Contracts awarded 

The Financial Regulation (FR) sets out the principles for implementing the general budget of the European Union, including the principle of transparency in Articles 37 and 38 FR. There are various rules on the appropriate publication of budgetary information, particularly ex-post information, including information on contracts awarded. The relevant provisions are Article 163 FR and points 2 and 3 of Annex I FR. Contracts are deemed to have been ‘awarded’ either when the award decision is taken or, failing that, when the first contract, which may be a framework contract, is signed. Article 38 FR provides for the publication of information on contracts awarded over the previous two years; earlier information will be available on request with due regard to Regulation (EU) No 2018/1725.

In accordance with points 2.5 and 3.3 of Annex I FR, information must be published on ongoing contracts the value of which has been modified without a new procurement procedure, as laid down in Article 172(3) FR.

In accordance with point 2.3 of Annex I FR, an award notice must be sent to the Publications Office of the European Union no later than 30 calendar days after the signature of a contract or framework contract with a value equal to or greater than the thresholds referred to in Article 175(1) FR.

The contracting authority must publish an award notice:

• (a) before signing a contract or a framework contract with a value equal to or greater than the thresholds laid down in Article 175(1) FR that has been awarded pursuant to the exceptional negotiated procedure under point 11.1.(b) of Annex I to the FR;
• (b) after signing a contract or a framework contract with a value equal to or greater than the thresholds laid down in Article 175(1) FR, if it has been awarded pursuant to the exceptional negotiated procedure under point 11.1.(a) or
• (c) to (f) of Annex I FR.

The deadline for sending the notice must be long enough to ensure that publication takes place before the contract or framework contract is signed, in accordance with the terms and arrangements laid down in point 35.1 of Annex I FR.

The thresholds under Directive 2014/24/EU (Article 175(1) of the FR) can be found on the following webpage of the European Commission: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/public-procurement/rules-implementation/thresholds_en.

Article 163 FR and point 3 of Annex I FR stipulate- that contracting authorities have to publish no later than 30 June of the following financial year a list a list of contracts on its website with a value below the thresholds referred to in Article 175(1) FR but greater than EUR 15 000.

The contracting authority may modify a contract or framework contract without a new procurement procedure in the cases listed in Article 172(3) FR. Under point 3.3 of Annex I FR, a list of contracts modified in accordance with Article 172(3)(a) to (c) FR must be published, even if the value of the modification concerned is below the thresholds laid down in Article 175(1) FR.

Information relating to the value of and contractors for specific contracts and order forms based on a framework contract during a given financial year must be published on the contracting authority’s website no later than 30 June of the following financial year.
Under point 3 of Annex I FR, as a result of the amendments to the FR, that information must be published for the cumulative value of each framework contract, even where it is below the directive’s thresholds but above EUR 15 000.

Publication on Parliament’s website, no later than 30 June of the following year, of:

• a list of all contracts worth more than EUR 15 000 awarded in the previous year (except for building contracts and contracts declared to be secret), even if some of them were also published in an award notice in the Official Journal; that provision, goes beyond regulatory requirements, but ensures that it is easier to access all contracts awarded by Parliament;
• a list of the contracts modified under Article 172(3)(a) to (c) FR where the value of the modification is more than EUR 15 000 but below the thresholds laid down in Article 175(1) FR;
• a list giving information on the value of and contractors for specific contracts / order forms based on a framework contract, following the conclusion of a specific contract / order form or on the basis of the aggregate value of the specific contracts / order forms signed, regardless of the cumulative value of each framework contract (above EUR 15 000);
• a list of the experts selected on the basis of Article 237 FR.
  Building contracts and contracts declared to be secret, referred to in point 11.1(g) and (i) of Annex I FR, are no longer published separately on the internet; rather, they are included in the annual report on awarded contracts that is submitted to Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control.

As from 2019, Article 38(4) FR as amended by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, directly requires bodies implementing Union funds to publish information on the use of those funds. That requirement extends to the political groups. group-managed appropriations in accordance with the ‘Item 400’ rules of the Bureau are considered to be equivalent to indirectly managed appropriations.

Information relating to Article 38 FR and points 3.3 and 3.4 of Annex I FR, and relating to a given financial year, is published the following year in a document drawn up by each political group.