The EU Threshold System
European public procurement operates on a two-tier system defined by financial thresholds. Contracts above these thresholds must follow full EU procurement directives and be advertised on TED. Contracts below the thresholds follow national rules and are typically published only on domestic portals.
Current EU Thresholds
The European Commission reviews threshold values every two years. The key thresholds (as of the most recent revision) are:
Central government supplies & services: ~€143,000
Sub-central government supplies & services: ~€221,000
Works contracts (all authorities): ~€5,538,000
Social and specific services: ~€750,000
Slightly different thresholds apply under the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) for participating countries.
Why Sub-Threshold Matters
Sub-threshold procurement represents a massive segment of public spending that many companies overlook. National governments and municipalities spend hundreds of billions annually on contracts that never appear on TED.
These tenders often have several advantages for bidders. Competition is typically lower since fewer companies monitor national portals systematically. Award timelines are shorter because simplified procedures apply. Contracting authorities are also often local organisations where relationship-building is more effective.
Where Sub-Threshold Tenders Are Published
Each EU member state has its own national procurement portal. For example, Portugal uses BASE, France uses BOAMP and PLACE, Germany uses service.bund.de, and the Netherlands uses TenderNed. The challenge is that each portal has its own format, language, and search functionality.
How Tende rRadar Captures Both
Tender Radar runs dedicated scrapers against 7 national portals to capture sub-threshold opportunities that competitors relying solely on TED would miss. Combined with above-threshold TED data, you get the complete picture of European public procurement in a single feed.
