New thresholds for EU procurement from 2026

In the new year, the EU thresholds for all Europe-wide procurement procedures will be lowered.

Each year, the German public sector awards contracts worth hundreds of billions of euros to companies. From January 1, 2026, new EU thresholds will apply to all Europe-wide procurement procedures. These thresholds have been slightly lowered compared to the previous ones . The new thresholds are relevant for all procurement procedures published from January 1, 2026, onwards, as well as for procedures without mandatory publication where the invitation to tender is then issued.

The thresholds will be adjusted as follows on January 1, 2026 :

• Directive for traditional public contracts:

• Construction services: EUR 5.404.000 (instead of the previous 5.538.000 euros)
  
  
• Supplies/services: 216.000 euros (instead of 221.000 euros)
  
  
• Central government agencies: 140.000 euros (instead of the previous 143.000 euros)

• Sectoral Directive:

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• Construction work: 5.404.000 euros (instead of 5.538.000 euros)
  
  
• Deliveries/services: 432.000 euros (instead of the previous 443.000 euros)

• Concession Directive:

• 5.404.000 euros (instead of the previous 5.538.000 euros).

All threshold amounts are net values ​​excluding VAT. Implementation by the German legislature is no longer necessary, as the EU regulations apply directly through the dynamic references in the procurement regulations. However, their validity is limited to the next two years, i.e., until December 31, 2027.

The thresholds are relevant for estimating the contract value , which contracting authorities must do before initiating a procurement procedure. If the net contract value of the services to be awarded reaches or exceeds the threshold, the contracting authority is obligated to conduct a Europe-wide procurement procedure . The determination of the contract value is carried out in accordance with Section 3 of the German Procurement Ordinance (Vergabeverordnung ). This stipulates that all lots and all options, in particular those for contract renewal, but also those for contract extension, must be aggregated.

Source: ZDH

Procurement law 
Procurement law includes all provisions that govern public sector must be observed when purchasing goods and services. There is no uniform law for the award of public contracts; it is based on a multitude of regulations. Whether a service is to be tendered Europe-wide depends on whether certain contract thresholds are exceeded, whereby the Total value of the tendered project, not the individual lot.

The award above the EU thresholds In Germany, among other things, they regulate the Law against Restraints of Competition and the Regulation on the award of public contracts, only for construction contracts the VOB/A.

For awards below of EU values, the Sub-threshold Public Procurement Ordinance (UVgO), For ConstructionHowever, awards remain in Subthreshold area the VOB/A In North Rhine-Westphalia, the Collective Bargaining and Public Procurement Act and other state regulations also apply.

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