Provision of interpretation services

The tender opportunity is a procurement contract issued by Eurojust, the European Union agency focused on criminal justice cooperation, for the provision of highly professional interpretation services. This includes simultaneous, consecutive, and whispered interpretation. The estimated total value of the contract is €15.8 million, which falls under the CPV code 79540000 specifically for interpretation services. The maximum duration of the contract is 48 months, with a potential for extension, and the award method will be based on a best price-quality ratio.

Eligible applicants are entities capable of delivering such services. While there is an indication that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may not be well-suited for this tender, consortia are allowed, suggesting that both individual companies and cooperative bids can participate. The geographic eligibility is likely to encompass EU and EEA countries, although this is not explicitly stated in the documentation.

The application process entails electronic submissions, with a deadline set for June 10, 2025. Tenderers must provide security-cleared interpreters, with at least two security-cleared interpreters available for each EU official language at the time of bidding. The evaluation will be based on quality (60%) and price (40%), suggesting a single-stage application process based on these criteria.

Key requirements for bidders include demonstrating financial and technical capability, with a history of at least 100 days of conference interpreting experience over the past five years. The procurement documents outline specific criteria and forms that need to be filled out, including a technical and financial offer.

Despite the absence of specific success rates mentioned in the tender documents, the opportunity represents a significant contract for qualified interpretation service providers. The process emphasizes the importance of security clearance and past experience in interpreting across multiple EU languages, focusing on delivering high-quality, confidential services to Eurojust's operations.

The European Commission, specifically Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, has issued a call for tenders EUROJUST/HAG/2025/OP/0004 for the provision of interpretation services. The TED reference for this call is 79/2025 261555-2025.

The scope of this contract involves delivering highly professional interpretation services, encompassing simultaneous, consecutive, and whispered interpretation, to Eurojust.

This is an open procedure, and submissions must be electronic. The estimated total value of the contract is 15,800,000 EUR. The TED publication date was 23/04/2025. The lead contracting authority is Eurojust, with the main classification (CPV) being 79540000 Interpretation services. The nature of the contract is for services, with a maximum contract duration of 48 months. The award method is based on the best price-quality ratio. It is a framework agreement without reopening of competition.

Selection criteria include:
1. Suitability to pursue the professional activity (consult the procurement documents).
2. Economic and financial standing (consult the procurement documents).
3. Technical and professional ability (consult the procurement documents).

Key milestones include:
TED publication date: 23/04/2025
Date and time of public opening: 10/06/2025 16:00 Europe/Amsterdam
Deadline for receipt of tenders: 10/06/2025 10:00 Europe/Amsterdam
Deadline for questions: Contracting authority is not bound to reply to questions submitted after 30/05/2025 05:00 Europe/Amsterdam

The following documents are available for download:
1. Corrigendum notice (Published 28/05/2025, Version 1, No translations available)
2. Invitation to tender Invitation letter (Published 23/04/2025, Version 1, No translations available)
3. Tender specifications Part 1 Administrative specifications (Published 28/05/2025, Version 2, No translations available)
4. Part 2 Technical Specifications (Published 28/05/2025, Version 2, No translations available)
5. Appendix 2 Statistics interpretation services 2024 (Published 23/04/2025, Version 1, No translations available)
6. Annex 2 Declaration on honour (Published 23/04/2025, Version 1, No translations available)
7. Annex 6 Technical tender form (Published 23/04/2025, Version 1, No translations available)
8. Annex 7 Financial tender form (Published 23/04/2025, Version 1, No translations available)
9. FWC Service Contract Draft contract (Published 23/04/2025, Version 1, No translations available)

Submissions must be sent exclusively via electronic submission.

Clarifications from the Q&A section:
1. Security Clearance: The requirements in the technical specifications are based on Eurojust’s interpretation and security needs. The pool of interpreters must be security-cleared.
2. Selection Criterion T2: Ensures the tenderer can provide the required services after contract signature.
3. Freelance Interpreters: They are considered subcontractors and do not need to provide a specific form per Annex I of the Tender Specifications.
4. Interpretation from Hubs: Required when interpretation at EUROJUST is not feasible.
5. Security Clearance (SECRET UE/EU SECRET): Interpreters must have this clearance; those in the process of obtaining it will not be accepted.
6. Previous FWC References: Prices and client names can be deleted, but amounts should be included. Eurojust may request client names later.
7. Travel Costs: Eurojust covers train trips up to The Hague. Local transportation at the assignment place is covered by the daily allowance.
8. Travel Insurance: Eurojust will not refund travel insurance.
9. Daily Allowance: Calculated based on the duration between departure and arrival times using the main transport means.
10. Security Clearance Validity: Certificates must be valid at the time of tender submission.
11. Accommodation and Daily Allowances: Dependent on the meeting location.
12. Travel Allowances: Reimbursable expenses include travel costs as defined in section 6.2.2 (b) of the technical specifications, but 'travel time costs' will not be reimbursed, unlike the 2020/EJ/05/PO tender.
13. Minimum Interpreters: Tenderers must provide at least two security-cleared interpreters per EU official language at the tendering stage.
14. Facility Security Clearance (FSC): The potential contractor is not required to possess a Facility Security Clearance (FSC).
15. Previous Contracts: Previous contracts exist; consult the contract award notice on TED using the provided link.
16. Evidence for T3: A folder including a series of FWCs along with a list of 300 events detailing the languages, start/end times of those individual events along with a reference to their corresponding FWC.
17. Technical Tender Form: Does not need to include the list of interpreters other than those whose capacities the tenderer relies upon to meet the minimum capacity levels.
18. Contacts for References: Not needed in the initial list but may be requested later.
19. Language Requirements for T3: The 20 official EU languages do not need to be present in each event but must be covered collectively across the 300 events. Any 20 of the 24 official EU languages will satisfy the criterion.
20. Evidence for Economic and Financial Capacity: Must be provided with the tender in esubmission.
21. VAT Exemption: VAT certificates will be posted electronically and by post if requested by the future contractor and will be provided with each order.
22. Non-EU Languages: CVs of interpreters from non-EU languages are not required for assessing compliance with selection criteria.
23. Freelance Interpreters as Subcontractors: Tenderers are exempt from filling in a specific form per freelance interpreter; a single reference to the estimated overall allocation of tasks for “Freelance interpreters” should be included.
24. Experience Requirements: A brief reference in the CV is sufficient for those CVs submitted to assess compliance with selection criteria (T2).
25. Security Cleared Interpreters: Only security cleared interpreters may provide services to Eurojust.
26. Topic Requirements: There are no topic requirements for the 300 events. Both simultaneous or consecutive interpretation may be considered, and both on-site/online events are acceptable.

Regarding eSubmission, the system supports the latest versions of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Attachments should be less than 50 MB, and the maximum number of documents that can be uploaded per tender is 200. The system is multilingual, supporting all 24 official EU languages, with character set encoding in UTF-8. The system encrypts all uploaded documents.

In summary, this tender is for the provision of comprehensive interpretation services to Eurojust, requiring experienced and security-cleared interpreters. The tender emphasizes the importance of meeting security requirements, demonstrating sufficient capacity, and providing evidence of past experience. The submission process is electronic, with specific guidelines for file sizes, formats, and naming conventions. Tenderers must meet stringent criteria related to professional activity, financial standing, and technical ability. The contract aims to establish a framework agreement with the selected provider for a duration of 48 months, focusing on delivering high-quality interpretation services to support Eurojust's operations.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated but can be inferred to be organizations or companies capable of providing highly professional interpretation services. This would likely include SMEs, large enterprises, and potentially public-private partnerships with relevant expertise.

Funding Type: The funding type is procurement, specifically a service contract. The call is for tenders for the provision of interpretation services, indicating a procurement process. The contract is a framework agreement, without reopening of competition.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity does not explicitly state whether a single applicant or a consortium is required. However, the possibility of "joint tenders from a group of economic operators" is mentioned, suggesting that consortia are permissible. Therefore, both single applicants and consortia are likely eligible.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is not explicitly stated, but given that it is an EU funding opportunity related to interpretation services for Eurojust, it is highly likely that the geographic eligibility includes EU member states and potentially EEA countries.

Target Sector: The target sector is interpretation services. Specifically, the tender is for the provision of highly professional interpretation services (simultaneous, consecutive, and whispered) to Eurojust.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the opportunity is related to Eurojust, which operates within the European Union. Therefore, the relevant region is the EU.

Project Stage: The project stage is operational. The tender is for the provision of ongoing interpretation services, not for research, development, or demonstration.

Funding Amount: The estimated total value of the contract is 15,800,000 EUR.

Application Type: The application type is an open call for tenders. The submission method is electronic.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in exchange for services. This is a service contract, so the support is monetary compensation for the provision of interpretation services.

Application Stages: The number of application stages is not explicitly stated, but based on the documentation, it involves at least one stage of submitting a tender, followed by evaluation based on selection and award criteria. The process likely involves multiple stages of evaluation.

Success Rates: The success rates are not mentioned.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is not mentioned, so it is likely not required.

Summary:

This is a call for tenders issued by Eurojust for the provision of highly professional interpretation services, including simultaneous, consecutive, and whispered interpretation. The procedure is an open call, and submissions must be made electronically. The estimated total value of the framework agreement is 15,800,000 EUR, and the maximum contract duration is 48 months. The award method is based on the best price-quality ratio.

To be eligible, tenderers must demonstrate suitability to pursue the professional activity, economic and financial standing, and technical and professional ability, as detailed in the procurement documents. A key requirement is the ability to provide security-cleared interpreters (SECRET UE/EU SECRET). Tenderers must provide at least two security-cleared interpreters per EU official language at the time of tendering.

The tender documents include an invitation letter, administrative specifications, technical specifications, appendices on statistics for interpretation services, a declaration on honour, a technical tender form, a financial offer form, and a draft service contract.

The deadline for receipt of tenders is June 10, 2025, at 10:00 Europe/Amsterdam time. Eurojust is not bound to reply to questions submitted after May 30, 2025, at 05:00 Europe/Amsterdam time.

The eSubmission system supports various file types and has specific requirements for attachment names and sizes (less than 50 MB per file, up to 200 files per tender). The system is multilingual and supports all 24 official EU languages. A Personal Identification Code (PIC) is mandatory for participation.

The tenderers must demonstrate experience, including a minimum of 100 days of conference interpreting experience in the last 5 years. They must also provide evidence of having completed 300 meetings involving interpretation in at least 20 of the 24 official EU languages.

This tender represents an opportunity for qualified interpretation service providers to secure a long-term framework agreement with Eurojust, providing interpretation services for their operations.