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Exceptions: Please note that the following Contribution Agreements are not yet managed in OPSYS:

• Contribution Agreements with Financial Instruments (CAFI)
• Contribution Agreements in foreign currency (other than in EUR)
• Contribution Agreements in direct management (including Calls for Proposals)
• Sensitive contracts (non-classified)

1.2.1 Which Contribution Agreements are managed in OPSYS

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For the moment,standard Contribution Agreements in EUROS and without multi-partner signature (including Contribution Agreements with Blending) are managed in OPSYS through the electronic workflow and signature of the corresponding contract.

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• Contribution Agreements with multi-partner signature

Note
Please note that the paper workflow and signature must be used if there is a possibility of additional partners in the future, even if it is currently not the case.

• Contribution Agreements with PIC linked to the LEF of the parent entityContribution Agreements with Financial Instruments (CAFI)
• Contribution Agreements with European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
• Contribution Agreements with European Investment Bank (EIB)
• Contribution Administration Agreements with World Bank Group (WBG)

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There is currently no change in the procedure for the following Contribution Agreements**, which are not yet managed in OPSYS:

• Contribution Agreements in foreign currencywith Financial Instruments (CAFI)
• Contribution Agreements in foreign currency (other than in EUR)
• Contribution Agreements in direct direct management (including Calls for Proposals)
• Sensitive contracts (non-classified)

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• Electronic workflow and signature
• Paper workflow and signature

Note
Reminder – The paper workflow and signature must be used if there is a possibility of additional partners in the future, even if it is currently not the case.

Each workflow contains two tracks (external and internal) that represent the processes to be performed by the responsible role(s) in the system, and by either the external EC Partner (the Organisation), or internal EC Services (the Contracting Authority).

Note
Please note that all roles (Organisation or Project/Contract) will need to register for an EU Login Account. Please view the EU Login Guide for more information on the creation and activation of an EU Login account.

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The diagram below illustrates the processes involved for the electronic workflow and signature of standard Contribution Agreements in OPSYS.

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For Contribution Agreements using the paper workflow and signature (QES/Blue ink), the processes involved are similar (as illustrated below), except that no LEAR and legal and financial signatories need to be nominated in the system by the Organisation, as the signature of the Contribution Agreement will be performed outside of OPSYS. However, and during the negotiation stage (i.e. before the preparation of the contract), the representative of the Organisation will need to communicate the details of the PCoCo to the Contracting Authority. The PCoCo is responsible for all aspects relating to the management of the contract (once signed), including contract deliverables and amendments (if applicable), through the Funding and Tenders Portal.

The diagram below illustrates the processes involved for the paper workflow and signature of standard Contribution Agreements in OPSYS.

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Please find below a table overview of the processes involved in the external workflow, including links to the corresponding sections (where relevant):

Process:	Role(s) – internal or external:	Electronic Workflow and Signature:	Paper Workflow and Signature:
PIC Registration	Self-registrant (SR - external)	Yes	Yes
LEAR Appointment	Legal Representative (LR - external)	Yes	optional
PIC Validation	Self-registrant (SR - external), in coordination with REA CVS (internal)	Yes	Yes
Nominate Procurement LSIGN/FSIGN	LEAR (external)	Yes	optional
Communicate PCoCo	Legal representative of the Organisation (LR - external)	Yes	Yes
Assign PLSIGN/PFSIGNCLSIGN	Procurement LSIGN PCoCo (external)	Yes, if needed.	optional
Contract Signature
e-Signature	PLSIGNProcurement LSIGN/PFSIGN CLSIGN (external) AO (internal)	Yes	No
Paper signature (QES/blue ink)	Legal representatives of both parties (Organisation and Contracting Authority)	No	Yes, signatures are processed outside the system.
Pre-financing	(Internal process)	Yes, if applicable.	Yes, if applicable
Manage Deliverables	CoCo/PCoCo (external) OIA (internal)	Yes, if applicable.	Yes, if applicable.
Contract Amendments	CoCo/PCoCo, PLSIGNProcurement LSIGN/PFSIGN CLSIGN (external) OIA, FIA, OVA, FVA, AO (internal)	Yes, if applicable.	Yes, if applicable. Signatures are processed outside the system.
Contract Closure	(Internal process)	Yes	Yes

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The LEAR (Legal Entity Appointment Representative) is an organisation role, which is responsible for keeping the data of the Organisation updated, and assigning a pool of legal and financial signatories (Procurement LSIGN/FSIGN) for the Organisation – see more details below.

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A LEAR (Legal Entity Appointment Representative) is an Organisational role in the system, which is responsible for keeping the data of the Organisation updated, and assigning a pool of legal and financial signatories (Procurement LSIGN/FSIGN) for the Organisation – see more details below.

Following the registration of your Organisation and the creation of the PIC, and in parallel to the validation of your Organisation (i.e. PIC validation), the Central Validation Service (REA CVS) will request the appointment of a Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR) for your Organisation.

 

Similarly to the validation of the PIC, the Organisation will receive a request (via the messaging tool of the Organisation’s account on the Funding and Tenders Portal) to submit the following documents:

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• Overview of User Roles and Permissions for the Funding and Tenders Portal
• Organisation Roles
• How to modify or update Authorised Users/LEAR of an Organisation
• How to assign or update Organisation Roles(e.g. Procurement LSIGN/FSIGN)

4. PIC Validation

The PIC validation is required for both the electronic and paper workflows and signature of Contribution Agreements in OPSYS.

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• DG INTPA – INTPA-PIC-MANAGEMENT@ec.europa.eu
• DG NEAR – NEAR-PIC-MANAGEMENT@ec.europa.eu
• FPI – FPI-PIC-MANAGEMENT@ec.europa.eu

5. Nominate Procurement LSIGN

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role

The nomination of Procurement LSIGN and FSIGN roles role is optional for the paper workflow and signature of Contribution Agreements in OPSYS.

Users with the Procurement Legal Signatory (Procurement LSIGN) role have the permissions to sign contracts (and amendments – if relevant) managed through the Funding and Tenders Portal on behalf of the organisation, so their role is relevent at organisation and project-level.

Users are nominated for the Procurement LSIGN role Legal and financial signatories (LSIGN and FSIGN) are Organisation-level roles, and are nominated for an Organisation by the LEAR or an Account Administrator. Subsequently, they can be assigned to a particular project or contract as PLSIGN by a Coordinator Contact (CoCo or PCoCo).

LSIGNs have the right to sign contracts and amendments on behalf of the Organisation, which are managed through the portal. An Organisation can have an unlimited number of LSIGNs.

FSIGNs have the right to sign financial statements on behalf of the Organisation, which are managed through the portal. An Organisation can have an unlimited number of FSIGNs.

Additional resources:

of the organisation.

An organisation can have an unlimited number of Procurement LSIGNs.

Important to note:

• If the orgaisation would need to restrict the signatory role for contracts and amendments, the Procurement LSIGN can nominate a CLSIGN to the contract (project-level) – also see assign the CLSIGN role below. The LEAR or Account Administrator of the organisation would therefore first need to nominate the Procurement LSIGN role to a user of the organisation beforehand (organisation-level).
• If a CLSIGN is nominated for a contract, the Procurement LSIGN(s) will no longer be able to sign the contract (and amendements – if relevant).
• If no CLSIGN is nominated for a contract, then all Procurement LSIGNs for the organisation will receive notifications for the contract (and amendements – if relevant).
• Only and any Procurement LSIGN of an organisation can nominate or revoke the CLSIGN user role.

Additional resources:

• Overview of User Roles and Permissions for the Funding and Tenders Portal
• Organisation Roles
• How to assign or update Organisation Roles Procurement LSIGN
• Overview of User Roles and Permissions for the Funding and Tenders Portal
• Organisation Roles
• How to assign or update Organisation Roles LSIGN/FSIGN

6. Communicate the PCoCo role

The communication of the PCoCo role is required for both the electronic and paper workflows and signature of Contribution Agreements in OPSYS.

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Once assigned to the contract, the PCoCo will be able to assign the PLSIGN and PFSIGN (if relevant) roles, to enable the signature of the contract, from a pool of legal and financial signatories that were previously defined by the LEAR*.

(*) The above statement does not apply to the paper workflow and signature of Contribution Agreements in OPSYS.

Additional resourcesAdditional resources:

• Overview of User Roles and Permissions for the Funding and Tenders Portal
• Project or Contract Roles

7. Assign

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CLSIGN role

The nomination of PLSIGN and PFSIGN roles Contract Legal Signatory (CLSIGN) role is optional for the paper workflow and signature of Contribution Agreements in OPSYS.

A PLSIGN or PFSIGN (Project Legal or Financial Signatory) is a project-level role, and is a person who has the right Users with the Contract Legal Signatory (CLSIGN) role have the permissions to sign contracts (and amendments – if relevant) managed through the Funding and Tenders Portal on behalf of the Organisation. An Organisation organisation, so their role is relevent at project-level.

Users are nominated for the CLSIGN role by a Procurement LSIGN of the organisation.

An organisation can have one or more PLSIGNs/PFSIGNs CLSIGNs per project or /contract.The PCoCo (or CoCo) of a project or contract nominates the PLSIGN/PFSIGN from the pool of LSIGN/FSIGN users already nominated by the LEAR of the Organisation

Important notes:

• The CLSIGN should be assigned to a user only if the orgaisation would need to restrict the signatory role for contracts and amendments. Otherwise, the Procurement LSIGN already has the required permissions to sign contracts (and amendments – if relevant).
• If a CLSIGN is needed, the LEAR or Account Administrator of the organisation would therefore first need to appoint the Procurement LSIGN role to a user of the organisation beforehand (organisation-level).
• If a CLSIGN is nominated for a contract, the Procurement LSIGN(s) will no longer be able to sign the contract (and amendements – if relevant).
• If no CLSIGN is nominated for a contract, then all Procurement LSIGNs for the organisation will receive notifications for the contract (and amendements – if relevant).
• Only and any Procurement LSIGN of an organisation can nominate or revoke the CLSIGN user role.

Additional resources:

• Overview of User Roles and Permissions for the Funding and Tenders Portal
• Project or Contract Roles
• How to assign or update Project or Contract Roles CoCo/PLSIGN/PFSIGNCLSIGN

8. Contract Signature

The signature of the contract is applicable for both the electronic and paper workflows and signature of Contribution Agreements in OPSYS, but the process will differ between the two workflows.

8.1 Contract Signature for the Electronic workflow

For the electronic workflow and signature of Contribution Agreements, the contract is made available to the Contractor for e-signature via the Funding and Tenders Portal as soon as the contract has been prepared and authorised by the Contracting Authority. For the e-signature, the Contractor signs the contract first. Only a user that has been assigned as PLSIGN or PFSIGN (if relevant) either the Procurement LSIGN role, or CLSIGN role for the contract, can sign the contract.

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For the Contractor, any user with either the CoCo or PCoCo role for the contract can initiate (launch) the Amendment process. The Amendment process initiated by the Contractor is performed from the respective contract in the Funding and Tenders Portal. For the Contractor signature of the Amendment (only for the electronic workflow and signature), the PLSIGN and PFSIGN (if relevant) Procurement LSIGN or CLSIGN for the contract is required to electronically sign the Contract Amendment in the system – also see Assign PLSIGN and PFSIGN roles Nominate Procurement LSIGN and Assign CLSIGN.

There is only one type of Amendment for Contribution agreements, an “Addendum”, and the Contractor will need to select the System Code corresponding to the Subject of Amendment (see table below), which represent the allowed modifications to the contract. Once the required Amendment system code is selected, the Contractor will be able to apply the requested modifications directly in the system and save.

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