August 4, 2003

Contract awarding procedures

The call for tenders procedure is used by CNES to select the tender which is the most economically advantageous, without negotiation.

Calls for tenders

 Open call for tenders

 A call for tenders is said to be ‘open’ when the competition information is sent to all companies requesting such information, during the period specified in the corresponding invitation to tender published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).

 Restricted call for tenders

 A call for tenders is said to be ‘restricted’ when CNES selects applications submitted following the publication of a call for applications notice in the OJEU and sends the competition documents simultaneously to the applicants selected.

 Call for tenders following prior selection

For this type of call for tenders, the list of competing applicants is determined by CNES, based on objective criteria, with no discrimination and with the intention of broadening the competition. This procedure does not oblige CNES to publish a notice in the OJEU.

Negotiated procedures

A negotiated procedure is one by which CNES selects a contractor following consultation with one or more operators and subsequent negotiation of the terms of the contract.

Negotiated procedure with prior publication of a contract notice and with competition
This procedure requires a call for applications to be published in the OJEU. CNES selects the accepted applicants and sends the competition documents, simultaneously, to the applicants concerned.

Negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice and without competition
Unlike the above negotiated procedure, CNES is obliged neither to publish a call for applications in the OJEU nor to call for tenders.

Simplified consultation
Simplified consultation involves simply requesting financial and technical proposals from at least two companies, and does not require the publication of a notice in the OJEU.