Provision of remote assessment of English language skills

Frontex has published an open tender (FRONTEX/2026/OP/0053) for a framework agreement to provide remote online English language assessments mapped to CEFR B2 and above, with an estimated total value of €1,100,000 and a maximum duration of 48 months. The contract requires human-based assessment for speaking and writing, secure remote proctoring with human supervision, GDPR-compliant data processing and storage in the EU/EEA, and accreditation or equivalent recognition for the testing tool (ALTE/EAQUALS or similar). Award will be by best price-quality ratio with a 60% quality / 40% price weighting, and tenders must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Deadline for submission is 9 October 2026, 20:00 Europe/Warsaw, with questions accepted until 1 October 2026, 23:59 Europe/Warsaw.

What it funds

A framework contract to deliver remote online English language testing (grammar, reading, listening, speaking, writing) for Frontex users (recruitment candidates, staff and associated personnel). Services include human‑based assessment (may be supported by non‑AI algorithmic tools), online proctoring, administration/registration, reporting, support desk, reassessment/appeal and secure data handling.

Who can apply

Open to natural and legal persons and joint consortia established in the EU/EEA (and third countries with procurement access). Subcontracting and reliance on third‑party capacities allowed but must be declared. Mandatory technical requirements include proven delivery of remote English testing (minimum volumes and references), possession of an accredited online English testing tool (ALTE associate or EAQUALS accreditation/association), GDPR compliance and EU/EEA data processing.

Eligibility and selection highlights

1. 1Minimum economic capacity: average turnover ~€550,000 (last 3 years).
2. 2Technical capacity: at least 2 years’ experience and delivery of ≥5,000 remote English tests per year (past 2 years) plus minimum two European client references.
3. 3Accreditation: testing tool must hold ALTE associate membership or EAQUALS accreditation/association and be GDPR compliant.
4. 4Data processing and hosting: all personal data must be processed and stored in the EU/EEA; DPA and DPIA cooperation required.
5. 5AI: any AI components must be declared and fully comply with the EU AI Act; use of Frontex data for AI training is prohibited.

Funding range:Estimated total procedure value €1,100,000; framework duration up to 48 months (initial 12 months with up to 3 renewals). The contract is a multiple framework (up to 4 providers) implemented in a cascade.

Key practical points

1. 1Maximum planned volume: up to 30,000 online remote proctored tests over the framework duration (ordered on demand).
2. 2Service availability: tests must be configurable within a 72‑hour window and delivered on short notice (tests offered within 7 working days of request); reporting timelines: up to 5 working days for batches up to 500, or staged delivery for larger batches.
3. 3Proctoring and assessment: human‑based proctoring and human assessment for speaking/writing; algorithmic support allowed but no automated-only decisions; facial recognition/biometric automated processing is not permitted.
4. 4Data and records: individual reports, searchable user database (exportable to Excel), encrypted recordings retained per contract terms (records available to Frontex for 12 months).

How to apply / important documents

Submit tenders electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (eSubmission). Required submission documents include: Tender Submission Form, Technical proposal (addressing Terms of Reference), Financial proposal (Annex IV), Declaration on honour (Annex V), evidence for selection criteria, DPA and AI documentation if relevant. All documents and templates are published in the procurement dossier on the F&T Portal.

Procurement contact and portal

Lead contracting authority:European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), Warsaw. Apply via the Funding & Tenders Portal opportunity page: Tender details.

This is a public procurement (call for tenders) published by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) to award a multiple framework service contract (up to four contractors in cascade) for remote online English language testing services. The procurement covers remote proctored assessments of general English proficiency (grammar, reading, listening, writing, speaking) mapped to CEFR B2 and above, proctoring/monitoring, administration/registration, user database, reporting, test review/appeals, support desk, security and data protection, and optional AI-enabled components only if fully declared and accepted by Frontex. The estimated total value of the procurement for the framework contract is €1,100,000 and the maximum duration is 48 months (initial 12 months plus up to three 12-month renewals). The procurement documents, tender submission and related Q&A are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal F&T Portal ¹.

TED reference / Procedure:Tender identifier FRONTEX/2026/OP/0053. TED reference 170/2026 (608877-2026). Procedure type: Open procedure. Submission method: electronic via EU Login/eSubmission. Public opening: 12/10/2026 11:00 (Europe/Warsaw). Deadline for receipt of tenders: 09/10/2026 20:00 (Europe/Warsaw) ¹.

Lead contracting authority:European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), Plac Europejski 6, PL-00-844 Warsaw, Poland. Contact and publication of procurement documents via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal F&T Portal ¹.

Answers to categorization and structured extraction questions

Eligible Applicant Types

Eligible applicant types:private companies and other legal persons (sole tenderers) and consortia/joint tenders. Subcontractors and entities on whose capacity the tenderer relies may be included. Participation is open to natural and legal persons coming within the scope of the Treaties and to international organisations; economic operators established in third countries with procurement access agreements (EEA, SAA Western Balkans, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine subject to thresholds) may participate under the conditions set out in the Tender Specifications. SMEs, large enterprises, language testing providers, training organisations, assessment platforms and language test publishers are typical eligible participants. Subcontractors and third parties may be used but must be declared and comply with exclusion, data protection and security requirements.

Funding Type

Funding type:public procurement / service contract. This is a tender to award one or more framework service contracts (services) under a best price-quality ratio award method. Not a grant, loan or equity instrument.

Consortium Requirement

Consortium requirement:not mandatory. The procedure allows single tenderers or joint tenders (groups of economic operators). Joint tenders must appoint a group leader and members are jointly and severally liable. Tenderers may also rely on capacities of other entities or subcontract. All involved entities must meet exclusion and selection requirements and declare their roles in Annex VI Tender Submission Form.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility)

Geographic eligibility:applicants established in the EU and EEA, and in third countries that have procurement access agreements with the Union (explicitly cited: Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein under the EEA Agreement; North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo under Stabilisation and Association Agreements; Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine under Association Agreements subject to thresholds). Third country subcontractors are allowed but access rules differ. No blanket international-only procurement; main scope is EU/EEA and associated countries as described in the Tender Specifications.

Target Sector

Target sector:assessment and recruitment services, education/testing, language assessment technology, online proctoring, human marking and quality assurance, ICT platforms for testing, data protection and cybersecurity solutions, and any AI components relevant to assessment. CPV main classification: 79600000 - Recruitment services (tender uses CPV 79600000).

Mentioned Countries

Explicitly mentioned / identified in the procurement documentation:Poland (Frontex seat and contracting authority address Warsaw), EU member states and the EEA states Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership countries named in access rules: North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine. Tender publication and process reference EU-wide portals; principal location of Frontex is Warsaw, Poland.

Project Stage

Expected maturity:operational procurement for operational services (mature service delivery). The services must be already-developed online testing and proctoring solutions adaptable to Frontex needs (not R&D). Required evidence includes live deployments, reference clients and accreditation of testing tools (ALTE/EAQUALS or associate status) and significant prior delivery volume (minimum 5,000 tests per year for last two years).

Funding Amount

Estimated total procedure value (framework ceiling):€1,100,000 (net, excluding VAT). Framework may be awarded to up to 4 contractors, implemented in cascade; the framework initial ceiling may be increased up to 50% within three years under specific Financial Regulation provisions. Individual order volumes will be determined by order forms/specific contracts.

Application Type

Application method:open call for tenders. Electronic submission exclusively via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal / eSubmission (EU Login required). The procedure is an Open procedure published on the portal and TED. Tenderers subscribe on the portal to receive updates and must upload required annexes (Invitation to Tender, Annex I tender specifications, Annex II terms of reference, Annex III draft contract, Annex IV financial proposal template, Annex V Declaration on honour, Annex VI Tender Submission Form, Annex VII PoA/Commitment letters).

Nature of Support

Nature of support:commercial payment for services (money). Beneficiaries (contractors) will receive service contracts with unit-price payments for assessments delivered, and invoicing for delivered tests. No non-monetary-only support is foreseen; contractors provide services and receive financial compensation under the framework.

Application Stages

1. 1Single-stage tender submission via eSubmission (technical proposal, financial proposal and supporting documentation).
2. 2Administrative checks and exclusion/selection verification.
3. 3Technical evaluation against minimum requirements and scored technical award criteria (60% weighting for technical quality).
4. 4Financial evaluation and scoring (40% weighting).
5. 5Final combined scoring and award of framework contracts (cascade ranking).
6. 6Post-award negotiation/execution of Data Processing Agreement, AI compliance declaration (if applicable) and contract signature, then ordering via order forms.

Success Rates

Success rates:not published. As with public procurement, success depends on meeting exclusion and selection criteria, technical thresholds and obtaining the highest combined score (final score = 0.6 x technical score + 0.4 x financial score). Frontex intends to award up to four framework contracts in cascade but may award fewer or cancel if insufficient compliant tenders exist. Historical success rates are not provided in the documents.

Co-funding Requirement

Co-funding:no co-funding requirement is indicated. Contractors propose unit prices and are paid by Frontex for tests delivered under order forms. Contractors must include all costs in their financial offer (unit price per remote assessment; cancellation fee up to 10% possible). Contractors bear their own preparation and implementation costs. VAT treatment: Frontex is generally VAT-exempt under EU privileges and immunities; overseas contractors must obtain appropriate VAT exemptions where relevant.

Templates and Application Form Structure

Application forms and templates published in the procurement documents (to be completed and uploaded via eSubmission) include:

• Annex VI Tender Submission Form: identifies tenderer(s), contact person, partners (if joint tender), subcontractors and other entities relied upon, declarations and signatures.
• Annex IV Financial proposal template: unit price lines for Remote English language assessment of one user (quantity example 30,000) and Cancellation fee (quantity example 1,000) with total net price and signature block.
• Annex V Declaration on honour: exclusion and selection criteria statements for all involved entities (required evidence may be requested later).
• Annex VII Power of Attorney / Commitment Letter templates for subcontractors or entities on whose capacity the tenderer relies.
• Appendix 3 to Annex II: Description of the AI system template (mandatory to complete in the tender if AI components are proposed).
• Appendix 4: Declaration on AI Act Compliance (to be signed by successful tenderer if AI is used).
• Annex III Draft Contract and Model Order Form (Annex III Model Order Form) - used post-award to order services.

Structure applicants should follow in the technical submission (as required):1) Executive summary and conformity statement; 2) Detailed description of testing platform and solution (administration, proctoring, registration, reporting, database, backups, system speed, simultaneous users); 3) Methodology of assessment and mapping to CEFR, sample test content, approach to speaking assessment (human marking), human/algorithmic hybrid description; 4) Identity verification and anti-fraud/proctoring details; 5) Quality assurance, KPIs and SLAs (result turnaround, availability, maintenance); 6) Human resources and team CVs (contract manager, linguistic specialist, methodology specialist), subcontractor role and commitment letters; 7) Data protection and security measures, DPA compliance, data location (EU/EEA), retention and deletion policies; 8) AI description (Appendix 3) if AI-enabled components are proposed; 9) References and proof of experience (minimum 2 years, 5,000 tests/year; 2 European clients references).

Technical and Compliance Requirements (detailed)

Key minimum and scored technical requirements (drawn from Terms of Reference and Tender Specifications):

1. 1Accreditation: The testing tool must be accredited or hold associate membership with ALTE or EAQUALS (or associate member of those organisations). Proof of accreditation/membership must be submitted (selection criterion T2).
2. 2Volume and experience: At least 2 years professional experience testing English remotely with at least 5,000 English tests delivered per year for the last two years and at least two European client references (selection criterion T1).
3. 3Assessment quality: Human-based assessment is essential for speaking and writing; other components may be algorithmically assisted but the scheme must exclude use of AI for automated decision-making unless AI is explicitly declared and accepted by Frontex. Results must be mapped to CEFR and equivalent to internationally recognized certificates (B2+).
4. 4Proctoring: Remote proctoring must include human supervision (synchronous live invigilation or asynchronous record-and-review with human validation). Facial recognition or automated biometric decision-making is prohibited; limited biometric capture (photos for comparing ID with user, accessible only to human invigilator and deleted after verification) is allowed.
5. 5Technical availability and support: Testing windows configurable; typical availability example: tests available up to 72 consecutive hours per agreed timeframe; backup platform available; real-time saving; live human technical and user support during test windows (min 08:00–20:00), additional scoring for live support availability during non-working days for at least 8 consecutive hours.
6. 6Turnaround: Individual test reports for up to 500 tests to be delivered within 5 working days after last test; larger batches delivered in at least 150 results per two working days.
7. 7Data handling: All personal data to be processed and stored inside EU/EEA; GDPR and Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 compliance; DPA (Appendix 2) must be signed by successful contractor; records retained for 12 months from test finalisation and other retention as defined in DPA and contract.
8. 8Question bank: Pool of questions with at least 10 variants per activity to ensure variability and integrity.
9. 9Extractability and encrypted recordings: System must allow extraction and sharing of single tests and audio/video recordings on request, with encrypted storage and restricted access.
10. 10Quality assurance and appeals: Clear reassessment/review and appeals process with independent second human examiner able to change score; incident reporting and anti-cheating measures; evidence of QA/KPI monitoring.
11. 11Team: Named contract manager and minimum team with specified roles (linguistic and methodology specialists at minimum).
12. 12Ordering and delivery: Contractor to respond to orders as set out in order forms; invitation links to candidates within 2 working days of order acceptance; ability to reschedule or reset testing status within 24 hours in case of technical failure.
13. 13Financial: Unit price model; cancellation fee up to 10% of unit price for late cancellations (less than 2 working days) except where contractor fault caused cancellation; invoicing monthly with delivery summaries to invoices@frontex.europa.eu.

Scoring:Technical evaluation weight 60% (detailed technical criteria with thresholds; minimum total technical threshold 60% and minimum per-criterion thresholds apply — e.g. a tender scoring less than 50% for any technical criterion will be eliminated). Financial evaluation weight 40% (lowest price receives full financial score; others scaled accordingly). Final ranking by combined score (0.6 technical + 0.4 financial).

AI and Regulatory Compliance

AI use is permitted only if explicitly declared in the technical offer and accepted by Frontex. If AI is proposed, tenderers must complete Appendix 3 (Description of the AI system) and successful tenderers must sign Appendix 4 (Declaration on AI Act Compliance). Any AI used must comply with the EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) and the tenderer must confirm classification, risk assessment, data provenance, testing, post-market monitoring, transparency, human oversight, robustness and cybersecurity measures. Frontex reserves the right to refuse AI use or to suspend/terminate the contract if AI Act compliance is not maintained.

If any AI components are used in scoring/assessment, training datasets and usage of Frontex data for training are explicitly prohibited unless separately and explicitly authorised by Frontex. The Appendix 3 AI description request includes provenance of models, training/validation datasets, performance metrics, DPIA support, logs/observability, risk management and incident reporting procedures.

How to Apply and Practical Details

Submission:Tenderers must submit a single electronic submission through the eSubmission system via the Funding & Tenders Portal using their organisation PIC. Draft submissions may be edited until the deadline. Attachments should follow eSubmission format rules (maximum file size and naming conventions as provided in system requirements). All required annexes and supporting documents must be uploaded. The Tender Submission Form (Annex VI) must be signed by authorised representative(s).

1. 1Create or reuse EU Login and Participant Register PIC prior to submission.
2. 2Complete Annex VI Tender Submission Form and Annex V Declaration on Honour for all involved entities.
3. 3Prepare Technical Proposal addressing all Terms of Reference points and award criteria, including Appendix 3 if AI is proposed.
4. 4Complete Annex IV Financial Proposal template in EUR (net).
5. 5Provide supporting evidence for selection criteria (turnover documents, references, accreditation evidence, system screenshots or links).
6. 6Upload all documents to eSubmission before the submission deadline. No paper/email submissions accepted.

Post-submission and Q&A:Questions may be submitted via the portal Q&A tool before the cut-off date indicated (contracting authority is not bound to answer questions received less than six working days before the deadline). Public Q&A and clarifications are published on the portal. Frontex provided multiple clarifications in Q&A (examples in the procurement record) including that asynchronous proctoring with human review is acceptable, and that ALTE/EAQUALS accreditation applies to the proposed testing tool.

Evaluation timelines and public opening:Public opening of tenders: 12/10/2026 11:00 Europe/Warsaw. Deadline for questions: Contracting authority not bound to reply after 01/10/2026 23:59 Europe/Warsaw. Tender validity and other timelines specified in contract notice and tender documents ¹.

Summary and practical advice

What this opportunity is about and how to approach it:Frontex seeks one or more providers to deliver remote English language assessments to support recruitment and staff certification needs mapped to CEFR B2 and above. This is a procurement for operational services, not an R&D grant: bidders must offer established testing platforms and operations with proven delivery scale, accreditation (ALTE/EAQUALS associate or equivalent), GDPR-compliant data handling in EU/EEA, robust human-proctored speaking and writing assessment, comprehensive administration and reporting, user support, and clear QA procedures including independent review/appeals. If any AI components are proposed they must be declared, described and must comply with the EU AI Act; Frontex may refuse AI use. Tenderers must meet selection thresholds (economic capacity, technical capacity and accreditation), respond through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission with the technical and financial proposals using provided templates, and prepare the supporting documentation (signed declarations, commitment letters for subcontractors, evidence of turnover, references and accreditation). The award balances technical quality (60%) and price (40%). Refer to the published tender documents (Invitation to Tender, Annex I Tender Specifications, Annex II Terms of Reference, Annex IV Financial template, Annex VI Tender Submission Form, Appendices 3 and 4 for AI) and the eSubmission system guidance for technical rules and timelines. For further details and to download documents use the Funding & Tenders Portal and the Tender Notice on TED F&T Portal ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement documentation and eSubmission are managed through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Official tender documents and Q&A are published on the tender details page: ec.europa.eu

This is an open Frontex services tender for a framework agreement to provide remote online English language testing for recruitment candidates, staff members, and other personnel. The estimated contract value is €1,100,000, the maximum duration is 48 months, and the opportunity is currently open for electronic submission through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal¹[1][2].

Who can apply

Participation is open on equal terms to natural and legal persons within the scope of the Treaties, international organisations, and certain third country operators that benefit from procurement access under the relevant EU agreements. Tenderers may submit as a sole operator or as a joint tender, and subcontracting is allowed, subject to the rules in the procurement documents[1][2].

• Tenderers must not be subject to EU restrictive measures and must not be in an exclusion situation or have professional conflicting interests in relation to the contract[1][2].
• Tenderers must have legal capacity, economic and financial standing, and technical and professional capacity to perform the contract[1].
• Joint tenders require a designated group leader and power of attorney, and all members are jointly and severally liable[1].
• A single entity cannot participate both as a sole tenderer and as a member of another group in the same procedure, and cross subcontracting between competing tenders is prohibited[1].
• All subcontractors and other relied upon entities must be identified and must meet the required exclusion and compliance conditions[1].
• A Participant Identification Code, or PIC, and an EU Login account are required for electronic submission[1].

What the service must cover

The contract is for remote online English language testing services for Frontex users, including recruitment candidates, staff members, and other personnel. The service must cover the assessment of general English proficiency across grammar, speaking, reading, writing, and listening, and it must map results to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages at B2 level and above[1][2].

• The assessment must be human based, and algorithmic support may be used only as support to human review and validation[2].
• The procurement documents state that algorithmic assessment must exclude AI assessment based on machine learning, training data, or automated decision making[2].
• Remote proctoring and monitoring are required, and the Q and A clarifications indicate that synchronous or asynchronous supervision is acceptable if human supervision is maintained[2].
• Speaking and writing require human assessment, while the other components may use predefined answers and human validation in line with the terms of reference[2].
• The assessment for each component can be configured so that components may be taken and assessed separately on different dates, although any related implementation cost must be reflected in the offer[2].
• The tender documentation includes a specific appendix on any AI system proposed, so bidders using AI enabled elements should expect additional compliance documentation and governance obligations²[2].

Commercial and contractual conditions

The tenderers must complete the declaration on honour, the tender submission form, the financial proposal template, and any required power of attorney or commitment letters. The draft contract also includes a privacy notice and a declaration on pre existing rights, which is standard for service contracts involving deliverables or rights transfers[1].

Submission process and timetable

1. 1Submit only through the electronic submission system in the EU Funding and Tenders Portal; email or paper submissions will not be accepted[1].
2. 2Use EU Login and a valid PIC before submitting, and ensure the organisation is correctly selected in the portal[1].
3. 3Plan to submit before the deadline because late tenders are rejected automatically by the system[1].
4. 4Questions must be submitted through the portal by 1 October 2026 at 23:59 Europe/Warsaw, after which the contracting authority is not bound to reply[1].
5. 5The public opening is scheduled for 12 October 2026 at 11:00 Europe/Warsaw, and up to two representatives per tender may attend if their details are provided in advance[1].
6. 6Tenderers may withdraw or replace a submission before the deadline, but only the latest valid submission will be considered[1].
7. 7The procurement documents are published in English, but tenders may be submitted in one of the official languages of the European Union[1].

Key compliance notes for applicants

Applicants should be prepared for a demanding compliance package because the portal documents cover exclusion criteria, restrictive measures, selection evidence, subcontractor declarations, data protection, and possible AI governance obligations. For bidders with a remote testing platform, the strongest fit will usually be a solution that already has credible CEFR mapping, human marking workflows, secure proctoring, and documented privacy and cybersecurity controls²[1][2].

Footnotes

1. 1Official opportunity record and contract notice at EU Funding and Tenders Portal.
2. 2Published procurement documents, annexes, and clarifications are available through the same opportunity record at EU Funding and Tenders Portal.