European Union Competing in the EU on the Most Favorable Terms Possible

Across the European Union, public authorities purchase more than USD 2 trillion worth of goods and services each year.  For industries such as the security and detection equipment sector, sales to public bodies dominate supplier revenue. Within this sector, EU Directive 2014/24/EU has broadly harmonized the procedures by which public bodies in the region purchase goods and services from private companies. In addition, EU procurement rules allow U.S. companies to compete for many public contracts. When doing so, the Commercial Service encourages American companies to take advantage of our advocacy services. 

The two most common procedures used by European public bodies to purchase goods and services from the private sector are the “open procedure” and “restricted procedure.”  Public bodies use the open procedure when they want to receive a wide number of bids, employ clear selection criteria, and do not foresee much of a debate about the competing merits of individual bids. Public bodies use the restricted procedure in complex procurement that involves a detailed vendor vetting process and award selection criteria. Both procedures require the body seeking to purchase a product or service to publish a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union and on “Tenders Electronic Daily”, the EU’s online public procurement portal.  

Please contact Commercial Officer Jim Curtis for more information about our support to American businesses seeking to compete for contracts with European public bodies.