1.Projects submitted in response to a call for proposals shall be assessed by a group of independent experts selected by the Commission. The following factors must be taken into account in the assessment:
(a)the work must be done on a collaborative basis by natural or legal persons established in several Member States;
(b)the projects must pay particular attention to the cultural and linguistic characteristics of the Member States, notably in the case of information campaigns directed at the public at large, and to groups at risk;
(c)the projects must show that they have a methodology and firm scientific backing. They must be innovative and take account of work that has been carried out already and of experience gained under past or present national or Community programmes, so as to avoid any likelihood of duplication in the allocation of Community funding;
(d)the projects must, as appropriate, contribute objectively and effectively to improving public awareness of the harmful effects on health of using tobacco, to collecting and analysing relevant epidemiological data or to ensuring the rapid implementation of practical preventive measures;
(e)contractors must ensure that the results of their projects are disseminated in recognised scientific journals and/or presented at international conferences;
(f)priority will be given to projects covering the whole of the territory of the Community and submitted by public health organisations which are recognised and/or are expressly supported by national or regional health authorities.
2.On the basis of the assessment, the Commission shall submit a list of the projects shortlisted for financing to the scientific and technical committee referred to in Article 4. The committee shall deliver an opinion on the list.
3.As part of the public tendering procedure, projects to be carried out at the initiative and on behalf of the Commission, and shortlisted for financing, shall also be submitted by the Commission to the scientific and technical committee referred to in Article 4. The committee shall deliver an opinion on those projects.
4.Pursuant to Article 5(4) of Decision No 646/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(1), the Commission shall inform the Committee referred to in Article 5 of that Decision which projects have been shortlisted for financing, and shall provide it with the opinion of the scientific and technical committee referred to in Article 4 of this Regulation.