Below-Threshold Contracts

This document replaces the brief that was originally published in January 2011. The EU Public Procurement Directives only apply to contracts of a value that meet or exceed the relevant EU financial threshold. Below threshold contracts are not covered by the procurement Directives. However, below threshold contracts comprise the vast majority of contracts awarded by contracting authorities and are therefore of great importance in all EU member states. This means that the majority of contracts are awarded using national rules and procedures. SIGMA Brief 15 provides a brief overview of the approaches member states have adopted below the thresholds. The Brief concludes with further information on the way in which the rules and principles of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, basic standards, and some provisions of the Directives may impact on the procurement of below threshold contracts.