Guides
Plain-language guides to European public procurement - how it works, and how to win.
Getting started
What are CPV codes and how to use them
A plain-language guide to the Common Procurement Vocabulary - the EU-wide codes that classify every public tender, and how to use...
Read guide 2 min read
How to bid on your first public tender
A step-by-step introduction for small businesses bidding on European public contracts for the first time - from finding the right...
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What is TED? Europe's official tender database explained
TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) publishes hundreds of thousands of public contracts a year from every EU country. How it works, wha...
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How to read a contract notice: the anatomy of an EU tender
A contract notice packs everything that matters - buyer, scope, money, deadlines, criteria - into a standard structure. Learn to e...
Read guide 4 min readHow procurement works
EU procurement thresholds explained (2026-2027 values)
The euro amounts that decide whether a public contract follows EU-wide rules and appears on TED - the current 2026-2027 thresholds...
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Open, restricted, negotiated: EU procurement procedures explained
What the procedure type on a tender notice actually means for you - who can bid, in how many stages, whether you can negotiate, an...
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Framework agreements: how they work and how to get on one
Frameworks decide years of public purchases in one tender. How call-offs and mini-competitions work, what the 4-year rule means, a...
Read guide 4 min readWinning strategy
The ESPD explained: one form instead of a folder of certificates
The European Single Procurement Document lets you bid with a self-declaration instead of certificates. What it contains, how to fi...
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Selection vs. award criteria: how public buyers score your bid
Two different tests decide every tender - whether you may win, and whether you do. How exclusion, selection and award criteria wor...
Read guide 4 min readCountry guides
Public tenders in Germany: where to find them and how to bid
Germany's public procurement is famously decentralised - federal, state and municipal buyers publish across dozens of portals. Whe...
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Public tenders in France: BOAMP, buyer profiles and the mémoire technique
How French public procurement works in practice - where notices are published, the thresholds that decide the procedure, and why t...
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Public tenders in the Netherlands: TenderNed, EMVI and the proportionality rules
How Dutch public procurement works - TenderNed as the single national noticeboard, the EMVI quality culture, and the proportionali...
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Public tenders in Czechia: VVZ, NEN and the small-scale contract rules
How Czech public procurement works - the official journal, the national e-tool NEN, the small-scale contracts that never reach an...
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Public tenders in Romania: SEAP, the simplified procedure and the DUAE
How Romanian public procurement works - one mandatory platform for everything, the simplified procedure that carries the mid-marke...
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Public tenders in Greece: KIMDIS, Promitheus and the €30,000 line
How Greek public procurement works - radical transparency in KIMDIS, electronic bidding on Promitheus, and the €30,000 threshold t...
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Public tenders in Finland: Hilma and the national thresholds that open the market early
How Finnish public procurement works - Hilma as the single noticeboard, national thresholds far below the EU ones, and a bidding c...
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Public tenders in Spain: PLACSP, the simplified procedures and ROLECE
How Spanish public procurement works - the central platform and its regional satellites, the contrato menor and simplified procedu...
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Public tenders in the United Kingdom: Find a Tender and the Procurement Act 2023
How UK public procurement works after Brexit - Find a Tender as the central platform, the Procurement Act 2023 regime, VAT-inclusi...
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Public tenders in Norway: Doffin, the EEA rules and the climate weighting
How Norwegian public procurement works - Doffin as the national noticeboard, EEA rules above the thresholds, and the climate crite...
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Public tenders in Ukraine: Prozorro, reverse auctions and the reconstruction market
How Ukrainian public procurement works - the celebrated Prozorro system, everyone-sees-everything transparency, reverse auctions,...
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Public tenders in Italy: the digital toolkit, MePA and the CIG
Italy rebuilt its procurement rules in 2023 around certified digital platforms. What a bidder needs before the first offer - digit...
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Public tenders in Poland: e-Zamówienia, the basic procedure and e-signatures
Poland's procurement law starts at PLN 130,000 and runs fully electronically. Where notices appear, how the domestic "basic proced...
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Public tenders in Portugal: BASE, certified platforms and the ajuste direto
Portugal records every public contract on the BASE portal and receives every bid through certified electronic platforms. The value...
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