My trade assistant for services and investment: procurement of information and data regarding the export of services and investment to third country m...

Framework contract tender EC-TRADE/2026/OP/0014 issued by the European Commission DG TRADE for further development of the Access2Markets My Trade Assistant for Services and Investment. The estimated value is €4,000,000 over a 48-month framework and the scope covers research, collection, validation and IT delivery of regulatory information and contact data on exporting services and investing in third countries. The contract will be awarded on the basis of quality (70%) and price (30%), and submissions must be made electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal using eSubmission by 28 September 2026 at 14:00:59 (Brussels time). Tenderers must follow the Tender Specifications and submit required documents including the Declaration on Honour and the Financial Offer form.

What is funded

Scope summary

Framework contract to research, collect and deliver information and data on exporting services and investing in third countries, and to develop IT-compatible outputs for the Access2Markets Trade Assistant for Services and Investment. Work includes legal/regulatory research, data collection, data structuring and IT-related integration and presentation.

Contracting authority:European Commission, DG TRADE (Access2Markets/Trade Assistant) EU Tender page.

1. 1What it funds: provision of structured information and contact details on third-country requirements for services exports and investment; IT formatting and integration for the Access2Markets portal.
2. 2Who can apply: economic operators and consortia capable of legal/regulatory research, data collection and IT delivery (consultancies, research organisations, data providers, IT firms). Procurement is open via eSubmission; see tender documents for specific selection criteria.
3. 3Contract form and duration: framework contract with planned period 48 months; draft contract and technical specifications published with the call.

Procurement documents published (invitation, tender specifications, draft framework contract, technical annexes and financial offer form). Interested bidders must consult these documents and follow submission rules on the portal.

Footnotes

1. 1Full tender dossier and documents available at the call page: ec.europa.eu

Opportunity summary

Procurement (open tender) issued by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Trade (DG TRADE) to award a framework contract for the provision of information and data supporting the Trade Assistant for Services and Investment available on the Access2Markets portal. The contractor will research, collect, validate, format and deliver regulatory and contact information required by EU companies intending to export services or to invest in third country markets, and perform IT-related delivery tasks so the data is compatible and user-friendly within Access2Markets.

Call identifier:EC-TRADE/2026/OP/0014

Contract type and duration:Framework contract for services, planned period 48 months (with conditions in draft framework contract).

Estimated total procedure value:€4,000,000 (estimated overall contract amount).

Key dates and submission

1. 1Deadline for submission: 28 September 2026 at 14:00:59 (Europe/Brussels timezone).
2. 2Open tender event (possible opening or information session): 29 September 2026 at 14:00 (Europe/Brussels timezone).
3. 3Deadline to request additional information / clarifications: 18 September 2026 (end of day indicated in procurement data).
4. 4Documents published / invitation to tender: 7 July 2026.

Who is the contracting authority

European Commission, DG TRADE - Trade is the lead contracting authority for this procurement. The procurement is managed through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and follows EU public procurement rules for service contracts and framework agreements.

Scope of work and deliverables

The contractor will:research and collect information and data on the export of services and on investment rules and procedures in third countries; identify, validate and maintain contact details of competent regulatory and administrative authorities in those countries; specify and deliver content in formats compatible with the Access2Markets Trade Assistant for Services and Investment; ensure user-friendly presentation of content; provide IT-related integration and technical delivery services as required; maintain and update the data for the duration of the framework contract. The work combines research/data collection and IT-related implementation tasks.

Eligible applicant types

Procurement is open to legal entities capable of entering into a public procurement contract under EU rules. Eligible applicant types may include companies (SMEs and large enterprises), consortia of companies, research organisations, data providers, specialised consultancies, IT service providers, non-profit organisations and public bodies where national law permits participation in EU tenders. The tender documentation contains specific selection and exclusion criteria (see tender specifications and Annexes). The procurement file includes a Declaration on Honour and other selection documents that detail requirements for legal, financial and technical capacity.

Funding type

This is a procurement framework contract (service contract) awarded following an open tender. The primary financial mechanism is a public procurement contract; this is not a grant, loan or equity instrument.

Consortium requirement

The procurement allows submissions from single economic operators or from groupings/consortia where permitted by the tender rules. The tender specifications reference selection criteria and may require that the tenderer demonstrates sufficient resources and capacities; therefore formation of consortia or the use of subcontractors is possible and commonly used to meet combined requirements. Tenderers must respect the rules on joint bids and provide requested documentation for each participating member as set out in the Tender Specifications and Annexes.

Beneficiary scope (geographic eligibility)

This is an EU procurement procured by the European Commission. Participation is subject to conditions in EU procurement rules. Typically eligible applicants are economic operators established in the EU and, where applicable, EEA and third countries included under the procurement notice as permitted by the contracting authority. The tender documentation available on the Funding & Tenders Portal specifies exact geographic eligibility and any nationality or establishment requirements.

Target sector / thematic areas

Primary sectors and themes:international trade (services and investment), regulatory information, trade facilitation, market access intelligence, data services, and IT/information systems integration. CPV classifications listed in the procurement metadata include services related to data and information, market intelligence and IT services.

Project maturity and expected activities

Expected project stage:development, research and data collection, validation and IT integration/demonstration. The contract will deliver content and technical updates to an operational portal (Access2Markets), so experience in operational deployment and maintenance is required.

Funding amount and contract value

Estimated overall contract amount:€4,000,000. This is the total estimated value for the full duration of the framework contract as published in the procurement metadata.

Application and submission method

Application type:open tender published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Submission method: mandatory electronic submission via the Funding & Tenders Portal (eSubmission). Relevant documents (Invitation to Tender, Tender Specifications, Draft Framework Contract, Annexes including Financial Offer Form, Technical Requirements, Sectors & Subsectors, Declaration on Honour) were published with the call and must be used to prepare the bid.

Nature of support

Successful bidder(s) will receive monetary payments under a public services contract (service fees) as specified in the contractual terms. This is direct procurement payment for services delivered as defined in the framework contract.

Application stages and award process

The procurement follows the standard EU tender lifecycle. Key procedural stages are:publication and submission; possible clarification questions and requests for information (deadline indicated in the procurement data); evaluation of tenders against the award criteria (quality and price, with weights published in the procurement metadata: quality 70, price 30); contract award and signature of the framework contract; and post-award contract performance. Practical bidder stages: submission (stage 1) and evaluation/award (stage 2), though the evaluation contains multiple internal steps (eligibility, exclusion, selection, technical evaluation, price evaluation).

Award criteria and weighting

Award criteria are quality and price. The procurement metadata indicates subordinate award criteria with weights: quality 70 and price 30. Tenderers must consult the Tender Specifications and Annexes for the detailed breakdown of technical and quality subcriteria and scoring methodology.

Success rates

No explicit success rate or expected number of framework contract awards is provided in the published documentation. Public procurement award rates vary widely by call and number of bidders; this specific procurement does not publish a success rate. Tenderers should assume competitive evaluation and prepare to meet strict technical and administrative selection requirements.

Co-funding requirement

No co-funding from applicants is required; the procurement is a fee-for-service contract where the contracting authority will pay the contractor under the contract terms. Tenderers must propose financial offers using the provided Financial offer form (Annex 6).

Required documents and application templates

The procurement package contains the definitive list of documents to be completed and submitted. Published call documents include the following files which bidders must consult and use:

1. 1Invitation to tender (EN-Invitation_to_tender_EC-TRADE2026OP0014_2026R2R04 Trade assistant for services _V1.pdf).
2. 2Tender Specifications (tender-specifications-open-2025-en.EC-TRADE2026OP0014 _V1.pdf) which set out the technical, legal and administrative rules, selection and award criteria and submission instructions.
3. 3Draft framework contract including annexes (fwc-service-2024-FR-Recast-en.EC-TRADE2026OP0014__V1.pdf).
4. 4Annex 6 Financial offer form (Annex 6. to TS Financial offer_V1.xlsx) must be completed to present price and cost breakdowns.
5. 5Annex 7 Technical requirements for the delivery of data (Annex 7. to TS Technical requirements for the delivery of data_V1.pdf) specifying data formats, APIs, validation and compatibility requirements with Access2Markets.
6. 6Annex 8 Sectors and subsectors (Annex 8. to TS Sectors and subsectors_V1.xlsx) describing the scope of services and investment sectors to cover.
7. 7Annex 2 Declaration on Honour (Annex 2. to TS DoH_V1.docx) and other administrative declarations.
8. 8Other tender-specific documents and guidance as listed in the procurement dossier.

The Financial Offer form is a native spreadsheet template to be completed and uploaded. The Tender Specifications detail how the financial offer will be evaluated (weighting and possible thresholds). The Technical Requirements annex explains expected data models, exchange formats, frequency of updates, quality assurance and the IT interfaces required for compatibility with Access2Markets.

Technical and capability requirements (summary)

Key technical expectations outlined in the procurement metadata and annexes include:demonstrated experience in market access research for services and investment; ability to identify and validate regulatory requirements and competent authorities in third countries; capacity to manage large structured datasets, ensure data quality and maintenance; experience in delivering data and services compatible with existing web portals and APIs (Access2Markets compatibility); demonstrated IT capability to integrate and present data in a user-friendly manner; and organisational capacity to meet the duration and volume of the framework contract. Tenderers should consult Annex 7 (Technical requirements) for full technical specifications and mandatory compliance items.

Procurement procedure and legal framework

Procedure type and procurement rules follow EU public procurement law and the internal rules applied by the European Commission. The procedure type and contracting system indicate a framework agreement. Submission is electronic via the Funding & Tenders Portal. Tenderers must follow procurement-specific rules in the Tender Specifications and draft contract, including provisions on data protection, confidentiality, intellectual property, performance guarantees, subcontracting and reporting.

CPV and service classification

Main and additional CPV codes associated with the procurement include classifications for information services, IT services, market research and related professional services. Examples listed in metadata: 72319000 (mainCode shown), and additional codes such as 72320000, 71621000, 72316000, 73000000, 72314000, 73200000, 79000000. These reflect data and information services, software and IT services, research and analysis.

Mentioned countries

No individual third countries are explicitly named in the public metadata. The contracting authority is the European Commission (EU). The service concerns third country markets generally. Applicants should assume coverage across multiple third countries as defined in the sectors and subsectors annex.

Practical recommendations for applicants

1. 1Carefully download and study the Tender Specifications and all annexes (especially Annex 7 Technical requirements, Annex 8 Sectors and subsectors, Annex 6 Financial offer and the Draft Framework Contract).
2. 2Ensure full compliance with administrative and eligibility documentation: complete the Declaration on Honour and provide requested certificates and evidence of financial and technical capacity.
3. 3Follow the Financial Offer template precisely; provide clear unit prices, rates and any assumptions consistent with the evaluation rules.
4. 4Prepare evidence of past experience in trade policy research, market access intelligence, multilingual data collection and IT integration projects; include CVs and references as specified.
5. 5Plan for data quality assurance, scheduled updates and technical interoperability with Access2Markets; propose concrete deliverables and timelines in line with the technical requirements.
6. 6Use the Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission facility and respect the submission deadline; allow time for portal uploads and mandatory forms.

Timeline summary

How to access the procurement dossier

The full set of procurement documents is available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal under the reference EC-TRADE/2026/OP/0014 and via the tender details URL published by the Commission. Bidders must retrieve the Invitation to Tender, Tender Specifications, Draft Contract and all Annexes from the portal and use the provided templates for submission. See the portal for the authoritative and updated dossier and submission steps Access the tender on the Funding & Tenders Portal ¹.

Comprehensive summary

This procurement seeks to award a framework contract to one or more contractors with the capacity to research, compile, validate and provide structured information and data on rules, requirements and competent authorities relevant to exporting services and investing in third countries, and to ensure that this content is delivered in a format compatible with the European Commission’s Access2Markets Trade Assistant for Services and Investment. The tender is an open procurement run by DG TRADE on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal with an estimated total value of €4,000,000 over up to 48 months. Applicants should be prepared to provide both subject-matter expertise in trade in services and investment and technical implementation capabilities to integrate and maintain the data within the Access2Markets environment. The procurement package contains detailed technical requirements, sector scope, financial offer and contract templates that must be followed exactly. Submission is electronic only via the Funding & Tenders Portal by the stated deadline. Interested bidders should download and follow the Tender Specifications, Annexes and Draft Contract and prepare evidence of technical capacity, organisational resources and a compliant financial offer.

Footnotes

1. 1Official call documentation and downloadable annexes are hosted on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal at the tender details page for EC-TRADE/2026/OP/0014. Bidders must rely on the portal files for formal submission templates and contractual text.

Opportunity Summary

This is a framework contract tender (EC-TRADE/2026/OP/0014) for the procurement of information, data, and IT services to further develop the 'Trade Assistant for Services and Investment' tool on the DG TRADE Access2Markets portal ¹. The objective is to provide EU companies with detailed requirements for exporting services or investing outside the EU, including contact details for responsible regulatory authorities in third countries ².

Key Contract Details

Who Should Apply:Economic operators capable of delivering a mix of research, data collection, and IT development services under a framework contract, specifically those with expertise in international trade regulations, market access data, and portal integration ³.

Scope of Work

1. 1Research and data collection on market access requirements for services and investment in third countries
2. 2Compilation of contact details for competent regulatory authorities in target markets
3. 3IT-related work to ensure data compatibility with the Access2Markets portal
4. 4Presentation of information in a user-friendly format for EU exporters
5. 5Continuous updating of data to reflect regulatory changes in third countries

Award Criteria:The contract will be awarded based on quality (70% weight) and price (30% weight), with quality assessed on the technical merit of the proposed approach to data collection and IT integration ⁴.

Eligibility & Requirements

Applicants must be established organisations (legal entities) capable of operating across the EU and third countries. The tender is open to entities from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and other eligible locations ⁵.

Tenders must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal using the eSubmission method. A Declaration on Honour (Annex 2) and a Financial Offer Form (Annex 6) are mandatory submission documents ⁶.

Important Documents & Deadlines

1. 1Tender Specifications (Annex 1): Published 07 July 2026
2. 2Draft Framework Contract: Published 07 July 2026
3. 3Technical Requirements for Data Delivery (Annex 7): Published 07 July 2026
4. 4Sectors and Subsectors List (Annex 8): Published 07 July 2026
5. 5Additional Information Request Deadline: 18 September 2026
6. 6Final Submission Deadline: 28 September 2026, 14:00:59

Footnotes

1. 1Official Tender Details: EU Tender Portal
2. 2Tool Overview: Access2Markets - My Trade Assistant
3. 3Development Aid Tender Summary: Development Aid
4. 4Award Criteria Weighting: Procurement documents specify 70% quality and 30% price weighting for this framework contract.
5. 5Eligible Locations: Development Aid Eligibility List
6. 6Submission Documents: Tender Documents List