53. Concerning the call “Open accommodation centres for vulnerable asylum seekers in Greece”, we would like to pose the following questions: 1) In the case of the operation of an accommodation centre for non-UAM is it an eligible expenditure to provide to the beneficiaries cash assistance in order to meet their own nutritional and personal hygiene needs? 2) As our organization is not a public authority (nor it is supervised by another public body), in the case of a public procurement we are to comply with N.4412, but do we have to meet also the obligation for KIMDIS (ΚΗΜΔΗΣ) (as for our understanding it only applies to procurements for public entities, plus the project funds are not public funds nor funds partially under ESF)?

  1. In principle, cash assistance is not an eligible expenditure under this call. The project should provide case management activities to support the beneficiaries accessing the existing protection system including cash assistance if eligible.
  2. Τhe public procurement procedure describes the rules and principles that should govern the purchase of all goods or services acquired through the financing of the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021. This procedure binds all the Programmes partners and, in particular, both the Fund Operator and the project promoters and /or project partners that will come out of the open call procedure, as well as those who implement pre-defined projects. Whenever purchases are made and contracts are awarded to external suppliers, as part of the implementation of the Programmes, Programmes partners have to be in a position to demonstrate the good use of public funds. The principles of transparency, non-discrimination and equal treatment have to be respected and conditions of effective competition must be ensured. Public contracts awarded in the context of the implementation of the Programs and projects should be in compliance with: a) the National Law 4412 (Official Gazette A ‘147 / 08-08-2016) and b) the European Union law on public procurement. Notwithstanding provisions of national law that exempt NGOs from public procurement, any procurement procedures related to amounts above the European Union thresholds for procurement shall be undertaken in accordance with the applicable laws on procurement without regard for such an exemption.