How to win EU tenders

What does an "EU tender" mean?

This refers to a procurement procedure with a value exceeding EU thresholds, which must be published in TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) — the European Union's public procurement journal. Publication in TED is mandatory regardless of whether the contracting authority has also announced it in a national bulletin. This is good news for you: all large contracts from across the Union are in one place and in a standardized format.

Three real differences compared to national tenders

1. Longer deadlines. The minimum time limits for submitting bids are legally longer than in national procedures. This means you have time to prepare your complete set of documents — but so does your competition.
2. European Single Procurement Document (ESPD). A preliminary declaration that replaces a full set of certificates. Only the contractor whose bid has been rated the highest submits the actual documents. This reduces the initial workload, but does not exempt you from having those documents ready.
3. Stricter formalism. EU procedures are more frequently subject to appeals, so contracting authorities follow the procedures more rigorously. Minor formal errors are less likely to be overlooked.

Foreign tenders — when it is really worth it

Formally, you can participate in any procedure within the Union, and the contracting authority has no right to discriminate against a contractor from another member state. The reality is tougher. Before you commit your team, check three things:

• Language of the procedure. The bid usually must be in the language of the contracting authority. Sworn translation of the full set of documents is a real cost and takes real time.
• Requirement for local presence or qualifications. Formally prohibited as a condition, but it is sometimes hidden in the description of the subject matter — for example, as a service response time measured in hours.
• Electronic signature. National platforms accept qualified signatures from across the Union, but registering on a foreign platform can take longer than the time remaining until the deadline.

It is easiest to start with neighboring markets, where supply chains and standards are similar. In our database, you will find procedures from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, the Netherlands, and the Baltic states — browse German announcements or Czech ones to see what they look like in practice.

What you won't find in TED

TED contains only contracts above the thresholds. Smaller contracts — and there are many more of these — are published in national systems: the Polish BZP, the German central service, the Dutch TenderNed, the Czech NEN, and others. If you are looking for contracts with a value accessible to a smaller company, TED alone will not be enough.