STUDY ON CROSS-BORDER PROTECTED AREAS (2025CE160AT119)

European Commission DG REGIO invites tenders for an open services contract to prepare a comprehensive study mapping existing and potential cross-border protected natural areas, analysing governance structures, identifying legal and administrative obstacles, and proposing solutions for transboundary conservation management. The contract reference is EC-REGIO/2026/OP/0014 (Study on Cross-Border Protected Areas, 2025CE160AT119) with a maximum budget of €400,000 (excluding VAT) and an 18-month maximum duration. Submission is electronic via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission application with a deadline of 18 May 2026 at 16:00 Brussels time; evaluation is by best price-quality ratio (70% quality, 30% price) and requires specified financial, technical and legal selection evidence. Deliverables include an inception report, a geospatial interoperable database, interim and final reports, a case study compendium, dissemination materials and a half-day dissemination event in Brussels, with all data and IP transferred to the Commission.

What it funds

Study scope

A service contract to prepare a comprehensive study on cross-border natural and protected areas in and around the EU: mapping existing and potential transboundary protected areas; analysing governance models; identifying legal and administrative obstacles; documenting good practices (Interreg, b-solutions, LIFE etc.); and proposing solutions and dissemination materials.

Budget:Estimated total value €400,000 (maximum contract amount) ¹.

1. 1Who can apply: any natural or legal person and consortia established in countries covered by the EU Treaties and relevant trade agreements (see procurement documents).
2. 2Contract type: open procedure, direct service contract (services) awarded on best price-quality ratio.
3. 3Contract duration: up to 18 months; key deliverables include inception report, geospatial database, interim and final reports, case studies, dissemination materials and one dissemination event.

Tenders must meet the selection and exclusion criteria in the tender specifications (financial, legal and technical capacity). Evaluation uses price (30%) and quality (70%) with minimum quality thresholds. Procurement documents, templates and Q&A are on the Funding & Tenders Portal F&T Portal.

Footnotes

1. 1Official procurement page and documents are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal Call documents.

Contracting authority:European Commission, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO). Procedure reference: EC-REGIO/2026/OP/0014. TED reference 57/2026 197676-2026. Main CPV: 79000000 Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security. Nature of contract: services. Procedure type: open procedure. Submission method: electronic via eSubmission (EU Funding & Tenders Portal).

Subject of the tender:Prepare a comprehensive study on cross-border protected areas (CBPAs) and potential CBPAs across EU internal borders and involving European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) countries and micro-states enclaved within the EU. The study shall map existing and potential cross-border natural areas, analyse governance and legal/administrative obstacles, evaluate Interreg and other initiatives and produce solutions and policy suggestions to improve joint conservation and management.

Key administrative and financial facts

Estimated total value (maximum budget indicated in procurement documents):€400 000 (excluding VAT). Maximum contract duration: 18 months. Award method: best price-quality ratio. Date of TED publication: 23/03/2026. Deadline for receipt of tenders: 18/05/2026 16:00 Europe/Brussels (timestamp in portal). Public opening: 18/05/2026 16:30 Europe/Brussels. Contract type: direct contract resulting from an open call; framework and direct contract provisions in draft contract apply. All submissions must be electronic via eSubmission (EU Login required). See procurement documents on the Funding & Tenders Portal F&T Portal ¹.

Deliverables, timetable and payment structure

Workplan:18 months from contract entry into force. Deliverables and indicative deadlines: Inception report (month 1); Comprehensive mapping database of CBPAs and potential CBPAs (month 6); Interim report (month 9); Case study compendium (10 case studies) (month 12); Final study report including legal and obstacles analysis (month 15); Dissemination materials and one half-day dissemination event with logistics (month 18). Data and all raw/source datasets, survey replies and metadata must be transferred to the Commission in interoperable formats and ownership transferred to the Commission as specified in tender specifications.

Payment schedule:Two interim payments (each up to 40%) and final payment on acceptance of final deliverables. Invoices submitted electronically; contracting authority pays within 60 days from receipt unless time limit suspended for verifications.

Scope of work and technical requirements

The contractor must:collect primary and secondary data (JRC study and other sources as baseline), complete and improve a geospatial inventory of existing and potential CBPAs (designated and non-designated areas), analyse governance and institutional frameworks, examine Interreg/LIFE/b-solutions and other cooperation experiences, identify legal and administrative obstacles and develop practical solutions and transferable approaches. The work requires stakeholder engagement (consultations with regional authorities, NGOs, communities), legal and policy review, preparation of case studies (10 detailed good practice cases) and production of communication materials (maps, factsheets, infographics). The dataset must be interoperable (GeoPackage, Shapefile, PostGIS, File Geodatabase) and compatible with Commission Data Hub for Border Regions.

Minimum technical and professional selection criteria

1. 1Economic and financial capacity: Average yearly turnover over the last two financial years above €500 000 (consolidated assessment permitted).
2. 2Technical capacity T1: At least two comparable projects in the last five years with international scope (involving at least five countries and at least three different languages) combining quantitative and qualitative analysis.
3. 3Technical capacity T2: Project team must include individuals with at least three years’ experience in monitoring, assessing, researching or implementing cross-border cooperation (professional or research experience).

All involved entities, subcontractors and persons on whose capacities the tenderer relies must not present professional conflicting interests that would negatively affect contract performance. The contracting authority may request supporting evidence for selection criteria from the presumed successful tenderer prior to award.

Evaluation and award criteria

Award method:best price-quality ratio. Tenderers must score minimum thresholds on quality and sub-criteria and minimum total quality score to be eligible for ranking. Price accounts for 30% of the evaluation; quality accounts for 70%.

1. 1Price: 30% (evaluated on total offered price covering all requirements).
2. 2Quality: 70% divided as: (1) Quality of proposed methodology (60 points; threshold 50% of subscore): data sources, approach for digital database and GIS mapping, methodology for identification of CBPAs and potential CBPAs, draft structure for final report and interlinking of deliverables; (2) Organisation of the work (30 points; threshold 50%): roles and responsibilities, time allocation, team composition and resource allocation; (3) Quality control measures (10 points; threshold 50%): risk management, monitoring and evaluation, complaints/corrective actions and quality assurance for deliverables and language checks.
3. 3Tenders must achieve at least 50% in each quality sub-criterion and a total minimum quality score of 60% to be evaluated further; otherwise they will be rejected.

Ranking formula:combined normalized price score (proportional to cheapest price) weighted at 30% plus normalized total quality score weighted at 70%. In case of tie, quality ranking decides. The contracting authority reserves the right to detect and reject abnormally low tenders in line with Financial Regulation rules.

Eligibility, consortium and subcontracting rules

Participation:open to all natural and legal persons within the scope of the EU Treaties and to international organisations. Participation is also open to economic operators established in third countries that have agreements on public procurement with the EU or are parties to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement under the applicable conditions. Tenderers must be registered in the Participant Register and have a PIC for eSubmission. Joint tenders are permitted; joint tenderers must designate a group leader and submit an Agreement/Power of Attorney (model in Annex 3). All group members assume joint and several liability.

Subcontracting and entities relied upon:Subcontracting is permitted. Identified subcontractors are: any subcontractor on whose capacities the tenderer relies to meet selection criteria and any subcontractor whose individual share is above 20% of contract value; these must be listed (Annex 4) and provide commitment letters (Annex 5.1). Entities (not subcontractors) relied upon to meet selection criteria must provide commitment letters (Annex 5.2). Subcontracting arrangements must not be used to circumvent procurement rules. The contracting authority must approve changes to identified subcontractors before contract signature.

Exclusion, declaration and evidence

All tenderers must provide a Declaration on Honour (Annex 2) on exclusion and selection criteria. The contracting authority will screen tenderers via the EU Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES). Documentary evidence proving non-exclusion and supporting selection criteria may be requested from the presumed successful tenderer prior to award; the contracting authority may also request evidence at any time during the procedure. Failure to provide requested evidence within the deadline may lead to rejection.

Submission, languages and technical rules

Tenders must be submitted electronically only via the eSubmission application on the Funding & Tenders Portal. EU Login account and PIC are required. Tenders may be submitted in any of the 24 EU official languages. Attachments must conform to eSubmission system requirements: supported browsers (Chrome/Firefox), file types and maximum sizes (system accepts attachments < 50 MB; maximum 200 files per submission). Draft contract, tender specifications, declaration on honour and other annexes are published in English on the Portal. Contracting authority may not answer questions submitted after 06/05/2026 23:59 Europe/Brussels.

Deadlines and public opening:Deadline for receipt of tenders: 18/05/2026 16:00 Europe/Brussels. Date and time of public opening: 18/05/2026 16:30 Europe/Brussels. Tenderers may attend opening (virtual or physical) with up to two representatives; registration rules apply.

Data ownership, formats and dissemination

All raw/source data collected during the study must be delivered to the Commission together with the final report in usable interoperable formats and metadata compatible with the Data Hub for Border Regions. Ownership of data transferred to the Commission. Where data are owned by third parties, the contractor must ensure the Commission can publish them and obtain open licenses if required. Final outputs must be in English; templates for certain deliverables will be provided by the contracting authority. A dissemination event (half-day, 80–100 attendees, Brussels venue provided by the contracting authority) is included in scope; contractor covers travel, lodging, catering, organization and promotion.

Security, confidentiality and personal data

Contractor and personnel must comply with contracting authority security requirements (Appendix 2 Security Requirements). Confidential information must be protected and returned on request. Personal data processing under the contract is subject to Regulation (EU) 2018/1725; the contracting authority is the data controller. Contractor must process personal data only within the EU/EEA unless prior written authorisation is given and must implement technical and organisational measures, report personal data breaches within 48 hours, assist the contracting authority with notifications, and maintain records to enable audits. All security-related costs (security checks, clearances) are borne by the contractor.

Contractual IP and exploitation of results

As per draft contract (General Conditions Article II.13):the Union acquires ownership of the results produced specifically for the Union under the contract. Pre-existing rights incorporated in the results remain with the contractor or third parties, but must be licensed to the Union on a royalty-free, non-exclusive, irrevocable basis for worldwide use in all modes of exploitation necessary for the Commission’s purposes. Contractor must provide a list of pre-existing rights and documentary evidence at least by invoice for the balance; evidence may be requested before award. Moral rights must be addressed so that the Union can exploit results and adapt/translate as required. Publication and visibility rules and disclaimer obligations apply.

1. 1Ownership of newly created materials and related IP rights are transferred to the Union upon delivery and acceptance of results.
2. 2Pre-existing materials included in results must be clearly identified and licensed to the Union with sufficient rights to allow the Commission to exploit results (modification, translation, distribution, inclusion in databases, reuse).
3. 3Contractor must supply list of pre-existing rights and proof of rights (licenses or employment agreements) on request and at final invoicing.

Risk allocation, liability and termination

Contractor performs the services at its own risk and must insure as required by law and practice. Contractor liability to the contracting authority is generally limited to three times the total contract amount except in cases of wilful misconduct, gross negligence, injury to persons or intellectual property claims where full liability applies. The contracting authority may terminate the contract for specified grounds (including exclusion situations, fraud, serious breaches, non-compliance with data protection obligations, force majeure where resumption is impossible, or where the contractor fails to perform). Termination procedure includes formal notification and opportunity to respond; termination effects and recovery provisions are in the draft contract.

Administrative practicalities and templates

Key procurement documents published on the Funding & Tenders Portal:Invitation to tender, Tender specifications (with Annexes), Draft direct contract, Appendix 2 Security requirements, Declaration on honour template, Annex models (List of documents required, Agreement/Power of Attorney, Annexes for subcontractors and commitments). Annex 1 of the tender specifications lists required documents to be uploaded in eSubmission and indicates which documents must be provided on request only. Tenders must include the technical tender (methodology, team CVs, work plan, quality control) and the financial offer (total price and breakdown).

• Essential uploaded documents in eSubmission: Declaration on Honour (Annex 2), Agreement/Power of Attorney (if joint tender, Annex 3), List of identified subcontractors (Annex 4) if applicable, Commitment letters (Annex 5.1/5.2) for identified subcontractors or relied-upon entities, Technical tender, Financial tender.
• Evidence for selection and exclusion criteria may be requested by the contracting authority at any time; prepare profit & loss accounts, balance sheets, bank statements, client references and supporting documents for projects listed.

Questions, clarifications and Q&A

All queries during the submission phase must be submitted via the Funding & Tenders Portal Q&A mechanism. The contracting authority is not bound to reply to questions submitted less than six working days before the tender deadline. Contracting authority will publish answers and corrigenda on the Portal; tenderers are responsible for monitoring updates.

Answers to the required categorisation questions

Eligible Applicant Types:Eligible applicants: legal persons (companies and consultancies of any size), research organisations, universities, NGOs, non‑profits, public sector bodies, international organisations. Joint tenders (consortia) are expressly allowed. Subcontractors and entities on whose capacities the tenderer relies may be used. Individuals may participate only as staff members of an organisation; natural persons can bid if they meet legal requirements but registration in Participant Register and PIC applies.

Funding Type:Primary financial mechanism: service contract (procurement) paid by the contracting authority. This is not a grant, loan or equity instrument; it is a paid service contract under DG REGIO procurement rules and Financial Regulation.

Consortium Requirement:Consortium optional: tenderers may submit as a sole tenderer or as a group of economic operators (joint tender). Joint tenders require an Agreement/Power of Attorney (Annex 3) and appointment of a group leader.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):Geographic eligibility: entities established in EU Member States, EEA and other countries covered by the procurement rules (GPA signatories, countries with public procurement agreements with EU). The study scope for content includes EU internal borders plus EFTA, IPA countries and micro-states enclaved within the EU for mapping and analysis purposes.

Target Sector:Thematic sectors targeted: environment, biodiversity, nature conservation, cross-border cooperation, regional development, spatial planning, ecology and governance. Interreg and cohesion policy implementation and legal/institutional frameworks are central.

Mentioned Countries:Explicit countries mentioned in documentation: European Union Member States (general reference), European Free Trade Association countries, IPA countries, and micro-states enclaved within the EU. No specific Member State list is provided in the call text; scope is pan-European internal borders and adjacent partners as above.

Project Stage:Required project maturity: research/analysis, mapping and validation stage — the study expects mapping, stakeholder consultations, case-study compilation and recommendations suitable to inform programming and policy (research, analysis, demonstration/validation of governance solutions).

Funding Amount:Estimated funding / contract value: €400 000 (maximum/estimated total value indicated). This is the procurement budget ceiling; tenders above this will be rejected as unacceptable.

Application Type:Method of application: open call (open procurement procedure) with an electronic submission deadline. Submission exclusively via eSubmission on the Funding & Tenders Portal F&T Portal ¹.

Nature of Support:Beneficiaries will receive monetary payment under the service contract (money). The contracting authority will also provide templates and venue for dissemination event; non-monetary support in the form of access to data portals, contacts and Commission feedback is possible during execution.

Application Stages:Single-stage tender submission (one-step) to the open procedure. Administrative/compliance checks, exclusion and selection checks then quality and price evaluation. The contracting authority may request clarifications and supporting evidence and may invite to correct obvious clerical errors; final verification and award to presumed winner followed by contract signature.

Success Rates:No explicit success rate provided by the contracting authority. This is a competitive open tender; selection depends on meeting selection criteria, scoring above quality thresholds and offering the best price-quality ratio. Historical success rates for high-profile EU tenders vary widely and depend on number and quality of bidders; the contracting authority will rank compliant tenders and award to the highest scoring tender.

Co-funding Requirement:No co-funding required from tenderer; this is a procurement contract where the contracting authority pays for services. Tenderers must cover costs of preparing proposals and any security or administrative costs (e.g. security clearances) themselves.

Templates and application structure (what to prepare)

Mandatory forms and templates (published in procurement documents) — prepare and include the following in eSubmission:

1. 1Declaration on Honour on exclusion and selection criteria (Annex 2) — signed by authorised representative. If previously submitted to the contracting authority within one year and unchanged, you may reference previous submission as allowed.
2. 2Technical offer (upload under 'Technical tender'): methodology, work plan, deliverables timetable, GIS/data approach, detailed description of data sources, stakeholder engagement plan, quality assurance and risk management plan, description of team and roles.
3. 3Team CVs and allocation of effort — indicate which personnel satisfy selection criteria T2 (at least 3 years in cross-border cooperation).
4. 4List of projects demonstrating T1 experience — include client references, project dates, scope, languages, countries involved and contact details; contracting authority may verify references.
5. 5Financial offer (upload under 'Financial tender'): total price in EUR (net of VAT) and cost breakdown by major tasks/deliverables; all-inclusive price covering travel, organisation of dissemination event (venue will be provided by Commission but contractor covers travel, lodging, catering and logistics), data processing and dataset delivery.
6. 6Agreement/Power of Attorney (Annex 3) for joint tenders (signed by all members), and identification of the group leader.
7. 7Annex 4: List of identified subcontractors (if any) with role and % of subcontracting and Annex 5.1 commitment letters from identified subcontractors and Annex 5.2 commitment letters from entities on whose capacities the tenderer relies (if applicable).
8. 8Evidence of legal capacity, authorisation to sign (powers of attorney or registration documents) and documentation for validation if requested by EU Validation Services (Participant Register documentation) — PIC registration is mandatory.
9. 9Any other documents expressly listed in Annex 1 of the Tender Specifications (check Annex 1 carefully).

Recommended structure of Technical Offer:1) Executive summary and understanding of objectives; 2) Detailed methodology per deliverable (mapping, legal review, stakeholder engagement, case study selection and analysis, database creation and GIS format specification); 3) Data sources and interoperability approach; 4) Stakeholder engagement plan and consultation methods (surveys, interviews, workshops); 5) Quality assurance, risk mitigation and data management plan; 6) Detailed workplan, Gantt chart and deliverable timeline; 7) Team composition and CVs showing relevant experience; 8) List of similar projects (T1 evidence); 9) Approach to dissemination and policy uptake; 10) Annexes: templates, sample deliverable outlines, letters of commitment.

How the award will typically proceed and what to expect

Stepwise evaluation:1) administrative compliance and exclusion checks (Declaration on Honour and EDES screening); 2) selection criteria verification (capacity checks) — contracting authority may request supporting evidence from tenderers after initial screening; 3) technical evaluation (quality criteria and thresholds); 4) price evaluation; 5) ranking by best price-quality ratio and verification of no restrictive measures and final checks; 6) notification of award decision and signature of direct contract with the successful tenderer or group leader. The contracting authority may require clarifications and request missing documents during evaluation; tenderers must respond within requested deadlines.

Concluding summary: what is this opportunity about and how to explain it

This is an EU procurement managed by DG REGIO to commission a study mapping and analysing cross-border protected natural areas and potential cross-border areas across EU internal borders and neighbouring relevant territories (EFTA, IPA, enclaved micro-states). The study aims to identify existing CBPAs, potential sites, governance models, legal and administrative obstacles and practical solutions. It will draw on JRC outputs, Interreg and other project experience, produce a geospatial interoperable database and a set of 10 illustrated case studies, and deliver a final comprehensive report with policy recommendations to support Interreg, Cohesion Policy programming and national/local authorities. The call is an open tender (services), with a maximum budget of €400 000, an 18-month implementation period, and an evaluation based on a 70/30 quality-price split. Eligible bidders include consultancies, research institutions, NGOs and consortia with suitable technical experience in cross-border cooperation, GIS mapping and legal/policy analysis. Submission is electronic via the Funding & Tenders Portal and requires completion of mandatory templates and Annexes provided in the tender documents.

Source documents and where to apply:Full procurement documentation (Invitation to tender, Tender specifications, Draft contract, Security annexes, Declaration on Honour template and other annexes) are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. All submissions must be sent via the eSubmission application on the Portal. For portal access and document downloads see the call page F&T Portal ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement documents and submission portal: Funding & Tenders Portal — Study on Cross-Border Protected Areas (EC-REGIO/2026/OP/0014) F&T Portal.

This is a European Commission call for tenders to conduct a comprehensive study on cross-border protected areas within the European Union and associated regions. The study aims to map existing and potential cross-border natural areas, analyse governance structures, identify legal and administrative obstacles, and develop solutions for enhanced transboundary conservation management.

Opportunity Identification

Opportunity Title:Study on Cross-Border Protected Areas (2025CE160AT119)

Procedure Reference:EC-REGIO/2026/OP/0014

Contracting Authority:European Commission, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO)

Procedure Type:Open procedure for services contract

Financial Information

Maximum Budget:€400,000 (excluding VAT)

Payment Structure:First interim payment up to 40 percent upon delivery of interim report and comprehensive mapping database, second interim payment up to 40 percent upon delivery of final report, final payment upon delivery of dissemination materials and event completion. All payments made within 60 days of invoice receipt and approval of deliverables.

Funding Source:European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2021-2027

Key Deadlines

Tender Submission Deadline:18 May 2026 at 16:00 Brussels time (UTC+02:00)

Public Opening Date:18 May 2026 at 16:30 Brussels time

Deadline for Questions:6 May 2026 at 23:59 Brussels time

Tender Validity Period:6 months from submission deadline

Contract Duration and Scope

Maximum Duration:18 months from contract entry into force

Geographic Scope:Internal borders of the European Union, European Free Trade Association countries, countries covered by the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, and micro-states enclaved within the EU

Place of Performance:Mostly at contractor premises with some meetings at DG REGIO premises in Brussels

Eligibility and Who Can Apply

This is an open procedure available to any natural or legal person established in EU Member States, EEA countries, or countries that have ratified the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Government Procurement. Participation is open on equal terms to all economic operators meeting the specified criteria. Joint tenders from groups of economic operators are permitted, as is subcontracting.

Selection Criteria

Economic and Financial Capacity (F1):Average yearly turnover of the last two financial years above €500,000. Evidence required: profit and loss accounts and balance sheets for the last two years, or appropriate bank statements. Most recent year must have closed within the last 18 months.

Technical and Professional Capacity (T1):Proven experience in conducting empirical research and analyses with international scope. Minimum requirement: at least two similar projects completed in the last five years, each involving at least 5 countries with at least 3 different languages, combining quantitative and qualitative analysis. Evidence required: detailed project list with start and end dates, total project amounts, scope, role, and amount invoiced.

Technical and Professional Capacity (T2):Experience in cross-border cooperation field. Minimum requirement: team members must have proven experience of at least three years in monitoring, assessing, researching or implementing cross-border cooperation, either through professional or research experience. Evidence required: team description with CVs of individuals meeting this criterion.

Legal and Regulatory Capacity:Proof of enrolment in relevant trade or professional register, proof of authorisation to perform the contract in country of establishment, or proof of membership in specific professional organisation.

Professional Conflicting Interests:Involved entities and all subcontractors must not be subject to professional conflicting interests that may negatively affect contract performance.

Exclusion Criteria

Tenderers must not be in any exclusion situation as listed in Article 138(1) of the EU Financial Regulation. These include bankruptcy or insolvency, breach of tax or social security obligations, grave professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, criminal offences, significant deficiencies in contract implementation, irregularities, creation of entities to circumvent legal obligations, and resistance to investigations. All tenderers must submit a Declaration on Honour confirming non-exclusion.

Award Criteria and Evaluation

Award Method:Best price-quality ratio

Evaluation Weighting:Price 30 percent, Quality 70 percent

Quality Criteria:Quality of proposed methodology (60 points, minimum threshold 50 percent) assessing data sources and effectiveness for database creation, data gathering, final report production, and interlinked deliverables. Organisation of work (30 points, minimum threshold 50 percent) evaluating team roles, responsibilities, time allocation and resource adequacy. Quality control measures (10 points, minimum threshold 50 percent) assessing risk management, monitoring and evaluation approaches, and complaint management systems.

Tenders must score minimum 50 percent for each criterion and sub-criterion, and minimum 60 percent overall. Tenders not reaching minimum quality levels will be rejected. Ranking formula: (cheapest price divided by tender price multiplied by 100 multiplied by 30 percent) plus (total quality score out of 100 multiplied by 70 percent).

Deliverables and Work Plan

The contractor must deliver eight main outputs over 18 months. An inception report detailing study methodology is due within one month. A comprehensive mapping database of cross-border protected areas with geospatial information in interoperable formats (GeoPackage, shapefile, PostGIS, file Geodatabase) and a comprehensive inventory of legal and administrative obstacles are due at month six. An interim report with initial findings is due at month nine. A case study compendium documenting 10 good practices from Interreg or other projects, each approximately 4 pages, is due at month 12. A final study report with executive summary, detailed analysis sections, legal obstacles analysis, and conclusions is due at month 15. Presentation and dissemination materials including static maps, factsheets, visuals and infographics are due at month 18. A dissemination event lasting approximately half a day for 80-100 people must be organised in Brussels, with the contractor responsible for all travel, lodging, catering and event organisation costs.

All deliverables must be submitted in English according to templates provided by the contracting authority. Each deliverable will be examined and may require modifications. The contractor must be available for at least three working meetings: a kick-off meeting within two weeks of contract entry into force held physically at DG REGIO premises in Brussels, a second meeting online one month after interim report delivery, and a third meeting physically in Brussels prior to final report submission.

Submission Requirements

Submission Method:Electronic submission only via eSubmission application on the EU Funding and Tenders Portal

Required Documents:Technical tender addressing all requirements in tender specifications and award criteria, financial tender with complete price breakdown expressed in euros and free of all taxes and charges, Declaration on Honour on exclusion and selection criteria signed by authorised representative, evidence of legal capacity, and for joint tenders an Agreement/Power of Attorney signed by all group members. Identified subcontractors must provide commitment letters. Entities on whose capacity tenderer relies must provide commitment letters and supporting evidence of resources.

Language:Tenders may be submitted in any official EU language

Signature:Qualified electronic signature (QES) strongly encouraged; hand-written signatures accepted but create additional administrative burden

Important Conditions and Requirements

Participant Registration:All economic operators must be registered in the Participant Register and obtain a Participant Identification Code (PIC). Registration is free and required only once for use in multiple EU calls.

Data Ownership:All raw and source data collected during the study must be provided to the Commission in usable and interoperable format compatible with the Data Hub for Border Regions, with full ownership transferred to the Commission. If data includes third-party owned information, the contractor must ensure the Commission can publish it under open licenses.

Intellectual Property Rights:The Union acquires irrevocable worldwide ownership of all results and intellectual property rights on newly created materials. Pre-existing rights are licensed to the Union on a royalty-free, non-exclusive, irrevocable basis for all modes of exploitation. The contractor must provide a list of all pre-existing rights with the final invoice.

Security Requirements:Contractor and personnel must comply with Commission security requirements including those in Commission Decision 2015/443 and Regulation 2023/2841 on cybersecurity. All costs for security compliance including background checks and security clearance are borne by the contractor.

Personal Data Processing:Personal data must be processed only within EU and EEA territory, held in data centres within these territories, with no access outside these regions. Data localisation cannot be changed without prior written authorisation. Contractor must notify the Commission of any data breaches within 48 hours.

Subcontracting:All contractual tasks may be subcontracted. Identified subcontractors with individual share above 20 percent or on whose capacity tenderer relies must be named with commitment letters. Changes to subcontractors after submission require prior written approval from the contracting authority.

Joint Tenders:Groups of economic operators may submit joint tenders. All group members assume joint and several liability. A group leader must be appointed as single contact point. All group members must sign an Agreement/Power of Attorney. Changes in group composition after submission deadline lead to rejection except in cases of merger, takeover, or removal of members subject to restrictive measures or exclusion.

Conflict of Interest:Contractor must take all necessary measures to prevent conflicts of interest or professional conflicting interests. Any such situation must be notified to the contracting authority immediately and rectified.

Confidentiality:All information and documents related to contract performance must be treated confidentially. Contractor must not disclose confidential information to third parties without prior written agreement. Confidentiality obligations continue after contract completion.

Environmental and Social Compliance:Contractor must comply with applicable environmental, social and labour law obligations established by Union law, national legislation, collective agreements, and international conventions listed in Annex X to Directive 2014/24/EU. Environmental considerations must be taken into account throughout service provision.

Equal Opportunities:Contractor must observe a policy promoting equality and diversity, applying principles of non-discrimination and equal opportunities, removing obstacles to recruitment and preventing discrimination based on sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political opinion, membership of national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.

Liability and Insurance:Contractor performs contract at its own risk and warrants to hold the contracting authority harmless against third-party claims. Liability is limited to three times the total contract amount except for gross negligence, wilful misconduct, injury to persons, or breach of intellectual property rights. Contractor must take out insurance as required by applicable legislation and supplementary insurance as reasonably required by industry standards.

Termination Grounds:The contracting authority may terminate the contract if services do not start within 15 days of scheduled date, contractor cannot obtain required permits or licences, contractor fails to perform in accordance with specifications or materially breaches obligations, contractor is in exclusion situations, procedure or performance proves subject to errors or irregularities, contractor does not comply with environmental, social or labour law, contractor is in conflict of interest situation, contractor's legal, financial, technical or ownership situation substantially affects performance, force majeure makes resumption impossible, contractor breaches data protection obligations, or contractor violates security and confidentiality provisions.

Checks and Audits:The contracting authority may conduct checks or audits at any moment during contract performance and up to five years after balance payment. Contractor must keep all original documents for five years from balance payment. The European Anti-Fraud Office, Court of Auditors, and European Public Prosecutor's Office have the same audit rights as the contracting authority.

Contact Information and Resources

Contracting Authority Contact:European Commission, Directorate-General Regional and Urban Policy, Unit D2 Interreg Cross-Border Cooperation Internal Borders, CSM1 rue Pere de Deken 23, B-1049 Brussels, Belgium. Email: regio-D2-cross-border-cooperation@ec.europa.eu

Procurement Documents:Available on the EU Funding and Tenders Portal at ec.europa.eu

Submission Portal:eSubmission application accessible via the Funding and Tenders Portal

Participant Register:ec.europa.eu

Key Considerations for Applicants

This is a substantial research and consulting contract requiring significant expertise in cross-border cooperation, environmental management, and EU policy analysis. The study will inform future Interreg programming and Cohesion Policy post-2027, making it strategically important for EU regional development. Applicants should have demonstrated experience in international research projects, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge of cross-border governance frameworks. The 18-month timeline is demanding with multiple deliverables and meetings required. The contractor must be prepared to work with diverse stakeholders across multiple EU borders and manage complex data collection and analysis across different legal and administrative systems. Strong project management, communication, and quality assurance capabilities are essential. The requirement to transfer all data ownership to the Commission and make it publicly available under open licenses should be carefully considered. Applicants should note that the contracting authority may request evidence of selection criteria at any time during the procedure, and all tenderers are invited to prepare documentary evidence in advance.