Cooperative Intelligent Transport System EU root Certification Authority including Enrolment Authority and Authorisation Authority - Phase II

The European Commission DG JRC has issued an open tender (EC-JRC/IPR/2026/OP/0728, TED ref. 86/2026 305273-2026) for the continuity, operation and maintenance of the EU Root Certification Authority for Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems, covering initial setup (WPK1) and five years of operations (WPK2). The contract is a framework service contract with an estimated total value of €650,000 and a maximum duration of up to 72 months. Tenders must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission system by 08 June 2026 at 16:00 Europe/Rome and will be awarded on the basis of best price-quality ratio. Bidders must meet the specified exclusion and selection criteria and provide the required administrative, technical and financial documents using the published templates.

What it funds

Summary

Provision, maintenance and operation of the EU Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) root Certification Authority plus internal Enrolment Authority and Authorisation Authority across three environments (L0 testing, L1/L2 production standby). Includes drafting Certificate Practice Statements, audit support and capacity to register/support external sub-CAs.

Who can apply:Economic operators (single organisations or groups) established in the EU and eligible third countries, including suppliers of IT/PKI services and system integrators. Joint bids and subcontracting are allowed.

1. 1Service contract (framework) for PKI/CA operation and maintenance
2. 2Mandatory compliance with EU C-ITS Certificate and Security Policies (audit/CPS requirements)

Key practicals

Procedure:Open electronic tender managed by the European Commission (DG JRC). Award by best price-quality ratio. Framework contract with specific contracts/orders for implementation (WPK1) and long-term operation (WPK2).

Deadlines and milestones:Publication: 05/05/2026. Main submission deadline (eSubmission) for tenders: 08/06/2026 16:00 (Europe/Rome). Public opening: 09/06/2026 10:00 (Europe/Rome). Some documents reference an earlier administrative date 01/01/2026 ¹.

Mandatory:register in the EC Participant Register and submit via eSubmission. Tender must include technical proposal, financial offer using the provided forms, declarations on exclusion/selection criteria and any identified subcontractor commitments. Security screening for personnel and compliance with Commission security requirements will apply.

Where to apply and documents

All procurement documents, draft contract, tender specifications (administrative and technical) and financial templates are on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Submission via the portal eSubmission is mandatory ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Opportunity page and electronic submission portal: EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

High-level summary

Type:Tender (Open procedure). Contracting authority: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (DG JRC). Procedure reference: EC-JRC/IPR/2026/OP/0728. Subject: provision, maintenance, operation and support of the EU C-ITS root Certification Authority (EU Root CA) and its internal Enrolment Authority (EA) and Authorisation Authority (AA) across three environments (L0 test; L1 and L2 production/disaster recovery). Purpose: ensure continuity of the EU Root CA, support testing and migration plans and maintain the trust model for large-scale Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) in Europe. This is a services procurement to award a single framework service contract (maximum value €650,000) with a maximum duration of up to 72 months; the award method is Best Price-Quality Ratio (BPQR).

Key procurement facts and administrative requirements

Estimated total value:€650,000 (framework ceiling covering WPK1 implementation and WPK2 operations). Maximum contract duration: 72 months (framework contract with specific contracts/orders). Procedure: Open procedure; submissions accepted only electronically via the EU eSubmission system accessed from the EU Funding & Tenders Portal; EU Login account and PIC required; as of 30 June 2026 two-factor authentication for EU Login is required. Award: single framework contract (one contractor) with possible specific contracts issued under the framework for implementation (WPK1) and ongoing operations (WPK2). All contractual documents, draft contract, annexes, financial offer template, CPS and technical specification documents are published with the call. A set of annex templates must be used where provided (Declaration on Honour, Financial Offer form, commitment letters, list of subcontractors, Acceptance Form, CPS deliverables, etc.).

Portal and procurement documents:Full procurement dossier including Invitation to Tender, Draft Framework Service Contract, Annex I (Administrative and Technical Specifications), Annex II (Draft Contract), Annex VI (Financial Offer template), Appendix 2 Security Requirements and other annexes is published on the Funding & Tenders Portal at the tender details page F&T Tender Page ¹.

1. 1Deadline for receipt of tenders: 08/06/2026 16:00 Europe/Rome (local contracting authority time).
2. 2Date and time of public opening (virtual): 09/06/2026 10:00 Europe/Rome.
3. 3Contract ceiling: €650,000.
4. 4Maximum FWC duration: 72 months from entry into force.
5. 5Submission method: electronic via eSubmission (EU Login and PIC mandatory).

Detailed answers to categorisation and extraction questions

Eligible Applicant Types:Open to a wide range of economic operators. Suitable applicant types: SMEs, startups, mid-size and large enterprises, ICT and cybersecurity vendors, PKI operators, systems integrators, specialist CA/PKI providers, research organisations and universities (for technical competence and audits), nonprofit research institutes, certification and testing laboratories, public authorities and public-private consortia. Joint tenders (groups of economic operators) are allowed; subcontracting is permitted and identified subcontractors must be declared. Public-sector entities and international organisations may participate subject to access-to-procurement rules. The procurement is a services contract rather than a grant.

Funding Type:This is a public procurement: a framework service contract (service contract / service procurement). Payment will be made under the resulting service contracts. It is not a grant, loan, equity or prize.

Consortium Requirement:Either a single economic operator (sole tenderer) or a consortium (joint tender) may submit. The framework contract will be signed with one contractor (single FWC). A group leader must be nominated for joint tenders, and all group members are jointly and severally liable. The tender permits consortium submissions but does not require them.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):Primary geographic eligibility: entities established in EU Member States and the European Economic Area. Participation is also open to entities from third countries covered by relevant international procurement agreements (e.g. WTO GPA) and to international organisations, subject to the access-to-procurement rules in the procurement documents (see Section 2.2). All processing and hosting of Commission data must comply with EU data protection and localisation requirements (processing/storage within the EU/EEA unless prior authorisation and safeguards are in place).

Target Sector:Primary thematic sectors: transport (Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems), ICT and cybersecurity, public-key infrastructure (PKI) and trust services, standards & certification, digital security operations. Secondary relevance to research, testing and certification bodies, and system integration.

Mentioned Countries:Documents and description explicitly reference the European Union and its Member States (Italy as contracting authority location). Reference is made to EU policies, EU institutions (Commission, JRC) and EU agencies (CERT-EU) and to EU Regulations and Directives. The procurement is EU‑focused; no single non‑EU country is mandated, but the procurement allows eligible international participants under the applicable agreements (e.g. WTO GPA).

Project Stage:Expected maturity: operational/implementation and long-term operation. The work includes: implementation (takeover, CPS drafting, audits and inclusion in the ECTL), migration of existing L0 user base, validation/audits, and five years of operations and maintenance (WPK2). Stages cover implementation, validation/audit, deployment and multi‑year operations/maintenance (demonstration/operation and scale‑up readiness for migration scenarios).

Funding Amount:Estimated total contract ceiling: €650,000 (six hundred and fifty thousand euro). This value covers both WPK1 implementation and WPK2 five‑year operations under the framework contract; actual specific contract payments will be defined in the financial offer and orders under the FWC.

Application Type:Open call: public open procedure. Submission must be electronic via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission tool (EU Login / PIC required). The contracting authority publishes tender documents and manages Q&A via the portal 'Questions & Answers' section. Requests for additional information must be submitted through the Portal before the cut‑off in the submission phase; the authority is not bound to reply to questions submitted less than six working days before the deadline.

Nature of Support:Financial: direct contractual payments for services (monetary). The contract is a paid service contract; no non‑financial vouchers or coaching-only award is used. The contractor is remunerated for services delivered according to the financial offer and specific contracts.

Application Stages:Procurement is a single-stage open submission (tender submission). Evaluation includes administrative compliance, exclusion checks, selection criteria checks (legal, financial, technical) and award ranking (price/quality). After selection, the contracting authority will request evidence and supporting documents (e.g. declarations, audit certificates) from the presumed successful tenderer prior to contract signature. In practical terms applicants pass: 1) submission stage, 2) evaluation/award stage (including any request for supporting evidence) prior to signature.

Success Rates:No published success rate is provided by the contracting authority. This is a competitive EU procurement; success depends on meeting mandatory requirements, selection criteria and achieving the best price‑quality ratio. Typical single‑contract open procurements of this nature are competitive; bidders should not expect guaranteed success and must prepare a fully compliant technical and financial tender.

Co‑funding Requirement:No co‑funding from bidders is required; this is a paid services contract. Tenderers must quote prices exclusive of VAT (amounts free of duties, taxes and charges). No additional grant or matching funding requirement is specified. The contractor bears all operational and compliance costs (security screening, audits, staffing).

Application and submission practicalities

Document templates and forms:the procurement dossier provides mandatory templates that must be used or signed and uploaded in eSubmission: Invitation to tender, Draft Framework Service Contract (Parts I/II/III), Appendix 2 Security Requirements, Annex I (Administrative and Technical Specifications), Annex II (Draft Contract), Annex 2 Declaration on Honour (exclusion/selection), Annex 3 Agreement/Power of Attorney (for joint tenders), Annex 4 list of identified subcontractors, Annex 5 commitment letters (subcontractors / relied upon entities), Annex 6 Financial Offer (Excel financial model), Acceptance Form (Annex IV), model for pre-existing rights (Annex V), VAT shares annex (Annex VI).

1. 1Mandatory uploads: Declaration on Honour (Annex 2) for the involved entities specified in Annex 1; financial offer (Annex 6); technical tender (narrative addressing Technical Specifications and award criteria); list of identified subcontractors (Annex 4) where applicable; commitment letters (Annex 5.1/5.2) where applicable.
2. 2Financial form: use the provided Annex 6 financial offer workbook (yellow cells to fill). The tender must quote all items 'free of duties, taxes and other charges, i.e. also free of VAT' and indicate what is VAT‑exempt according to the FWC rules.
3. 3Signatures: use Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) if possible; handwritten signatures are accepted for certain documents but originals must be retained for up to five years and supplyable on request.
4. 4EU Login and PIC: each organisation must have a Participant Identification Code (PIC) and register or reuse existing PIC when preparing the tender. PIC is mandatory for tender submission via eSubmission.

Key operational and technical requirements summary:the successful contractor must operate three environments (L0 testing; L1 and L2 production/recovery) with separate EU Root CA instances and internal sub‑CAs (EA/AA). It must produce Certificate Practice Statements (CPS) for root CAs, EAs and AAs, undergo accredited PKI audits, enrol the root CAs with CPOC/TLM (ECTL publication), provide repository/CRL services, perform root key ceremonies, support certificate issuance/revocation and EA/AA lifecycle operations, maintain business continuity and backups, implement monitoring and security incident reporting, and offer paid support services to external EAs/AAs. The contractor must host relevant data and processing in the EU/EEA and comply with EU data protection rules.

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement dossier and all tender documents are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal opportunity page: ec.europa.eu

Opportunity Overview

The European Commission, through its Joint Research Centre (DG JRC), is issuing a call for tenders to ensure the continuity of the European Union Root Certification Authority (Root CA) for Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS). This tender is issued under Directive (EU) 2023/2661, which formally recognises the EU C-ITS security credential management system (EU CCMS) to support large-scale commercial C-ITS deployment across Europe. The contract will maintain the EU Root CA for use by all entities participating in the testing environment of the European C-ITS trust model and to support migration plans in the event that another root certification authority is compromised. ¹

Procedure Identifier:EC-JRC/IPR/2026/OP/0728

TED Reference:86/2026 305273-2026

Lead Contracting Authority:European Commission, DG JRC - Joint Research Centre, Via Enrico Fermi 2749, I-21027 Ispra (VA), Italy

Key Dates and Deadlines

Tenders received after the deadline for receipt will be rejected. The submission receipt provided by the electronic submission system with the official date and time of receipt constitutes proof of compliance with the time limit. ²

Funding and Contract Value

Estimated Total Value:€650,000 (six hundred and fifty thousand Euro)

Contract Duration:Maximum 72 months from the date the contract enters into force

Contract Type:Framework Service Contract (FWC) without reopening of competition

The maximum amount covers all services performed under the FWC, including all renewals. However, this does not bind the contracting authority to order services for the maximum amount. The FWC is concluded for an initial period of 12 months and is renewed automatically 5 times for 12 months each, unless one of the parties receives formal notification to the contrary at least 3 months before the end of the ongoing duration.

Procurement Procedure Details

Procedure Type:Open procedure

Award Method:Best price-quality ratio

Submission Method:Electronic submission only via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (eSubmission system)

Main Classification (CPV):72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

Nature of Contract:Services

Scope of Work

The contractor will be responsible for providing services related to the operation and maintenance of the EU Root Certification Authority including Enrolment Authority and Authorisation Authority. The work is divided into two main work packages:

• Work Package 1 (WPK1): Initial setup and establishment of the Root CA infrastructure
• Work Package 2 (WPK2): Five years of operations including operation of the L0 Root CA, operation and use of internal L0 Enrolment Authorities and Authorisation Authorities, enrolment of L0 customers and registration of their C-ITS stations, and maintenance of L1 and L2 EU Root CAs

The contractor must provide services of high quality standards in accordance with the state of the art in the industry and the provisions of the contract, particularly the tender specifications. Timely delivery of services is essential for the contracting authority.

Eligibility and Who Can Apply

This is an open procedure, meaning any legal person, natural person, or group of economic operators established in any country can submit a tender. However, applicants must meet specific exclusion and selection criteria as outlined in the tender specifications.

Exclusion Criteria

Applicants will be excluded if they are in any of the following situations:³

• Bankrupt, subject to insolvency or winding-up procedures, or in any analogous situation
• In breach of obligations relating to payment of taxes or social security contributions
• Guilty of grave professional misconduct by violating applicable laws, regulations, or ethical standards
• Guilty of fraud, corruption, criminal offences, money laundering, terrorist financing, or trafficking in human beings
• Shown significant deficiencies in complying with main obligations in implementation of a legal commitment financed by the Union's budget
• Committed an irregularity within the meaning of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95
• Created an entity in a different jurisdiction with intent to circumvent fiscal, social, or other legal obligations
• Intentionally and without proper justification resisted an investigation, check, or audit

Applicants must also not be subject to EU restrictive measures and must not have an established debt to the Union.

Selection Criteria

Applicants must demonstrate that they:

• Have the legal and regulatory capacity to pursue the professional activity needed for performing the contract
• Fulfil the applicable economic and financial criteria indicated in the tender specifications
• Fulfil the applicable technical and professional criteria indicated in the tender specifications
• Are not subject to conflicting interests which may negatively affect contract performance

Applicants must provide evidence of their qualifications and experience as required by the tender specifications. The specific technical and professional requirements are detailed in Annex I Part II of the tender specifications.

Submission Requirements

All tenders must be submitted exclusively via the electronic submission system (eSubmission) available through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Tenders submitted by any other means (email, letter, etc.) will be disregarded.

Required Documents and Information

Tenderers must submit the following documents and information with their tender:

• Declaration of honour on exclusion criteria and selection criteria (Annex 2)
• Financial offer form (Annex 6) with unit prices and total amounts for all work packages and services
• Technical specifications and tender response addressing all requirements in Annex I Part II
• Administrative specifications as required in Annex I Part I
• Evidence of legal capacity and professional qualifications
• Proof of registration in the Participant Register with a valid Participant Identification Code (PIC)
• For joint tenders: designation of group leader and confirmation of joint and several liability

All file attachments must be less than 50 MB in size. The maximum number of documents that can be uploaded per tender is 200 files. Supported file types are specified in the system requirements.

Registration Requirements

Each economic operator (or each member of a group in the case of a joint tender) must register in the European Commission's Participant Register to obtain a Participant Identification Code (PIC), which is a 9-digit number that acts as a unique identifier. Instructions on how to create a PIC can be found on the Participant Register page. Economic operators already registered shall reuse their existing PICs.

Financial Offer and Pricing

Tenderers must complete the Financial Offer Form (Annex 6) by filling in the yellow cells in the worksheets named '1) Financial offer' and '2) Price List'. The form includes:

• Unit prices and total amounts for Work Package 1 (WPK1)
• Unit prices and total amounts for Work Package 2 (WPK2) covering five years of operations
• Specific pricing for operation of the L0 Root CA
• Pricing for operation and use of internal L0 Enrolment Authorities and Authorisation Authorities
• Pricing for maintenance of L1 and L2 EU Root CAs
• Additional services price list with unit prices for optional services such as activation of L1 and L2 environments

All prices must be quoted free of all duties, taxes, and other charges (i.e., free of VAT) for the main financial offer. Additional services prices must be quoted as all-inclusive prices with VAT included. The total financial offer (WPK1 + WPK2) must be inserted in the eSubmission system.

Prices are fixed and not subject to revision for specific contracts placed during the first year of performance. After that period, each price may be revised upwards or downwards each year if requested by one of the contracting parties by registered letter no later than three months before the anniversary of the date on which the FWC was signed. Price revision is determined using the harmonised indices of consumer prices (HICP) Euro area published by Eurostat.

Contract Terms and Conditions

Payment Arrangements

Pre-financing and interim payments are not applicable to this contract. Payment of the balance will be made upon submission of an invoice accompanied by approved final progress reports and the co-signed Acceptance Form. The contracting authority must approve the submitted documents and pay within 60 days from receipt of the invoice. ⁴

Invoices must be submitted via the electronic exchange system or by email and must contain the following information: identity of the contractor, reference number of the contract/specific contract, description of services, quantities, unit prices, and bank account number.

VAT Treatment

Depending on the location of the contractor, different VAT exemption statements may apply. For transactions in Belgium, the invoice must include the statement 'Exonération de la TVA, Article 42, paragraphe 3.3 du code de la TVA (circulaire 2/1978)'. For Luxembourg, the statement 'Commande destinée à l'usage officiel de l'Union européenne. Exonération de la TVA Article 43 § €1 K2ème tiret de la loi modifiée du 12.02.79' is required. For intra-community purchases, the statement 'VAT exemption / European Union / Article 151 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC' must be included.

Intellectual Property Rights

The Union acquires irrevocably worldwide ownership of all results and intellectual property rights on newly created materials produced specifically for the Union under the contract. This includes all rights such as copyright and other intellectual or industrial property rights to any results and technological solutions created or produced by the contractor or its subcontractors. The contractor must provide a list of all pre-existing rights to the results or a declaration stating that there are no such pre-existing rights together with the invoice for payment of the balance.

Liability and Insurance

The contractor shall perform the contract at its own risk. The contractor is liable for any loss or damage caused to the contracting authority during or as a consequence of implementation of the contract resulting from a breach attributable to the contractor, but only up to an amount not exceeding three times the total amount of the relevant specific contract. However, if the damage is caused by gross negligence or wilful misconduct, or if an injury has been caused to the life or physical integrity of a person, or in the case of breach of intellectual property rights, the contractor is liable for the whole amount of the damage. If required by applicable legislation, the contractor must take out an insurance policy against risks and damage or loss relating to the implementation of the contract.

Termination

The contracting authority may terminate the contract in various circumstances, including if the contractor fails to implement the contract in accordance with the tender specifications, is in breach of contractual obligations, is in an exclusion situation, does not comply with environmental, social, and labour law obligations, is in a conflict of interest situation, or if there is a change to the contractor's legal, financial, technical, organisational, or ownership situation that would substantially affect implementation. The contractor may terminate the contract if the contracting authority materially fails to comply with its obligations, in particular the obligation to provide information needed for the contractor to perform the contract.

Data Protection and Security

The contractor must comply with all applicable data protection obligations resulting from Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Personal data processed by the contractor shall only be processed within the territory of the European Union and the European Economic Area and will not leave that territory. Data shall only be held in data centres located within the territory of the European Union and the European Economic Area. No access shall be given to such data outside of the European Union and the European Economic Area. The contractor may not change the location of data processing without prior written authorisation of the contracting authority. ⁵

The contractor must comply with the contracting authority's applicable security requirements as described in Appendix 2 'Security Requirements for Commission's Contractors'. The contractor must notify the contracting authority without delay of any legally binding request for disclosure of personal data made by any national public authority and may not give such access without prior written authorisation of the contracting authority.

Subcontracting

The contractor must not subcontract and have the contract implemented by third parties beyond those already mentioned in its tender without prior written authorisation from the contracting authority. Even if the contracting authority authorises subcontracting, the contractor remains bound by its contractual obligations and remains entirely responsible for the implementation of the contract. The contractor must ensure that the subcontract does not affect the rights of the contracting authority, particularly those relating to confidentiality, intellectual property rights, and checks and audits.

Applicable Law and Dispute Resolution

The contract is governed by Union law, complemented where necessary by the law of Italy. The application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sales of Goods (CISG) is excluded. The courts of Varese, Italy shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute regarding the validity, interpretation, performance, or termination of the contract.

Communication and Contact Information

All communications between the contracting authority and tenderers during the submission phase must be made in writing through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal by clicking 'Create a question' in the 'Questions & answers' section. The contracting authority is not bound to reply to requests for additional information received less than six working days before the time limit for receipt of tenders.

Contracting Authority Contact:European Commission, DG JRC - Joint Research Centre, JRC.T - Digital Transformation, AI and Data, JRC.T.2 - Cybersecurity and Digital Technologies, Email: JRC-ISPRA-DIR-T-CONTRACT-MGT@ec.europa.eu

For technical issues with the eSubmission system, contact the eSubmission Helpdesk as detailed in the eSubmission Quick Guide available at eSubmission Quick Guide. System requirements and supported browsers can be consulted at System Requirements.

Important Notes for Applicants

• Signature of the FWC does not oblige the contracting authority to enter into a specific contract. Only performance of the FWC through order forms is binding on the contracting authority.
• All costs incurred for the preparation and submission of tenders as well as for attending the opening session are to be borne by the tenderers and will not be reimbursed.
• The contracting authority may cancel the procurement procedure without tenderers being entitled to claim any compensation. Any such decision must be substantiated and the tenderers notified.
• The validity period of the tender, during which tenderers may not modify the terms of their tenders in any respect, is indicated in the contract notice.
• Submission of a tender implies acceptance of all the terms and conditions set out in the procurement documents.
• After submitting a tender but before the deadline for receipt of tenders, a tenderer may definitively withdraw its tender or replace it with a new one. No more than one tender can be considered per tenderer.
• A maximum of two representatives per tender may attend the virtual opening session. Tenderers must request to attend by sending an email to jrc-ispra-dir-t-procurement@ec.europa.eu as soon as possible and not later than three hours before the scheduled start of the opening session.
• Personal data will be processed pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and the privacy statement available at Data Protection in Public Procurement.
• The contractor's personal data may be registered in the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) if the contractor is in one of the situations mentioned in Article 138 of the Financial Regulation.

Access to Procurement Documents

All procurement documents are available in the EU Funding & Tenders Portal at Tender Details. Documents include the invitation to tender, draft service framework contract, security requirements, tender specifications (administrative and technical parts), declaration of honour form, financial offer form, acceptance form, and statements on intellectual property rights. All documents are published in English only.

Subscription to the call for tenders at the above link allows interested economic operators to receive email notifications when new information or documents are published. Subscription is free of charge and does not involve any commitment to submit a tender.

Additional Information

The contractor is not allowed to ask any fees or charges from stakeholders making use of the provided services in scope of this contract, unless the specific contracts issued by the Commission explicitly allow such fees or charges. The contractor must not present itself as a representative of the contracting authority and must inform third parties that it is not part of the European public service. The contractor is responsible for the personnel who carry out the services and exercises its authority over its personnel without interference by the contracting authority.

The contractor must ensure that the personnel implementing the contract possess the professional qualifications and experience required to provide the services. At the contracting authority's reasoned request, the contractor must replace any member of personnel who does not have the expertise required or has caused disruption at the premises of the contracting authority. The contractor bears the cost of replacing its personnel and is responsible for any delay in providing the services resulting from the replacement.

The contractor must record and report to the contracting authority any problem that affects its ability to provide the services. The report must describe the problem, state when it started, and what action the contractor is taking to resolve it. The contractor must immediately inform the contracting authority of any changes in the exclusion situations as declared.

Footnotes

1. 1Directive (EU) 2023/2661 formally recognises the EU C-ITS security credential management system to support large-scale commercial C-ITS deployment in Europe. The EU CCMS is a critical infrastructure for enabling secure communication between vehicles and roadside infrastructure.
2. 2The time zone indicated is the local time at the contracting authority's location (Ispra, Italy). Tenderers are advised to submit their tenders well in advance of the deadline to avoid any technical issues with the electronic submission system.
3. 3These exclusion criteria are based on Article 138 of the Financial Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. Applicants must provide evidence of their compliance with these criteria through the Declaration of honour form and supporting documentation as required by the tender specifications.
4. 4The contracting authority may suspend the time limit for payment in accordance with Article II.21.7 of the contract conditions. Once the suspension is lifted, the contracting authority shall give its approval and pay within the remainder of the time limit unless it rejects partially or fully the submitted documents or deliverables.
5. 5These data localisation requirements are particularly important for this contract given the sensitive nature of C-ITS security infrastructure. The contractor must ensure compliance with Protocol 7 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union regarding the privileges and immunities of the European Union, particularly as regards the inviolability of archives and data security.