PARTNERSHIP
Credit: © 2018 European Union Dominique Catton
The HAR, though not providing a definition of MSSAs beyond the requirement of establishment in the EU, provides guidance on the criteria that any potential DG ECHO partner that wishes to implement humanitarian actions with Union funding, needs to comply with.
WHAT ARE THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA?
Based on the above, entities wishing to be recognised as an MSSA by DG ECHO must comply with the following criteria:
1. Legal registration in a Member State
An MSSA should be an entity established in a Member State of the EU according to Article 62.1 (c) of the Financial Regulation, either as:
- a private law entity with a public service mission. Bodies governed by private law, set up in a Member State of the EU, must be officially endowed with a public-service mission in the area of humanitarian aid by a specific act or decision of, or in agreement with, the relevant authorities of one of the Member States of the EU. In the absence of such an act or decision, the entity needs to be effectively controlled by the relevant authorities so that it can, therefore, be considered as an emanation of the same, acting solely or at least predominately in the pursuit of a public service mission.
2. Legal personality
An MSSA must have sufficient legal personality so as to have the authority to undertake legal obligations, sign contracts, benefit from external funding and justify its costs.
3. Humanitarian mandate and respect for humanitarian principles
Applicant MSSAs must be active in the field of humanitarian aid; their mandate shall relate to the objectives and general principles of humanitarian aid, as outlined in Article 2 of the HAR, and they shall have at least three years of proven relevant experience in the field of humanitarian aid. Applicant MSSA must also commit to respect the fundamental humanitarian principles:
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Humanity: human suffering must be addressed wherever it is found with particular attention to the most vulnerable in the population. The dignity of all victims must be respected and protected.
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Neutrality: humanitarian aid must not favour any side in an armed conflict or other dispute.
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Impartiality: humanitarian aid must be provided solely on the basis of need, without discrimination between or within affected populations.
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Respect for independence means the autonomy of humanitarian objectives from political, economic, military or other objectives, and serves to ensure that the sole purpose of humanitarian aid remains to relieve and prevent the suffering of victims of humanitarian crises.
4. Financial solidity
Applicant MSSAs that are private law bodies must provide adequate financial guarantees. Such financial guarantees will notably be deemed to exist where public authorities act as guarantor.
5. Procurement procedure
Applicants qualifying as a Contracting Authority under EU Public Procurement Directives will only have to inform ECHO that it is bound by EU procurement rules.
Where it is not the case, the applicant will be required to provide documentation detailing its procurement procedures. These procurement procedures have to comply with the Principles and Procedures applicable to procurement contracts awarded within the framework of humanitarian aid actions financed by the European Union.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
To obtain recognition as an MSSA by ECHO, entities complying with the above criteria, need to submit an Application form. It is to be accompanied by supporting documentation through which the applicant demonstrates compliance with the above criteria. Non-submission of the required supporting documents may result in the rejection of the application.
The Application form and the supporting documents must be returned to ECHO to the following e-mail address: ECHO-APPEL@ec.europa.eu.
The application will be considered formally received when the signed Application form, together with all the required supporting documents, is registered by ECHO. This will be communicated to the applicant.
If your entity is pillar assessed by the European Commission, before launching your application process please reach out to DG ECHO to the following email address: ECHO-APPEL@ec.europa.eu
RECOGNITION AS MSSA
ECHO will then assess the application. It will formally inform the applicant in writing of the outcome of the application.
During the course of the assessment, if needed, ECHO will request specific documents and additional information from the applicant or the national authorities of the applicant's Member State of establishment and carry out verification missions at the headquarters of the applicant. Failure to provide ECHO with the requested information or documentation may be considered by ECHO as a renunciation of the application and the assessment process will be discontinued and closed. In such a case, the applicant will be informed formally and in writing thereof.
If the outcome of the assessment is successful, the applicant will be informed formally and in writing thereof and the applicant will be recognised as an MSSA by ECHO. As MSSAs do not sign a Partnership Agreement with ECHO and neither are awarded an EU Humanitarian Partnership Certificate, the MSSA in question will be asked to acknowledge its acceptance of the relevant terms and conditions (contractual template) to be used in the event where the MSSA would request and be awarded Union funding.
REFERENCE & DOCUMENTS
MSSAS APPLICATION FORM PDF
EN
MSSAS APPLICATION FORM WORD
EN
