Federal procurement facilitated

Public procurement is to become faster, simpler, and more digital. The German Federal Government has now adopted three administrative regulations to this end.

On June 10, 2026, the German Federal Government adopted three administrative regulations designed to further simplify procurement at the federal level . These regulations will enter into force on July 1, 2026, simultaneously with the Public Procurement Acceleration Act .

The most important points are: 

Startups should receive more public contracts

Startups will be encouraged to collaborate more closely with the government as a major client. This will help them grow and expand. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) is facilitating access to public contracts and increasing opportunities for startups through two measures :

Firstly, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) is introducing the special threshold of €100.000 stipulated in the coalition agreement . This will allow clients to award direct contracts to startups more easily and quickly during the first four years after their founding .

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Secondly, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) permits negotiated procurement without a competitive bidding process with only one company if the startup is no more than eight years old . In this case, the contracting authority contacts the startup directly and negotiates with it. This rule applies up to the EU thresholds for supplies and services.

Simple procurement procedures should become the norm

Negotiated procurement without prior publication is the simplest procedure below the EU thresholds . The contracting authority only needs to obtain at least three offers and negotiates directly with the suppliers. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) is making this procedure easier to use: contracting authorities can now use it without additional requirements for contracts up to a value of €100.000 .

Security authorities can shop more easily 

The current geopolitical and security situation remains tense. Therefore, security authorities such as the Federal Intelligence Service, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the Federal Police, and the Federal Agency for Technical Relief must be able to procure resources more quickly and easily.

The government is now extending the tax relief measures that the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) already received for smaller contracts in 2025 to civil security, internal security, disaster relief, and intelligence agencies. A key measure is the increased threshold for direct contracts up to the EU threshold for supplies and services . For construction projects, a new threshold of one million euros will apply to direct contracts.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) continues to work intensively on accelerating public procurement and simplifying the rules. To this end, it primarily intends to reform the regulations governing procurement below the EU thresholds. 

Source: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE)

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