WORKING WITH DG ECHO AS AN NGO PARTNER | 2021 - 2027
SUSPENSION & WITHDRAWAL OF CERTIFICATE
SUSPENSION
The Commission (DG ECHO) may suspend the Certificate if it suspects that the partner either no longer complies with the conditions and criteria under which the Certificate was awarded or has breached the commitments it undertook to comply with under the Certificate.
If the Commission (DG ECHO) considers that the partner no longer complies with the eligibility and suitability criteria to become a partner, or in the event where the partner would be in material breach of one of the commitments undertaken under the Certificate (e.g. non-submission of the annual PSEAH reporting), DG ECHO may decide to suspend the Certificate of the partner until further information is received.
DG ECHO may take such a decision either as a result of the analysis of information submitted within the periodic assessment or of information obtained through other sources (e.g. audit, information from other donors, publicly available information on the partner etc.).
PROCEDURE FOR SUSPENSION
CONSEQUENCES AND DURATION OF THE SUSPENSION OF THE CERTIFICATE
- While the suspension of the Certificate does not automatically lead to the suspension of on-going grant agreements, the Commission (DG ECHO) has to consider whether the grounds based on which the Certificate was suspended would also affect the partner’s capacity to properly implement on-going actions. Such a critical review can lead to the Commission (DG ECHO) deciding to suspend some or all of the on-going grant agreements. More information on the conditions for suspending grant agreements will be found in the Annotated Grant Agreement (see explanation in section 2 page 5). The suspension of the Certificate makes it impossible for the Commission (DG ECHO) to award new funding after the beginning of the suspension.
- During the suspension, the partner is not eligible for new funding.
- Any grant agreement (GA) signed before the suspension will be completed and liquidated under the terms of the GA unless a specific decision is made to suspend a given GA based on the applicable provisions thereof.
- When grounds for suspension are no longer present, suspension will be lifted.
More information on the suspension can be found in the EU Humanitarian Partnership Certificate 2021 Guidance – Chapter 2.8
WITHDRAWAL
A) UNILATERAL RENUNCIATION BY THE PARTNER
The partner can decide at any time not to submit proposals any longer. However, in such a situation, the commitments undertaken by partners under the Certificate continue to apply unless and until the partner concerned informs the Commission (DG ECHO) that it renounces its Certification.
A renunciation of Certification needs to be submitted through formal notification signed by an authorised representative and will lead to the withdrawal of the Certificate as of the date on which the renunciation notice is received by DG ECHO (as evidenced by the acknowledgement of receipt or equivalent evidence to be returned to the partner as sender) unless a later date is specified in said notice.
Send notification to: European Commission, DG ECHO, Unit E1, responsible for relations with NGOs, B-1049 Brussels, Belgium ECHO-APPEL@ec.europa.eu
The partner will cease to be bound by the commitments undertaken under the Certificate as of the date on which the Certificate is withdrawn. It would therefore be recommended to renounce the Certificate only when the partner does not have any on-going EU funded humanitarian actions.
B) WITHDRAWAL BY DG ECHO
The Commission (DG ECHO) can decide to withdraw the Certificate if the partner either no longer complies with the conditions and criteria under which it was awarded or has been found to have breached the commitments it undertook to comply with under the Certificate.
PROCEDURE
CONSEQUENCES
The withdrawal of the Certificate makes it impossible for the Commission (DG ECHO) to award new funding to the partner concerned, and the partner may no longer submit proposals.
While the withdrawal of the Certificate does not automatically lead to the termination of on-going grant agreements, the Commission (DG ECHO) has to consider whether the grounds based on which the Certificate was withdrawn would also affect the partner’s capacity to properly implement on-going actions. Such a critical review can lead to the Commission (DG ECHO) deciding to terminate some or all of the on-going grant agreements. More information on the conditions for termination of grant agreements will be found in the Annotated Grant Agreement (see explanation in section 2 page 5).
More information on the withdrawal can be found in the EU Humanitarian Partnership Certificate 2021 Guidance – Chapter 2.8.
