AccessibleEU - phase II

AccessibleEU phase II is an open public procurement by the European Commission (DG JUST) for a service contract to manage, operate and expand the European Accessibility Resource Centre. Estimated total value €11.2 million for a maximum duration of 48 months (initial 12 months with up to three renewals) and the contract will be awarded by best price-quality ratio with quality weighted 70% and price 30%. Tenders must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal and include the technical proposal, the Annex 6 financial offer and required declarations. The deadline for receipt of tenders is 16 December 2026 at 16:00 Brussels time.

What is funded

Summary of procurement

Who can apply

Open procedure. Any economic operator established in the EU, in candidate and potential candidate countries or in third countries eligible under the CERV programme may submit a tender. Joint tenders and subcontracting are permitted under the rules in the tender specifications.

How to apply and selection

Electronic submission only via the Funding & Tenders Portal (EU Login and PIC required). Tenders must follow the tender specifications and draft contract; award by best price-quality ratio. The contracting authority is the European Commission, DG JUST (Directorate D: Equality and Non-Discrimination).

Key dates

Quick facts

Consult the procurement documents and invitation to tender on the Funding & Tenders Portal for full specifications, annexes (draft contract, security requirements, financial offer form) and submission instructions Funding & Tenders Portal 1

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement documents, invitation to tender, tender specifications and annexes are published on the Funding & Tenders Portal: AccessibleEU - phase II (tender details) F&T tender details.

What this procurement is

The European Commission (DG JUST, Directorate D Equality & Non-Discrimination) invites tenders for a direct service contract to manage and operate the European Accessibility Resource Centre AccessibleEU - phase II. The contract covers continuation, maintenance, further development and expansion of the existing resource centre (website, online library, community of practice, outreach, training, monitoring, support to standardisation and technical specifications under the European Accessibility Act). The tender is an open procedure with electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The contracting authority published tender documents (Invitation to Tender, Tender Specifications, Draft Contract and annexes) and requires the services described in detail in Annex I (Tender Specifications).

Eligibility, contract and application features

Eligible Applicant Types

Funding Type and Contract Nature

This is a public procurement (tender) for a service contract (direct contract). Financial mechanism: fee-for-service contract paid by the Commission (service contract). The contract is implemented under standard EU procurement rules (Financial Regulation) with award by best price-quality ratio.

Consortium Requirement

The procedure accepts single tenderers or joint tenders (consortium). Where a joint tender is submitted the group leader must be identified. All group members are jointly and severally liable. PIC registration for each legal entity and adherence to Annex III VAT reporting rules for groups is required where applicable.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility)

Eligible entities established in EU Member States and in candidate and potential candidate countries (explicitly listed in the Tender Specifications). The procurement explicitly aims to extend AccessibleEU scope to candidate and potential candidate countries as part of the contract’s objectives.

Target Sector and Thematic Scope

Project Stage / Expected Maturity

Funding Amount and Duration

Application and award details

Application Type and Process

Evaluation and Award

Nature of Support to Beneficiaries

The successful contractor receives financial remuneration for delivering services (service contract). The output is a paid service provision (money). Non-monetary outputs are services, knowledge products, events and platforms delivered to stakeholders and the public.

Application Stages

Success Rates

No official success-rate information is provided in the procurement documents. This is a single-award contract: only one tenderer/consortium will be awarded the contract out of all valid tenders received.

Co-funding requirement

No co-financing from the contractor is required. The procurement is a fee-for-service contract paid from the EU budget. The financial offer must be complete and fixed for the contract duration as specified in the Tender Specifications; in case of renewals the contract foresees fixed-price arrangements and rules on possible price revision (special conditions indicate price revision is not applicable for this contract).

Eligibility, technical and management requirements (key highlights)

Tender Specifications (Annex I) provide full technical, management and staffing requirements. Below are the principal elements to reproduce in any bid.

Documents, forms and templates to use in the application

The procurement documents published on the Funding & Tenders Portal are the authoritative templates and forms. Tenderers must download and use the following primary documents available in the Procurement Documents section of the portal:

Templates and the financial offer sheet are mandatory to submit. The Contractor’s technical tender must include the proposed methodology, Inception Report draft elements (AOP, CAP), staffing plan (CVs), workplan, sample questionnaires for needs mapping and evaluation template, descriptions of library and community management tools, and sample deliverable outlines (e.g., guidance, study). The Tender Specifications list full document names and where to upload them in eSubmission.

Administrative & compliance checklist for applicants (high priority items)

All tenderers are strongly advised to consult the full Tender Specifications and Draft Contract annexes before preparing their offers to ensure full compliance with contracting authority requirements.

What is this opportunity about — summary explanation

AccessibleEU phase II is a 4‑year service contract opportunity launched by the European Commission (DG JUST) to continue and expand the European Accessibility Resource Centre that supports implementation of Union accessibility legislation (e.g., the European Accessibility Act and the Web Accessibility Directive) across the EU and candidate/potential candidate countries. The contractor will keep the existing centre operational, maintain and grow an accessible web portal and library, deliver training, run a community of practice, organise national and EU-level events (online and in person), produce at least one major practical guidance or thematic analysis per year, support monitoring and indicator work, and provide targeted support for participation of civil society in standardisation and for technical specifications under the EAA. The procurement is an open electronic tender with an estimated total value of €11,200,000. Tenderers (single entities or consortia) must submit a full technical offer and a financial offer using the provided Annex 6 form; comply with exclusion, selection and award rules; meet security and data localisation requirements; and ensure accessibility of all deliverables and events. The successful bidder will be awarded a service contract via best price-quality ratio and will implement the work according to the Inception Report, Annual Operational Plans and the reporting schedule.

Footnotes

1. 1Tender documents, Q&A and electronic submission are handled via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Access the tender package and submit electronically via the portal: ec.europa.eu

AccessibleEU phase II

Executive summary

AccessibleEU phase II is a European Commission public procurement procedure for the continued management, operation and expansion of the European Accessibility Resource Centre. It is a service contract rather than a grant. The successful contractor will operate the existing centre, preserve and develop its first-phase assets, expand coverage to EU candidate and potential candidate countries, and deliver communication, knowledge, stakeholder, capacity-building, monitoring and standardisation-related services.

The contracting authority is the European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, Directorate D for Equality and Non-Discrimination. The procedure is open, is not divided into lots, and will be awarded using the best price-quality ratio. Quality has a weighting of 70 percent and price has a weighting of 30 percent. The estimated total contract value is €11.2 million for a maximum duration of 48 months 1.

This opportunity is most suitable for a well-established consortium or organisation with demonstrated EU-wide accessibility expertise, multilingual delivery capacity, strong project management, stakeholder networks, digital communication capability and the ability to mobilise experts across all covered countries.

Opportunity identification

What the procurement is about

The procurement will continue and expand AccessibleEU, an EU-wide resource centre supporting the practical implementation of accessibility legislation, policy, standards and inclusive design. The centre is intended to bridge the gap between legal requirements and implementation by providing practical knowledge, training, networking, monitoring support, examples of good practice and technical resources.

The service is linked to the European Accessibility Act, the Web Accessibility Directive, accessibility-related transport and communications legislation, public procurement rules, EU funding requirements and the wider EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021 to 2030.

The contractor will work in close cooperation with the Commission. AccessibleEU will not act as an independent regulator, provide formal legal advice or establish itself as an autonomous public authority. The contractor will remain accountable to DG JUST and must operate within the instructions, governance arrangements and approvals set by the Commission.

The second phase is intended to maintain the existing centre while increasing its geographical scope to the EU candidate and potential candidate countries. The countries identified in the tender specifications include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine and Kosovo, with the designation concerning Kosovo subject to the stated international law qualification.

Core objectives

The principal objectives are to support implementation of accessibility legislation and policy, improve compliance with EU standards, expand stakeholder networks, provide a one-stop shop for accessibility knowledge, strengthen capacity-building and peer learning, support monitoring at EU and national level, and ensure active participation by persons with disabilities in governance and delivery.

The contractor must preserve relevant first-phase outputs and networks while introducing an effective transition from the current contractor. The proposed methodology must be suitable for the full contract period and must be refined through the inception process and annual operational plans.

Scope of services

Management and coordination requirements

The contractor will manage the overall contract, coordinate the work programme, maintain quality assurance and provide regular reports. The service includes takeover support from the current contractor at the beginning and an orderly handover at the end.

The tender must include a proposed methodology and a detailed annual operational plan for the first contract year. The plan must address priorities, activities, outputs, timetable, geographical coverage, formats, target groups, expert responsibilities, risks, mitigation measures, monitoring, knowledge resources and standardisation support where relevant.

The management team may not be subcontracted. The European team of experts may be subcontracted, but the senior expert team may not be subcontracted.

Communication and digital services

The contractor will maintain and update the existing AccessibleEU web portal hosted by the Commission, operate the public and restricted sections, support content publication and ensure that the digital structure permits useful materials to be transferred or archived by the Commission at the end of the contract.

The communication service includes an accessible communication strategy, annual Communication Action Plans, website content, social media management, newsletters, outreach and dissemination. The specifications require at least two pieces of web or dissemination content per month and at least two newsletters per year.

All online content, audiovisual materials, documents, events and communications must be accessible. Requirements include appropriate captioning, audio description, alternative text, adequate contrast, accessible documents and sign-language interpretation when required. Physical events must also address venue, travel, accommodation and reasonable accommodation needs.

Knowledge resources and guidance

The online library must be maintained and expanded as a searchable accessibility knowledge repository covering EU-level and national content, with materials in English and relevant national languages. It must support searches by accessibility area, sector, EU level and country or region.

At least 30 new library entries must be uploaded and maintained each year. The contractor must also identify at least 20 good practices each year, with balanced geographical and sectoral coverage. The tender must explain the proposed approach to quality control, multilingual coverage, copyright compliance, tagging, search functions and geographic balance.

Each year the contractor will produce either one practical guidance or support material of up to 20 pages or one thematic analysis of up to 50 pages with an executive summary of up to four pages. Practical guidance must be translated into EU official languages and the official languages of the candidate and potential candidate countries. The final choice of deliverable and topic will be agreed with the Commission.

Stakeholder engagement and capacity-building

Target groups include public authorities, market surveillance authorities, service compliance authorities, public procurers, companies and SMEs, business associations, universities, research organisations, disability organisations, older persons organisations, civil society, open-source platforms and partnerships involving these stakeholders.

The direct beneficiaries include persons with disabilities, persons with reduced mobility, persons with temporary impairments, older persons and the general public. The contractor must involve persons with disabilities and their representative organisations throughout planning and delivery.

Activities may include awareness-raising, workshops, training, networking, mutual learning, peer exchange, community-of-practice activities and technical capacity-building. Events must be free of registration and participation charges for attendees.

Expert team requirements

A substantial expert structure is a central requirement. At submission, the tenderer must have identified at least one expert for each country covered by the contract. The contractor must retain the capacity to collect information and perform work in every covered country throughout implementation.

The team must include at least 15 members from organisations with well-recognised accessibility expertise, such as universities, research institutes, industry and business organisations. It must also include an expert with previous experience in a European-level organisation representing persons with disabilities and an expert with previous experience in a European-level organisation representing older persons.

In addition, at least four senior accessibility experts must form part of the core team. They must be additional to the wider European expert team and must provide strategic oversight and quality assurance. They are expected to participate in key meetings with the Commission, including the kick-off, interim and final meetings and one additional meeting where required.

Who can apply

The procedure is open to economic operators, including natural persons, legal persons, sole tenderers and groups of economic operators submitting a joint tender. A consortium is likely to be appropriate because the requirements combine management, accessibility policy, digital services, communications, multilingual delivery, research, stakeholder engagement and country-level expertise.

The service coverage is open to entities established in EU Member States and EU candidate and potential candidate countries. The procurement documents should be checked carefully for the detailed rules concerning the establishment of tenderers, access restrictions, reliance on the capacities of other entities, subcontracting and restrictive measures.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they are not in an exclusion situation and that they satisfy all selection criteria in the tender specifications. The declaration on honour applies to the tenderer, relevant consortium members, subcontractors and entities whose capacities are relied upon where applicable 4.

Consortia and subcontracting

A joint tender may be submitted by several economic operators. Each consortium member must register in the Participant Register, obtain or use a valid Participant Identification Code and provide the required declarations and supporting information.

Tenderers may rely on the capacities of other entities where permitted by the tender specifications, but they remain responsible for demonstrating availability of the relevant capacity and for performing the contract in accordance with all requirements.

The tender must identify subcontractors and specify the relevant subcontracted activities and proportions where required. The management team cannot be subcontracted, and the senior expert team must remain within the contractor’s core team.

Financial terms

The estimated overall contract value is €11.2 million excluding any applicable VAT treatment specified in the contract documents. This is the estimated value of the procurement and not a grant budget or an automatic award to applicants.

The financial offer form is structured around the seven tasks and their sub-tasks. Tenderers must provide unit and total prices excluding VAT, rounded to two decimal places, and supply a separate breakdown by cost category, including staff costs and other costs 3.

The financial offer must be fixed and not subject to price revision according to the form. Where there is a discrepancy between unit prices and an aggregate total price, the total price prevails under the financial offer instructions.

No grant funding rate, co-financing rate, eligible cost percentage or fixed lump sum applies. The successful tenderer will be paid under the signed service contract for accepted services and deliverables in accordance with the draft contract and payment provisions.

Duration and implementation model

The contract is therefore operationally intensive from the outset. Bidders should plan for rapid mobilisation, continuity of the existing website and community, early expert availability, transfer of knowledge from the outgoing contractor and an inception period that converts the tender methodology into an approved operational plan.

Award methodology

The contract will be awarded using the best price-quality ratio. The published procurement data indicates a 70 percent weighting for quality and a 30 percent weighting for price. The detailed quality sub-criteria and minimum technical requirements must be taken from the tender specifications and should be addressed explicitly in the technical tender.

A low price alone is unlikely to be sufficient. The evaluation will favour a credible methodology, strong expert coverage, practical delivery arrangements, demonstrated understanding of accessibility legislation and standards, effective stakeholder participation, realistic annual planning, risk management and clear quality assurance.

Key tender documents

Submission requirements

Tenders must be submitted exclusively through the electronic submission system available from the Funding and Tenders Portal. Email, post or other submission methods will not be accepted.

Each organisation involved in a sole or joint tender must be registered in the Commission Participant Register and have a Participant Identification Code. A valid EU Login account is required for electronic submission, questions and access to the eProcurement guidance.

The tenderer should allow sufficient time for file preparation, validation, upload and receipt confirmation. The official submission receipt and timestamp are the evidence of timely submission. Draft submissions can be edited before the deadline, but the latest valid tender is the version considered where a replacement is submitted 7.

The official call details state that the deadline for receipt of tenders is 16 December 2026 at 16:00 Brussels time. The public opening is scheduled for 18 December 2026 at 10:00 Brussels time. Questions submitted after 8 December 2026 at 23:59 Brussels time may not receive a reply.

The metadata supplied for this opportunity also contains a January 2026 date. That date is inconsistent with the publication and deadline information and should not be treated as the operative tender deadline without an official portal amendment 8.

Tender validity

The procurement data indicates a tender validity period of six months. Tenderers should ensure that the offered prices, staffing commitments, consortium arrangements and other undertakings remain valid for the full stated period and should verify the exact wording in the contract notice and invitation letter.

Mandatory compliance considerations

Applicants should prepare evidence and internal controls covering the following areas:

Accessible delivery is not only a thematic objective but also a contractual performance requirement. Events, documents, websites, digital platforms, audiovisual content and communications must be designed for people with different disabilities and must incorporate appropriate reasonable accommodation 5.

What a competitive bid should demonstrate

Main risks for applicants

Recommended applicant action plan

Overall assessment

AccessibleEU phase II is a strategically significant, high-value service procurement for an organisation or consortium capable of operating a complex European accessibility knowledge and stakeholder platform. It is not suitable for applicants seeking a conventional project grant, a small pilot award or reimbursement based on a standard funding rate.

The strongest candidates will combine institutional and operational scale with credible accessibility expertise, country-level reach, meaningful participation by persons with disabilities, strong digital and communications capability and a disciplined approach to Commission contract management. The 70 percent quality weighting makes the technical and organisational response the central determinant of competitiveness, while the fixed financial offer must remain realistic, transparent and fully aligned with the extensive service requirements.

The official call page and its latest procurement documents should be treated as controlling for all final requirements, amendments, selection thresholds, evaluation sub-criteria and submission instructions 1.

Footnotes

1. 1Official procurement notice and documents: AccessibleEU phase II Funding and Tenders Portal. The portal is the authoritative source for amendments, clarifications, submission instructions and final deadlines.
2. 2The procurement documents state that the contract is initially concluded for 12 months and may be renewed three times, subject to the draft contract and the contracting authority’s decision.
3. 3The financial offer form requires prices to be stated in euros excluding VAT, rounded to two decimal places, with a separate cost breakdown by task and cost category.
4. 4The declaration on honour covers exclusion grounds, selection criteria, conflicts of interest, restrictive measures, established debts to the Union and the independent preparation of the tender. Supporting evidence may be requested during the evaluation.
5. 5The tender specifications require the contractor to comply with accessibility standards and guidance including EN 301 549, WCAG 2.1 level AA where applicable, EN 17210 for the built environment and accessible publishing practices.
6. 6The tender specifications require at least one identified expert for each covered country at submission, at least 15 experts from organisations with recognised accessibility expertise, at least one expert with European-level disability organisation experience, at least one expert with European-level older persons organisation experience and at least four additional senior accessibility experts in the core team.
7. 7The Funding and Tenders Portal indicates that tender documents must be uploaded through eSubmission. Attachments are subject to technical limits, including a maximum individual file size of less than 50 MB and a maximum of 200 documents per submission, according to the portal guidance.
8. 8The call metadata and procurement documents provided for this analysis contain a discrepancy concerning an additional January 2026 date. The official tender deadline shown in the call details is 16 December 2026 at 16:00 Brussels time and should be treated as the operative submission deadline unless the portal publishes an amendment.
9. 9The search results confirm the European Commission’s use of open procurement procedures for service contracts under the applicable Financial Regulation and identify the Funding and Tenders Portal as the electronic submission channel.