Procurement Threshold (EU)

EU procurement thresholds are the estimated contract values above which contracting authorities in EU member states must comply with the full EU procurement directives and publish notices in the ojeu on ted. Contracts below these thresholds are regulated only by national rules and EU general principles, not by the detailed directive procedures.

What are EU Procurement Thresholds?

The EU sets thresholds that are revised every two years by the European Commission, typically in January of even-numbered years, to reflect exchange-rate movements against the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (gpa) reference values. As of the 2024-2025 cycle, the indicative thresholds are approximately EUR 143,000 for goods and services contracts awarded by central government authorities, EUR 221,000 for sub-central (regional/local) authorities and public bodies, and EUR 5,538,000 for works contracts. Higher thresholds apply under the Utilities Directive for entities in the water, energy, transport, and postal sectors. Separate thresholds apply for defence procurement under the Defence Procurement Directive.

These values are estimates made at the design stage of a procurement. Where there is a real risk that the final contract value will cross a threshold, authorities must apply the full directive procedure. Artificially splitting a contract to fall below the threshold is prohibited and constitutes a breach of EU law.

Why EU Procurement Thresholds matter for bidders

Thresholds are the gateway. A contract above the relevant threshold must be published on TED, giving every qualified supplier EU-wide visibility of the opportunity. A contract below the threshold may be advertised only nationally or not at all. For a supplier targeting EU public contracts, understanding the threshold relevant to its sector tells it where to look: above-threshold opportunities are on TED; below-threshold ones may require monitoring individual national portals. A supplier that only monitors TED and ignores national portals may miss a significant volume of sub-threshold work that is nonetheless published locally and accessible to non-domestic firms.

FAQ

How often are EU procurement thresholds updated?

Thresholds are updated every two years by the European Commission, typically taking effect from 1 January of even-numbered years.

Does the estimated or actual contract value determine whether the threshold applies?

The estimated value at the time the procurement is designed governs whether the threshold is crossed. Authorities must include all likely extensions, options, and renewals in the estimate and cannot artificially structure contracts to fall below the threshold.

Are the thresholds the same for all types of contracting authorities?

No. Central government authorities have lower thresholds for goods and services than sub-central (local/regional) authorities. Utilities entities have higher thresholds. Works thresholds are the same for all authority types under the main directives.