Information about European public procurement
TED – Business opportunities in Europe
All public tenders above 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 Official Journal S is available exclusively in electronic format and is accessible:
Access to TED is free of charge.
In addition to current tenders, the TED database allows access to the archives for the past five years of the S series in all EU languages. A single search interface allows the user to select or to enter multiple search criteria, including geographical data, type of document, nature of contract, keywords and more.
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.
Current thresholds (in EUR, excluding VAT) - since 01 Jan 2008| Type of Contract | Directive 2004/17 | Directive 2004/18 |
| Supplies and Services | 412 000 | 133 0002 |
| 750 0001 | 206 0003 | |
| Works | 5 150 000 | 5 150 000 |
| Public Works Concessions | n/a | 5 150 000 |
| Service Design Contests | 412 000 | 133 0002 |
| 206 0004 | ||
| 206 0005 |
The awarding authorities for tenders are 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 about EUR 300 billion are published by public authorities in the EU. Each day the Supplement to the Official Journal publishes over 1,000 tenders containing invitations to tender in the following sectors:
- Public contracts for works, supply and services from all EU Member States;
- Utilities contracts (water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors);
- Public contracts from EU institutions;
- External aid and European Development Fund contracts (ACP countries);
- Phare, Tacis and other contracts from Central and Eastern Europe;
- European Investment Bank (EIB), European Central Bank (ECB) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) financed projects;
- Contracts from the European Economic Area (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein);
- Contracts pursuant to the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), concluded within the framework of the GATT/World Trade Organisation (WTO), from Switzerland;
- Notices concerning European Economic Interest Groups (EEIG);
- Public contracts for air services.
The Official Journal series are published by the EU's official publishing house, the Publications Office.