States for 2007-2013. This report is designed to help U.S. companies better understand the process by which projects are funded and financed in the EU, and consequently to maximize the chances of participating in these projects.
MR-115 / European Union: Venture Capital in the EU
Summary
The European Union is refining its innovation and entrepreneurship policy aimed at improving the EU venture capital industry. This report outlines the actions undertaken by various EU institutions, mainly the European Commission and the European Investment Fund. U.S. companies interested in trans-Atlantic venture capital opportunities are encouraged to contact the European associations of venture capitalists and business angels mentioned at the end of this report.
MR-110 / European Union EU Funds for Research (P7)
Summary
The EU’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7) for Research and Development is the main instrument for funding research and technological development in the European Union for the period 2007 to 2013 with a budget of € 54 billion. FP7 complements Member States’ initiatives and scientific research programs, which represent the bulk of research budgets in the European Union. The FP7 has been labeled the most ambitious scientific program ever put forward by the European Union. This report outlines the main features of FP7, as currently proposed.
MR-53 EU Funding and Government Procurement - Updated 2012
Summary
Government procurement in Europe is bound by certain international obligations in the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and the EU Public Procurement Directives. U.S.-based companies are allowed to bid on public tenders covered by the GPA, while European subsidiaries of U.S. companies may bid on all public procurement contracts covered by the EU directives in the European Union. This report describes the conditions and types of contracts that are open to U.S. companies, and for clarity purposes, distinguishes between U.S.-based companies and European subsidiaries of U.S. companies, as they do not enjoy the same bidding rights.
This report also discusses tools and resources that are available to U.S. companies to gain access to government procurement contracts in Europe.
