Negotiated procedure for a low value contract: Provision of services on the fundamental rights implications of large-scale EU IT systems and their interoperability in the area of migration and security

The required services consist of the development of five deliverables that FRA will be using as part of its engagement with stakeholders in this specific field of work:

1. Finalisation of the draft content of an awareness raising tool which will be made available through an online platform whose aim is to raise awareness amongst civil society organisations about the EU IT systems and their interoperability. (approximately 90 pages).
2. Delivering of a document on the practical fundamental rights implications of the Entry/Exit System to support the work of relevant EU Member States’ authorities, including immigration authorities, border guards, visa, and law enforcement authorities (approximately 5 pages).
3. Delivering a document on the practical fundamental rights implications of the ETIAS system to support the work of border and immigration officials (approximately 10 pages).
4. Delivering a document on the practical fundamental rights implications of the upgraded VIS system to support the work of border, visa and immigration officials (approximately 10 pages).
5. Drafting a document on the main fundamental rights risks and safeguards of the Interoperability of EU IT systems, focusing on the verification of the links under the Multiple Identity Detector’s (MID) (approximately 10 pages).

The deliverables should rely on desk research and legal analysis of the impact of the EU large-scale IT systems and their interoperability on fundamental rights. This will entail analysis of the fundamental rights risks involved and the safeguards provided in the legal instruments of the new generation of and upgraded EU large-scale databases and their interoperability, with reference to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR), relevant EU secondary law (in the fields of data protection, asylum and migration and criminal law), and relevant jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. It will also entail the review of current FRA publications and other material of EU Institutions and Bodies, think tanks, academia and civil society.

The duration of the contract is expected at 6 months from contract signature.

Technical and professional capacity

The contractor shall propose one or more experts meeting at least the minimum criteria below:

Key expert(s)

• University degree at least Bachelor or above (preferably in Law).
• Proven experience (after the completion of the Bachelor degree), of at least (3) years relating to EU law in the area of data protection or asylum and immigration.
• Knowledge of legal aspects of the EU large-scale IT systems and their interoperability in the area of border, asylum, visa and security, supported by at least one of the following:
  • relevant publication (this can include articles in peer reviewed journals or authorship of reports for research projects), or
  • PhD thesis/Master’s dissertation, or
  • participation in a project – i.e., academic research, applied research, technical assistance, consultancy etc.

The expert/expert(s) should cover all the above mentioned areas:

• EU law in asylum and immigration
• EU law in data protection
• Legal aspects of the EU large-scale IT systems and their interoperability in the area of border, asylum, visa and security

No documents proving the fulfilment of these criteria are requested at this stage.

Participation in this negotiated procedure for a low value contract is open to natural and legal persons falling within the scope of the EU Treaties (this includes all economic operators established in the European Union) and to all natural and legal persons in a third country which has a special agreement with the Union in the field of public procurement on the conditions laid down in that agreement. The FRA is not part of the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) concluded within the World Trade Organisation. Therefore, FRA’s procurement procedures are not open to tenderers from GPA countries.

If you are interested to be invited to join this negotiated procedure please register your interest by e-mail (procurement@fra.europa.eu ), including your contact details (name, organisation, address, country and e-mail) by 8 November 2021 (17:00 CEST (+02:00)).

Please note that registration of interest to participate in the above-mentioned procedure does not give rise to any legitimate expectations to be invited.