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The rules and procedures used in EU public procurement tenders.

by knowhow — last modified Jul 28, 2010 09:19 PM

EU rules require that contracts for services with a value above £139,893 have to be advertised. Depending on the type and scale of the service, it may have to be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union.

There are four main types of tender procedure specified by the EU.

Restricted procedure

This is the most common procedure. It is a two stage procedure, with bidders usually completing a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) to determine their suitability. In evaluating the PQQ, the only criteria which may be used are economic or financial standing or technical knowledge or capability. Those selected are then invited to submit a tender to meet the service specification.

Open procedure

Any supplier can request a copy of the tender documents and then submit a response. This is not used very often as it is likely to produce a large number of bids that the public body has to evaluate.

Competitive dialogue procedure

This is designed to cope with particularly complex projects. Following a PQQ, the public body discusses the form of contract and the technical specifications of the project with at least three potential bidders before issuing the tender documents.

Negotiated procedure

This is only used in more complex projects where there may be a number of solutions that will meet the requirement or the overall price cannot be determined in advance.

Further information

The exact rules can be complex at times. If in doubt ask your commissioners for clarification, or local support organisations. The legal intricacies of commissioning and the flexibility that is available to commissioners is covered in detail in NAVCA / NCVO’s Pathway’s through the maze.
Acevo run a free legal advice help line and have provided a legal fact sheet.
EU Procurement Guidance - Introduction to the EU procurement rules (Office of Governement Commerce).