Preliminary assessment of the fourth payment request of Romania

with SEAP being the only eSender. Annex No. 1 with screenshots from SEAP (Evidence No. 9) presents the notifications published in the News of Interest section of SEAP, accompanied by the eForms User Guide regarding the implementation of eForms-format notices which are also available on the website and can be accessed by any interested natural or legal person. Annex No. 2 with screenshots from SEAP document (Evidence No. 10), and more specifically screenshots 2.1. and 2.2. show that during the period 4 December 2023 – 9 April 2026 Romanian contracting authorities submitted 92.602 notices through SEAP in the new eForms format, which were published in TED (OJEU). Moreover, screenshots 2.3, 2.4 and 2.5 of the same document present the SEAP notice no. CN1064978 – TED notice No. 80546-2024 which was published in TED and in SEAP on 7 February 2024. These screenshots attest the use of standard eForms, following the requirements established in the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1780 of 23 September 2019. Annex No. 3 with screenshots from SEAP (Evidence No. 11) presents the screenshots of section Contracting

Authority Manuals in SEAP platform, showing a series of user manuals published which address the subject of the functionalities implemented for eForms, including the Award Documentation manual, Initiation Notices, Change notices and Award notices.

Standard electronic forms for public procurement process are used and integrated in the Romanian Public Procurement service SEAP.

SEAP is Romania's mandatory electronic public procurement system, used by public institutions to purchase goods, services, and works, being operated by ADR.

The Electronic Public Procurement System - Subsequent Contract No. 7 (Evidence No. 2) defines the technical requirements for implementing the standard European Union electronic forms for public procurement, as established in the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1780 of 23 September 2019 which sets the standard eForms for the publication of public procurement notices in the OJEU.

The Subsequent Contract No. 7 (Evidence No. 2) also defines the steps required to implement the eForms into the SEAP environment, including a complete redesign of the SEAP interface, aligning nomenclature with EU standards, updating system functionalities for data input in tender processes, and managing changes in procedure and contract data. Additionally, the contract specifies modifying how standard notices are displayed and integrated within procurement files to ensure regulatory compliance.

To achieve the implementation of standard eForms aligned with EU standards, Subsequent Contract No. 7 (Evidence No. 2) outlines ten eForms requirements to be fulfilled. These technical eForm requirements were planned to be implemented in two stages: stage 1 comprising six requirements to be completed by 15 December 2022, and stage 2 including four requirements scheduled for completion by 30 June 2023.

The Certificate of acceptance No. 12650 of 15 December 2022 (Evidence No. 7) issued by ADR and signed by ADR Acceptance Committee confirms that the committee verified the functioning of services related to eForms (stage 1). According to Receipt report No. 12651 of 15 December 2022 (Evidence No. 6) issued by the Authority for Digitalization of Romania (ADR) the services have been carried out as stipulated in the Subsequent Contract No. 7 (Evidence No. 2) and the functionalities of stage 1 will be integrated with the stage 2 phase in the SEAP environment. The Report on entry into operation No. 12652 of 15 December 2022 (Evidence No. 8) issued by ADR certifies that the technical tests for normal operation and product quality assurance, according to the technical- economic documentation and approved technical-economic indicators are in accordance with

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