Decision (EU) 2016/245 of the European Central BankShow full title

Article 35 Conduct of the procedure

Contracts the estimated value of which is below the thresholds specified in Article 4(3) and service contracts referred to in Article 6(2) shall be awarded in accordance with the following procedure.

1.

If the value of the contract net of VAT exceeds or is equal to EUR 50 000 for products and services or EUR 500 000 for works, the ECB shall invite at least five suitable suppliers, if available, to submit a tender.

2.

If the value of contract net of VAT is below these thresholds but equal to or above EUR 20 000, the ECB shall invite at least three suitable suppliers, if available, to submit a tender.

3.

If the value of a contract net of VAT exceeds or is equal to EUR 750 000, the ECB shall publish a contract notice in the Official Journal. The suppliers invited to participate in the tender procedure shall be selected on the basis of the responses received. Other suppliers that meet the same criteria may also be invited to participate in the tender procedure.

4.

If the value of a contract net of VAT is below EUR 750 000, the ECB shall select the suppliers invited to participate in the tender procedure either among the tenderers admitted to a dynamic purchasing system or, where no such system is in place, from a list of suitable suppliers drawn up following a call for expression of interest. Where no such list is established, the ECB shall select the suppliers to be invited at its own discretion, on the basis of a proper market analysis, taking account of any possible cross-border interest, confirming the suppliers' suitability and their interest in participating in the procedure. The market analysis may include a publication of the contract opportunity in an electronic procurement system. Alternatively, the ECB may publish a contract notice on its website or using other appropriate media. In that case, the suppliers invited to participate in the tender procedure shall be selected on the basis of the responses received. Other suppliers that meet the same criteria may also be invited to participate in the tender procedure.

5.

The ECB shall provide the suppliers invited to participate in the tender procedure with a request for a proposal specifying the ECB's requirements, the submission process and the criteria for the award of the contract. When fixing the time limit for the submission of tenders, the ECB shall take account of the complexity of the contract and the time required to prepare a tender.

6.

The tenders received shall be evaluated against the formal requirements and the selection and award criteria set out in the request for a proposal. Following the evaluation of the written tenders, the ECB may enter into negotiations with the tenderers if that possibility was mentioned in the request for a proposal. The negotiations may be carried out as consecutive negotiations in the order of the tenderers' ranking or as parallel negotiations with several tenderers whose tenders best meet the award criteria.

7.

The ECB shall award the contract to the tenderer whose tender best meets the award criteria set out in the request for a proposal.

8.

The procedure shall be carried out in accordance with the general principles set out in Article 3. Article 13(5) and (6) and Articles 26, 27, 28, 30 and 33 shall apply accordingly.