The European Border Agency, Frontex, has issued an invitation for industry dialogue on the procurement of handguns, ammunition and holsters for the standing corps of the European Border and Coast Guard.
A recently revised Frontex mandate foresees the establishment of a standing corps that will be at the core of the operational response activities of the Agency. As a matter of priority, Frontex has to ensure that members of the standing corps are properly equipped and trained to be effectively deployed and operate in a unitary manner in the operational areas.
Frontex border guards will wear uniforms, carry a service weapon (handgun) and will have executive powers. This means that the officers will be required to perform tasks such as patrolling between border crossing points.
Frontex will host a two-day industry dialogue on December 9 and 10 in order to gain better knowledge of the handguns and ammunition market, listen to prospective bidders’ concerns, and if relevant take them into consideration in order to improve the procurement documentation.
During the dialogue sessions, prospective bidders will be first presented with background information, general specifications and logistical / procedural requirements. All the information shared during the event will be made available on the Frontex website to ensure transparency and equal treatment of all possible bidders. Frontex presentations will be followed by discussions on recommendations, best practices and concerns from industry representatives.
Accordingly, the Frontex Research and Innovation Unit is inviting industry (both producers and distributors) to send their applications for this specific event to [email protected].
Applications should clearly indicate in which of the three dialogue sessions the entity would be interested to participate: handguns, ammunition, and/or holsters. Entities can indicate interest in more than one dialogue session.
Applicants must include a short description of company experience in the area, products already delivered (especially those used by law enforcement authorities), and the background and experience of up to two experts who would participate in the dialogue.
The closing date and time for delivering the interest to participate is Nov 29 2019 18:00 (Central European Time). The outcome of the evaluation of the submitted applications, will be communicated to the applicants by Dec 3 2019 with additional details about the event.
Frontex states that handguns, ammunition and equipment may be used in legitimate self-defense and in legitimate defense of members of the teams or of other persons in accordance with the national law of the host Member State.
Strong safeguards apply for all members of the standing corps, with seconded and deployed staff bound by the legislation of their home Member State and Agency staff falling under the Agency’s Code of Conduct in full respect of EU law and fundamental rights.
Technical specifications for the upcoming procurement are being defined based on the experience of EU experts, EU and international trends and experience, and to be in line with the below high level requirements on reliability, accuracy, safety, 24/7, all weather operation, functionality, and long service time (lifetime).
