Step 1
EU procurement thresholds 2026–2027 and contract value
Is this contract big enough for the EU rules to apply?
Guide
Procedures & timing
Whether the EU rules apply, which procedure the buyer uses, and how much time you really have.
Guides
5
Insights
2
Last checked
10 Oct 2026
Before you read the specifications, three things about a tender shape your plan: whether the EU rules apply at all, which procedure the buyer has chosen, and the timetable that follows from it. Start with the thresholds, then the guide to procedures, which sets out who may tender, what can be negotiated and the minimum time limits for each. The guide on clarification questions covers the one deadline you control before submission: when to ask, and when the answer must arrive.
Many contracts are split into lots or set up as framework agreements, and both change what you are bidding for. The last two guides explain how lots are awarded and capped, and what a place on a framework or a dynamic purchasing system is worth.
Two insights sit alongside the guides. One compares today's rules with the Commission's 2026 proposal for a Public Procurement Act, which isn't law. The other reads the Commission's 2024 procurement indicators country by country, with a clear line between what the figures show and what they don't. Whether your company qualifies is in Eligibility, and how your tender is scored in Evaluation & award.
Guides in reading order
Step 2
EU procurement procedures, from the bidder's side
The notice names a procedure. What does it mean for when I can bid, how many stages there are and what can be negotiated?
Guide
Step 3
Clarification questions before an EU tender deadline
The documents are unclear. When can I ask, when must the buyer answer, and what if the answer comes too late?
Guide
Step 4
Lots: bidding for part of an EU contract
The contract is split into lots. Which should I bid for, can I win several, and how do the rules change per lot?
Guide
Step 5
Framework agreements and dynamic purchasing systems
The tender is for a framework agreement or a DPS. What do I actually win, and how are the later contracts awarded?
Guide
Insights newest first
Insight
What the EU procurement scoreboard tells bidders
How often are contracts awarded on price alone, how long do decisions take, and how often is there only one bidder, country by country?
Insight
Insight
What the proposed Public Procurement Act would change
The Commission wants to replace the 2014 Directives with a Regulation. What would change for my bids, and which rules apply to the tenders I'm bidding for now?
Insight