Provision of audio-visual and maintenance services to the Council of the European Union/European Council and audio-visual services to the European Ext...

Open tender to award a framework service contract (up to five years) for provision of audio-visual and maintenance services to the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union and European Council, with partial coverage of the European External Action Service. The contract scope includes photo and video coverage of EU events and personalities, social media content production, operation of audio-visual and broadcast infrastructure, and associated maintenance and SLAs. Participation is open to economic operators established in eligible countries, with single bidders or consortia permitted and submission required via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Published 20 July 2026 with an electronic submission deadline of 30 September 2026 (verify the portal for the operative deadline and full tender documents).

Type and purpose

What the tender covers

Framework service contract to provide photo and video coverage of EU events and personalities, content creation for social media, and operation, maintenance and support of audio-visual and broadcast infrastructure and equipment for the General Secretariat of the Council (GSC)/European Council and partly for the European External Action Service (EEAS). ¹

Contract duration:Up to 60 months (initial 12 months, renewable up to four times) under a framework agreement.

1. 1Who can apply: economic operators and service providers able to fulfil the technical, security and SLA requirements set out in the procurement documents (tender is electronic submission).
2. 2SME suitability: marked not suitable; check minimum requirements and personnel/equipment lists in the technical annexes.
3. 3Scope: includes on-site coverage, social media content, AVBI operation, equipment maintenance and associated SLAs.

Estimated contract value:not published in the call summary; bidders must complete the financial offer form provided in the procurement documents.

Lead contracting authority:The General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. Access full tender documents and submission portal here Tender details and documents. ¹

Footnotes

1. 1All technical, administrative and financial submission requirements are in the procurement documents available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (see Tender details and documents link).

Opportunity summary

Core description

This is a tender to establish a Framework Service Contract (FWC) for a maximum duration of five years to provide audio-visual and maintenance services to the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union and the European Council (GSC) and, in part, audio-visual services to the European External Action Service (EEAS). The main objective is to provide photo and video coverage of EU events and personalities for media, stakeholders and the public, produce content for social media, and operate and maintain Audio-Visual and Broadcast Infrastructure and equipment. The procurement is managed by the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal with call identifier CONSILIUM/2026/OP/0015. The contract is a framework agreement structured as a services contract with an initial period of 12 months renewable up to four times to reach a total of up to 60 months.

Deadlines:Invitation to tender published 20 July 2026. Submission deadline 30 September 2026 at 16:00:59 Brussels time. Open tender event scheduled on 1 October 2026 at 14:00 Brussels time. Additional information request period ends 22 September 2026. Please consult the procurement documents for any updates ¹.

1. 1Eligible Applicant Types: The procurement is open to economic operators capable of delivering the required services. Typical eligible types include SMEs, large enterprises, audiovisual production companies, broadcasting service providers, specialized maintenance contractors, media agencies, consortia or joint ventures combining audiovisual, technical maintenance and broadcast engineering capabilities, and subcontractors such as specialist camera, OB van, EVS, LAWO, RIEDEL and ROSS VIDEO equipment suppliers. Public bodies or universities could participate only if allowed under procurement rules and if they meet the selection and exclusion criteria in the administrative tender specifications.
2. 2Funding Type: This is a procurement by means of a tender (not a grant). The financial mechanism is a contract award under a framework service contract; contractors will receive payment for services delivered under the terms of the contract via invoicing.
3. 3Consortium Requirement: The tender documentation allows for single tenderers or consortia. The tendering documents include selection criteria and require the identification of the tenderer and capacity; consortia/joint bids are common for combined audiovisual and technical maintenance scopes. Consult TS Part.1 Annex I bis - Identification of the tenderer and TS Part.1 Annex II - Minimum Requirements for precise rules.
4. 4Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The opportunity is administered by an EU institution (Council of the EU). Normal EU procurement rules apply; bidders from EU Member States are eligible. Economic operators established in EU Member States and possibly in EEA or third countries may participate subject to the procurement documents and applicable international obligations. Check the Invitation to tender and Tender Specifications for exact nationality and establishment requirements.
5. 5Target Sector: Thematic sectors covered are audio-visual services, media production, broadcasting, event coverage, social media content creation, technical maintenance of audio-visual and broadcast infrastructure and equipment, and related engineering services.
6. 6Mentioned Countries: The documents explicitly reference European Union institutions and the European External Action Service. No external countries are listed; the relevant geographic entity is the EU and its institutions.
7. 7Project Stage: The expected maturity is operational service delivery and sustained operations, covering production, live event coverage and maintenance. This is not a research call; it targets delivery, operation, maintenance and content creation at production readiness.
8. 8Funding Amount: No overall budget envelope is published in the scraped metadata. Financial offer must be submitted using TS Part.1 Annex III - Financial offer form. Pricing will be evaluated according to award criteria with weighting: quality 55 and price 45 (refer to awarding criterion parameters).
9. 9Application Type: Open call via e-submission through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Tenderers must submit electronically by the specified deadline. The submission method code is ESUBMISSION and submissionMethodCode is required.
10. 10Nature of Support: Monetary payments under a service contract (contractual payments via invoicing) and non-monetary operational cooperation with the contracting authority (access to facilities, site coordination). The contract will include service level agreements for equipment and platform vendors (EVS, LAWO, RIEDEL, ROSS VIDEO).
11. 11Application Stages: Single-stage tender with administrative, selection and award evaluation phases. Tendering process includes submission, administrative/eligibility checks, quality and price evaluation, and post-award procedures (security verification for EEAS components). Expect at least 2 to 3 internal evaluation phases: compliance/eligibility, technical/quality evaluation, and price evaluation.
12. 12Success Rates: Not published. As a competitive open tender for services to EU institutions, success rate depends on number and quality of bids; typical procurement success rates vary widely and cannot be determined from the published data.
13. 13Co-funding Requirement: No co-funding required. This is a public procurement; bidders price their offers to provide services for payment by the contracting authority.

Mandatory procurement and tender documents are published and must be consulted in full before preparing a bid. Key documents include TS Part.1 Annex II - Minimum Requirements (technical and administrative eligibility), TS Part.2 Technical (detailed service and equipment requirements), TS Part.2 Technical Annex D - Description of personnel profiles (required staffing and expertise), TS Part.2 Technical Annexes A-J which include descriptions of facilities, workflows for ministerial and European Council meetings, equipment lists for EVS, LAWO, RIEDEL, ROSS VIDEO and OB VAN requirements, Service Level Agreements (SLA) templates, Draft Framework Contract and Financial Offer form TS Part.1 Annex III. Tenderers must complete identification and declaration templates, provide the financial offer spreadsheet and fulfill security verification requirements for EEAS-related tasks. Failure to include required annexes or to meet minimum requirements will lead to exclusion. Consult the documents available on the portal link in the Invitation to tender ¹.

Selection, award and operational requirements:Selection will include administrative checks, evaluation of economic and financial capacity, and demonstration of technical and professional capacity per the Minimum Requirements annex. Award is based on combined evaluation of quality (55 weighting) and price (45 weighting). Quality assessment will examine experience in high-level event coverage, equipment ownership and technical competence, ability to implement workflows for ministerial and European Council meetings, availability and SLAs for broadcast platforms (EVS, LAWO, RIEDEL, ROSS VIDEO), personnel profiles and availability, continuity plans (OB VAN parking and logistics), maintenance and support capabilities for AVBI equipment, and evidence of past performance on similar contracts. Security clearance for personnel and company may be required for EEAS-related deliverables; specific security verification templates are provided in the draft contract annexes.

1. 1Technical requirements and documents to review: TS Part.2 Technical; Annex A Description of the GSC’s Audiovisual Facilities and Infrastructure; Annex B Workflow covering ministerial meetings; Annex C Workflow covering European Council meetings; Annex D Personnel profiles; Annex E OB VAN parking area; Annex F List of equipment for Maintenance and Support for AVBI; Annexes G, H, I, J equipment lists and SLA appendices for RIEDEL, LAWO, EVS and ROSS VIDEO.
2. 2Administrative documents and templates: TS Part.1 Administrative; TS Part.1 Annex I bis Identification of the tenderer; TS Part.1 Annex I Declaration on honour; TS Part.1 Annex II Minimum Requirements; TS Part.1 Annex III Financial offer form.
3. 3Contractual documents: Draft Framework Contract for Services and FWC annexes including security verification forms and templates.

Bid preparation checklist:1) Register and sign in to the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and confirm eSubmission access; 2) Download all procurement documents listed in the Invitation to tender; 3) Complete Identification annex and Declaration on honour; 4) Ensure compliance with Minimum Requirements and prepare supporting evidence for technical, professional and financial capacity; 5) Populate the Financial offer form (Excel); 6) Prepare detailed technical offer aligning with TS Part.2 Technical Annexes including equipment and personnel matrices and SLAs; 7) Provide security verification documentation where required for EEAS tasks; 8) Submit via the portal before the deadline and retain submission confirmation. Non-electronic submissions are not accepted.

• Contact and access: Use the Funding & Tenders Portal tender details page to access documents and the eSubmission interface: ec.europa.eu
• Open tender event attendance: Check the portal for registration instructions for the open tender event on 1 October 2026
• Clarifications: Submit requests for additional information via the portal before the end of the additional information request period (22 September 2026)

Summary:This tender seeks a supplier or consortium to establish a five-year framework contract to deliver high-quality audio-visual services, including photography, video coverage of EU-level events, social media content creation, operation of broadcast infrastructure and technical maintenance for the Council of the EU, European Council and parts of the EEAS. Bidders must submit an electronic tender via the Funding & Tenders Portal by 30 September 2026, adhere to detailed minimum requirements and technical annexes, use the provided financial offer template, and comply with security verification procedures for EEAS-related activities. Award will be based on technical quality and price with a quality emphasis. Review all technical annexes and SLAs carefully (EVS, LAWO, RIEDEL, ROSS VIDEO and OB VAN specifications) and ensure the operational, personnel and maintenance capabilities match the workflows required for ministerial and European Council meetings.

Footnotes

1. 1All references to document titles and dates are taken from the procurement documentation published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal under the Invitation to tender and associated TS Part.1 and TS Part.2 documents. Tenderers must consult the official procurement folder for the authoritative and up-to-date versions of all documents: Invitation to tender, Draft Framework Contract for Services, TS Part.1 Administrative, TS Part.2 Technical and all annexes and templates available on the portal.

This is an open tender for a framework service contract covering audio visual and maintenance services for the Council of the European Union and European Council, with partial coverage for the European External Action Service. The stated objective is to provide photo and video coverage of EU events and personalities, content for social media, and operation of audio visual and broadcast infrastructure and equipment.[1][2]

Key facts

Who can apply

Participation is open to natural and legal persons established in EU Member States, countries covered by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, and third countries that have a specific public procurement agreement with the EU. Tenders may be submitted by a single economic operator, a consortium or grouping, with subcontractors, or by relying on the capacities of other entities.[1]

Scope of services

• Photo and video coverage of EU events and personalities for media, governments, and the public.[1][2]
• Content creation for social media.[1][2]
• Operation of audio visual and broadcast infrastructure and equipment.[1][2]
• Maintenance services linked to the relevant audio visual systems and equipment.[1]

Practical notes for applicants

The sources available here do not show a verified contract value or budget ceiling, so applicants should rely on the procurement documents in the portal for financial details, submission rules, technical requirements, and any lot structure or award criteria not visible in the public snippets.