The award of contracts by public sector bodies as well as certain private sector utility companies is regulated by the European Union (EU) procurement rules as set out primarily in directives 2004/17/EC and 2004/18/EC.
The basic aim of these rules is to provide for a fair and open competition in the award of (mainly) public contracts, allowing contractors across the EU to gain the full benefits of the internal market. The rules achieve this aim by generally requiring that certain contracts above specified value thresholds must be advertised and awarded competitively.
