Procedure for submission of a joint proposal under Article 57(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696
1. The applicant Member Statesshall draft a joint proposaland submit it to the Commission. The proposal is to comply with the criteria listed in Article 57(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696, as set out in Article 7 of this Decision.
2. The Commission shall evaluate the proposal. The Commission may communicate with the applicant Member States by sending questions and comments on the proposal to the Member State contact point referred to in Article 7(1). Applicant Member States shall reply within four weeks and, if appropriate, update the proposal. The answers shall be sent by the Member State designated to serve as contact point in the exchanges with the Commission according to Article 7(1).
3. Applicant Member States shall be informed of the outcome of the analysis performed by the Commission both by registered post mail and in electronic format.
4. The proposal referred to in paragraph 1 shall be submitted within a period of 18 months after the publication of Regulation (EU) 2021/696. Upon the request of the Member States or the Commission, that period can be extended by 3 months.
Procedural steps for submission of a proposal under Article 57(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696
Where no joint proposal has been submitted in accordance with Article 57(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 or the Commission considers that a joint proposal thus submitted does not comply with the criteria listed in Article 57(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696, a second phase shall be opened. That phase shall comprise the following steps:
(1)
At least five applicant Member States shall draft one or several proposals and submit them to the Commission. Each Member State may be part of only one proposal. The proposal(s) shall comply with the criteria listed in Article 57(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696, as set out in Article 7 of this Decision.
(2)
The Commission shall evaluate the proposal(s). The Commission may communicate with the applicant Member States by sending questions and comments on the proposal to the Member States’ contact points mentioned in Article 7. Applicant Member States shall reply within four weeks and if appropriate update the proposal. The answers shall be sent by the Member State designated to serve as contact point in the exchanges with the Commission pursuant to Article 7(1).
(3)
In case of a single proposal, the Commission shall evaluate if the criteria listed in Article 57(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696, as set out in this Decision, are fulfilled.
(4)
In case of several proposals, the Commission shall select the offer which ensures the best performance taking into account the fulfilment of the selection’s criteria. The selection shall be based on the criteria listed in Article 57(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696, as set out in this Decision. The Commission shall take into consideration the following qualitative elements:
(a)
the best functional and technical architecture;
(b)
the principle of avoidance of unnecessary duplication;
(c)
the demonstration of the performance of the SST system proposed.
(5)
Proposal(s) referred to paragraph 1 shall be submitted within 2 months after the decision of the Commission, in accordance with Article 57(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 to reject a joint proposal or 2 months after the end of the deadline established in Article 4(4) in case no joint proposal has been submitted in accordance with Article 57(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696.
Signature, publication of the information and other arrangements
1. The Constituting National Entities shall sign the SST Partnership Agreement within six weeks after the acceptance of the proposal by the Commission. If no such agreement is signed, the procedure of Article 57(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 shall be initiated.
2. The SST Partnership Agreement shall be sent to the Commission by registered post mail or by any other mean attesting the effective date of delivery and the validity of the document, including by electronic signature.
3. The Commission shall publish on its website the list of the Participating Member States.
4. The SST Partnership shall establish direct contact with the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)regarding the activities of the SST Front Desk in order to conclude the necessary implementing arrangements laid down in Article 59 of Regulation (EU) 2021/696.
