LIFE blow in a hotel in Prague

Can you get 300 million euros for your services for more than two decades, without interruption? You might think that’s not possible in an open competitive market, right? Well, yes it can if you have the right friends in Brussels. The LIFE program, a flagship initiative of European environmental policy now under the direct responsibility of the independent agency EASME, has clearly demonstrated this.

There is a large consortium of companies which has won all tenders for the supervision of LIFE. They know how to play the game and the whole market knows that the LIFE program follow-up call for tenders is reserved for them. This common belief discourages other companies from even trying to participate in the respective tender.

But how does the Blessed Consortium play the game? According to Kassandra’s sources, this consortium “strategically†organized a conference with key staff from EASME and DG ENV weeks before the tender deadline when the tender was open, as their competitors worked in the dark trying to understand and meet the requirements of the tender. Indeed, a week’s “working holiday†in a luxury hotel in Prague seems like an ideal environment.

A perfect place to quietly get all the right information on how to impress your “reviewersâ€, to discuss the dos and don’ts of the process, and thus get a head start on the appeals process. ‘offers while your competition continues to dream.

The bigger question is whether, Julien warrior, the Director General of EASME has an idea of ​​the Prague conference or the reasons why the tender has historically been awarded to a particular consortium.

What is certain is that many in the arena already know who will be the winner of the tender. It might be easier to award the tender now and save money by removing barriers from review boards and the like.

Hyperbole aside, has anyone wondered if this conference was tenderly neutral? Has anyone checked whether the topics covered and the advice given were important to the candidates for the tender? In Prague our “hardworking†people had wonderful sessions during the day, followed by relaxing dinners under the stars to create the right atmosphere. But the machine does not stop there.

There are rumors that some lucky Commission staff in Prague will be evaluating this offer. Well that’s something for the Director General of EASME Julien warrior to investigate before signing another contract for 80 million euros of taxpayer money with the same consortium. Europe needs transparency, not only in principle but in practice.

More on this, soon in Kassandra …