Procurement at the EIB: portals, thresholds and rules

At a glance

Rules: Guide to Procurement for projects financed by the EIB
Procurement and oversight: European Investment Bank – Procurement
Portal: EIB Procurement – All procurement notices

Thresholds

EIB own-account (corporate) procurement: threshold for works contracts above which the full EU-directive procedures apply	EUR 2,500,000
EIB own-account procurement: threshold for supply and service contracts (follows Directive 2014/24/EU, stated as currently)	EUR 216,000
EIB own-account procurement: below this value a contract may be awarded by direct negotiation with a single tender	EUR 50,000
Projects outside the EU: maximum ceiling for using national procedures for works (agreed per project)	EUR 5 million
Projects outside the EU: maximum ceiling for national procedures for goods and services (EUR 400,000 for electricity, gas, water and transport; EUR 600,000 for telecommunications)	EUR 200,000
Projects outside the EU: consultancy contracts from this value need an open procedure or a restricted procedure with an international call for expressions of interest	EUR 200,000

Rules and buyers

Two rulebooks apply. The Guide to Procurement for projects financed by the EIB (version dated March 2024) tells borrowers and promoters how to procure works, goods and services for projects the Bank finances; the promoter is fully responsible for the tender and the EIB only checks that its financing conditions are met. Inside the EU and in candidate countries that apply EU law, promoters follow EU public procurement law; elsewhere the Bank requires the main mechanisms of the EU directives. For its own needs the EIB applies its Corporate & Technical Assistance Procurement Guide, which takes Directive 2014/24/EU as its main legal basis and also covers technical assistance services under third-party mandates. In 2025 the EIB Group reported a historic EUR 100 billion in new financing, around 90% of it inside the EU.[1][3][7][12]

Where tenders are published

Corporate calls for tender, technical assistance tenders and calls for expression of interest are listed on the EIB procurement pages, with the Official Journal (OJEU) reference and deadline; contract notices above the thresholds are published on TED. Each call page links to its tender documents, sometimes as a downloadable dossier and for older calls via the EU eTendering platform. For EIB-financed projects outside the EU, the promoter publishes the procurement notice in the OJEU and/or on the EIB website, often also in national and international press. Inside the EU, project tenders appear on the national portal and on TED like any other public tender. In the EIB Group Supplier Portal (potential) suppliers can register, and contracted vendors manage certificates, invoices and payments.[1][5][6][13]

Procedures and thresholds

For projects outside the EU, public sector contracts are normally procured through an open or restricted procedure with international publication; competitive dialogue, competitive procedure with negotiation and negotiated procedures are exceptions. National procedures may be used below a ceiling agreed per project, which should not exceed EUR 5 million for works and EUR 200,000 for goods and services (EUR 400,000 for utilities and transport, EUR 600,000 for telecoms). Consultancy contracts from EUR 200,000 need an open or restricted procedure with an international call; below that a negotiated procedure applies. For its own procurement the EIB uses the Directive's open, restricted, competitive procedure with negotiation, competitive dialogue and innovation partnership procedures above EUR 216,000 for supplies and services and EUR 2,500,000 for works; below that, negotiated procedures with at least three or five candidates, or a single tender under EUR 50,000.[1][3]

Documents and language

For projects financed from the EIB's own resources, firms from all countries are eligible; restrictions can apply when funds come from third parties such as EU budget instruments or when co-financing. Firms under EU financial sanctions, or excluded under the EIB's anti-fraud and exclusion policies, cannot take part. Outside the EU each tenderer signs a Covenant of Integrity. Tender documents for projects outside the EU are prepared in an official EU language, preferably English or French, and tenderers may bid in that language. In EIB corporate and technical assistance tenders, bidders sign declarations on the exclusion grounds of Article 57 of Directive 2014/24/EU and are checked against the EU Early Detection and Exclusion System and the EIB's exclusion list; recent tenders required English.[1][9][10][11]

Deadlines, award and challenges

For international tenders in projects outside the EU, the time to prepare tenders should normally be at least six weeks from the date documents are available, and the promoter must answer questions within one week. Evaluation is either lowest price among compliant tenders or the most economically advantageous tender, with criteria listed in the notice. The promoter informs all tenderers of the award and observes a standstill period before signing. Complaints about a promoter go to the promoter or national review bodies; complaints about the Bank's own decisions go to the Procurement Complaints Committee, preferably within the standstill period, with a decision within 30 calendar days (up to 60 in complex cases), and then to the European Ombudsman. For EIB corporate contracts the standstill is 15 calendar days, or 10 when notified electronically.[1][3][8]

How to win a tender at the EIB

How you win depends on who buys. In EIB-financed projects outside the EU, the promoter evaluates either on lowest price among compliant, technically responsive tenders or on the most economically advantageous tender, and the criteria must be in the notice and quantified in the documents; the evaluation must apply them in full, without additions. For consultancy, quality factors such as experience, methodology and key staff should together weigh more than price. Questions on the documents must be answered within one week, and you may alert the promoter, with a copy to the Bank, to clauses that limit competition. No change to substance or price is accepted after opening, so completeness decides. In EIB corporate and technical assistance tenders the award is often best price-quality ratio; one recent tender weighed technical quality against price 80/20. Questions go in writing before a fixed deadline and answers are published on the call page. Study the buyer: award notices appear in the OJEU and/or on the EIB website. After the award decision, use the standstill period to ask for the reasons.[1][3][8][10]

Identify whether the promoter or the EIB itself is the buyer and which rulebook applies.
List every award criterion and weighting from the notice and tender documents.
Send clarification questions in writing before the deadline and follow published answers.
Check eligibility, exclusion declarations and the Covenant of Integrity before writing.
Submit a complete, compliant tender; nothing substantive can be changed after opening.
Request the award reasons and act within the standstill period if needed.

Clarification round: Clarification requests (questions on the tender documents)

How TenderRender helps you at the EIB

TenderRender does the work behind each step above. Your team checks and refines.

1
Research the buyer
Brings together the buyer's earlier awards, policies and contracts, so your bid fits this buyer's situation at the EIB.
2
Ask questions
Finds unclear points and risks in the documents and drafts questions about them for the clarification round: Clarification requests (questions on the tender documents).
3
Write per criterion
Drafts a first version per award criterion, in the language of the tender, with citations to your own documents.
4
Review
Scores your bid per award criterion the way an evaluator would, with concrete improvements.
5
Fill in forms
Fills in the declarations, price schedules, questionnaires and Excel annexes from your own data and earlier bids, with a source per answer.
6
Submit
Builds a checklist of everything you need to submit on the portal named in the notice and prepares the documents ready to sign.

Tender search covers the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany; at the EIB you upload the documents from the portal named in the notice and TenderRender works with them the same way.

Teams writing or reviewing with TenderRender won 49% of their completed tenders. How this was calculated

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Tips for bidders

First work out who the buyer is: for most EIB money it is a ministry, utility or company abroad, not the Bank. Follow the EIB procurement pages and TED, and track pipeline projects and market outreach events, such as the Bank's sector webinars, to see upcoming tenders early. Read the Guide to Procurement so you know what promoters must publish, how long they must give you and that you may alert the promoter and the Bank in writing about clauses that limit competition. For corporate and technical assistance tenders, note the clarification deadline and the submission method in the instructions, because some tenders use password-protected files and require you to register interest in advance. Prepare exclusion declarations and evidence early.[1][6][7][10]

Platforms at the EIB

The portals where this organisation publishes its tenders or awards, from its own sources.

EIB Procurement
The EIB's own listing of corporate calls, technical assistance tenders and notices from promoters of EIB-financed projects outside the EU.
How it works →Website
Tenders Electronic Daily (TED)
EIB corporate contract notices and many project notices appear in the Official Journal of the EU, searchable on TED.
How it works →Website
EIB Project procurement
Explains that promoters, not the EIB, run project tenders; links to notice templates, guidance and market outreach material.
How it works →Website
EIB Group Supplier Portal
EIB Group platform where (potential) suppliers register and contracted vendors manage certificates, invoices and payments.
How it works →Website

Frequently asked questions

Where are EIB tenders published?

The EIB's own tenders and technical assistance calls are listed on eib.org under Procurement and published on TED. Tenders for EIB-financed projects are published by the borrower or promoter, outside the EU in the Official Journal of the EU and/or on the EIB website, inside the EU on national portals and TED.[1][6][13]

Do I need to register to bid?

No general supplier registration is required to see EIB tenders. Each call explains how to obtain documents and submit; some technical assistance tenders ask you to register interest by email to get access to the upload platform. You can create an account in the EIB Group Supplier Portal, which contracted vendors also use for invoices and payments.[5][10][14]

Which thresholds apply?

For its own procurement the EIB applies full EU-directive procedures from EUR 216,000 for supplies and services and EUR 2,500,000 for works, and may negotiate with one tenderer below EUR 50,000. In projects outside the EU, national procedures are capped at EUR 5 million for works and EUR 200,000 for goods and services (higher for utilities and telecoms), and consultancy from EUR 200,000 needs an international procedure.[1][3]

Who can take part?

For projects financed from the EIB's own resources, firms from all countries of the world are eligible. Restrictions can apply when the money comes from third-party mandates, and firms under EU sanctions or excluded by the EIB cannot participate.[1][9]

In which language do I submit?

For projects outside the EU, documents are prepared in an official EU language, preferably English or French, and you may tender in that language. EIB corporate and technical assistance tenders state the language in the instructions; recent ones require English.[1][10]

How much time do I get?

In international tenders for projects outside the EU, normally at least six weeks from when the documents are available, longer for large or complex contracts. EIB corporate tenders above the thresholds follow the time limits of Directive 2014/24/EU.[1][3]

Who do I complain to about an EIB-financed tender?

Complain to the promoter or the national review body about the promoter's decisions. If you challenge the Bank's own procurement decision, email the Procurement Complaints Committee at procurementcomplaints@eib.org, ideally before the standstill period ends; afterwards you can go to the European Ombudsman.[1][8]