Monitoring and analysis services of the Spanish media

The European Parliament DG COMM Directorate for Media has launched tender EP-COMM/2026/OP/0016 for a framework contract to provide daily monitoring and quantitative analysis of Spanish print, online and audiovisual media delivered to the EPMM platform. The contract has an initial duration of 12 months renewable up to 48 months and an estimated total value of €350,000, split as €280,000 for monitoring and €70,000 for analysis. Tenders must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal by 21 May 2026 and will be awarded on the best price quality ratio subject to exclusion and selection criteria, including a minimum turnover requirement of €175,000 and technical experience. Required deliverables include English and original language summaries, clippings with metadata, monthly quantitative analyses, licensing for clippings, and adherence to specified performance targets and penalties.

What it funds

Framework contract for daily media monitoring and quantitative media analysis of Spanish printed, online and audio-visual media for the European Parliament. Services include daily press and audiovisual newsletters (summaries and clippings), ad-hoc reports and tagging/analysis via the EP Media Monitor (EPMM) platform.

Estimated value and budget split:Maximum total value €350,000 for up to four years. Indicative split: €280,000 for monitoring activities and €70,000 for media analysis ¹.

Who can apply

Open to natural or legal persons and public entities established in EU Member States and third countries with procurement access agreements with the EU. Groups/consortia and subcontracting are allowed; SMEs may apply. Tenderers must meet exclusion, selection and minimum turnover (€175,000/year) and technical requirements (min. 3 years relevant experience, editorial team with language skills and keyword-search/news database).

Key contract facts

1. 1Procedure: Open procedure, electronic submission via EU Login (eSubmission).
2. 2Award method: Best price-quality ratio (quality thresholds apply before price evaluation).
3. 3Duration: Initial 12 months, tacit annual renewals up to a maximum of 48 months (framework agreement).
4. 4CPV: 92400000 - News-agency services.
5. 5Main deliverables: daily national press review (~30 summaries and clippings), daily audiovisual review (~10 summaries), weekend/holiday edition, monthly quantitative analyses and ad-hoc reports.

Technical and operational highlights:daily deliveries must be uploaded to the EPMM platform (or emailed if platform unavailable), include English and original-language summaries, full-text clippings (PDF or links compliant with copyright) and structured metadata for tagging and analysis. Typical recipient list is 80 internal users; additional recipients priced via unit rates. Performance targets and penalties are defined in the technical specifications.

Where to get documents and submit:Procurement documents, specifications, annexes and submission portal are on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Opportunity page ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Tender dossier, annexes (technical specifications, price list, simulation) and submission link are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal opportunity page: ec.europa.eu

Opportunity summary

What the contract covers

The European Parliament, Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM) has launched an open procedure to award a framework contract for monitoring and analysis services of the Spanish media. The contract covers daily media monitoring of printed, online and audio-visual sources in Spain and quantitative media analysis (tagging, tone, prominence, role of the EP/MEPs and related metadata) delivered into the European Parliament Media Monitoring and analysis platform (EPMM). Services include daily press reviews, daily audiovisual reviews, weekend/holiday editions, ad-hoc special monitoring/analysis reports, monthly quantitative analyses and assistance/consultancy. The contract is a framework agreement without reopening of competition with a maximum total estimated value of €350 000 (all renewals included) and a maximum duration of 48 months (initial 12 months with up to three tacit renewals).

Key dates:TED publication date: 25/03/2026. Deadline for receipt of tenders: 21/05/2026 00:00 Europe/Brussels. Date and time of public opening: 25/05/2026 10:00 Europe/Brussels. Last date to submit questions for reply: 13/05/2026 23:59 Europe/Brussels.

Estimated total value:Estimated total value for the framework: €350 000 (all renewals included). The budget split indicated in the tender documents is €280 000 for media monitoring activities and €70 000 for media analysis. ¹

Administrative and procedural information

The contracting authority is the European Parliament, COMM - Directorate-General for Communication, Directorate for Media. The main CPV classification is 92400000 News-agency services. The procedure is an open procedure, with electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission system (EU Login required). Tenders must be submitted electronically only; other modes such as email or paper are not accepted. The framework contract is concluded for 12 months and may be renewed annually up to a total contract duration of 48 months. The award method is best price-quality ratio.

Services required and technical scope

The contractor will deliver daily monitoring reviews and press clippings to EPMM and provide quantitative media analysis according to the detailed Technical specifications and annexes (Annex I and sub-annexes A to F). Monitoring: detection and monitoring of Spanish national and regional print press, online media, radio and TV. Daily National Press Review before 08:00 CET (average package: 30 English summaries, 30 summaries in original language, 30 clippings per day). Daily National Audio-Visual Review before 08:30 CET (average: 10 English summaries and 10 in original language per day). Weekend/holiday reviews to be delivered before 09:00 CET the next working day and to include combined coverage. Special ad-hoc reporting (estimated average 3 per year) and monthly quantitative analysis packages are included. Full metadata must be supplied with every media item and items must be uploaded to EPMM either manually or via the API. Copyright licences for clippings must be secured by the contractor. Summaries produced by the contractor become the property of the European Parliament; clippings remain subject to licences but must be licenced for upload, storage and distribution to the restricted list of recipients.

1. 1Daily monitoring and delivery into EPMM of print and online summaries and clippings with metadata (titles, summaries, date, theme, category, source, media type, page/broadcast time/duration, EP/MEPs in title, article type).
2. 2Daily monitoring and delivery into EPMM of audiovisual summaries with metadata and broadcast details.
3. 3Weekly/monthly quantitative tagging and analysis: tagging per item of tone, place/role of EP, speakers, main topic, prominence, and additional comment justifying tone where applicable.
4. 4Ad-hoc special monitoring/one-page executive summary reports for events, visits or missions (e.g., visits of the EP President, committee missions, election periods).
5. 5Provision of a helpdesk for EPMM integration and delivery issues (helpdesk availability indicated in the specifications).
6. 6Training on EPMM platform for the contractor’s editorial and analysis team and participation in periodic coordination meetings by videoconference.

Deliverables and technical requirements

Deliverables are described in the Technical specifications and Annex I subdocuments. Deliverables include daily press review word documents (or uploads to EPMM) with Times New Roman 12, justified English summaries (max 800 characters for print/online; 1600 for TV/radio); metadata fields as specified; press clippings in PDF with OCR where allowed and under file size/format constraints; hyperlinks where publishers prohibit clippings; tagging spreadsheets for simulations and analysis; and price list (Annex F) with unit prices that are all-inclusive and exclusive of VAT. The contractor must ensure human editorial oversight for summaries and ensure accuracy in translation and metadata. The EPMM interface and API specifications are provided in Annex I.E.

Performance targets, penalties and acceptance

Performance metrics in the Technical specifications include on-time delivery target (90% per month), accuracy and completeness of captured content (98% relevant coverage per month), accuracy of metadata (98% relevant coverage) and quality of written summaries (no more than 5 errors per month). Penalties and service credits escalate if targets are not met and are specified in the Technical specifications (point 4). Acceptance is monthly: the contractor submits the detailed list of deliveries with the invoice; the European Parliament verifies compliance; reservations can be raised and must be addressed by the contractor within 7 calendar days. Payment follows acceptance in accordance with Article I.4 of the draft contract.

Procurement, eligibility and participation rules

Participation is open to natural or legal persons and public entities established in EU Member States and to entities of third countries that have concluded applicable public procurement agreements with the EU. Tenderers must indicate country of establishment and provide evidence. Subcontracting is allowed but subcontractors may be subject to exclusion/selection checks. Groups of economic operators (consortia) may tender; joint and several liability is required. Variants are not permitted. Language of tenders: any official EU language. Submission is electronic only via eSubmission with EU Login and PIC registration.

Structured extraction: categorisation and answers

Eligible Applicant Types

Eligible applicants:natural or legal persons and public entities established in an EU Member State or in third countries with public procurement access agreements with the EU. Practical eligible applicant types include: SMEs, large enterprises, news agencies, media-monitoring companies, market research and analysis firms, universities and research institutions with media-analysis capacity, nonprofit organisations and NGOs with relevant media research expertise, and consortia/groups of economic operators. Subcontractors are permitted. Groups of economic operators must provide proof of joint and several liability and specify roles of each member.

Funding Type

This is a public procurement contract (framework service contract). The primary financial mechanism is a service contract procured by competitive tender; the document refers to purchase of services, not grants, loans or equity.

Consortium Requirement

Consortium or single applicants allowed. The tender can be submitted by a single economic operator or by a group of economic operators (consortium). If a group tenders, joint and several liability is required; the group must provide a legal form or a power of attorney and specify roles, qualifications and experience of each member. The contracting authority may require a legal form for the group before contract signature.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility)

Geographic eligibility:EU Member States and third countries that have specific public procurement agreement access to EU contracts. The service itself covers Spanish media (Spain) and analyses in Spanish language; delivery and contractor establishment can be in eligible countries as above.

Target Sector

Sector:media monitoring and analysis, media intelligence, news-agency services, communications and public affairs support. Thematic focus includes EU affairs, parliamentary activity, political communications and media research (topics such as EU policy coverage, EP activities, MEPs, elections, institutional visits, and EU-related issues).

Mentioned Countries

Explicitly mentioned country:Spain (media monitored). Contracting authority location: Belgium (Brussels). Eligible tenderers: EU Member States and qualifying third countries. Tender documents and contacts reference European Parliament with headquarters in Brussels and platforms hosted by EU services.

Project Stage

Expected maturity:operational/operational service delivery. The contract requires immediate production-level services (daily monitoring and analysis) with integration to the EPMM platform and trained editorial/analysis teams capable of daily production and tagging.

Funding Amount

Rough funding range:maximum contract value €350 000 for the full framework period (all renewals included). The split in the published documents is €280 000 for media monitoring and €70 000 for media analysis. Payments are monthly based on delivered and accepted services.

Application Type

Method of application:open call (public procurement tender). Submission method: electronic submission only via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission system; EU Login account and PIC required. Tenders must be submitted before the published deadline and in one of the EU official languages.

Nature of Support

Beneficiaries receive monetary payments under a service contract (invoices against delivery) and non-monetary services include access to the EPMM platform for uploads and training provided by the European Parliament. The contract requires the supplier to deliver services and to obtain licences for press clippings; summaries become the property of the European Parliament.

Application Stages

Number of application stages:single-stage tender submission followed by evaluation stages. The procurement documents specify a qualitative evaluation (simulation and methodology) and a price evaluation stage. Tenderers first submit full tenders including simulation materials; qualitative evaluation (scored) is applied with thresholds; only compliant tenders proceed to price evaluation. The procurement therefore includes at least two internal evaluation stages (preliminary compliance checks and qualitative then price evaluation).

Success Rates

Success rates:not published. As a single-award framework with estimated value €350 000 and open competition, success depends on meeting selection and award criteria; the award is based on best price-quality ratio and minimum thresholds must be met in qualitative criteria (see award criteria). No numerical success probability is provided in the documents.

Co-funding Requirement

Co-funding:none required. The contract is a fee-for-service procurement; tenderers must quote all-inclusive unit prices exclusive of VAT. Costs for licences and rights related to clippings must be included in the quoted prices. No financial contribution from the European Parliament is required beyond contract payments.

Selection and award criteria, documentation and templates

Selection criteria include legal and regulatory capacity (professional registration or authorisation), financial and economic capacity (minimum yearly turnover €175 000 for the last three years), and technical and professional capacity (minimum 3 years' experience in similar services; editorial coordinator with 3 years relevant experience; team members with at least 1 year; availability of keyword-search electronic program and news database). Exclusion criteria follow Articles 138-143 of the Financial Regulation and the tender requires submission of the declaration on honour (Annex III) and other annexes (Annex IV to VIII).

1. 1Mandatory annexes and templates to submit with the tender: Invitation letter, Tender Specifications, Annex I Technical Specifications (sub-annexes A to F), Annex II EP environmental policy, Annex III declaration on honour (exclusion and selection), Annex IV financial identification form, Annex V information sheet for groups, Annex VI declaration concerning subcontractors, Annex VII financial data sheet, Annex VIII restrictive measures declaration.
2. 2Simulation deliverables required with the tender: media monitoring simulation (sample daily monitoring for 30 April 2026 including English summaries, metadata and PDF clippings) and media analysis simulation (tagging exercise for a specified plenary period using core sources). The simulation must be annexed to the offer and is assessed in the qualitative scoring.
3. 3Price template: Annex F Price list with unit prices to be completed for summaries, clippings (for 80 recipients), additional recipient unit price, audiovisual summaries, ad-hoc reports, monthly quantitative analysis packages and assistance hourly rate.
4. 4Language and CV evidence: provide CVs of editorial coordinator and team, proof of language proficiency (C2 or equivalent evidence) and proof of experience with relevant references for the last three years.

Practical steps to apply

Prepare the full tender dossier addressing exclusion and selection criteria, include Annex III declaration on honour, financial statements and Annex VII financial data sheet, CVs, simulation deliverables required by Annex C and price list (Annex F) with all unit prices set out. Register the organisation in the Participant Register and obtain a PIC. Create an EU Login account, subscribe to the tender on the Funding & Tenders Portal, and submit the tender exclusively via the eSubmission link provided in the call for tenders before the deadline. Ensure electronic attachments meet eSubmission system requirements (file types, sizes and naming).

Address for electronic submission:Submissions must be uploaded through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission interface at: webgate.ec.europa.eu. EU Login and PIC registration are required and tenderers should consult the eSubmission Quick Guide and system requirements.

Contractual and legal requirements of note

Tenderers must comply with restrictive measures rules in relation to Russia set out in Annex VIII and Regulation 833/2014 as amended. The contract price must be quoted excluding VAT. The European Parliament applies the Financial Regulation and may exclude economic operators for cases listed in Articles 138-143 FR. The European Parliament is the data controller for personal data processed and the contractor processes personal data on behalf of the European Parliament; servers used must be located in the EEA or in an adequately protected third country. Summaries produced by the contractor are transferred in ownership to the Parliament; clippings must be licenced for storage and distribution to the restricted recipients list.

1. 1Tender validity period: offers must remain valid for 6 months from the tender deadline.
2. 2Maximum number of participants in the framework: 1 (single-award framework).
3. 3Public opening of tenders: virtual opening session with attendance possible by up to two representatives per tenderer; request to attend must be sent by email to media-tenders@europarl.europa.eu no later than one working day before the opening session.

How proposals are scored

Evaluation begins with compliance checks against exclusion and selection criteria. Qualitative evaluation is performed against the simulation and methodology with minimum thresholds per criterion. Tenderers meeting the qualitative thresholds proceed to price evaluation where the price used is the Grand total from Annex F Simulation budget contract. Combined quality and price points determine ranking; the highest scoring tender wins the contract.

Documents available in procurement dossier

1. 1Invitation letter (published 25/03/2026)
2. 2Tender specifications (published 25/03/2026)
3. 3Annex I - Technical specifications and sub-annexes A Methodological Aspects, B Example press clipping, C Simulation, D Quantitative analysis simulation helping guide, E Content provider system interfaces, F Price list (published 25/03/2026)
4. 4Annex II - EP environmental policy
5. 5Annex III to Annex VIII templates and declarations (group information, subcontractors, financial data sheet, restrictive measures declaration etc.)
6. 6Draft framework contract and model order form

Tenderers should download and study all annexes and the draft contract carefully. The technical annex includes sample metadata formats, EPMM API interface specifications, required fields, PDF clipping requirements and examples for the simulation exercise. The price schedule (Annex F) must be completed and unit prices must include all fees (copyright, storage, display, redistribution) but exclude VAT.

Contact and support

Procurement contact for enquiries and to request attendance at the opening:media-tenders@europarl.europa.eu. Questions must be submitted via the Funding & Tenders Portal Questions & Answers function (EU Login required). System support for eSubmission: consult the eSubmission Quick Guide and IT Helpdesk links in the portal.

Summary and recommended next steps

This procurement is an operational tender for media monitoring and media analysis services focused on Spanish media for the European Parliament. A single framework contract will be awarded following an open electronic tender. Successful bidders must deliver daily media monitoring products and monthly quantitative analyses into the EPMM platform, ensure editorial quality and metadata accuracy, supply licensed clippings, provide helpdesk support and train staff to use EPMM. Tenderers must prepare the requested simulation deliverables and follow all administrative and technical submission requirements. Interested economic operators should register in the Participant Register, obtain a PIC, create an EU Login account, download all procurement documents, produce the simulation and complete Annex F price tables, then submit the tender electronically before the published deadline.

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement documents, contract notice and annexes are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal at the tender details page: ec.europa.eu

Opportunity Overview

This is an open procedure call for tenders (EP-COMM/2026/OP/0016) issued by the European Parliament's Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM), Directorate for Media, for daily media monitoring and quantitative analysis services covering Spanish printed press (national/regional), online media, and audio-visual sources (radio/TV). The services support the European Parliament's communication needs by providing timely press reviews and media analysis on topics related to the EP, its Members (MEPs), and EU matters, delivered via the EPMM platform.

The framework contract has an initial duration of 12 months, renewable up to three times for a maximum of 48 months. Estimated total value is €350,000 (all renewals included), split as €280,000 for media monitoring and €70,000 for media analysis. It is a framework agreement without reopening of competition, awarded based on best price-quality ratio.

Key Dates and Deadlines

• TED publication date: 25 March 2026
• Deadline for questions: 13 May 2026 23:59 Europe/Brussels
• Deadline for receipt of tenders: 21 May 2026 00:00 Europe/Brussels
• Public opening: 25 May 2026 10:00 Europe/Brussels

Tenders must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal requiring EU Login. All official EU languages accepted.

Eligibility and Participation

Open to natural/legal persons and public entities from EU Member States or third countries with specific EU procurement agreements. Groups of economic operators allowed with joint and several liability. Subcontracting permitted but subject to approval. Compliance with restrictive measures (e.g., re Russia/Ukraine under Regulation 833/2014) mandatory; see Annex VIII.

Exclusion Criteria

• Bankruptcy, tax/social security breaches, grave professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, terrorism-related offences, significant contract performance deficiencies (per Financial Regulation Articles 138-143).
• Declaration on honour (Annex III) required; documentary evidence requested from winner.

Selection Criteria

Legal/Regulatory:Enrolment in trade register or relevant authorisation.

Financial/Economic:Minimum yearly turnover €175,000 for last 3 years (Annex VII required).

Technical/Professional:3+ years similar experience; team with editorial coordinator (3+ years exp.) and staff (1+ year exp.), all fluent in English/Spanish (C2 level); keyword-search tools and news database. CVs, client lists, diplomas required.

Scope of Services

Regular Media Monitoring (weekdays, weekends/holidays separate)

• National Press Review (before 8:00 CET): ~30 English summaries (max 800 chars), 30 original language summaries, 30 clippings (print same day, online last 24h).
• National AV Review (before 8:30 CET): ~10 English summaries (max 1600 chars), 10 original (last 24h, 24/7 monitoring).
• Weekend/Holiday Review (before 9:00 CET next working day): Combined volume.
• Themes priority: EP activities, MEPs (EU context), EU context (on request). Core/non-core sources listed in Annex A.
• Metadata mandatory (title, summary, date, theme, category, source, etc.). PDFs: OCR, <500KB, black/RGB text.
• Delivery via EPMM (manual/API); email backup. EP editorial control; revisions free.

Special Monitoring/Analysis

• Ad-hoc reports (e.g., EP events, MEP visits): ~3/year, with 1-page summary.
• Quantitative analysis: Monthly packages (under 50/51-150/151-300 items); tagging (tone, type, EP role, speakers, etc.) in EPMM.

Technical/Compliance

• EPMM training provided; API specs in Annex E.
• Copyright: Contractor handles licences; EP owns summaries, licences clippings.
• Recipients: 80 EP staff (expandable at unit price); performance metrics with penalties (e.g., 90% on-time, 98% accuracy).

Pricing and Evaluation

Prices all-inclusive (ex-VAT), fixed for 4-year simulation budget in Annex F. Award:Quality (100 pts: simulation 70/35 threshold, methodology 30/15; total 65 min) + Price (100 pts, lowest=100). Grand total from simulation sheet used.

Submission and Documents

Electronic via Funding & Tenders Portal EU Funding & Tenders Portal. 20+ docs incl. tender specs (Annex I A-F), invitation letter, model contract. Simulation mandatory (Annex C). Q&A via portal.

Key Risks and Tips

• Strict deadlines/quality: Penalties for <90% on-time, errors (e.g., 2x unit price per item).
• Copyright compliance critical; include all fees.
• Prepare simulation early: Press/AV reviews for 30/04/2026 + plenary tagging.
• Team language proof: C2 English/Spanish.
• Financials: €175K turnover min.

Full details:Primary source Tender Details ¹. TED notice TED Notice ².

Footnotes

1. 1EU Funding & Tenders Portal - Official tender documents, specs, annexes.
2. 2TED publication 59/2026 - Contract notice summary.