EUROPEAN UNIONDELEGATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNIONTO THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Administration & General Services

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS NEGOTIATED PROCEDURE

EEAS-014-DELAREA-SER-DIRECT

Translation Services for the Delegation of the European Union to the UAE

Version: 1.1Date: 20/06/2017

Author: Delegation in UAE

1. SCOPE OF THE CALL FOR TENDER

The purpose of the Call for Tenders is the provision of translation services for the EU Delegation in UAE, covering, UAE, as described in section 2.2.

Any contractual aspect not explicitly covered by the present disposition will be subject to the laws of UAE, so does any dispute between parties.

Response to the present tender shall be in any EU languages. All further communications shall be written in English.

2. SERVICE REQUIREMENTS

2.1. Context

The Delegation in UAE is handling administrative, press and information documents that require proper translation services in a timely manner.

2.2. Service description

The Delegation wishes to conclude a contract for its translation services. The translation service entails:

Translation of press releases and other material (brochures, tweets, social media articles, etc.) from English into Arabic and vice versa.

Deadlines can vary depending on the item being sent for translation. In general, press articles should be translated within the day, while press releases can be translated within 24 hours. Reports and less time-sensitive documents will be translated within a time-frame agreed between the contracting authority and the contractor, on an ad-hoc basis.

All translated documents will be provided in electronic format.

In case of not being able to translate the requested document, a substitute should be provided to perform the required translation. Should the substitute not be available either, the contracting authority reserves the right to find another translator for the required task and pay out of the above budget.

2.3. Languages

The official working language at the Delegation is English. Both English and Arabic are mandatory when contacting the Delegation of the European Union

2.4. Place of performance

The services should be provided for the Delegation of the European Union premises located at the following address:

European UnionDelegation to the UAEEtihad Tower 3 – Floor 15P.O Box 63870 Abu Dhabi – UAE

It may also occur that the translation services may be required in other venues in UAE.

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2.7 Duration

The duration of the execution of the tasks shall not exceed 12 months. Unless otherwise specified, all periods specified in the contract are calculated in calendar days. Execution of the tasks shall start from the date of entry into force of the contract.

The contract can be renewed with the same terms and conditions maximum 3 times. The renewal is not automatic and can take place only after both parties sign an Annex for renewal.

2.3 Lots

There are no lots. One contract will be awarded to cover all services required.

2.4 Payments

Payment shall be made in Dirhams (AED).

Payment shall be made once at the beginning of the contract, within thirty (30) days of submission by the service provider of the corresponding invoice to the Delegation.

The Delegation’s obligation to pay shall be deemed duly performed on the date on which the Delegation bank account is debited.

In order to allow the Delegation to make payments tenderers shall submit, as part of their tender, properly executed accounting forms required by the Commission of the European Communities (LEF and BAF).

2.5 Prices

For the sake of ease of reference and comparison the prices must be quoted in Dirhams (AED).

Prices must be quoted free of all duties, taxes and other charges, including VAT.

Costs incurred in preparing and submitting tenders are borne by the tenderers

and cannot be reimbursed.

2.6 Presentation of tenders

Tenders shall be presented in bound volumes or in some other format, which insures the integrity of the original tender. Failure to comply with this requirement will not lead to automatic rejection of a tender, but will affect the total scoring described in more detail in Clause 4.4 below.

Tenders should be submitted:

o Either by post or by courier not later than 16/08/2017, in which case the evidence of the date of dispatch shall be constituted by the postmark or the date of the deposit slip, to the following address:

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Delegation of the European Union to the United Arab EmiratesFor the attention of the Head of AdministrationEEAS-014-DELAREA-SER-DIRECT Translation Services for the Delegation of the European Union to the UAEEtihad Tower 3 - Floor 15P.O Box 63870 Abu Dhabi - UAE

o or delivered by hand to the same address

Not later than 13.00 on 16/08/2017. In this case, a receipt must be obtained as proof of submission, signed and dated by the agent at the delegation reception who took delivery. The delegation is open from 8 AM to 5 PM Sunday to Thursday. It is closed on Friday, Saturday and Delegation holidays.

Tenders must be placed inside two sealed envelopes. The inner envelope, addressed to the department indicated in the invitation to tender, should be marked as follows: "Invitation to tender Translation Services - not to be opened by the internal mail department". If self-adhesive envelopes are used, they must be sealed with adhesive tape and the sender must sign across this tape.

The inner envelope must also contain two sealed envelopes, one containing the technical offer and the other the financial offer. Each of these envelopes must clearly indicate the content ("Technical" and "Financial").

3. DOCUMENTS TO BE PROVIDED

3.1. Documents constituting the technical bid (to be placed in the ‘technical bid’ envelope):

The tenderer should include in the technical bid envelope the translation of the two samples as set in point 7 below (the first sample from Arabic to English and the second sample from English to Arabic).

Experience: at least 3 years of relevant experience in translation is requested. The tenderer should include in the technical bid envelope a detailed CV mentioning the years of professional experience in translation.

The tenderer should include in the technical bid envelope two references for past translation experience.

3.2. - Documents constituting the financial bid (to be placed in the ‘financial bid’ envelope):

Price of the tender as set out in the point 4.2 below

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3.3. Structure of the company

A short description of the company's activities and experience in the field of the contract should be attached. It should include a contact reference for future correspondence using the following template.

Name

Organisation

Address

Telephone

Fax

e-mail

4. ASSESSMENT OF THE TENDERERS

4.1. Exclusion criteria (See model to be signed in Annex 1)

Regulation (EU, EURATOM) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 (Financial Regulation) and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 of 29 October 2012 on the rules of application of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (Rules of Application)

1A) ACCESS TO PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

Participation in this call for tender is open to natural and legal persons with their domicile or headquarters in one of the Member State of the European Union as stated in Article 119 of the Financial Regulation, and exceptionally in the UAE.

1B) EVIDENCE OF ACCESS TO PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

Article 172 of the Rules of Application sets out that:

Candidates shall indicate that they have their headquarters or domicile in one of the abovementioned States and to present the supporting evidence normally acceptable under their own law.

2A) EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Article 106 of the Financial Regulation sets out that:

1. Candidates or tenderers shall be excluded from participation in procurement procedures if:

a. they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the courts, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, are the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations;

b. they or the persons having powers of representation, decision making or control over them have been convicted of an offence concerning their

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professional conduct by a judgment of a competent authority of a Member State which has the force of 'res judicata';

c. they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authority can justify including by decisions of the EIB and international organizations;

d. they are not in compliance with their obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established or with those of the country of the contracting authority or those of the country where the contract is to be performed;

e. they or the persons having powers of representation, decision making or control over them have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of 'res judicata' for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organization, money laundering or any other illegal activity where such illegal activity is detrimental to the Union's financial interests;

f. they are subject to an administrative penalty referred to in Article 109(1).

Point (b) and (e) of the first subparagraph shall not apply where the candidates or tenderers can demonstrate that adequate measures have been adopted against the persons having powers of representation, decision making or control over them, who are subject to judgment as referred to in point points (b) or (e) of the first subparagraph.

2. Candidates or tenderers shall certify that they are not in one of the situations listed in paragraph 1. For the purpose of the correct application of paragraph 1, the candidate or tenderer, whenever requested by the contracting authority, shall:

a. where the candidate or tenderer is a legal entity, provide information on the ownership or on the management, control and power of representation of the legal entity and certify that they are not in one of the situations referred to in paragraph 1;

b. where subcontracting is envisaged, certify that the subcontractor is not in one of the situations referred to in paragraph 1.

3. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with article 210 concerning detailed rules on:

a. the exclusion criteria applicable for the participation in calls for tender, including rules on illegal activities giving rise to exclusion;

b. what evidence may be satisfactory to show that an exclusion situation does not exist;

c. the duration of exclusion. Such exclusion shall not exceed 10 years.

Article 107 of the Financial Regulation sets out that a contract shall not be awarded to candidates or tenderers who, during the procurement procedure for this contract:

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a. are subject to a conflict of interest;

b. are guilty of misrepresenting the information required by the contracting authority as a condition of participation in the procurement procedure or fail to supply this information;

c. find themselves in one of the situations of exclusion, referred to in Article 106(1), for the procurement procedure.

2. B) EVIDENCE CONCERNING EXCLUSION CRITERIA

Article 143 of the Rules of Application sets out that: "Candidates and tenderers shall provide a declaration on their honour, available at:

http://eeas.europa.eu/jobs/docs/declarationhonour_en.pdf, duly signed and dated, stating that they are not in one of the situations referred to in Articles 106 and 107 of the Financial Regulation.

4.2. Evaluation criteria

The contract will be awarded to the tender offering the best value for money. For this purpose, the tender will be evaluated technically and financially.

4.2.1 Technical tender

The technical quality of the tenders will be evaluated on the basis of documents provided by the tenderers in the technical tender envelope with regard to the award criteria. Each criterion is assigned a mark by the contracting authority on the basis of the scale in the table here below.

N Criteria Max Points

Description

1 Translated documents

40

Quality of the translation of the two samples provided in the tender specification (the first sample from Arabic to English and the second sample from English to Arabic).

2 CV and relevant experience 40 CV and years of experience in translation.

3 References 20 References for past translation experience.

Any tender not scoring the minimum quality threshold of 50% per criterion and 60 points of the total will be eliminated.

The technical score for each tender will be calculated as follows:

Ti = (score for offer under consideration / score for best technical offer) * 100

The best technical offer will thus score 100.

4.2.2 Financial tender

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The price of the tender must be:

denominated in euros (€) and be firm and not subject to revision during the first year of performance of the contract;

all inclusive. This means that prices shall include all the costs to be incurred by the tenderers in order to provide the services.

calculated free of all duties, tax and due

prices must be fixed amounts and not subject to revision;

During the validity of the tender prices cannot be revised.

The financial offers of tenderers who have obtained an overall technical score of 60 points or more and at least 50% of the maximum score indicated for each individual criterion will be opened.

They will be checked for arithmetical accuracy and corrections made where necessary.

Incomplete financial offers will lead to rejection of the offer.

The financial score for each offer will be calculated as follows:

Fi = (lowest price / price of the offer under consideration) * 100

The best financial offer will thus score 100.

4.3. Award criteria

The tender chosen will be that which offers the best value for money among the technically compliant tenders, namely the tender obtaining the best overall score Pi calculated as follows where the weighting is 60% for the quality and 40% for the price:

Pi= [0,40]*Ti + [0,60]*Fi

Where: Pi is: the total score for the tender in question (out of 100)

Ti is: the number of points (out of 100) obtained in the technical evaluation for tenders having obtained the minimum quality threshold.

Fi is: the number of points (out of 100) obtained in the financial evaluation.

The maximum possible score is 100 and will only occur when one offer gets the best technical score and is the cheapest one at the same time.

It is noted that the cheapest price can only be the one of an offer which does not fail to the selection phase.

The tenders with highest score will be proposed for award of the contract.

5. PAYMENTS

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Payments will be made on presentation of a detailed invoice listing all the documents translated and the date of the translation.

Payment for the services will be made by transfer to the contractor's bank account no later than 30 days after receipt of the detailed invoice.

6. DATA PROTECTION

1. If processing your reply to the invitation to tender involves the recording and processing of personal data (such as your name, address and CV), such data will be processed pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data. Unless indicated otherwise, your replies to the questions and any personal data requested are required to evaluate your tender in accordance with the specifications of the invitation to tender and will be processed solely for that purpose by Head of EU Delegation to the UAE. Details concerning the processing of your personal data are available on the privacy statement at: https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/united-arab-emirates/8989/useful-links-and-documents-tenderers-and-contractors_en

2. Your personal data may be registered in the Early Warning System (EWS) only or both in the EWS and Central Exclusion Database (CED) by the Accounting Officer of the EEAS, should you be in one of the situations mentioned in: - the Commission Decision 2008/969 of 16.12.2008 on the Early Warning System (for more information see the Privacy Statement onhttp://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entities_en.cfm ),

or

- the Commission Regulation 1302/2008 of 17.12.2008 on the Central Exclusion Database (for more information see the Privacy Statement onhttp://ec.europa.eu/budget/explained/management/protecting/protect_en.cfm#BDCE )

7. SAMPLES TO BE TRANSLATED

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a) – From Arabic to English

EUROPEAN UNION

DELEGATION TO THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

األوروبي إال تحادال"عربية إ"ال"دول"ة في" ا"ألوروبي" اإلتح"ا"دبعثة ما"رات"

ال"متح"دة

مذكرة

معيار الحالل لدى دولة االمارات العربية المتحدة- حظر الصعق الكهربائيعلى الدواجن

االتحاد األوروبي علما من خالل الت"قارير األخي"رة الصادرة عن هيئات المن"ح الحاللأحيط الت"ي تت"خذ من االتحاد األوروبي مقرا لها بأن دول"ة اإلم"ارات العربي"ة المت"حدة س""""تقوم

933 /1998 بتفعيل قرار واردات الدواجن قريبا وفق"ا للمواصفة القياس""ية الخليجي"ة GSO 3.2.7 الفق""رة "تطلبات ال""ذبح الحي""واني وفق""ا للش""ريعة اإلس""الميةبم" المتعلقة

في حالة الطيور"." الكهربائي الت"ي يحظر فيها الصعق

االتح""اد األوروبي ه""و اح""د أهم الم""وردين لألغذي""ة والمش""روبات عالي""ة الج""ودة لدول""ة مليار ي""ورو3,2اإلمارات العربية المتحدة و قد وصلت قي"مة الت"بادالت الت"جارية فيها إلى

مليون يورو و90. إن صادرات اللحوم من االتحاد األوروبي تمث"ل تقريبا 2016في عام هي في تزايد مستمر. كما أن تعاوننا المشترك في مسائل التج""ارة المتص""لة باألغذي""ة،

.بما في ذلك سالمة األغذية، أصبح يشكل حجر االساس لعالقاتن"ا االقتصادية الثن"ائية

في"الكهرب""ائي نهي الص""عق"و وفقا لتقارير هيئات المنح الحالل األوروبي""ة، ف""إن حكم . في ح""ال تنفي""ذ ه""ذا الق""رار،2017 يوني""و 1 سيصبح إلزاميا اعتب"ارا من 3.2.7الفقرة

1فإن ذلك سيؤدي إلى اضطراب ش""ديد في التج""ارة م""ع كب""ار المص""درين اعت"ب""ارا من ، و قد تتوقف تجارة الدواجن من االتحاد األوروبي 2017يونيو

و في هذا الصدد، نود أن تقوم دولة اإلم"ارات العربي""ة المت"ح"دة ب"الت"كرم بإع""ادة النظ""ر:على األسس الت"الية GSO 1998/993لجهة تفسير جديد للمواصفة القياسية

ین""ایر / ک""انون1 في 2009/1099أص""در االتح""اد األوروبي ق""رار المجلس رقم ، وال""تي ق""امت بتح""دیث المع""اییر الس""ابقة وال""تي تس""مح2013الث"اني في ع""ام

یة الحیوانیة، و يتعلق القرار بذبحھالكهربائي مع الذبح بهدف حمایة الرفا بالصعق.الحيوانات في المسالخ أو تلك التي يتم االحتفاظ بها ألغراض الزراعة

يقوم القرار بإدخال العديد من التعديالت الفني"ة. على س""ب"يل المث""ال، يتم تعري""ف الكهربائي بدق""ة عالي""ة كم""ا و يتم توف""ير الح"د االدنى من المع"ايير نطاق الصعق

الكهربائية. و قد طرأت عدة متغي"يرات فن"ي""ة تتعل""ق تش""ييد المس""الخ وتخطيطه""ا.الكهربائي ومعداتها، مثل نقل آلية الدواجن و معدات الصعق

10

إن ق""رار المجلس آن""ف ال""ذكر يس""مح باس""تثن"اء االتح""اد األوروبي من اس""تخدام الكهربائي في حالة ذبح الحي"وان""ات الخاض""عة لمح""ددات الش""عائر طريقة الصعق

الكهربائي دون قت"ل الطيور )مم""ا الدينية المحلي"ة، كونها تسمح باستخدام الصعقيسمح بتجميد حركة الطيور(.

اعتم""دت المفوض"ية األوروبي""ة تقري"را عن مخت"ل"ف األس""اليب المعتم"دة للص"عق ، وال"ذي يتض"من معلوم"ات مفي""دة من وجه"ة2013الكهربائي للدواجن في عام

.نظر علمية واقتصادية

، وق""د1998 لم يت"غ""ير من""ذ ع""ام 993عالوة على ذلك، تج""در اإلش""ارة إلى أن المعي""ار سب"ق و وافقت السلطات اإلماراتية على الممارسات القائم""ة في االتح""اد األوروبي، وال

.2017 يونيو 1تزال تطبق في بلدان الخليج األخرى لفترة ما بعد

29.5.2017أبوظبي،

b) From English to Arabic (2 texts)

1)

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EUROPEAN UNION

DELEGATION TO THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

األوروبي إال تحادال"عربية إ"ال"دول"ة في" ا"ألوروبي" اإلتح"ا"دبعثة ما"رات"

ال"متح"دة

Brussels, 21 June 2017

Check against delivery!

You won't be surprised if I skip my formal speech and simply tell you how I feel exactly one year after the presentation of the Global Strategy [for the European Union's Foreign and Security Policy] and a couple of days after having presented to the foreign ministers the report on the first year of implementation; and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow in the European Council the Heads of State and Government will also have a look at that. I would not expect that this will be their first priority, but most of the things that will be discussed at the European Council actually are part of the implementation of the Global Strategy, because if you work on counterterrorism or you work on migration that all refers to the way in which we changed our work in this last year.

This time last year was quite difficult, still quite ok, but on the edge of a complicated time. I remember very well with many of you, we were together in the beginning of the process of even thinking of a Global Strategy two years ago. And last year around the end of the month many were having doubts whether it was the right time to come out with the new strategy for the European Union as one of the Member [States] decided to leave and I remember it was a difficult decision to take, but I think that one year after that time we can say without any doubt that in this year we have needed our common Global Strategy much more than we would have expected and we have managed to implement much more than what we have expected one year ago.

I was realising that it is a bit like the parallel, if I can make the parallel, to the Iran deal [JCPOA]. Many sceptics before we managed to get the deal were saying 'you will never get there' and we got there. Then everybody was saying 'you will never implement it' and we implemented it and then now many are saying 'it will never survive' and still it is surviving and I am sure it will survive. I think it is more or less the same. Many were sceptical about the fact that it was the right time to have a Global Strategy and I have seen in this last year that not only the European citizens, not only the European leadership or the European institutions, but also our partners around the world have used the Global Strategy - using it to make the European Union one of the very points of reference across the globe.

We have lived in the last year a bit of an identity crisis: How many are we? Where are we heading to? Why are we together? Then I believe that also thanks to the Global Strategy partially, not only, we rediscovered the value of being together, the added value, the existential value of being together that was clearly referred to in Rome on the 25 March. That to me is the internal strategy, the re-launch of the reasons why we are stronger together and, in the meantime, we have seen that our partners in the world, even those that are not necessarily partners, but our interlocutors in the world, have in parallel realised that you can like the European Union or not - sometimes we put a lot of emphasis in things that are not particularly welcome, sometimes it can be rules, or human rights, or other things -, but there is a value that in these times it is quite essential which is that you always know what can come from us. We are quite predictable and in these times I think this is essential and a positive element.

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We are there for our principles, our values, our interests that, as we discussed last year, are not in contradiction, we are there for partners. We stay true to our partnerships. And I think more and more people around the globe realise that we are an indispensable partner, be it on security, be it on climate, be it on trade, be it obviously in development and humanitarian aid, in diplomacy, be it for the power of peace. The power of the European Union is projected especially in the regions that feel and realise that making peace can make your economy, but also your connections, your living standards much better off than they were before.

I think that in this year of implementation of the Global Strategy, first of all we realised that yes, we definitely needed it, that actually we needed it much more than we realised when we had it and that it was a useful tool to work together, put together different institutions and starting to work across the board; and also we implemented much more than we expected. Now, I can give you plenty of examples: I would say that 2 examples are maybe the most evident ones.

One is the example of Mali and the Sahel. I was there 2 weeks ago, visiting our 2 missions and operations – a civilian and a military one –, and our delegation. The terrorist attack in Bamako on Sunday had two victims – one working for the EU delegation and one for the EU training mission, reminding us that there is a heavy price that our men and women pay daily, but also reminding us that we actually do the job on the ground and sometimes we do not even realise how much of a European Union flag is there in conflict or crises situations. But there you have a military training mission, a civilian mission that is training the police and the security forces, an enormous amount of development work done, you have the diplomatic work on the peace agreement, you have the regional approach with the G5 Sahel – I was announcing there €50 million support to the G5 Sahel joint force to tackle terrorism and smuggling and trafficking of not only human beings but also drugs and arms.

That it's really the laboratory of the common approach where you have all parts of the work that needs to be done, from security to development, to peace and diplomacy put together. And actually you realise that no one has the same kind of mix of instruments and that is exactly what we wrote one year ago in the Global Strategy: that the European Union has to move from a fragmented approach of all the instruments we have to using them all together to specific strategic aim. This is I think the perfect example.

It is a strategic objective because the security, peace and development of the Sahel, in Mali in this case, is key to the European Union security on counterterrorism, but also on migration and on the other side, it helps regional and global cooperation. This is one example of how we accelerate it – because part of it was already done – the coming together of different angles of work. This is true for Mali, the Sahel but this is also true for many other situations where I see more and more that we use our economic instruments, our trade instruments, our climate, energy or economic investment instruments, or even cultural diplomacy we started, in an integrated work towards the strategic objective.

The second field is clearly security and defence. This was the field that was probably subject of scepticism the most one year ago, and especially at the time of the British referendum when everybody was saying: "Now that the major military power is gone, what do you want to do?". It is quite clear that we managed to move in this last year to a level that even a couple of months ago many were saying this is going to be impossible even in 10 years. I think we have moved more in 10 months than in the last 10 years. Some say more than in the last 60 years, maybe that is a bit too much. For sure, we have managed to overcome a series of psychological blocks that were there.

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The EU/NATO cooperation still in September was the main point of argument, with many saying that if we develop European defence this will be seen as an hostile act on the other side of Brussels. A couple of months afterwards and with the election of [Donald] Trump we proved these people wrong, because the European defence has become the strongest pillar for NATO and the strongest reassurance for the transatlantic alliance that Europeans will be there and will continue to be there to keep the military alliance strong from our own perspective, with our own differences.

We are not a military alliance and we have Member States that are not NATO allies but it is the best guarantee for NATO to hold a strong position and we have taken decisions in the last four, five months - including the Military Planning and Conduct Capability here in Brussels, coordinating all the military training missions we have – including by the way the one on Mali that was facing a loss on Sunday. We took decisions on beginning the work on PESCO [Permanent Structured Cooperation], the coordinated annual review on defence or the beginning of the work to have a better financing of the battlegroups – after ten years of establishing them. In these months, a matter of months and not years, and by unanimity.

Now we feel a little bit more self-confident than six, seven months ago. We digested – abbiamo elaborato il lutto – how do you say it in English? We managed our own mourning and we realised that the prophecy of the British referendum being the beginning of the end was simply not true. And we are now more than ever determined to go on at 27. And you see the last, all the last, election results proving the myth of the end of the European Union wrong. And so this gives confidence.

There is another issue, the huge unpredictability of the political positions of others in the global scene – and here I am exercising all my diplomatic skills, has proven to the European citizens and the European leaders that we need to rely on ourselves and we need to take decisions and follow them up with some determination and courage.

And this is why I think we have managed to implement so much of the Global Strategy, including on security and defence. So this brings us to an interesting place now because we have done a lot. We have recovered, I think psychologically and emotionally, all the trust in ourselves that was shaken last year. And we can now offer, I believe, not only to the European citizens but also to our partners in the world, the European Union not only as a global player but also as a strong and reliable and predictable global player.

If you look at climate change - we managed not only to keep our unity and insist on implementation and preserving the agreement in Paris, but also in building global alliances to make sure that state and non-state actors, including in the United States [of America], reaffirmed their commitment to the Paris Agreement. And this can bridge the difficult years we have ahead of us. Making sure that the important decisions that need to be taken – that by the way, out of our own experience we know very well are also compatible with economic growth and investments in the green sector – can bridge these difficult years we have ahead of us together with others. From China to Latin America, from India to Africa - after the announcement by [US] President Trump that the United States [of America] would withdraw from the agreement, we had joint statements or demarches or agreements with the African Union, Chile, China, and I could continue.

Building global alliances, being a point of reference for some in the world, or for many in the world, is one example, while the other one I would like to make of that is multilateralism and the UN system. I believe the European Union in these years, also thanks to the implementation of the Global Strategy and our strategic vision, has managed to position itself as a point of reference for those that want to seriously invest in multilateralism and the UN system. Be it peacekeeping, be it conflict prevention, be it the investment on humanitarian front - I think we managed and we will

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continue to manage to put together those in the world that believe security is not just military and that you need to have a sustainable security approach, that security is also the rule of law, human rights, democracy, good governance, but also humanitarian aid, development cooperation, conflict prevention and so on.

And there are not many in the world that can interpret this role at this stage. If you look around – very few. If you consider who is in this world of today a diplomatic power, investing in multilateralism and diplomacy? Who is a humanitarian major donor, always reliable, not only pledging but also delivering? Who is the major development aid provider – more than all the rest of the world together? But also, who is there every time that multilateralism needs support? And who is there to advocate for human rights? And who is there to advocate for free and fair trade? And the list continues. If you put together all of this – difficult to find anyone else. Which is sad – it is not a point of pride. It is a point of warning. But in the meantime we encourage others in the world to partner with us on each and every of this field. We constitute in the world a point of reference. For many more than we realise.

And I think with the Global Strategy in this year – also thanks to your collective work, and thanks to you also because you have accompanied us in this process from the very beginning – we have managed to position the European Union in a place where we would not be if we did not have the Global Strategy as it is. And again I think it is not something that is relevant just for me and my work but is relevant for the work we have done together. Because this has been really, both the work leading to the Global Strategy itself and implementation, a collective teamwork. A collective true European teamwork.

So I would like to thank you for that. I am glad to share this moment with you and I remember well previous meetings we had last year. I was always saying do not expect that the work is finished with the Global Strategy because I will come back to you when it comes to the implementation because we also need to implement this together. This continues also after year one. So we will continue to work together on defining the priorities for the implementation of next years and we are doing that already in July with the foreign ministers to keep the rhythm very fast, very ambitious and still very much united, as we have proven to all those that say and think that the European Union is bureaucratic and slow.

In these last weeks I have had the strange feeling of hearing people say: "Could we slow down a bit, please?" And you know - no. No, not really. Not really because it is not the time for taking things slowly. It is the time for putting all the energy in it, thinking carefully, strategically – as we always say and think – but going fast.

Thanks.

2)

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EUROPEAN UNION

DELEGATION TO THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

األوروبي إال تحادال"عربية إ"ال"دول"ة في" ا"ألوروبي" اإلتح"ا"دبعثة ما"رات"

ال"متح"دة

Dear Minister,

Thank you for your letter of 4 October 2016 and your kind invitation to meet in Dubai.Unfortunately due to prior commitments I will not be able to visit Dubai in the near future.That being said, if you were to come to Europe, my previous invitation to welcome you inBrussels still stands.

Allow me to take this opportunity highlight the positive evolution of our relationship throughout my term, where we have intensified and deepened our dialogue and contacts in many aviation areas and worked closely on a number of important issues, like the recent ICAO Assembly and the successful conclusion of the GMBM agreement.

The comprehensive aviation agreement proposed by the EU could potentially be another milestone to make these links even stronger and pave the way for significant growth and continued opening of markets under a new framework. The subject of the comprehensive aviation agreement has been discussed on many occasions:

EU-GCC Dialogues since 2014, my visit to the UAE in November 2015 and the follow-up visit of the Director General for Mobility and Transport and my Head of Cabinet in March 2016, to name just a few important ones. My services have also been in close contact with yours in the last few months clarifying and responding to each of their queries.

I am aware of the significant market access that the UAE already enjoys in many of the EU'sMember States and, as explained before, our objective is to build on what already exists, preserving the current rights, and to go even further. I strongly believe that the comprehensive aviation agreement will bring significant added value for both parties and their respective industries. However the starting point to achieve this is of course opening negotiations. This will allow us to find a common ground whereby both sides' interests can be fully respected. Please allow me to reassure you that the EU is approaching all negotiations with an open mind. The agreement will have to be satisfactory and beneficial for both sides and the exact content can only be determined at the end of the negotiations. It is on this basis that we have engaged in negotiations with other countries or regions such Qatar, ASEAN and Turkey.

Let me also reiterate that there is no obligation to conclude an agreement and if any of the parties decides to end the negotiations, all existing rights under bi-lateral agreements with theEU Member states will be fully maintained.

Your Excellency, I hope that the UAE will engage with the EU and together develop the basis for a mutually beneficial agreement and a new aviation partnership.

Yours faithfully,

Annex 1

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Declaration of honour onexclusion criteria and absence of conflict of interest

(Complete or delete the parts in grey italics in parenthese)

[Choose options for parts in grey between square brackets]

The undersigned (insert name of the signatory of this form): in [his][her] own name (for a natural person)

or representing the following legal person: (only if the economic operator is a legal

person)full official name:official legal form:full official address:VAT registration number:

declares that [the above-mentioned legal person][he][she] is not in one of the following situations:

a) is bankrupt or being wound up, is having its affairs administered by the courts, has entered into an arrangement with creditors, has suspended business activities, is the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations;

b) has been convicted of an offence concerning professional conduct by a judgment of a competent authority of a Member State which has the force of res judicata;

c) has been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authorities can justify including by decisions of the European Investment Bank and international organisations;

d) is not in compliance with all its obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions and the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which it is established, with those of the country of the contracting authority and those of the country where the contract is to be performed;

e) has been the subject of a judgement which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation, money laundering or any other illegal activity, where such activity is detrimental to the Union's financial interests;

f) is a subject of an administrative penalty for being guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the contracting authority as a condition of participation in a procurement procedure or failing to supply this information, or having been declared to be in serious breach of its obligations under contracts covered by the Union's budget.

(Only for legal persons other than Member States and local authorities, otherwise delete ) declares that the natural persons with power of representation, decision-making or control1

over the above-mentioned legal entity are not in the situations referred to in b) and e) above;

declares that [the above-mentioned legal person][he][she]:

1 This covers the company directors, members of the management or supervisory bodies, and cases where one natural person holds a majority of shares.

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g) has no conflict of interest in connection with the contract; a conflict of interest could arise in particular as a result of economic interests, political or national affinity, family, emotional life or any other shared interest;

h) will inform the contracting authority, without delay, of any situation considered a conflict of interest or which could give rise to a conflict of interest;

i) has not granted and will not grant, has not sought and will not seek, has not attempted and will not attempt to obtain, and has not accepted and will not accept any advantage, financial or in kind, to or from any party whatsoever, where such advantage constitutes an illegal practice or involves corruption, either directly or indirectly, inasmuch as it is an incentive or reward relating to award of the contract;

j) provided accurate, sincere and complete information to the contracting authority within the context of this procurement procedure ;

acknowledges that [the above-mentioned legal person][he][she] may be subject to administrative and financial penalties2 if any of the declarations or information provided prove to be false.

In case of award of contract, the following evidence shall be provided upon request and within the time limit set by the contracting authority:

For situations described in (a), (b) and (e), production of a recent extract from the judicial record is required or, failing that, a recent equivalent document issued by a judicial or administrative authority in the country of origin or provenance showing that those requirements are satisfied. Where the tenderer is a legal person and the national legislation of the country in which the tenderer is established does not allow the provision of such documents for legal persons, the documents shall be provided for natural persons, such as the company directors or any person with powers of representation, decision making or control in relation to the tenderer.For the situation described in point (d) above, recent certificates or letters issued by the competent authorities of the State concerned are required. These documents must provide evidence covering all taxes and social security contributions for which the tenderer is liable, including for example, VAT, income tax (natural persons only), company tax (legal persons only) and social security contributions.For any of the situations (a), (b), (d) or (e), where any document described in two paragraphs above is not issued in the country concerned, it may be replaced by a sworn or, failing that, a solemn statement made by the interested party before a judicial or administrative authority, a notary or a qualified professional body in his country of origin or provenance.If the tenderer is a legal person, information on the natural persons with power of representation, decision making or control over the legal person shall be provided only upon request by the contracting authority.

Full name Date Signature

2 As provided for in Article 109 of the Financial Regulation (EU, Euratom) 966/2012 and Article 145 of the Rules of Application of the Financial Regulation

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