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What Are the EU Procurement Principles?
The EU procurement principles are the fundamental principles every public procurement must follow: non-discrimination, equal treatment, transparency, proportionality and mutual recognition. They derive from the EU Treaties and apply to all procurement, including below the thresholds.
What are the principles?
Non-discrimination, equal treatment, transparency, proportionality and mutual recognition. They derive from the EU Treaties and apply to all public procurement.
Do they apply below the thresholds?
Yes, wherever the contract has a cross-border interest, and national law generally applies them to all procurement. They cannot be avoided by choosing a lighter procedure.
Why do they matter to suppliers?
Because most successful complaints rest on one of them. If a buyer breaches a principle, the specific rule it broke matters less than the principle it violated.
