21.5.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 134/22

(1)

TARGET2-Securities (hereinafter ‘T2S’) aims to facilitate post-trading integration by offering core, neutral and borderless pan-European cash and securities settlement in central bank money so that central securities depositories (CSDs) can provide their customers with harmonised and commoditised delivery-versus-payment settlement services in an integrated technical environment with cross-border capabilities.

(2)

In the context of the Third Interim T2S Progress Report, in February 2010, the T2S Programme Board decided that the Deutsche Bundesbank, the Banco de España, the Banque de France and the Banca d’Italia (hereinafter the ‘4CB’) would make necessary preparations to have up to three T2S network service providers to provide connectivity services to the T2S platform and that the Banca d’Italia would lead the selection procedure.

(3)

In the context of the Fourth T2S Progress Report, at its meeting of 21 April 2010, the Governing Council decided that the network provision in T2S would be subject to a competition and that a maximum of three licences would be granted.

(4)

In the context of the Fifth T2S Progress Report, in July 2010, the T2S Programme Board decided that the Banca d’Italia would act as the operating arm of the Eurosystem for the selection procedure. It also decided that the T2S Programme Board would be responsible for designating the selection panel members since the Eurosystem central banks would be responsible and liable for the selection criteria and for the outcome of the selection panel’s decision based on the selection criteria. The Banca d’Italia would be responsible for correctly conducting the selection procedure and its specific liability related to the selection procedure would be separate from the liability assumed by the 4CB under the Level 2-Level 3 agreement.

(5)

On 13 August 2010, the T2S Programme Board decided that the Banca d’Italia’s liability should be specified more precisely in a mandate from the Eurosystem central banks to the Banca d’Italia to carry out the selection procedure.

(6)

The purpose of the selection procedure is to entrust network service providers to provide a set of predefined connectivity services, on the basis of which the T2S network service providers design, implement, deliver and operate connectivity solutions intended to securely exchange business information between the directly connected T2S actors and the T2S platform.

(7)

Although a selection procedure for T2S network service providers falls outside the scope of Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts (1), the rules laid down in Directive 2004/18/EC, the procedures laid down in Decision ECB/2008/17 of 17 November 2008 laying down the framework for joint Eurosystem procurement (2) and the national law implementing Directive 2004/18/EC where applicable to the mandated central bank should be used as general guidelines.

(8)

Banca d’Italia has been appointed by the Governing Council to carry out the selection procedure for T2S network service providers.

(9)

Banca d’Italia had accepted the appointment and has confirmed its willingness to act in accordance with this Decision,

(a)

‘central bank’ means the European Central Bank (ECB) or a euro area national central bank (NCB) or another central bank that makes its currency available in T2S;

(b)

‘central securities depository’ (CSD) means an entity that: (a) enables securities transactions to be processed and settled by book entry; (b) provides custodial services, e.g. the administration of corporate actions and redemptions; and (c) plays an active role in ensuring the integrity of issues of securities;

(c)

‘T2S Programme Board’ means the Eurosystem management body established pursuant to Decision ECB/2009/6 of 19 March 2009 on the establishment of the TARGET2-Securities Programme Board (3), which has the task of developing proposals for the Governing Council on key strategic issues and executing tasks of a purely technical nature in relation to T2S, or its successor;

(d)

‘T2S network service provider’ means a network service provider that has signed a licence agreement to provide connectivity services;

(e)

‘connectivity services’ means the direct network connection to the T2S platform that a directly connected T2S actor requires a T2S network service provider to provide in order to benefit from, or perform tasks and responsibilities related to, the T2S services;

(f)

‘licence’ means the act of conferring the right as granted by the Eurosystem central banks to a T2S network service provider to provide to the directly connected T2S actors a set of predefined connectivity services, on the basis of which a T2S network service provider shall design, implement, deliver and operate solutions intended to exchange securely electronic data between the directly connected T2S actors and the T2S platform;

(g)

‘selection panel’ means a panel of five experts composed of one representative from each of the mandated central bank (acting as chairperson), the 4CB and EPCO, as well as two representatives from the Eurosystem central banks, each of them designated by the T2S Programme Board and formally appointed by the mandated central bank;

(h)

‘Eurosystem Procurement Coordination Office’ (EPCO) means the body created under Decision 2008/893/EC (ECB/2008/17) to coordinate joint Eurosystem procurement;

(i)

‘Eurosystem central bank’ means either a euro area NCB or the ECB;

(j)

‘Level 2-Level 3 agreement’ means the supply and operation agreement that is negotiated between the T2S Programme Board and the 4CB, endorsed by the Governing Council and subsequently signed by the Eurosystem central banks and the 4CB. It contains the additional details of the tasks and responsibilities of the 4CB, the T2S Programme Board and the Eurosystem central banks;

(k)

‘directly connected T2S actor’ means any entity that is authorised to exchange electronic data with the T2S platform;

(l)

‘mandated central bank’ means the euro area NCB appointed by the Governing Council to conduct the selection procedure for the T2S network service providers and vested by the Eurosystem central banks with the power to sign the licence agreements with the selected participants in the name and interest of the Eurosystem central banks;

(m)

‘T2S services’ means the services to be provided by the Eurosystem central banks to CSDs and central banks;

(n)

‘licence agreement’ means an agreement governed by German law, as proposed by the T2S Programme Board and approved by the Governing Council, setting out the reciprocal rights and obligations of the Eurosystem central banks and of the relevant T2S network service provider;

(o)

‘selected participant’ means a participant in the selection procedure for the T2S network service providers that has been awarded a licence agreement;

(p)

‘contract notice’ means the notice of the selection procedure to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and in the national official journal of the Member State where the mandated central bank is located;

(q)

‘awarding rules’ means the detailed rules governing the selection procedure constituting part of the selection acts to be published;

(r)

‘selection acts’ means the award announcement, the contract notice, as well as the awarding rules, and their annexes and attachments;

(s)

‘euro area NCB’ means the NCB of a Member State whose currency is the euro;

(t)

‘proof of concept’ means a test to be performed by a T2S network service provider after the signature of the licence agreement, aimed at verifying the compliance of its offered solution with basic functional, resilience and security requirements;

(u)

‘go-live date’ means the date on which the first CSD starts using the T2S services.

(a)

carry out the selection procedure for T2S network service providers in full cooperation with the T2S Programme Board and the selection panel, in its own name and in the interest of the Eurosystem central banks, by providing the material and human resources required to ensure that the selection procedure complies with the law applicable in the Member State of the mandated central bank; and

(b)

in line with the selection panel’s decision, sign the relevant licence agreement in the name and interest of the Eurosystem central banks, with the total number of T2S network service providers not exceeding two at any given time.

(a)

it shall carry out an open procedure for the award of the licences whereby any interested economic operator may submit an offer;

(b)

all selection acts shall be prepared jointly by the Eurosystem central banks and the mandated central bank, and approved by the T2S Programme Board;

(c)

the T2S network service providers shall be selected on the basis of the lowest maximum price for a standard set of services to be provided to the community of directly connected T2S actors, according to the model approved by the T2S Programme Board;

(d)

all selection acts shall be published in English. The mandated central bank may also publish the contract notice in its official language. The participants in the selection procedure shall submit their offers and all supplemental documents in English;

(e)

the mandated central bank shall specify in the contract notice that the selection procedure is carried out in its name and interest as well as in the interest of the Eurosystem central banks;

(f)

the mandated central bank shall publish the contract notice at a minimum in: (i) the Official Journal of the European Union; (ii) the national official journal used for contract notices by the mandated central bank; (iii) two national newspapers; and (iv) the Financial Times and The Economist. The selection acts shall be published on the mandated central bank’s website. The contract notice shall also be published on the ECB’s website, with a link to the mandated central bank’s website in order to enable access to all the selection acts;

(g)

the mandated central bank shall respond to requests for clarification in the selection procedure sent to the e-mail address specified in the contract notice. Any such response shall be published by the mandated central bank and the ECB on their respective websites;

(h)

selection panel members shall be designated by the T2S Programme Board and formally appointed by the mandated central bank immediately after the end of the bidding period;

(i)

selection panel members shall be obliged to sign the declaration of absence of conflict of interest that has been approved by the T2S Programme Board;

(j)

the mandated central bank shall undertake the operational aspects of the selection procedure;

(k)

the selection panel shall, inter alia, examine the administrative and technical documentation, and decide on the exclusion from the selection procedure of participants not fulfilling the participation requirements. The selection panel shall evaluate abnormally low offers pursuant to the rules laid down in the selection acts. The selection panel shall rank the participants not excluded from the selection procedure in increasing order of their economic offers;

(l)

The mandated central bank shall formally communicate all of the selection panel’s decisions to the participants concerned using a secure and prompt means of written communication.