Calls for tenders for translation services for the Translation Centre Frequently asked questions (FAQs) FL/CONSUM15

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1 Calls for tenders for translation services for the Translation Centre Frequently asked questions (FAQs) FL/CONSUM15 Question no. 1: Could you send us the relevant documents for call for tenders FL/CONSUM15? Answer no. 1: All the documentation and the information you request concerning the call for tenders FL/CONSUM15, is available on our website at: If you have any problems downloading the information or any documents concerning this call for tenders, or if you require any further assistance, please, do not hesitate to contact us and we will be pleased to answer your query as soon as possible Question no. 2: I have problems downloading the specifications for the calls for tender from the Internet. Is it possible to receive the specifications on paper and to submit a bid on paper? Answer no. 2: Yes, all the documents may be requested in paper form until 07/10/15, by at tenders@cdt.europa.eu. However, the tender package, with the delivery receipt for the on-line registration form as cover page of the tender (duly filled in and signed) must in any case be sent to the Translation Centre by one of the methods set out in the letter of invitation and in paragraph 2.2 of the tender specifications, before the date specified in the letter of invitation. Question no. 3: We understand that the tender submission form (the word file to be completed), together with various attachments, will form the tender itself. If so, which part of the tender submission form must be used as cover page of the tender? Answer no. 3: Before the tender submission, the tenderers shall fill in and submit on our website the Web Registration Form. After this form must be printed out, signed and attached as a cover page to the tender. Tenders must be submitted using the Tender submission form, a document that is creating the structure and the general layout of the tender. It shall include all the required documents and evidence and will be split in two separate files: Part A and Part B. The first file (Part A) must include all the supporting documents related to exclusion, selection and award criteria and the second file (Part B) must include all evidence as regards the professional capacity of the tenderer. An index of the tender standard documents and attachments shall be provided at the beginning of each part of the tender. Question no. 4: Does the tenderer need to sign each page of the bid, or is it sufficient to sign the cover page only?

2 Answer no. 4: The tenderer does not need to sign each page of the bid. However, the tenderer MUST sign the print out of the Web Registration Form (cover page of the tender), the Legal entity form and the Financial identification form (paragraph 1.4 and paragraph 1.5 of the Tender submission form), the Declaration on Honour (paragraph 1.6 of the Tender submission form) and the financial offer (paragraph 3.2 of the Tender submission form) Question no. 5: If we apply for more than one lot, we need to fill in numerous tables regarding the qualification of the translation team, the linguistic resources etc. In addition, we need to include a number of CVs. As the submission form can only be edited in the predetermined spaces, how can we insert more pages? Answer no. 5: Please note that the tender file should be printed out and sent in hard copy. Therefore, you can fill in as many electronic copies of the tables as needed in your tender. Question no. 6: Could you provide projected volumes for 2016 for each lot? Answer no. 6: As regards your request, please note that as mentioned under point of the tender specifications: "The Translation Centre is unable to give any accurate estimation of the likely volume of work to be covered by this contract." The volume of translation work is depending on the client's needs. Question no. 7: The specifications state that the opening of offers is public and that the tenderers may attend or delegate a third party to attend the opening. Is attendance compulsory? Answer no. 7: No, there is no obligation to attend the opening session. This opportunity is given to tenderers in accordance with the rules applicable relating to the coordination of procedures for the award of public service contracts. Only one person per tenderer may attend. Tenderer s representative who will attend the opening session must present his authorization from the tenderer. Question no. 8: It is written that the tenderer's translation experience into the target language must be equivalent to standard pages. Should these pages be translated by our company itself or by our translators that will work for the Translation Centre? In the last case, can you please confirm that these pages can have been translated by a team of translators, one having for example translated pages, and the other 4.000? Answer no. 8: Please note that for this call for tenders FL/CONSUM15, the requirements as regards the professional experience in translation concern the tenderer and not the individual translators proposed in the team.

3 According to point of the tender specifications "The tenderer's translation experience into the target language for which the bid is made must be equivalent to 10,000 standard pages, in at least one of the following fields: Public Administration, Law or Mediation/Consumer Protection." No translation experience is required for the translators involved in the team proposed and therefore the translation experience of the translators proposed in your offer cannot be taken into account for the tenderer's translation experience required in the tender specifications. Question no. 9: Is it necessary to send curriculum vitae as an original or a scanned version is acceptable? Answer no. 9: Please note that the scanned copies of CVs signed by the translators are considered as sufficient proof. Question no. 10: Is the template of the Standard CV mandatory? Answer no. 10: The standard CV in paragraph of the Tender submission form is a template (there is no standard model) which allows tenderers to include all the information considered necessary for each translator involved in the project. Please note that, according to paragraph of the specifications for the above mentioned call for tenders, the tenderer shall provide the signed curriculum vitae with the contact details (postal address, telephone number and address) of each translator involved in carrying out the work under this project. Question no. 11: Our company already has a contract with the Translation Centre. The Translation Centre should therefore have all the information on our company, its working methods, staffing, etc. Are we still obliged to send a full bid or will the Translation Centre take into consideration the information it already possesses? Answer no. 11: As requested in the tender specifications, all tenderers must provide the information required. Each call for tender is considered as a completely separate procedure as regards both documentation and the results of previous calls for tender. Whether you have been selected or not in a past tender procedure will have no influence on the present procedure. Question no. 12: Is there any form or document that can be used to present the economic and financial capacity of our company? Or can we decide how to present this information? Answer no. 12: In order to prove their economic and financial capacity, tenderers may provide appropriate statements from banks (indicating clearly details concerning their solvency) OR/AND evidence of relevant professional risk indemnity insurance OR/AND balance sheets or extracts from balance sheets for the last two years for which accounts have been closed (where publication of the balance sheet is required under the company law of the country in which the economic operator is established) OR/AND a statement of overall turnover and turnover

4 concerning the services covered by the contract during the last three financial years. Please note that it is sufficient if you provide at least one of the above listed documents. Question no. 13: As a proof of social security payment, I have documentary proof of payment issued in January Can I use it in my submission file? Answer no. 13: No, all documents serving as evidence of your social security situation must have been issued not more than 12 months prior to the date for submission of tenders. Ideally, such documents should be issued after the publication of the call for tenders. Question no. 14: The paragraph of the Tender specifications stipulates a minimum requirement of a university degree. Could you please clarify what do you mean by a university degree? Answer no. 14: In paragraph of the Tender specifications, the reference to a university degree refers to the completion of a course of university education evidenced by a degree or diploma giving access to doctoral studies or equivalent qualification. In case of tenderers having doubts about their qualifications, tenderers should check the level of their degree with the competent national authorities. Question no. 15: Would it be possible to receive an editable and separate CV form to be sent to our translators in order to compile it? Answer no. 15: Please note that a word file comprising only the standard CV form is available for download on our website: Question no. 16: Is it possible to send copies of the reference letters received as scanned copies from clients or would you require the original letter? Answer no. 16: Please note that the copies of letters of reference are considered as sufficient proof. We do not require the original documents or the certified copies thereof. Nevertheless, the Evaluation Committee can at any time during the evaluation process ask for the original of the mentioned documents. Question no 17: I would like to know if this tender is for companies or for individuals. Answer no. 17: Please note that not only companies but also freelance translators can participate in this call for tenders. Please note, however that I order to be valid the offer must comply with the requirements listed in the tender specifications.

5 Question no. 18: According to point of the Specification of the tender: the copies of the relevant supporting documents (CV, diplomas, certificates or other documents attesting of the professional experience) are accepted. However, at any time the originals of these documents may be asked by the Evaluation Committee. Does this also refer to all the evidence regarding the exclusion and selection criteria or just evidence regarding the professional experience of the tenderer? Do we need to provide the original versions of all the evidence documents (Extract from the Judicial Record, Certificate from tax department, Bank statements etc.) or are the copies of these documents also acceptable? Answer no. 18: I confirm that for the relevant supporting documents (CV, diplomas, certificates or other documents attesting of the professional experience), the copies are accepted. However, at any time the originals of these documents may be asked by the Evaluation Committee. Concerning the evidence related to the exclusion criteria (Extract from the Judicial Record, Certificate from tax department, Social Security contributions, Bank statements etc.), an original or a certified copy is required. As regards the VAT number, Registration Number, acts of foundation and balance sheets, a simple photocopy is enough. Question no. 19: Could you, please, confirm if these references will be counted as valid: purchase orders issued by our customer where it is clearly stated that the area of translation is one of the requested ones. Answer no. 19: In order to answer to question, please note that the order forms/purchase orders "issued by our customer where it is clearly stated that the area of translation is one of the requested ones" will not be taken into account by the Evaluation Committee because an order form is not an evidence that the translation work has been carried out by the tenderer. Furthermore, please note that it is the sole responsibility of the Evaluation Committee to examine if your offer complies with the requirements of the tender specifications including exclusion and selection criteria and only the Evaluation Committee can decide whether the provided evidences constitute a "sufficient proof" in the framework of the examination of your tender - Question no. 20: Must our freelance translators be nationals of a European Union country? Answer no. 20 The freelance translators proposed in your team are not required to be nationals of an EU Country. However the tenderer must comply with Art 3.2 of the tender specifications: "Tenderers must be nationals of a Member State of the European Union or have their head office or domicile in a Member State of the European Union, or of the European Economic Area, or in another state which has concluded an agreement on public procurement for the same category of services with the European Union and must provide proof thereof in accordance with their national legislation." -

6 Question no. 21: In relation to the exclusion criteria the second bullet in page 8 of the specifications specifies that: "The exclusion criteria will be assessed in relation to the tenderer and each proposed subcontractor". Does this mean that Part A points 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9 of the tender submission form should be submitted also for the subcontractor? Or is the submission of all the required documents by the tenderer together with the letter of intent by the subcontractor (Part A.1.3) enough? Answer no. 21: As mentioned in the blue box after point of the tender specifications "In case of joint offers by group/consortia of tenderers or of subcontracting, the exclusion criteria will apply both to the group and to each member of the group or both to the tenderer and to each its subcontractors. Each party (including subcontractors) must therefore provide the signed declaration and the related evidence requested." I confirm that point 1.6, 1.7, 1.8 and 1.9 of the tender submission form should be submitted for the tenderer and it(s) subcontractor(s). Moreover, as mentioned page 8 of the tender specifications: "Where your tender envisages subcontracting, your tender must include the documents requested Tender submission form (Part A - Point 1.3): a declaration with the proportion of the contract they intend to subcontract, the criteria for selecting documents for subcontracting, and the applicable contractual conditions and a letter of intent by each subcontractor stating their intention to collaborate with you if you are awarded the contract." Question no. 22: Individual translators working for a tenderer as freelancers are not to be considered as subcontractors. It depends on the contractual agreements between the parties concerned. Namely, what type of agreement is accepted or not regarding the subcontracting status? Answer no. 22: Please note however that individual translators working for a tenderer as freelancers are not to be considered as subcontractors. In fact point of the specifications states that the delimitation between subcontracting and freelance relationship mostly depends on the contractual obligations between the parties concerned. Subcontracting means the situation where a contract has been or is to be concluded between a tenderer and a subcontractor who, in order to carry out the services, enters into legal commitments with another entity to provide part of the service. It requires a formal contractual relationship between the main tenderer and the subcontractor. The subcontractor is, therefore, legally obliged to honour the contract entered into with the main tenderer. The main tenderer himself may only act as a kind of intermediate agent, but retains full liability for the execution of the contract towards the contracting authority and of course, is our only contractual partner. On the other hand, in the freelance relationship, neither the formal element nor the legal obligation exist for the freelancer. The latter can refuse the jobs offered by the tenderer. Therefore, if a tenderer relies on a number of freelancers who work more or less regularly but not exclusively for him, this shouldn't be considered as subcontracting. Individual translators working for a tenderer as freelancers are not to be considered as subcontractors

7 Question no. 23: The online form (table) contains only 8 rows to be filled in. Could you please clarify this point: do we understand it correctly that the maximum number of translators to be submitted for each lot is 8 translators? Do we understand it correctly that there is no additional space in the online form to provide details for more than 10 translators? Answer no. 23: There is no minimum number of translators in the proposed teams. It is up to the tenderer to decide about the appropriate size of the team proposed for carrying out the tasks. It is therefore possible to submit more tables if needed. Question no. 24: Would you kindly explain the reason why contact details should be included in the translators CVs? As far as I know you cannot contact the translators directly so what is the point in stating such details in the CV. It is obvious the translator exists if she/he signed the CV and therefore agrees to be included in the bid. We also attach his/her diploma and certificates so it is easy to verify the education. Answer no. 24: The contact details should be included in the translators' CVs in order to comply with the requirements of the tender specifications. Please note that the contact details for each translator is now required with the sole purpose of identifying the translator (for example through its invoices issued with the name of his/her company name). Question no. 25: May a freelancer individual/ a translation agency submit an offer as a legal entity and submit another offer as leader of joint-tender/consortium of freelancers/translation agencies? Answer no. 25: Regarding your question please be informed that Only one tender may be submitted per tenderer (freelancer or translation agency) to ensure genuine competition (see paragraph 5.1 of the tender specifications) Question no. 26: In which of the two boxes at the bottom of the Curriculum vitae form (point 4.4.1of the tender submission form) should individual translators working for a tenderer as freelancers sign? In the left one for natural persons only or in the right one for translators working for a tenderer? We don t see it clear given the fact that freelancers are also self-employed, or should they sign both boxes? Answer no. 26: The freelance translators proposed in your team must sign the CV on the right side under "I hereby declare that I am prepared to accept translation jobs from [name tenderer]" The left side concerns the freelance translators who submit an offer as self-employed

8 Question no. 27: In item 4.1 we are supposed to include a Detailed organisation chart and in item 4.2 it should be a Detailed description of the organisation (stating the tasks carried out by each member). Is it not possible to have all this info included in the Organisation chart of item 4.1? Should it really be 2 separate documents? Answer no. 27: You may recreate only one document for "the detailed organisation chart" and "the detailed description of the organisation" with all information required in the tender submission form Question no. 28: We are US-registered Translation Company with EU-based executives. I have read very carefully specifications. Clause 3.2 specifies the nationals of the tenderers. Will you, please, inform me if our Company is eligible for participation in this tender? Answer no. 28: As regards the participation to the Translation Centre's calls for tenders, tenderers must fulfil the required criteria listed in the tender specifications and in particular: "Assessment of the tenderers - Selection Criteria - Establishment, status and legal form: Tenderers must be nationals of a Member State of the European Union, or have their head office or domicile in a Member State of the European Union or of the European Economic Area, or in another state having concluded an agreement on public procurement for the same category of services, with the European Union covering the field of this call for tenders and applicable to the institutions." We understand by "tenderer" any natural or legal persons, answering to the exclusion, selection and award criteria mentioned in the tender specifications of the call for tenders Question no. 29: Quelle est la procédure pour récupérer une lettre de référence en rapport aux travaux de traduction que nous avons réalisé pour le CDT? Answer no. 29: Un certificat mentionnant les travaux de traduction réalisés pour le Centre de traduction peut être demandé au service «Demande Management Section» à l adresse suivante : (freelance_flosys@cdt.europa.eu) Question no. 30: In paragraph Language resources of the Tender Submission form, do we need to fill in the resources we use in the target language or in English as the in the remainder of the proposal? I am asking this because several titles and/or descriptions of these resources are in the target languages. Answer no. 30: As regards your question, please note that in accordance with point of the tender Specifications: "Tenders must be submitted in one of the official languages of the European Union. In order to ease and speed up the tender evaluation, English is the preferred language for submission. Nonetheless, the choice of language will not be relevant for the purpose of the tender evaluation." Question no. 31: Given that work on Sundays and public holidays is prohibited in some EU member states, will assignments respect any statutory overtime supplements in addition to the contracted rate per 1500 characters?

9 Answer no. 31: Please note that according to point of the tenders specifications The tender or price offer must be inclusive of all costs (management, secretariat, salaries, social security payments, office expenses, insurance, communications, handling and delivery of texts, access to terminology and documentary databases, etc.), exclusive of all taxes, duties and dues. Question no. 32: In the event that the delivery time falls on a day when CdT would normally be closed, will staff will be on hand to acknowledge receipt of the delivery or respond to urgent communications (not merely an autoresponse from a computer system)? Answer no. 32: Please note that CdT will make its best efforts in order to ensure that the delivery times are not falling on days when CdT is closed. In the event that the delivery time falls on a day when CdT is closed, no back-up is foreseen for urgent communications. Question no. 33: Does the timeframe of 3-5 days work to the physical day or from the time of receipt of the assignment? NB the Specifications stipulate that it is from the date on which file is dispatched by the CdT, which makes no allowance for possible delay in transmission. Answer no. 33: Please note that, as mentioned in point of the tender specifications, "The deadline depends on the length of the document and the urgency with which it is required. The agreed deadline is confirmed on the order form issued for the assignment. The deadline for delivery of the translation will be between three and five working days from the date on which the files are dispatched by the Translation Centre." Please also note that, under this project, we do not expect to receive exceptionally big documents. However, the deadline set in the order form shall take into account the length of the assigned document. If there are several documents in one order form, deadlines are not cumulative. Question no. 34: Is the timing of 3-5 days calculated according to the English method or the French (remembering that 'une quinzaine' - 15 days - is only a fortnight - 14 days - according to the English practice of starting the period on the following day and not counting both first and last days of the period, per the French method)? Answer no. 34: Please note that CdT will use the 24 hours method. For example, if a document is sent for translation on Monday at 16:00, it shall be delivered on Thursday at 16:00. Question no. 35: These two paragraphs appear contradictory in that simply requires contractors to receive/manage files in a standard localisation format whereas insists on the use of a particular provider, SDL Trados. Answer no. 35: Please note that the Translation Centre currently uses SDL Trados for the translation of texts in the fields referred to in these specifications. Therefore, the contractors will be required to use translation memory software that is fully compatible with the SDL XLIFF format.

10 Question no. 36: Please explain why translations prepared using other localization software, such as MemoQ, Memsource, Transit, Wordfast, XTM, Déjà Vu are not acceptable? Answer no. 36: Please note that the use of the SDL XLIFF format guarantees that all the settings are the same for all languages (without being necessary to share config. files or file type settings). Therefore, we must be sure about the perfect compatibility of the SDL XLIFF files with the corresponding projects and all the features and resources associated. Using SDL Trados products simply helps to meet this requirement but it doesn't mean other tools cannot be used as long as they are compatible with SDL XLIFF format. Question no. 37: If the CdT insists on the use of Trados, will it provide a free Trados licence, as previously offered, to all suppliers who have either nothing at present or who have opted for a different software? Explicitly, an open licence, not a 'one-year licence then pay your own fee'. Answer no. 37: Please note that in case of justified technical problems CdT will offer to its contractors, free of charges, an annually renewable SDL Trados Studio Starter licence. Question no. 38: How will the 'volume' of translation assignments be expressed in the enquiry, contract and order? As fractions and multiples of a standard page (defined as 1500 characters without spaces) or in number of characters? And, in either case, how will the fuzzy match be indicated? The concept of combining fuzzy matches with billing pages is new to everyone some work with words and fuzzy matches, others with billing pages, but hitherto, nobody is familiar with costing work with the two methods in combination. We need to be able to explain this to our suppliers. Answer no. 38: Please note that according to art. 4.1 of the draft contract In the case of translations carried out under this contract, the Translation Centre shall pay the Contractor a sum equal to the number of characters of source text multiplied by the price per one thousand and five hundred characters (i.e. one standard page) specified in Article 1.5, the number of characters being determined by the Translation Centre. The final page count is rounded upwards to the nearest half page. In the case of computer-assisted translations which have been pre-processed using computer-assisted translation software, the number of characters of source text shall be counted in proportion to the text wholly or partially pre-treated as follows: - 100% match and/or repetitions (C100)- the characters concerned shall be counted with a value of 20%; % match (C99)- the characters concerned shall be counted with a value of 50%; - less than 85% match (C85)- the characters concerned shall be counted with a value of 100%. The following formula will be applied: Total character count to be paid = (C100 * 0.2) + (C99 * 0.5) + C85. Please also note that all the necessary information regarding the volume of translation assignment, the fuzzy match breakdown and the billing will be provided in the translation request package (including the order form and its annexes). Question no. 39: Could you please provide us with samples of the texts to translate?

11 Answer no. 39: As the project corresponding to the calls for tenders CONSUM15 has not started yet, no samples of texts to translate can be provided. Question no. 40: Is the use of a relay language such as English acceptable for the rarest language pairs or do you require direct translation? Answer no. 40: Please note that CdT will accept relay translation. However, tenderers must make clear in their offers for which language combinations they are going to use relay translations. Question no. 41: According to the specifications, "The tenderer's translation experience into the target language for which the bid is made must be equivalent to 10,000 standard pages, in at least one of the following fields: Public Administration, Law or Mediation/Consumer Protection. Could you please clarify the term "Mediation/Consumer Protection"? Is this meant as two separate fields (experience in mediation or consumer protection) or as a single field to cover (mediation in the field of consumer protection?) Answer no. 41: Please note that the field "Mediation/Consumer protection" shall be regarded as two separate fields and both the experience in mediation field and in consumer protection field will be accepted. Question no. 42: The Contractor shall be required to send immediate confirmation of acceptance of the order by electronic means. No assignment can be refused. A refusal to accept an assignment may lead to immediate termination of the contract by the Translation Centre pursuant to Art a). So far, in previous and ongoing contracts, this requirement didn t exist. If the Translation Centre cannot give any information about expected volumes of work, we are quite hesitant in participating in this tender; what if you send e.g. 50 pages to be delivered the next day? Answer no. 42: Please note that, as mentioned in point of the tender specifications, "The deadline depends on the length of the document and the urgency with which it is required. The agreed deadline is confirmed on the order form issued for the assignment. The deadline for delivery of the translation will be between three and five working days from the date on which the files are dispatched by the Translation Centre." Please also note that, under this project, we do not expect to receive exceptionally big documents. However, the deadline set in the order form shall take into account the length of each assigned document. If there are several documents in one order form, deadlines are not cumulative. Question no. 43: Non-editable files If these files are pre-treated by the CDT, there must be an editable format available anyway. Do we understand that correctly? If so, is the CDT going to send us an sdlxliff-file of these items? Answer no. 43: It will not be always possible to pre-treat the non-editable files; in that case, there will be no sdlxliff file associated; the contractor shall be able therefore to handle those files. In any case, if the file was pretreated, the contractor will receive the package containing the sdlxliff.

12 Question no. 44: May official documentation be signed by an authorized officer using the e-signature tool DocuSign? Answer no. 44: Please note that the file needs to be printed and sent in hardcopy. As a consequence, the electronic signature system must show that the document has been properly signed. Question no. 45: In the tender documentation it is unclear whether the applicant for the tender has to have a minimum of 10,000 pages for the lot it is applying for all language combinations together, regardless of the number of languages. Answer no. 45: Please note that, as regards the translation experience of the tenderer, the minimum required is 10,000 pages "into the target language for which the bid is made". The minimum requirements shall be covered, for each call for tenders, by tenderer's translation experience into the target language irrespective of the source language(s). Question no. 46: In case the tenderer is not able to provide proof of experience of 10,000 standard pages, can we rely on the experience of our freelance translators-subcontractors? Answer no. 46: Please note that according to point of the tender specifications "Individual translators working for a tenderer as freelancers are not to be considered as subcontractors. It depends on the contractual agreements between the parties concerned. Where your tender envisages subcontracting, it must include the documents requested Tender submission form (Part A paragraph 1.3): - a declaration with the proportion of the contract they intend to subcontract, the criteria for selecting documents for subcontracting, and the applicable contractual conditions; - a letter of intent by each subcontractor stating their intention to collaborate with you if you are awarded the contract." Please also note that, according to the same point "Offers involving subcontracting will be assessed as follows: The exclusion criteria will be assessed in relation to the tenderer and each proposed subcontractor. The selection criteria for economic, financial, technical and professional capacity will be evaluated in relation to the combined capacities of the tenderer and all proposed subcontractors as a whole. The award criteria will be assessed in relation to the tenderer and all proposed subcontractors as a whole." Please note that an offer based on subcontracting must contain all the required documents listed in the tender specifications, and in particular concerning exclusion criteria. Question no. 47: Concerning the tenderer s experience, is it necessary to enclose copies of evidence for each lot, or considering that experience into the target language is required - can we enclose it just once avoiding to supply 24 copies?

13 Answer no. 47: Concerning the tenderer's experience, as the minimum requirements shall be covered, for each call for tenders, by tenderer's translation experience into the target language, you can enclose the required evidence only once for each call for tenders. Please note that if you apply to more than one call for tenders (ie more than one target language), you will have to enclose the document in each file. Question no. 48: Concerning translators, as a number of them are included in several lots, shall we enclose all documents in each lot or is it possible to refer to the pages in a previous lot? Answer no. 48: Please note that, according to the Tender submission form, "For qualification to be taken into account, tenderers must provide the following documentation, and in this order, for each lot they tender for - the online form Qualifications of the translation team proposed - the Curriculum Vitae signed and with all contact details, for each translator proposed - the photocopy (ies) of diploma(s) for each translator proposed". Question no. 49: How many framework contracts will be agreed per lot/in total for this tender? Answer no. 49: Please be informed that, according to point 1.4 of the tender specifications, "Successful tenderers will be offered a framework contract". "The framework contract will enter into force on the date stated therein and will be awarded for an initial period of 12 months. On expiry of this period, framework contracts may be renewed by tacit agreement for up to three one-year periods, i.e. the total duration may not exceed four years." Question no. 50: Our company, along with other companies, has formed a consortium to provide translation services to one of the European institutions. The consortium (as a service provider under particular contract) has received a reference letter from the respective European institution confirming in detail the source and the target languages, as well as the volumes in the relevant language combinations that have been translated by our consortium. Would a letter from our parent company (which is representing our consortium and is responsible for managing and coordinating the service on behalf of the group) highlighting the target languages covered by our company be considered? Answer no. 50: Please note that, under point of the tender specifications it is clearly mentioned that: "For experience to be taken into account it must be accompanied by some acceptable form of proof, such as reference letters, or certificates, all of which must clearly indicate the volume of work done, the task executed (translation work), the language combination, the name of tenderer and the field concerned in order to be considered as valid. Letters of reference and certificates must be issued on paper with the letterhead of the certifier s entity. They must be signed and the contact details of the person signing must be clearly indicated in order to be considered valid. In this context, self-declarations or evidence not endorsed by a third party cannot and will not be accepted. " Therefore, a certificate signed by your parent company will be considered as a self-declaration and will not be accepted.

14 Question no. 51: Pre-treated files We assume that the pre-treated segments are fully reliable and that these parts do not need to be revised anymore? Answer no. 51: The pre-treated segments can be considered as fully reliable; however, the CdT expects the translator to guarantee the consistency of the entire document; this shall be covered by the amount paid for the pretreated segment (i.e. 20% for the 100% full match,..).