Can companies from outside the EU bid for EU tenders?

The short answer

“Covered” matters. Agreements only bind the EU for the buyers, sectors and contract values listed in its schedules. Contracts below the EU thresholds, or with buyers left out, give no treaty right even to a US or Japanese company.

How EU procurement is layered

• The rules. Three directives (2014/24 for public authorities, 2014/25 for utilities, 2014/23 for concessions) set the rules. Each country writes them into its own law, so you deal with national procedures, national e-tendering platforms and national review bodies.
• Above the thresholds, every contract notice goes to TED (ted.europa.eu), free to search, using the eForms standard.
• Below the thresholds, national rules apply and notices appear on national portals. EU treaty principles of non-discrimination and transparency still apply to contracts with cross-border interest.
• The EEA states (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) apply the same directives under the EEA Agreement.

Thresholds from 1 January 2026 (excluding VAT):

For how TED, procedures and qualification work, see our guide how to bid for EU public tenders on TED.

Who has a right to bid

WTO GPA parties. The EU must give companies from these parties treatment no less favourable than its own, for contracts within its coverage:

• Armenia, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong (China), Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Liechtenstein, Moldova and Montenegro;
• the Netherlands for Aruba, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland and Chinese Taipei;
• Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The EU’s schedule also has reciprocity carve-outs against particular parties for some sectors and buyers. Check coverage before relying on it.

Trade agreements with procurement chapters:

The Commission also lists procurement commitments with Central America, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Iraq. Their coverage varies widely, so check each schedule.

Not covered:

• India. The EU–India agreement was concluded in January 2026 but isn’t in force, and is reported to have no procurement chapter.
• China. It’s negotiating to join the GPA, but hasn’t.
• Türkiye, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and most other countries. They’re observers to the GPA or outside it, and observer status gives no access rights.

If your country isn’t covered: the Kolin ruling

In Kolin (C-652/22, 22 October 2024), the EU Court of Justice settled what happens to bidders from countries without an agreement. The case concerned a Turkish construction company.

• No right to access. Companies from countries without an agreement have no right to bid, or to equal treatment, under the directives.
• The buyer decides. Until the EU legislates, each contracting authority decides whether to admit them, and may adjust how their tenders are compared to reflect their different legal position.
• No EU-law remedy. If such a bidder believes it was treated unfairly, its complaint can be examined only under national law, not EU law.
• EU countries can’t legislate this themselves. Third-country access is an exclusive EU competence. A 2025 judgment (CRRC Qingdao Sifang) confirmed that a national rule excluding them is unlawful; the choice stays with each buyer, case by case.

In practice, many buyers still accept bids from non-covered countries, especially where competition is thin. But you can be excluded without explanation, scored differently, or left with weaker remedies. Read the tender documents: some now state whether non-covered bidders are admitted.

Utilities have their own rule: a supply tender can be rejected if more than 50% of the products come from non-covered countries. Between equivalent tenders, a covered tender wins if the price difference is 3% or less.

Restrictions that apply to everyone

• China, medical devices (International Procurement Instrument). Since 30 June 2025, tenders from companies originating in China are excluded from every EU procedure for medical devices worth €5 million or more. Winners of those tenders may not subcontract more than 50% to Chinese companies or supply more than 50% Chinese-origin devices.
  • Origin means where a company is constituted and has substantive operations. An EU subsidiary with real EU operations counts as EU-origin.
  • The measure lasts five years unless renewed.
• Foreign subsidies. For contracts of €250 million or more (or lots of €125 million or more), a bidder whose group received €4 million or more from any one non-EU country in the past three years must notify the Commission. This applies to EU companies too.
• Net-zero technology. Since 1 July 2026, tenders that include listed net-zero technologies must meet minimum sustainability requirements. Where the Commission finds the EU depends on one country for more than half of a technology, supply from that country is capped at 50%. Supplies covered by the GPA or a trade agreement are exempt.
• Russia. EU sanctions ban public contracts with Russian nationals, Russia-established entities and companies more than 50% Russian-owned. They also ban contracts where a Russian subcontractor or supplier exceeds 10% of the value. The ban applies to contracts above the EU thresholds.

Bidding from outside the EU: the practical steps

1. Check your coverage: your country, the buyer, the sector and the contract value. Read the tender documents for statements about third-country bidders.
2. You don’t need an EU company to bid.
   • Companies and consortia can tender without adopting a set legal form.
   • Evidence that you aren’t excluded can be an equivalent home-country document, or a sworn declaration before a notary or authority where your country issues none.
3. Use the ESPD, the European Single Procurement Document. It’s a self-declaration that buyers must accept as preliminary evidence; full certificates are usually requested only from the winner. e-Certis shows which documents each country accepts.
4. Get an EU-recognised e-signature. National platforms often require a qualified electronic signature. Signatures from non-EU providers generally aren’t recognised as qualified, so get one from an EU qualified trust service provider.
5. Plan for language and translation. The documents state the tender language, usually the national one and sometimes English. Certified translations of foreign certificates are commonly required.
6. Plan for performing the contract. A branch, subsidiary, VAT registration or a particular legal form may be required after award, depending on national law.
7. Consider a partner or an EU subsidiary. A consortium with an EU company, or bidding through an EU subsidiary with real operations, is the most robust route if your country isn’t covered.

Challenging a decision

• Covered bidders (EU, EEA, GPA and trade-agreement, within coverage):
  • there’s a standstill of at least 10 days between the award decision and signature (15 days if not sent electronically);
  • national review bodies can suspend the procedure, set aside decisions and award damages;
  • contracts awarded unlawfully without a notice can be declared ineffective.
• Non-covered bidders can use only the remedies national law gives them.

Deadlines, fees and review bodies differ by country, so check the country desk.

What changed in 2025–2026

• 1 January 2026: EU thresholds fell slightly, to €5.404 million for works and €140,000 / €216,000 for supplies and services.
• 13 March 2025: CRRC Qingdao confirmed the Kolin rule: buyers decide case by case, and countries can’t legislate exclusions.
• 30 June 2025: the first International Procurement Instrument measure, excluding Chinese companies from medical-device tenders of €5 million or more.
• 1 February 2025 and 1 May 2026: new treaty access for Chile, and then Mercosur.
• 1 July 2026: Net-Zero Industry Act procurement requirements apply generally.
• 9 September 2026: the Commission proposed a Public Procurement Act (COM(2026) 590).
  • What it does: one directly applicable regulation replacing the three directives, best price-quality as the default award method, and an optional European preference.
  • The preference: buyers could restrict participation to EU and covered bidders, reject non-covered tenders, require minimum EU or covered origin, or give preferences in evaluation.
  • Status: it’s a proposal only; the 2014 directives remain the law. It would apply two years after adoption.

EU and EEA country desks

Most of the EU tenders askTender shows for these countries come from TED: Ireland, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Czechia, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein.

See also which countries can bid on which government tenders and how US companies can bid for EU public tenders.

Questions

Sources

• CJEU, Kolin İnşaat (C-652/22), judgment of 22 October 2024
• Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement
• WTO: parties and observers to the Government Procurement Agreement
• Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1197: the IPI measure on medical devices from China
• European Commission: proposal for a Public Procurement Act (9 September 2026)
• European Commission: EU public procurement thresholds

This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.