Security guard and reception/switchboard services at the premises of the European Union House and the Europe Experience Centre in Budapest

The European Commission (DG COMM, Representation in Hungary) is procuring uniformed, unarmed security guarding, entrance control, reception and switchboard services and emergency response for the European Union House and the Europa Experience Centre in Budapest under a restricted two-step public procurement. The call will award a single framework agreement (initial 12 months, renewable up to 48 months) by best price-quality ratio with an estimated framework ceiling of €930,000 and a step 1 request-to-participate deadline of 23 November 2026 (Europe/Budapest). Eligible bidders must submit a request to participate via the Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission, demonstrate legal authorisation to provide security services in Hungary, a consolidated average annual turnover above €300,000 for the last two closed financial years, and the capacity to deploy at least 10 security guards. At least two personnel assigned to the EU House must hold or obtain Personnel Security Clearance at CONFIDENTIEL UE / EU CONFIDENTIAL level and bidders must meet the detailed technical, language, training and integrity requirements set out in the procurement documents.

What is procured

Summary

Provision of uniformed, unarmed security guard services and reception/switchboard services for the European Union House (European Commission Representation and European Parliament Liaison Office) and the Europa Experience Centre in Budapest. Services include entrance control, physical guarding of office areas, reception/switchboard operation, emergency response (on-site response within 20 minutes) and on-demand additional services.

Tender documents (invitation, administrative and technical specifications, draft framework contract, security requirements and declaration on honour) are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal; only selected candidates will access Step 2 technical documents. Subcontracting is permitted but identified subcontractors (over 20% share or relied-on for selection) must be declared.

Footnotes

1. 1Full call documentation and eSubmission are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal Tender details.

Opportunity summary

Call identifier EC-COMM/BUD/2026/RP/0217. TED reference 207/2026 740955-2026. Lead contracting authority: European Commission, DG COMM - Communication, Representation in Hungary. Procedure type: Restricted procedure organised in two steps. Submission method: Electronic via EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission. Main CPV: 79710000 - Security services. Nature of contract: services. Award method: best price-quality ratio. Framework agreement: single framework contract, without reopening of competition. Estimated total value: €930,000. Maximum contract duration: 48 months. TED publication date: 26/10/2026. Deadline for receipt of requests to participate (step 1): 23/11/2026 00:00 Europe/Budapest (23/11/2026 00:00:59 +01:00). Two-stage procedure: only selected candidates from step 1 are invited to step 2 (tender submission).

Key dates and commercial facts

Who should apply / Eligible applicant types

Geographic eligibility and winning bidders' scope

Funding type and nature of support

Consortium requirement

Project stage and target sector

Procurement procedure and application type

Evaluation, application stages and success rates

Selection and exclusion criteria (summary)

Step 1 assesses exclusion situations under Article 138 of the Financial Regulation (bankruptcy, final judgments for fraud, corruption, criminal offences, serious professional misconduct, irregularities, etc.). Evidence: Declaration on Honour (Annex 2) must be submitted at step 1; supporting documents requested from the presumed successful tenderer before award. Selection criteria include legal and regulatory capacity (proof of professional registration and Hungarian authorisation to provide security services), economic and financial capacity (minimum average yearly turnover of the last two years above €300,000) and technical and professional capacity (minimum experience and workforce). Full details are in the Administrative Specifications (Annex I) and must be consulted by candidates.

Award criteria and scoring

Mandatory documents and templates

Documents published with the call and templates for Step 1 are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal. Step 1 documents published 26/10/2026 include: Invitation to submit a request to participate (Letter of invitation), Tender specifications - Administrative Part (Annex I Step 1), Draft contract and annexes (Annex II Step 1), Draft contract annex Security requirements (Appendix 2 Step 1) and the Declaration on Honour template (Annex 2). Specific templates to be used at Step 2 (technical tender template, financial offer form) will be published to invited candidates in Step 2. Failure to use required templates in eSubmission will result in rejection.

Submission process and technical notes

All Step 1 requests to participate must be submitted electronically through eSubmission. A Participant Identification Code (PIC) is required. Candidates should test submission well in advance and observe eSubmission system requirements (supported browsers: latest Chrome or Firefox; maximum attachment sizes and counts as per system rules; maximum 200 files per tender, individual attachment size less than 50 MB typically). Draft documents remain editable until the deadline. Submissions in any other form (email, post) will be disregarded.

Contract and operational details (from draft contract and tender specifications)

Financial and invoicing rules

Insurance and liability

The contractor must hold civil liability insurance for at least €150,000 for the duration of the contract and provide evidence prior to contract signature. Failure to provide or maintain insurance cover may lead to contract termination. The contractor is liable for damages under the contract in accordance with the liability provisions in the draft contract.

Security, data protection and confidentiality

Contractor and personnel must comply with the contracting authority's security requirements as set out in Appendix 2 Security Requirements. Personal data processing must follow Regulation (EU) 2018/1725; the data protection notice is available on the Commission website. Specific localization constraints: personal data processed by the contractor must be stored and processed within the EU/EEA and not be accessible from third countries without prior written authorisation and appropriate safeguards. Confidentiality obligations are strict and continue after contract end.

How applications are evaluated and next steps

The contracting authority has answered a public Q&A confirming that at this stage candidates must submit requests to participate only for Step 1 and, if selected, will be invited to Step 2 to submit tenders. This confirmation is published on the portal and the Q&A states: Yes, we confirm, as per the Administrative specifications, section 2.1, any interested economic operator may submit a request to participate (step 1) but only the selected candidates are invited to submit a tender (step 2). 1

Practical checklist for applicants (Step 1)

Footnotes

1. 1Public Q&A published on the Funding & Tenders Portal confirms that Step 1 is the request to participate phase and that only selected candidates will be invited to Step 2 to submit tenders.

Executive summary

This is a European Commission restricted public procurement procedure, not a grant or subsidy opportunity. The contracting authority seeks one contractor to provide uniformed, trained and unarmed security guarding, entrance control, physical security, reception and switchboard services, emergency response and additional services at the European Union House and Europa Experience Centre in Budapest.

The procedure is organised in two steps. All interested eligible economic operators may submit a request to participate in step 1. Only candidates selected after assessment of access, exclusion, legal, financial, technical and professional criteria will be invited to submit a tender in step 2. A tender submitted by an operator that was not invited will be rejected.

The official opportunity record and procurement documents are available at EU Funding and Tenders Portal opportunity.

Opportunity profile

The supplied metadata includes an additional deadline of 31 December 2025. This appears inconsistent with the official procurement record, which identifies the 23 November 2026 deadline as the deadline for receipt of requests to participate. Applicants should rely on the live portal record and any subsequent corrigendum or notification published there.

What the procurement covers

The successful contractor will provide an integrated security and front-of-house service for the European Commission Representation in Hungary, the European Parliament Liaison Office and the Europa Experience Centre.

The principal service components are:

The contracting authority may change the number of service hours, days or services in response to changes in premises, new premises or centres, force majeure, or changes in the scale of its activities.

Service locations

Contract and commercial structure

The procurement will establish a single framework agreement with one contractor. The framework agreement creates the contractual mechanism for future repetitive purchases through specific contracts. Signing the framework agreement does not guarantee that the contracting authority will order a particular volume of services or conclude specific contracts.

The framework contract is planned for an initial period of 12 months and may be renewed three times, subject to the draft contract and the maximum overall duration of 48 months.

The estimated €930,000 is a maximum framework ceiling and not a grant, guaranteed revenue amount or fixed payment. The actual quantities and expenditure will depend on specific contracts and orders placed by the participating entities. The ceiling must not be exceeded.

Within three years following signature, the contracting authority may use a negotiated procedure to procure repeated similar services from the contractor up to a maximum of 50 percent of the initial framework ceiling. This possibility is subject to the Financial Regulation and the conditions in the procurement documents.

No grant funding rate, co-financing rate, advance payment or lump-sum grant amount applies. Applicants should price all costs necessary to deliver the services, including staffing, supervision, training, insurance, compliance, security checks and other contractual obligations.

Who can apply

Eligible applicants may be natural persons, legal persons, groups of economic operators and international organisations, provided they meet the applicable access to procurement, exclusion, selection and restrictive-measures requirements.

Participation is open to persons established within the scope of the EU Treaties and to persons established in third countries where a special agreement with the European Union grants access to procurement on the applicable conditions. The WTO Government Procurement Agreement does not apply to this procedure according to the tender specifications.

Applicants may participate as:

A natural or legal person cannot participate simultaneously as a sole candidate and as a member of another group, or as a member of more than one group, in the same procedure. Cross-subcontracting arrangements between competing candidates are restricted and may result in rejection.

Participant registration and submission prerequisites

A candidate may withdraw or replace its request before the deadline. If more than one request is submitted and earlier requests are not withdrawn, only the latest submission will be considered, and it must be complete in its own right.

Step 1 eligibility and selection requirements

Step 1 assesses access to procurement, administrative compliance, exclusion, legal and regulatory capacity, economic and financial capacity, and technical and professional capacity. The contracting authority initially relies on declarations and may request documentary evidence during the procedure or before award.

Legal and regulatory capacity

Economic and financial capacity

The candidate must demonstrate an average annual turnover above €300,000 for the last two closed financial years. This is assessed on a consolidated basis, so the combined capacity of involved entities may be considered.

Possible evidence includes profit and loss accounts and balance sheets for the last two closed financial years, or appropriate bank statements where accounts are unavailable. The most recent financial year must have closed within the previous 18 months when the evidence is requested.

Technical and professional capacity

The candidate may rely on the capacities of other entities only where the required entity will perform the services for which that capacity is needed. Abstract or unsupported commitments are not sufficient.

Exclusion, sanctions and integrity requirements

The declaration on honour covers standard EU exclusion grounds, including insolvency, unpaid taxes or social security contributions, grave professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, criminal organisation, money laundering, terrorist offences, trafficking in human beings, significant contractual deficiencies, irregularities, circumvention of legal obligations and obstruction of investigations or audits.

The declaration also covers persons with powers of representation, decision-making or control, beneficial owners and persons with unlimited liability where applicable. Applicants must declare the absence of relevant conflicts of interest, restrictive measures and established debts to the European Union.

The contracting authority may consult the Early Detection and Exclusion System and may request recent judicial records, tax and social security certificates, financial evidence, ownership information or other supporting documents. Failure to provide requested evidence within the specified period may lead to rejection.

Applicants that have taken remedial measures after an exclusion situation may present evidence of those measures, but acceptance is at the discretion of the authorising officer and does not apply to every exclusion ground.

Security and personnel obligations

The service is unarmed. Personnel must be uniformed, trained and suitable to perform access control, physical security, reception and emergency duties.

At least two persons assigned to the EU House must hold valid Personnel Security Clearance at the level CONFIDENTIEL UE or EU CONFIDENTIAL, issued by the competent national security authority or equivalent authority of an EU Member State where the contractor is established.

If the required clearance is not held at contract signature, the contractor must provide evidence within 90 days that clearance has been formally requested and that the relevant guards have submitted the national security screening form. Failure to meet the security clearance requirements may constitute grounds for termination.

The contractor bears all costs associated with security compliance, including background checks, screening and clearance processes. Personnel may be required to attend security briefings or training and to sign security statements.

The contractor must comply with the European Commission security requirements, applicable labour and social obligations, fraud prevention requirements, environmental considerations, equality and diversity principles, and relevant confidentiality and audit provisions.

Step 2 tender evaluation

Only candidates selected in step 1 will receive the confidential technical specifications and be invited to submit a tender. Variants are not allowed. Tenders must comply fully with the minimum requirements and may not contain reservations, conditions or assumptions that undermine compliance.

The quality assessment includes the proposed service delivery model, quality standards, resource and supervision arrangements, training approach and emergency response plan. The emergency response proposal must demonstrate how the premises will be reached within a maximum of 20 minutes.

The detailed technical specifications, financial model, quality subcriteria, scoring rules, minimum quality thresholds and tender submission documents are provided only to selected candidates at step 2. Applicants should therefore avoid assuming that the publicly available administrative specifications contain the complete tender requirements.

Required step 1 submission package

Applicants should prepare exclusion and selection evidence in advance even where it is not required at initial submission, because the contracting authority may request it within a short deadline.

Key risks and applicant considerations

Recommended application approach

Overall assessment

This opportunity is most suitable for an established Hungarian private security provider or a consortium with demonstrable experience in integrated security and reception services, sufficient licensed personnel, financial capacity above the stated threshold and the ability to satisfy EU institutional security requirements.

The strongest applications will demonstrate regulatory compliance, credible workforce availability, relevant recent references, robust supervision, rapid emergency response, language capability and early planning for personnel security clearance. The principal commercial limitation is that the estimated value is a maximum framework ceiling rather than guaranteed turnover.

Primary official source