Threshold values
Public procurement contracts with an estimated value above the official thresholds, have to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The thresholds are revised every two years.
The table below provides the threshold values of the Directives 2004/17/EC and 2004/18/EC. The values mentioned are valid from 1 january 2012 up to and including 31 december 2013.
Thresholds are in euros, VAT is not included.
| DIRECTIVE 2004/18/EC | |
|---|---|
| Works | |
| All authorities | € 5.000.000,- |
| Supplies (of products) | |
| National authorities, but for defence contracts only the supplies listed in Annex V | € 130.000,- |
| Other authorities and for the national authorities the supplies excluded from the lower threshold | € 200.000,- |
| Services | |
| National authorities, excluding services related to works with >50% subsidy, R&D, telecommunication services and the services listed in Annex IIB | € 130.000,- |
| Other authorities and for the national authorities the services excluded from the lower threshold | € 200.000,- |
| DIRECTIVE 2004/17/EC WATER/ENERGIE/VERVOER/POST | |
| Works | € 5.000.000,- |
| Supplies and services | € 400.000,- |
In principle companies from non-EEA countries that signed the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) must be allowed to participate in European tenders on equal terms as companies from Member States. Signatories are amongst others USA, Canada, Israël, Japan, Korea and Switzerland. There is however an extensive list of exceptions which in general are related to sectors and countries where reciprocity to each others public procurement market is not guaranteed.