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Grant Details

https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/data/topicDetails/184841PROSPECTSEN

Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This Twinning project aims to support the Republic of Serbia in aligning its food safety, veterinary, and phytosanitary policies with the EU acquis communautaire. It focuses on strengthening administrative structures, developing legislative frameworks, and building capacity to secure high levels of public, animal, and plant health. - Explicit identification of target recipient type and size: EU Member State Public Administrations and Mandated Bodies, partnering with Serbian ministries. - MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': SECTOR-SPECIFIC - Geographic scope and any location requirements: Applicants must be from EU Member States. The project activities will be implemented in the Republic of Serbia. - Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Must be an official public administration or a mandated body from an EU Member State with expertise in agriculture, food safety, veterinary, or phytosanitary policies. - Grant frequency and program context: This is a specific call under the EU Integration Facility program, part of Serbia's EU accession process. Twinning projects are a recurring instrument in EU enlargement.

Financial Structure

  • Total EU funded budget for this Call for Proposals is EUR 1,800,000.
  • No national co-financing is required from the beneficiary or the Member State partner for the EU-funded portion.
  • The grant provides direct funding for the twinning project activities.
  • Disbursement mechanisms and payment schedules are typical for EU projects, generally involving pre-financing and subsequent payments based on progress and reporting, though specific details are not provided in the summarized documents.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type
  • Only Public Administrations and Mandated bodies as per the Twinning Manual of European Union Member States may apply.
Geographic Location
  • Applicants must be entities from an EU Member State.
  • The beneficiary country where the project will be implemented is the Republic of Serbia.
Legal Structure
  • The applying entity must be a formal Public Administration or an officially mandated body, implying a clear governmental or quasi-governmental structure.
Experience and Qualifications (for Key Personnel)
  • Project Leader (PL):
  • University degree or equivalent professional experience of 8 years in food safety, veterinary, phytosanitary policy, legal studies, or political sciences relevant to the project.
  • At least 3 years specific experience in EU integration/accession process.
  • Proven experience with EU regulations in food safety/veterinary/phytosanitary policy.
  • Excellent management and communication skills; fluency in English (written and spoken); computer literacy.
  • Asset: Proven experience in at least 1 similar project.
  • Resident Twinning Adviser (RTA):
  • Employee of a governmental competent authority for food safety, veterinary, or phytosanitary policy (Ministry or Agency) in an EU Member State.
  • University degree or equivalent professional experience of 8 years in food safety, veterinary, phytosanitary policy, legal studies, or other relevant field.
  • At least 3 years working experience in harmonization, implementation, and enforcement of EU acquis in public administration of a Member State, Mandated body, or Candidate Country.
  • Experience in project management related to food safety/veterinary/phytosanitary policy; fluency in English (written and spoken); excellent communication, coordination, and reporting skills; computer literacy.
  • Assets: Experience in relevant EU legislation projects, good knowledge of EU acquis, experience in capacity building of public institutions.
  • Component Leaders:
  • University degree or equivalent professional experience of 8 years in food safety, veterinary, phytosanitary policy, legal studies, or relevant field.
  • Minimum 3 years of work experience relevant to their specific component.
  • Excellent communication, coordination, and reporting skills; excellent English skills (oral and written); computer literacy.
  • Specific to Component 1: Proven experience in development of legislation.
  • Specific to Component 2: Proven experience in development of training plans, organization, and delivery.
  • Specific to Component 4: Proven experience in development and implementation of communication/awareness raising strategies.
  • Short-Term Experts (STEs):
  • University Degree or equivalent professional experience of 8 years.
  • At least 3 years of professional working experience in the field for which the expert is mobilized.
  • Fluency in English (written and spoken); computer literacy.
  • Assets: Previous experience assessing EU membership candidate country's legislation for EU compliance, experience in project implementation with similar assignments.
Submission Limits
  • Only one Twinning proposal per Member State can be submitted by the Member State National Contact Points for Twinning to the Contracting Authority.

Application Process

Application Procedure
  • Twinning proposals must be submitted by the Member State Administration to the EU Member States' National Contact Points for Twinning.
  • The submission must follow the instructions of the Twinning Manual and use the specified template.
  • Only one Twinning proposal for a Member State can be submitted by its National Contact Point to the Contracting Authority.
Submission Deadline
  • Deadline for submission of twinning proposals by the MS National Contact Points to the Contracting Authority: 2025-10-13 21:59:00+0000 (UTC time, which corresponds to 23:59 local time of the beneficiary country).
Submission Method Project Duration
  • Maximum project duration: 24 months of implementation + 3 months of execution period (total 27 months).
Key Dates and Timelines
  • Provisional notification date of results of the award process: 2025-11-10.
  • Tentative date for starting the evaluation committee meetings: 2025-10-27.
Reporting Obligations
  • Interim quarterly reports and a final report are required.
  • Reports must include both narrative and financial sections, which must be harmonized.
  • Reports should detail progress and achievements against mandatory results and provide recommendations.
  • A Project Steering Committee (PSC) will oversee implementation, meeting every three months. Reports will be presented for discussion at PSC meetings.
Project Team Structure
  • The Member State delegation should always include the proposed Project Leader (PL) and Resident Twinning Adviser (RTA).
  • Component Leaders are short-term experts designated for specific components, coordinating activities for other experts in their component.
  • Short-term experts will be mobilized based on project needs, with specific Terms of Reference.

Evaluation Criteria

Selection Criteria (Pass/Fail)
  • Operational capacity of the proposed Component leaders, including the Member State Project Leader, Resident Twinning Adviser, and Component Leaders.
  • Assessment is on a 'Yes/No' basis.
  • A single negative evaluation of one criterion will disqualify the proposal.
Award Criteria (Scoring System: 1 to 5)
  • Merit of the Proposal: Overall quality and relevance of the proposed project.
  • Proposed Methodology: Effectiveness and suitability of the planned approach to achieve objectives.
  • Experience of Proposed RTA and PL: Relevance and depth of their previous experience.
  • Experience of the Administration in Cooperation Projects: Track record of the applying Member State administration in similar international cooperation efforts.
  • Member State Presentation: Quality and clarity of the overall proposal and presentation of the Member State's capabilities.
  • Quality of Expertise: The proposal should clearly demonstrate the administrative structure and capacity of the Member State entity/ies, and the quality of expertise to be mobilised.
  • Proposals must respond adequately to the requirements of the Twinning Fiche, including strategy, methodology, indicative timetable, and administrative model.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance
  • The core objective is to support alignment with the EU acquis communautaire in food safety, veterinary, and phytosanitary policies.
  • The project involves legislative approximation and strengthening of administrative structures to implement EU law.
  • Compliance with specific EU Regulations and Directives (e.g., Regulation (EC) 178/2002, Regulation (EU) 2016/429, Regulation (EU) 2016/2031, Regulation (EU) 2017/625, etc.) is fundamental.
Ethical Standards
  • The project supports equal participation regardless of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, or sexual orientation.
  • Principles of equal opportunities and non-discrimination will be observed in implementation structures and activities.
  • Promotion and protection of minority and vulnerable groups' rights will be ensured.
Visibility and Communication
  • High and regular visibility of the EU-funded Twinning project is required.
  • A minimum of two visibility events must be organized: a Kick-off meeting and a Final event.
  • Compliance with the 'Communication and Visibility Manual for EU External Actions' is mandatory.
Risk Management and Assumptions
  • Identified Risks:
  • EU accession process stagnates.
  • Lack of commitment towards sustainability and further development of project results.
  • Lack of commitment and cooperation from participants and stakeholders.
  • Limited motivation and availability of staff to participate in trainings.
  • Necessary documents not accessible for review or incompatible.
  • Facilities and workspace not appropriate.
  • Necessary IT infrastructure not accessible.
  • Lack of stakeholders' interest to participate in visibility events.
  • Lack of communication with media to promote project results.
  • Mitigation Assumptions:
  • Accession process moves forward.
  • Commitment towards sustainability and further development of project results.
  • Commitment and cooperation of all participants and stakeholders.
  • High motivation and availability of staff to participate in trainings.
  • Necessary documents will be accessible and compatible.
  • Appropriate facilities and workspace will be provided.
  • Necessary IT infrastructure will be accessible.
  • High stakeholders' interest in visibility events.
  • Excellent communication with media to promote project results.
Special Considerations (Twinning Project Specifics)
  • This is a 'Twinning' instrument, meaning it focuses on direct peer-to-peer technical assistance between a public administration of an EU Member State and a beneficiary country administration.
  • The project aims for institutional capacity building, legislative approximation, and knowledge transfer rather than direct financial support for commercial activities.
  • The Member State partner is expected to provide expertise and support, not primarily a financial contribution in terms of co-financing.
  • The project builds upon previous IPA-funded technical assistance projects in Serbia related to EU alignment.

Grant Details

twinning eu integration food safety veterinary policy phytosanitary policy serbia eu acquis capacity building legislative alignment public health animal health plant health agriculture european union technical assistance policy development institutional strengthening awareness raising harmonization accession process
Supporting further alignment with the EU acquis for food safety, veterinary, and phytosanitary policies
184841PROSPECTSEN
EU Integration Facility
PUBLIC OTHER
AT BE BG HR CY CZ DK EE FI FR DE GR HU IE IT LV LT LU MT NL PL PT RO SK SI ES SE
AGRICULTURE HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENT
DEVELOPMENT GROWTH MATURE
OTHER
SDG2 SDG3
CAPACITY_BUILDING TRAINING_EDUCATION RESEARCH_DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONAL_SUPPORT
1800000.00
None
None
EUR
100.00
Oct. 13, 2025, 9:59 p.m.
2025-10-27 to 2025-11-10