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EU Tenders - Public procurement in the European Union
24 August 2006by eub2 -- last modified 24 August 2006
All public tenders exceeding specific contract values must be published in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union.
Introduction
The Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union
The Official Journal of the European Union (OJ) is published each working day in all 20 official languages of the EU. It consists of the following series:
OJ L: Legislation
OJ C: Information and notices
OJ S: Public procurement
The series of the Official Journal are published by the Publications Office, the official publishing house of the EU institutions.
All public tenders exceeding specific contract values must be published in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union ("S series", "Official Journal S" or "OJ S") and published throughout the EU. The contract value thresholds above which an invitation to tender must be published throughout the EU are laid down in EU directives. The following table provides information on the nature of a contract, the contract value (thresholds) and the relevant EU directives.
| Nature of the contract | Threshold | EU directive |
|---|---|---|
| Public works contracts | EUR 5 000 000 | Directive on public works contracts: 93/37/EEC |
| Service contracts | EUR 200 000 | Directive on service contracts: 92/50/EEC |
| Supply contracts | EUR 200 000 | Directive on supply contracts: 93/36/EEC |
| Supplies in the water, energy and transport sectors | EUR 400 000 | Sector directive: 93/38/EEC |
| Supplies in the telecommunications sector | EUR 600 000 | Sector directive: 93/38/EEC |
| Public works contracts | EUR 5 000 000 | Sector directive: 93/38/EEC |
| Contracts coming under GATT regulations | EUR 125 000 |
The awarding authorities for tenders are the central government, local or regional authorities, bodies governed by public law, or associations consisting of one or more of these authorities or bodies governed by public law.
Each year supply and public works contracts worth more than EUR 500 billion are published by public authorities in the EU. Each day the Supplement to the Official Journal publishes over 650 tenders providing information on:
Public works, supply and service contracts from all EU Member States.
Supply contracts (for the water, energy, transport and telecommunication sectors).
Public contracts of the EU institutions.
European Development Fund contracts (ACP countries).
Phare, Tacis and other contracts from central and eastern Europe.
Projects funded by the European Investment Bank (EIB), European Central Bank (ECB) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Contracts from the European Economic Area (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein).
Contracts in accordance with the government procurement agreement (GPA) concluded between the United States of America, Japan and Switzerland within the framework of GATT/World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Foundations of European economic interest groupings (EEIG).
Public contracts for food aid.
Public contracts for flight services.
Since July 1998, the printed edition of the Official Journal S has no longer been available. It is now available exclusively in electronic format and is accessible:
on the Internet by accessing the "TED" tender database ("TED internet application", "TED" = tenders electronic daily)
on a CD-ROM ("OJ S CD-ROM application"), which is available on subscription twice weekly (Tuesdays and Fridays).
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