Market knowledge enables Council of Europe staff to send calls for tenders or requests for a quotation directly to the suppliers they regard as most capable of meeting the need.   It should be noted that the Council of Europe organises calls for tenders for all needs valued at more than:

• EUR 2 000 for supplies, services and works
• EUR 5 000 for intellectual services

Tender procedures are managed according to the following threshold values:

• Need < EUR 55 000: calls for tenders are sent directly to the Council of Europe's known suppliers and might be published;
• Need > EUR 55 000: calls for tenders are sent to the Council of Europe's known suppliers and /or published on the E-procurement platform or on the Council of Europe site and possibly on the European Union's TED platform;
• Need > EUR 250 000: calls for tenders are systematically published on the e-procurement platform  or on the Council of Europe site and possibly on the European Union's TED platform;
• Need > EUR 500 000: calls for tenders are systematically published on the e-procurement platform  or on the Council of Europe site and on the European Union's TED platform.

All the suppliers participating in the calls for tenders issued by the Council of Europe are informed of the decisions taken on their bids.

The Council of Europe publishes a list of awarded tenders exceeding EUR 55 000 every six months.  All suppliers have access to this document which, for each contract, indicates:

• Name of the chosen supplier
• Locality of the chosen supplier
• Description of the tender awarded
• Estimated value of the tender awarded
• Type of contract

More information about the procurement procedures of the Council of Europe