Unified Vulnerability & exposure management tool: Delivery, implementation, configuration, support and maintenance integrated vulnerability management platform

✓The detailed operational quality criteria will be defined in the bestek, which is only sent to candidates who successfully pass the selection phase.

✓The procedure is a “mededingingsprocedure met onderhandelingen”, and includes steps such as initial offer submission, possible regularisation, negotiations, improved/definitive offers, evaluation and ranking, award decision, and standstill period before contract signature.

✓Such as discussed under risks, special conditions and corrective mechanisms, there are several important provisions: strict exclusion grounds for criminal offences, tax and social security debts, serious professional misconduct, collusion, previous involvement causing distortion of competition, false statements and attempts to unlawfully influence the decision‑making process; EU sanctions against Russia are enforced through a compulsory declaration on whether the candidate or key subcontractors/third parties (over 10% of contract value) are linked to Russia as defined by Regulation (EU) 833/2014; subcontractors used to satisfy selection criteria are subject to the same exclusion checks, and for financial capacity their mere subcontracting commitment is insufficient – they must either accept joint execution liability or provide a parent company guarantee.

✓The AO may request additional evidence at any time, may stop the procedure without compensation, and will not reimburse participation costs.

✓Questions on the selectieleidraad or clarification requests must reach the AO at least 10 calendar days before the participation deadline; answers and any “verklarende nota” are published at least seven days before the deadline and form an integral part of the selectieleidraad.

✓As explicitly stated, if statements in annexes or other documents contradict the selectieleidraad, the selectieleidraad prevails.

Answers on the required criteria

Must securities be provided (bid bond, performance or warranty guarantee)? If so: which, in what amount and by when?

❓The selectieleidraad does not set out any explicit requirement for bid securities or performance/warranty guarantees in the selection phase.

✓It refers generally to the legal and financial risk profile of the framework agreement and describes how candidates may rely on third‑party economic/financial capacity through instruments such as a “parent company guarantee” or a joint and several commitment to execute the contract, but it does not impose a specific bid bond amount, performance bond percentage, or warranty guarantee in this document.

✓Such obligations, if any, are said to be stipulated later in the “bestek” (specification/terms) that is only sent to selected candidates in the second, offer phase.

✓Thus, as far as the provided text goes, securities are not required at the candidacy stage and details for eventual guarantees would appear only in subsequent tender documents.

Is subcontracting allowed? If so: with which limits and which disclosure duties?

✓Subcontracting and reliance on third parties are clearly regulated.

✓Candidates are allowed to rely on “onderaannemers” or other entities to meet minimum financial capacity or technical/professional capability criteria, such as ISO/IEC 27001 certification or references for similar services.

✓However, such as stated in point 4.1.2, these third parties must be identified in the application form, must fill in, date and sign the provided model commitment, and must themselves be free of exclusion grounds.

✓Where reliance is on financial capacity, a simple subcontracting commitment is not sufficient; the third party must either accept joint and several liability for performance of the contract or provide a parent company guarantee, depending on the corporate relationship.

✓The form for application explicitly asks whether subcontractors are used and also requires disclosure related to Russian sanctions if any subcontractor or capacity provider has links to Russia or accounts for more than 10% of the contract value.

❓The selectieleidraad does not impose a quantitative cap on subcontracting but emphasizes transparency, disclosure of all entities whose capacity is used, and compliance with EU sanctions rules.

Is there a site visit, and is attendance mandatory? If so: when?

✓Concerning site visits or information meetings, the text mentions that the contracting authority (AO) reserves the right to organize an “informatie­bijeenkomst” to address questions.

✓Such as described in section 1.3, if the selectieleidraad is unclear, stakeholders must submit a “Verzoek om uitleg” by email, and the AO may decide to convene an information meeting.

❓However, no specific date, mandatory attendance requirement, or formal “site visit” is defined in the provided text.

✓The text therefore provides for optional information meetings at the AO’s discretion, not for a scheduled, obligatory site visit.

In which language must the tender and the supporting documents be submitted, and are documents in other languages accepted?

✓On language requirements, the selectieleidraad is explicit: the application for participation (kandidatuur) must be submitted electronically in Dutch (“Taal van de aanvraag tot deelname: de kandidaat moet zijn aanvraag tot deelname (kandidatuur) elektronisch indienen in het Nederlands”).

✓Such as stated in section 3.3, applications cannot be submitted on paper and must be lodged via the Belgian eProcurement platform.

✓While the text details how foreign (non‑Belgian) candidates must provide equivalent certificates and can consult eCertis to identify the right documents in their country of origin, it does not state that other languages are accepted for the application itself; Dutch is clearly imposed for the candidacy.

❓Any supporting documents from foreign authorities (e.g. non‑faillissement attest) may naturally be issued in the language of the country of origin, but the core application and candidate form are expected in Dutch.

How long is the bidder bound by the tender (validity period), and is there a deadline for bidder questions? If so: until when?

✓The emphasis is rather on written clarification: questions may be submitted up to ten calendar days before the deadline for applications, and the AO will publish explanations in a “verklarende nota” and/or via the eProcurement forum.

❓Regarding the period during which bidders are bound by their offer (validity) and the deadline for questions, the text only covers the selection phase and therefore does not specify a tender validity period for offers; that will be set in the bestek in phase two.

✓It does, however, define clear deadlines for questions about the selectieleidraad.

✓Such as set out in section 3.2 and 1.3, stakeholders must submit questions via the eProcurement forum at the latest on the 10th calendar day before the final date for submission of applications; the AO will publish its answers on that forum no later than seven days before that final submission date.

✓For formal “Verzoek om uitleg” by email, the same 10‑day advance limit applies.

Further details

✓The input text is the “selectieleidraad” (selection guideline) for the Belgian public procurement procedure C00920 “Unified vulnerability & exposure management tool”, issued by AG Digipolis Antwerpen.

✓It describes the first (selection) phase of a two‑stage competitive procedure with negotiation and sets out definitions, exclusion and selection criteria, submission rules, and communication arrangements.

✓The text is written from the point of view of Belgian public procurement law (wet van 17 juni 2016, KB 18 april 2017), but it also explicitly addresses candidates established in other EU or non‑Belgian countries, for instance by specifying which documents foreign candidates must supply.

✓Countries explicitly or implicitly mentioned include Belgium (as the place of the contracting authority and reference legal framework) and other EU Member States, notably via references to EU law and sanctions against Russia under Regulation (EU) No. 833/2014.

✓The limit date and exact hour for submitting applications themselves are not fixed in the text but are referenced in the eProcurement notice (“zie bekendmaking eProcurement”).