Policy Dialogue and Public Diplomacy Facility for the United States

The European Commission (Service for Foreign Policy Instruments) is procuring a fee-based Policy Dialogue and Public Diplomacy Facility for the United States to deliver public diplomacy, policy dialogue support, communications, stakeholder engagement, research, consultancy and event services. The restricted two-stage procedure will shortlist 4 to 8 candidates and the contract is estimated at €5 million excluding VAT for a maximum 36-month implementation period, provisionally starting 1 July 2027. Eligibility requires legal establishment in an eligible country or international organisation status, minimum average turnover of €1 million over the last three closed financial years, relevant technical references including at least one contract implemented in the United States and specified US-based permanent staff. Requests to participate must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal by 27 November 2026 23:59 Eastern Time and the award will be made on a best price-quality ratio basis.

What it funds

Scope and objectives

A three-year service contract to deliver strategic public diplomacy and policy dialogue support in the United States to promote EU interests, strengthen transatlantic cooperation, increase EU visibility and align EU and US policy approaches across foreign policy, security, economic, digital and global governance areas.

Footnotes

1. 1See Additional Information about the Contract Notice and tender specifications (requests to participate) on the F&T Portal: ec.europa.eu

This is a restricted electronic call for tenders (procedure identifier EC-FPI/WAS/2026/EA-RP/0031) published by the European Commission, FPI - Service for Foreign Policy Instruments. The contract is a services framework agreement to provide a Policy Dialogue and Public Diplomacy Facility in the United States to strengthen transatlantic collaboration, promote EU interests and priorities, demonstrate the EU's global reach, address global challenges and amplify shared values through public diplomacy and policy dialogue activities.

Key administrative facts

Objective and scope of the contract

The contract will deliver a combination of strategic public diplomacy activities and a Policy Dialogue Support Facility mechanism in the United States to: enhance visibility and credibility of the EU; engage federal, State and local stakeholders; build trust and mutual understanding; amplify shared values; provide rapid response capability and ready engagement opportunities; and support closer alignment between EU and U.S. policy positions on foreign policy, security, economic, digital and global governance challenges. Target audiences include decision makers, media and opinion shapers, civil society, business and industry leaders, think tanks, academia, youth, and the cultural and creative sectors.

Eligibility and who may apply

Participation is open to all natural persons who are nationals of, and legal persons effectively established in, a Member State of the European Union or in an eligible country or territory as defined under Article 28 of Regulation (EU) 2021/947. International organisations may also participate. Candidates may apply individually or as a consortium (permanent or ad hoc). All members of a consortium are jointly and severally liable.

Selection and award criteria, required capacities

Selection criteria are explicitly detailed in the procurement documents and apply to each candidate/tenderer (or the consortium as a whole). Award criterion is best price-quality ratio with quality and price weights specified in the tender documents (quality 80%, price 20% indicated in structured data; candidates should consult procurement documents for exact weighting and subcriteria).

If more than 8 eligible candidates meet the selection criteria, additional comparative criteria will be applied to rank candidates: highest number of qualifying contracts and then highest cumulative value of qualifying contracts. Candidates relying on capacity-providing entities must supply commitments from those entities and prove the entities respect eligibility rules; entities providing capacities become jointly and severally liable for contract performance where economic and financial criteria are concerned.

Submission format and templates

Requests to participate must be submitted via the Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission system using the standard request to participate form and accompanying Declaration on Honour on Exclusion and Selection criteria. The request to participate form and templates are available via F&T Portal annexes (ExactExternalWiki/Annexes). Supporting documents must be uploaded in the specified attachment tabs: Request to participate form under Other documents, Declaration under Other documents, Declaration on Honour under Declaration on Honour.

Strict compliance with the form and instructions is required; additional unsolicited brochures or documents will not be taken into account. Candidates must ensure single submission per entity and per lot. In case of lots, a tenderer may submit one request to participate per lot.

Practical and technical submission notes

Grounds for exclusion and legal basis

Grounds for exclusion follow Section 2.4.2.1 of the practical guide (PRAG) and procurement documents; candidates must submit a signed Declaration on Honour confirming absence of exclusion situations. Entities listed in EU restrictive measures lists at the time of award cannot be awarded the contract. The legal basis is Regulation (EU) 2021/947 establishing NDICI-Global Europe. The procurement is financed by programme code 14 02 01 40 – The Americas and the regional programme America and the Caribbean.

Contractual, award and post-award information

The award will be by best price-quality ratio. The contract is a framework agreement for up to 36 months with possible repetition of similar services up to 50% of the initial contract value by negotiated procedure without prior publication, provided conformity with the basic project. Electronic ordering and electronic payment will be used. The Court of Justice of the European Union is indicated as the review organisation for remedies and litigation; contact details for the contracting authority and review organisation are provided in the procurement notice.

Extracted structured answers

Selection criteria details, thresholds and documentary evidence requirements are set out fully in the Additional Information about the Contract Notice (Tender specifications) and must be followed precisely by candidates. Key thresholds: average annual turnover >= €1,000,000 (last 3 closed years), current ratio >= 1 in most recent closed year, at least 5 relevant personnel with pay evidence and at least 3 permanently based in a US registered entity, at least 2 completed service contracts in public diplomacy/policy dialogue with at least one implemented in the United States and each contract value >= €1,000,000 (documented).

For full legal and procedural obligations, templates, submission instructions and Q&A, consult the procurement documents on the Funding & Tenders Portal and the Additional Information about the Contract Notice. 1

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement documents and tender specifications are available at the Funding & Tenders Portal tender details page: Funding and Tenders Portal tender page and the Additional Information about the Contract Notice PDF (Tender specifications) published 28/10/2026.

Executive summary

This is a fee based public procurement tender, not a grant scheme. The European Commission, Service for Foreign Policy Instruments, seeks a contractor to deliver public diplomacy, policy dialogue support, communications, stakeholder engagement, research, consultancy and event services supporting EU United States relations. The contract is intended to strengthen transatlantic cooperation, raise awareness of the European Union, promote shared values and support closer alignment on foreign policy, security, economic, digital and global governance issues. 1

The procurement uses a restricted procedure. Eligible organisations must first submit a request to participate. Between four and eight eligible candidates are expected to be invited to submit a detailed tender. The estimated contract value is €5 million excluding VAT, with a maximum implementation period of 36 months. 1

This opportunity is most suitable for an established public diplomacy, strategic communications, policy dialogue, public affairs or international relations provider with substantial United States operations, relevant EU policy experience and the financial capacity to meet the qualification thresholds.

Opportunity profile

Core procurement data

The principal procurement information is as follows:

Purpose and scope

Who can apply

Eligible applicants include natural persons who are nationals of eligible countries, legal persons effectively established in an EU Member State or another country or territory eligible under Article 28 of Regulation EU 2021/947, and international organisations. Legal persons may apply individually or as part of a consortium. 2

A consortium may be a permanent legally established grouping or an informal grouping formed for this procurement. Consortium members are jointly and severally liable to the contracting authority. Every consortium member must satisfy the applicable nationality and eligibility requirements. The participation of an ineligible entity can result in exclusion of the entire consortium.

An organisation or natural person may submit no more than one request to participate, whether individually, as consortium leader or as a consortium member. Applicants should therefore finalise their consortium structure before submission and avoid participating in competing applications.

Subcontracting is allowed. Applicants may also rely on the capacities of other entities, but they must demonstrate that the necessary resources will be available. Capacity providing entities must satisfy the relevant eligibility rules. For technical and professional capacity, the supporting entity must perform the tasks for which its capacity is relied upon. Entities whose financial capacity is used become jointly and severally liable for contract performance.

Eligibility and exclusion conditions

Applicants must submit the required signed declarations confirming that they are not in any exclusion situation specified in the applicable Practical Guide rules. The same declaration is required from capacity providing entities and, where applicable, subcontractors.

Entities included on EU restrictive measures lists at the time of the award decision cannot be awarded the contract. Applicants should conduct sanctions and ownership checks for the lead entity, consortium members, capacity providers and relevant subcontractors before submission.

Applicants should not rely on previous experience from a contract that was terminated by a contracting authority because of a breach of contract. Such experience cannot be used to satisfy the selection criteria.

Mandatory selection criteria

Financial capacity

The candidate must have an average annual turnover of at least €1 million over the last three financial years for which accounts have been closed. The current ratio, calculated as current assets divided by current liabilities, must be at least 1 in the last closed financial year. For a consortium, the current ratio requirement must be satisfied by each consortium member.

Professional capacity

During the current year and the previous two years, the candidate must have had on average at least five personnel directly employed or otherwise legally contracted in specialist areas relevant to the contract.

In addition, at least three of those personnel must work on a permanent basis in a registered entity in the United States. The three individuals must collectively cover programme management for public sector service contracts, financial management, and communication and visibility. Each individual can cover only one of these three domains.

Evidence of United States based permanent staff may include payslips, with confidential information redacted where appropriate, or certificates issued by an official body external to the employer, such as social security documentation. The candidate must retain the evidence and provide it if requested before award.

The candidate must not have professional conflicts of interest that could negatively affect performance. This will be assessed through declarations on honour and any supporting statements or documents requested by the contracting authority.

Technical capacity

The candidate must demonstrate at least two service contracts implemented at any time during the four years before the submission deadline. The relevant services must concern public diplomacy and or policy dialogue support for EU policies.

At least one qualifying contract must have been implemented in the United States during the same four year reference period. For each qualifying contract, the value of the services completed must be at least €1 million.

The contracting authority may accept contracts that started before the reference period or remain ongoing, but only the part implemented during the relevant period will count. Applicants must support the claimed value and performance with documentary evidence such as approved reports or deliverables, proof of payment or a certificate from the contracting entity.

Where experience was delivered through a consortium, the applicant must clearly demonstrate its own completed share, its financial value and the nature of the services provided. Consortium agreements, payment records and client evidence may be needed to establish the applicant contribution.

Shortlisting and comparative assessment

The restricted procedure is expected to shortlist between four and eight candidates for the second stage. If fewer than four eligible candidates meet the criteria, the contracting authority may invite the candidates that do meet them. If more than eight qualify, the authority will rank candidates using additional comparative criteria.

The first comparative criterion is the highest number of contracts meeting the technical capacity requirements. If candidates remain tied for the final shortlist position, the second criterion is the highest cumulative value of completed services meeting those requirements.

Shortlisted candidates may not change their composition, form alliances with other shortlisted candidates or subcontract to other shortlisted candidates for this contract unless prior authorisation is obtained from the contracting authority. An application should therefore include the intended delivery structure from the outset.

Award and financial conditions

The contract will be awarded using the best price quality ratio. The procurement data specifies an 80 percent quality weighting and a 20 percent price weighting, subject to the detailed procurement documents. Quality is therefore expected to be substantially more important than price in the final tender evaluation.

The estimated value is €5 million excluding VAT for the procurement. This is an estimated total contract value and is not a guaranteed grant, minimum payment or automatic award amount. The final commercial arrangements, pricing structure, payment mechanisms, deliverables and any ceiling on task orders must be confirmed in the full tender specifications.

No EU grant cofinancing rate applies. The successful contractor will be paid under a fee based service contract for accepted services and outputs. Applicants should price all relevant personnel, United States operations, travel, events, subcontracting, communications, administration, financial management and quality assurance costs in accordance with the tender documents.

The TED information indicates that new services or repeated similar services may potentially be awarded to the initial contractor by negotiated procedure without prior publication up to 50 percent of the initial contract value, where legally permitted and consistent with the basic project. This should not be treated as guaranteed additional revenue.

Implementation period and timetable

The maximum implementation period is 36 months. The additional contract information gives a provisional commencement date of 1 July 2027. The provisional date for invitation to tender is 18 December 2026, after evaluation of requests to participate.

The official contract notice gives 27 November 2026 at 23:59 Eastern Time as the deadline for requests to participate. The metadata also contains a separate date of 2 January 2026, but the official contract notice and tender information identify 27 November 2026 as the operative request to participate deadline. Applicants should rely on the live portal and any subsequent corrigenda rather than the conflicting metadata date.

Submission requirements

Requests to participate must be submitted exclusively through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal. Email, post and other delivery methods will be disregarded. The applicant must have an EU Login account and must register in the Participant Register to obtain a nine digit Participant Identification Code.

For a consortium, every member must be registered in the Participant Register and the submission must be made as a group submission. Existing participants should reuse their existing Participant Identification Codes.

The request should use the prescribed request to participate form and must include the required declaration on honour concerning exclusion and selection criteria. The documents should be uploaded in the correct portal categories. The procurement documents state that additional unsolicited material such as brochures or letters will not be taken into consideration.

All written communications and submissions for this procedure must be in English. Financial information must be expressed in euros. Where historical financial amounts are in another currency, the procurement information specifies conversion using the InforEuro exchange rate for October 2026.

Clarification questions must be submitted in writing through the Funding and Tenders Portal. Questions may be submitted no later than 21 days before the request to participate deadline, and clarifications are expected to be published no later than eight days before that deadline. Applicants remain responsible for monitoring portal updates, corrections and modifications.

The electronic submission receipt and its timestamp constitute evidence of timely submission. Applicants should submit sufficiently early to resolve technical problems and should retain the receipt and final submission record. A request may be withdrawn before the deadline and replaced with a new submission, but the replacement must contain all required information and documents.

Applicant readiness assessment

A strong applicant or consortium should be able to demonstrate the following:

Key risks and practical considerations

The principal eligibility risk is the requirement for three permanent United States based staff in a registered entity, each assigned to a distinct specialist domain. A European organisation without an established United States operating presence may need an eligible consortium partner or an appropriately structured registered entity before applying.

The technical reference requirements are demanding because applicants need at least two qualifying contracts, a United States implementation reference and a minimum completed value of €1 million for each reference. Generic public relations or commercial communications projects may not be sufficient unless their overall objective and activities demonstrate public diplomacy or policy dialogue support for EU policies.

The restricted procedure creates a material shortlisting risk even for applicants that meet the minimum thresholds. Applicants should strengthen their evidence on the number and cumulative value of qualifying references, because those factors determine ranking where more than eight candidates qualify.

The quality weighted award method means that a low price alone is unlikely to compensate for weak methodology, staffing, stakeholder access, rapid response arrangements, monitoring, risk management or demonstrated understanding of EU foreign policy objectives.

Consortium and subcontractor arrangements require careful governance. Consortium members are jointly and severally liable, technical capacity providers must perform the relevant tasks, and shortlisted candidates cannot freely alter their composition or collaborate with other shortlisted candidates after the first stage.

Recommended preparation plan

Overall assessment

This is a strategically significant but highly selective procurement for an experienced international public diplomacy and policy support provider. The €5 million estimated value and 36 month duration offer substantial commercial potential, but the opportunity is not an open grant and does not provide automatic funding to eligible applicants.

The strongest candidates will combine proven EU policy and public diplomacy delivery, an established United States presence, credible access to federal, state and local stakeholders, robust financial and programme controls, and well evidenced contracts of at least €1 million each. Organisations that cannot independently meet the United States staffing or reference requirements should consider forming a compliant consortium before submitting a request to participate.

Official sources

The official Funding and Tenders Portal record, contract notice and additional information document should be treated as controlling sources for eligibility, selection, submission and contract conditions. 1

The legal basis and rules of origin are described in the additional information document under Regulation EU 2021/947 establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument, Global Europe. 2

Footnotes

1. 1Official opportunity record and procurement documents: Funding and Tenders Portal opportunity and TED contract notice 748376-2026.
2. 2Additional information about the contract notice, including eligibility, selection criteria, shortlisting, submission requirements and timetable: Official procurement document.