Better Regulation logo
Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Expand all headings Collapse all headings Expand side bar Collapse side bar
Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC (Text with EEA relevance)RecitalsTitle I Scope, Definitions and General Principles (arts. 1-24)Chapter I Scope and definitions (ss. 1-17)Section 1 Subject - matter and definitions (arts. 1-3)Article 1 Subject-matter and scopeArticle 2 DefinitionsArticle 3 Mixed procurementSection 2 Thresholds (arts. 4-6)Article 4 Threshold amountsArticle 5 Methods for calculating the estimated value of procurementArticle 6 Revision of the thresholds and of the list of central government authoritiesSection 3 Exclusions (arts. 7-12)Article 7 Contracts in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectorsArticle 8 Specific exclusions in the field of electronic communicationsArticle 9 Public contracts awarded and design contests organised pursuant to international rulesArticle 10 Specific exclusions for service contractsArticle 11 Service contracts awarded on the basis of an exclusive rightArticle 12 Public contracts between entities within the public sectorSection 4 Specific situations (arts. 13-17)Subsection 1 Subsidised contracts and research and development services (arts. 13-14)Article 13 Contracts subsidised by contracting authoritiesArticle 14 Research and development servicesSubsection 2 Procurement involving defence or security aspects (arts. 15-17)Article 15 Defence and securityArticle 16 Mixed procurement involving defence or security aspectsArticle 17 Public contracts and design contests involving defence or security aspects which are awarded or organised pursuant to international rulesChapter II General rules (arts. 18-24)Article 18 Principles of procurementArticle 19 Economic operatorsArticle 20 Reserved contractsArticle 21 ConfidentialityArticle 22 Rules applicable to communicationArticle 23 NomenclaturesArticle 24 Conflicts of interestTitle II Rules on Public Contracts (arts. 25-73)Chapter I Procedures (arts. 25-32)Article 25 Conditions relating to the GPA and other international agreementsArticle 26 Choice of proceduresArticle 27 Open procedureArticle 28 Restricted procedureArticle 29 Competitive procedure with negotiationArticle 30 Competitive dialogueArticle 31 Innovation partnershipArticle 32 Use of the negotiated procedure without prior publicationChapter II Techniques and instruments for electronic and aggregated procurement (arts. 33-39)Article 33 Framework agreementsArticle 34 Dynamic purchasing systemsArticle 35 Electronic auctionsArticle 36 Electronic cataloguesArticle 37 Centralised purchasing activities and central purchasing bodiesArticle 38 Occasional joint procurementArticle 39 Procurement involving contracting authorities from different Member StatesChapter III Conduct of the procedure (arts. 40-69)Section 1 Preparation (arts. 40-47)Article 40 Preliminary market consultationsArticle 41 Prior involvement of candidates or tenderersArticle 42 Technical specificationsArticle 43 LabelsArticle 44 Test reports, certification and other means of proofArticle 45 VariantsArticle 46 Division of contracts into lotsArticle 47 Setting time limitsSection 2 Publication and transparency (arts. 48-55)Article 48 Prior information noticesArticle 49 Contract noticesArticle 50 Contract award noticesArticle 51 Form and manner of publication of noticesArticle 52 Publication at national levelArticle 53 Electronic availability of procurement documentsArticle 54 Invitations to candidatesArticle 55 Informing candidates and tenderersSection 3 Choice of participants and award of contracts (arts. 56-69)Article 56 General principlesSubsection 1 Criteria for qualitative selection (arts. 57-64)Article 57 Exclusion groundsArticle 58 Selection criteriaArticle 59 European Single Procurement DocumentArticle 60 Means of proofArticle 61 Online repository of certificates (e-Certis)Article 62 Quality assurance standards and environmental management standardsArticle 63 Reliance on the capacities of other entitiesArticle 64 Official lists of approved economic operators and certification by bodies established under public or private lawSubsection 2 Reduction of numbers of candidates, tenders and solutions (arts. 65-66)Article 65 Reduction of the number of otherwise qualified candidates to be invited to participateArticle 66 Reduction of the number of tenders and solutionsSubsection 3 A ward of the contract (arts. 67-69)Article 67 Contract award criteriaArticle 68 Life-cycle costingArticle 69 Abnormally low tendersChapter IV Contract performance (arts. 70-73)Article 70 Conditions for performance of contractsArticle 71 SubcontractingArticle 72 Modification of contracts during their termArticle 73 Termination of contractsTitle III Particular Procurement Regimes (arts. 74-82)Chapter I Social and other specific services (arts. 74-77)Article 74 Award of contracts for social and other specific servicesArticle 75 Publication of noticesArticle 76 Principles of awarding contractsArticle 77 Reserved contracts for certain servicesChapter II Rules governing design contests (arts. 78-82)Article 78 ScopeArticle 79 NoticesArticle 80 Rules on the organisation of design contests and the selection of participantsArticle 81 Composition of the juryArticle 82 Decisions of the juryTitle IV Governance (arts. 83-86)Article 83 EnforcementArticle 84 Individual reports on procedures for the award of contractsArticle 85 National reporting and statistical informationArticle 86 Administrative cooperationTitle V Delegated Powers, Implementing Powers and Final Provisions (arts. 87-94)Article 87 Exercise of the delegationArticle 88 Urgency procedureArticle 89 Committee procedureArticle 90 Transposition and transitional provisionsArticle 91 RepealsArticle 92 ReviewArticle 93 Entry into forceArticle 94 AddresseesAnnex I Central government authoritiesAnnex II List of the activities referred to in point (6)(a) of article 2(1)Annex III List of products referred to in article 4(b) with regard to contracts awarded by contracting authorities in the field of defenceAnnex IV Requirements relating to tools and devices for the electronic receipt of tenders, requests for participation as well as plans and projects in contestsAnnex V Information to be included in noticesAnnex VI Information to be included in the procurement documents relating to electronic auctions (article 35(4))Annex VII Definition of certain technical specificationsAnnex VIII Features concerning publicationAnnex IX Contents of the invitations to submit a tender, to participate in the dialogue or to confirm interest provided for under article 54Annex X List of international social and environmental conventions referred to in article 18(2)Annex XI RegistersAnnex XII Means of proof of selection criteriaAnnex XIII List of eu legislation referred to in article 68(3)Annex XIV Services referred to in article 74Annex XV Correlation tableDone at
Page Overview
Document Overview
Tools
Set a date to view the document
Text comparison options
Full text - Date 1 vs Date 2
Amendments requiring commencement - Current text vs Text requiring commencement
Draft proposed changes - Current text vs Text proposed by drafting documents
Recently generated comparisons
None generated
Print / Export options
Current page
Whole document
Selected pages
Consolidated PDF of the entire document as of 21st June 2026
Export
Export line by line
Export provision to provision
Report template
Create report template
Alert me to changes
Manage alerts
Bookmarks
This page
This document
Manage bookmarks
Search within this document
View previous searches
Share
Get page link
Share via email application

AI Summary of Article 56 General principles

PreviousNext
Version status: Entered into force | Document consolidation status: Updated to reflect all known changes
Version date: 17 April 2014 - onwards
Version 2 of 2

Article 56 General principles

1. Contracts shall be awarded on the basis of criteria laid down in accordance with Articles 67 to 69, provided that the contracting authority has verified in accordance with Articles 59 to 61 that all of the following conditions are fulfilled:

(a) the tender complies with the requirements, conditions and criteria set out in the contract notice or the invitation to confirm interest and in the procurement documents, taking into account, where applicable, Article 45;

(b) the tender comes from a tenderer that is not excluded in accordance with Article 57 and that meets the selection criteria set out by the contracting authority in accordance with Article 58 and, where applicable, the non-discriminatory rules and criteria referred to in Article 65.

Contracting authorities may decide not to award a contract to the tenderer submitting the most economically advantageous tender where they have established that the tender does not comply with the applicable obligations referred to in Article 18(2).

PreviousNext