Desktops

Open EU procurement (EURSC/2026/OP/0013, BSGEE 2026-017) for the supply of desktop computers to the European Schools system via multiple framework contracts with reopening of competition. Framework ceiling €6.5 million, maximum duration 48 months, tender deadline 18 November 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time and public opening 19 November 2026 at 12:00. Initial framework award is by best price-quality ratio (price heavily weighted) with specific contracts at reopening awarded on lowest price, and mandatory technical, warranty, helpdesk and sustainability requirements apply. Participation is open to economic operators established in the EU subject to exclusion grounds, with selection thresholds including average annual turnover > €1.5 million and at least three similar contracts of minimum €300,000 each.

What is funded

Scope

Procurement of desktop computers (compact PCs, AIO and powerful desktops) and related supplies and services for the European Schools network. The procedure is a framework agreement with reopening of competition.

Who can apply

Any economic operator established in the European Union may submit a tender (sole tenderer or joint tender). Subcontracting is permitted; identified subcontractors above 10% must be declared.

Key practical details

Submission is electronic only via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission. Tenderers must register in the Participant Register and obtain a PIC to submit. Technical specifications, financial offer template and draft framework contract are published with the call documents.

Footnotes

1. 1Portal listing and downloadable procurement documents (invitation to tender, administrative and technical specifications, financial offer form, draft framework contract) are available at the Funding & Tenders Portal: Desktops tender notice.

Summary and purpose

The Office of the Secretary General of the Board of Governors of the European Schools (OSGES) has published an open procedure to award multiple framework contracts with reopening of competition for the supply of desktop computers to the European Schools system. The procedure is a relaunch following the non-award of a previous procedure (BSGEE2026/011 Lot 1) due to unforeseen price increases. The contracting exercise is for supplies (desktop computers) for participating European Schools and the OSGES acting as lead authority.

Procurement type, scope and contract model

Key dates and submission

Electronic submission only via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission. EU Login is required. Tenderers must submit all required administrative, selection and technical documents via eSubmission. Tender validity: 6 months. See procurement documents and invitation to tender for the exact submission procedure, naming rules and system requirements.

Who can apply and eligible applicant types

Funding type and nature of support

Consortium requirement and application stages

Geographic eligibility and participating entities

Target sector and technical scope

Project stage, volumes and funding amount

Application method and templates

Selection, award and evaluation

Contractual and commercial conditions

Operational and contractual requirements for suppliers

Evaluation and likely timelines

This is a single-stage tender for the initial framework award. Tenderers will be evaluated after the tender deadline. The procurement documents list a public opening one day after the tender deadline. Award to the top three compliant tenderers will follow evaluation and verification. Estimated time from tender closing to award depends on the evaluation and verification steps; the contracting authority may request supporting evidence during evaluation and reserves the right to reject tenders or cancel the procedure prior to signature.

Success rates and co-funding

How to prepare a compliant bid (practical checklist)

Contact and procurement documents

Tenderers must subscribe to the call on the Funding & Tenders Portal to receive updates and published clarifications. All procurement documents are available in English and must be consulted in their official version; the invitation letter states the English language version is the sole authentic text.

Risks, notable procurement provisions and compliance checks

The contracting authority reserves the right to cancel the procurement at any stage prior to contract signature and is not bound to award. The contracting authority may request additional evidence and supporting documentation during evaluation; failure to supply requested evidence within deadlines may lead to rejection.

Comprehensive summary

This tender (EURSC/2026/OP/0013, BSGEE 2026-017) is an open electronic procurement for the supply of desktop computers to the European Schools system managed by the Office of the Secretary General of the European Schools (OSGES) as lead contracting authority. The procurement relaunches the previous procurement that was not awarded. The contracting authority will award up to three framework contracts (multiple FWC with reopening of competition) for a maximum aggregated ceiling of €6,500,000 over a maximum duration of 48 months (initial 12 months renewable up to three times). Tenderers must submit a single-stage bid through the eSubmission system. Evaluation is based on price (80) and quality (20) with minimum compliance, selection and exclusion checks. Technical specification annexes prescribe minimum hardware, firmware, warranty, helpdesk and sustainability requirements. The framework contractors will then compete in reopenings of competition for specific orders; reopening competitions for specific contracts will be awarded on price (lowest price among eligible framework contractors). Interested economic operators established in EU Member States should register in the Participant Register (PIC), prepare administrative, selection, technical and financial documentation using the provided annex templates (Annex 1-6), and upload all documents via eSubmission before the deadline. For full compliance and to avoid exclusion, carefully follow the administrative specifications, provide the required declarations and supporting evidence on request, and ensure the helpdesk and sustainability minimums are met. All documents and templates are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal tender page.

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement documents published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal include Invitation to tender, Administrative specifications, Technical specifications for Min PC SFF, AIO and Powerful desktops, Financial offer form (Annex 6) and draft framework contract. See the Documents section of the tender page for download.

The opportunity is an open EU procurement procedure for the supply of desktop computers to the European Schools system. It is a procurement contract, not a grant, and therefore does not provide grant funding or reimbursement of project costs. Suppliers compete to be appointed to a framework arrangement from which later specific purchase contracts may be awarded.

The procedure is a relaunch following the non-award of BSGEE2026/011 Lot 1, reportedly because of an unforeseen increase in prices. The contracting authority has chosen a framework with reopening of competition to obtain competitive prices for subsequent purchases.

Opportunity identification

The procurement is identified as EURSC/2026/OP/0013 and BSGEE 2026-017. Its TED reference is 202/2026 721941-2026. The lead contracting authority is the Office of the Secretary General of the Board of Governors of the European Schools, acting on behalf of the participating European Schools.

The public procurement notices of the Office of the Secretary General of the European Schools are published through the European Commission Funding and Tenders Portal. 2

Key opportunity data

Scope of the procurement

The subject is the acquisition and delivery of desktop computers for the European Schools system. The procedure is not divided into lots. Variants are permitted provided that they meet all applicable minimum requirements.

The financial offer form indicates the following estimated quantities for the framework procurement:

The quantities are estimates only and do not constitute a commitment to purchase the stated volumes. Actual orders will be placed through specific contracts and may differ from the estimates. The framework ceiling of €6.5 million must not be exceeded.

The detailed hardware requirements are contained in the technical specifications documents for the small form factor desktop, powerful desktop and all-in-one desktop. Applicants should not rely on the opportunity summary alone and must check the complete technical specifications before preparing an offer.

Contracting authorities and delivery locations

The lead contracting authority is the Office of the Secretary General of the Board of Governors of the European Schools. Participating entities include the Office of the Secretary General and European Schools in Bergen, Brussels, Mol, Frankfurt, Karlsruhe, Munich, Varese and Alicante. The participating entities may be extended to include other European Schools created under the Luxembourg Convention after launch of the procedure.

Deliveries may therefore be required at premises in several European Union countries and at several locations within the same country. Tenderers should assess their ability to deliver across the relevant geographic area and should review the draft framework contract and technical specifications for delivery, acceptance, warranty and support obligations.

Who can apply

Participation is open on equal terms to natural and legal persons established in the European Union. A tender may be submitted by a sole economic operator or by a group of economic operators submitting a joint tender.

The opportunity is not identified as specifically suitable for SMEs. Nevertheless, an SME may participate if it meets the selection and technical requirements, either independently, in a joint tender, or by using permitted subcontracting and reliance on the capacities of other entities.

All participating organisations must be registered in the European Commission Participant Register and must have a valid Participant Identification Code. Each entity should use one PIC and ensure that its organisation and SME information are current.

A legal or natural person may not participate simultaneously as a sole tenderer and as a member of another group, or as a member of more than one group, in the same procedure. Tenderers must prepare their offers independently and autonomously. Cross-subcontracting arrangements between competing tenderers are prohibited in the circumstances described in the administrative specifications.

Joint tenders

Joint tenderers must appoint a group leader, provide the required agreement or power of attorney, describe the role of each group member and accept joint and several liability for performance of the contract. The group leader acts as the principal contact and must have authority to bind the group.

Subcontracting and reliance on other entities

Subcontracting is permitted, but the main contractor remains fully responsible for the performance of the contract. Subcontractors whose individual intended share exceeds 10 percent, subcontractors relied upon for selection criteria, and other relevant subcontractors must be identified as required in the tender documents and must provide the applicable commitment documentation.

A tenderer may rely on the capacities of other entities to meet selection criteria, but it must demonstrate that the necessary resources will be available. For technical and professional capacity, the entity relied upon must perform the tasks for which that capacity is required. The contracting authority may require an entity supporting economic and financial capacity to sign the contract or provide a joint and several first-call financial guarantee.

Selection and eligibility requirements

Applicants must satisfy access, exclusion, legal, financial, technical and professional capacity requirements. The initial assessment is based on the tender and declarations, while supporting evidence may be requested during the evaluation procedure.

Award methodology

The framework contracts will be awarded using a best price-quality ratio. Up to three compliant tenderers will be selected for the framework, subject to successful checks on eligibility, exclusion, access and selection criteria.

At the reopening of competition stage, all framework contractors invited to compete will submit specific tenders. The specific contract will be awarded solely on the basis of the lowest price among the admissible offers.

Framework structure and commercial conditions

The framework will have a maximum duration of 48 months. The draft contract provides for an initial period of 12 months with three possible renewals, subject to the contractual conditions.

The framework does not guarantee any minimum purchase volume or any award of specific contracts. Signature of a framework contract only establishes the right to compete for future specific contracts. Each participating entity may place orders according to its needs and within the framework ceiling.

The financial offer form requires prices for the three desktop categories. Prices quoted in the tender remain valid for two months from the signature date of the framework contract. If the European Schools wish to acquire desktops after that period, a new reopening of competition must be launched.

Offers must be expressed in euros and generally submitted free of duties, taxes and other charges, including VAT where the applicable procurement and VAT rules require exemption. VAT treatment may differ according to the delivery location. Tenderers must follow the specific invoicing and VAT instructions in the administrative specifications.

Environmental, equality and compliance obligations

The contractor must take environmental considerations into account throughout the life cycle of providing the products. The contractor must also comply with applicable Union and national environmental, social, labour and data protection obligations.

The contractor must promote equality and diversity, avoid discrimination and maintain an open and inclusive working environment. Fraud prevention and detection obligations must be respected and passed on to relevant subcontractors and personnel where required.

Tenderers and involved entities must not be subject to applicable EU restrictive measures. The contracting authority may use the Early Detection and Exclusion System and other available sources when checking exclusion and integrity requirements.

Submission requirements and process

Tenders must be submitted exclusively through the European Commission eSubmission system. Offers sent by email, post or another channel will be disregarded. An EU Login account is required to access and use the submission system.

The tenderer must register in the Participant Register, select the organisation in the eSubmission workflow, use the correct PIC and upload all required documents before the deadline. The official eSubmission timestamp is the evidence of timely receipt.

The tender should be submitted sufficiently early to allow for document upload, validation and technical troubleshooting. The portal indicates that attachments must comply with the applicable system requirements, including file size and file type restrictions. The supplied portal guidance indicates an attachment limit of less than 50 MB per file and a maximum of 200 files per tender.

A tender may be withdrawn before the deadline and replaced by a new tender. Only the latest non-withdrawn tender will be considered where more than one tender has been submitted by the same tenderer. A submitted tender cannot be supplemented by referring to an earlier tender.

The principal tender documents to prepare are:

Signatures should preferably use a qualified electronic signature. Hand-signed originals generally do not need to be submitted immediately, but must be retained for the required record-keeping period. Documents must be signed by authorised representatives and evidence of delegated authority must be provided where required.

Questions, opening and communications

Questions must be submitted in writing through the Questions and Answers section of the Funding and Tenders Portal using EU Login. The authority is not required to answer requests received less than six working days before the tender deadline. Tenderers are responsible for monitoring the portal for amendments, clarifications and new documents.

The public opening is scheduled as a virtual session on 19 November 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time. Up to two representatives per tender may attend, subject to the request procedure and timing stated in the invitation letter. The public opening is limited mainly to verifying submission compliance and announcing the names of tenderers.

Commercial and operational assessment for applicants

This opportunity is most suitable for established desktop computer manufacturers, distributors, integrators or consortiums with sufficient turnover, proven public or institutional supply experience and the ability to support deliveries across multiple European locations.

The principal competitive challenge is the combination of a heavily weighted price criterion, mandatory technical compliance, a minimum helpdesk score, a mandatory sustainability label and the requirement to maintain pricing for the initial two-month period. Applicants should establish a robust supply chain and confirm component availability before submitting prices.

Applicants should also model the commercial impact of repeated reopening competitions. Appointment to the framework does not guarantee revenue, and each specific purchase will be competed among the framework contractors. The framework ceiling is an upper limit rather than an assured contract value.

Recommended preparation plan

Critical dates

Overall assessment

The opportunity offers access to a potentially substantial four-year supply framework with an estimated ceiling of €6.5 million and an indicative requirement of 3,000 desktops. The opportunity can be attractive for suppliers with established European distribution, competitive pricing and strong after-sales support, but it is not a guaranteed purchase programme.

A compliant tender must combine low pricing with demonstrable technical capability, at least three relevant contracts, sufficient turnover, mandatory sustainability evidence and a credible helpdesk. Because only up to three framework contractors are expected to be appointed and later specific contracts are awarded on lowest price, applicants should treat cost modelling, supply continuity and operational delivery capability as decisive factors.

The official procurement documents prevail over this analytical summary. Tenderers should verify all requirements, dates, technical specifications, contractual terms and any amendments directly in the Funding and Tenders Portal before submission.

Footnotes

1. 1Authoritative opportunity record and procurement documents: EU Funding and Tenders Portal opportunity.
2. 2Official European Schools public procurement information: European Schools public procurement.