Support for the EPSAS initiative focusing on encouraging and supporting national public accounting modernisation

Planned negotiated procedure EC-ESTAT/2026/MVP/0010-EXA by the European Commission DG ESTAT (Eurostat) seeks a contractor to support the EPSAS initiative by preparing analyses on public sector financial accounting and engaging stakeholders to promote accrual accounting across EU Member States. The contract is classified under CPV 79330000 for statistical services, is a low or middle value services procurement with a maximum duration of 20 months, and this notice is ex ante publicity rather than a call for tenders. Interested economic operators must submit an electronic expression of interest via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (EU Login required) between 12/03/2026 and 31/03/2026, with an indicative launch of the negotiated procedure on 16/04/2026. The estimated total value is not specified and detailed eligibility, selection criteria, and procurement documents will be published when the negotiated procedure is launched on the portal.

What it funds

Scope summary

Service contract to assist Eurostat with analyses and stakeholder support related to national public financial accounting and the implementation of accrual accounting across EU Member States. Work includes close cooperation with national standard setters, government accounting authorities, ministries of finance, courts of audit and other national/international stakeholders.

Who may apply:Providers of statistical, public accounting or advisory services (consultancies, research organisations, accounting experts) able to demonstrate experience with public sector accounting and stakeholder engagement; bidders must register and submit electronically via EU Login.

1. 1Contracting authority: European Commission, DG ESTAT - Eurostat
2. 2Procedure type: planned negotiated procedure for low or middle value contract

Expressions of interest must be submitted electronically via EU Login. This publication is an advance notice of an intended negotiated procedure, not a current call for tenders. Full tender documents will be published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Tender details. ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Guidance on EU Login and electronic submission is available from the EC (EU Login help pages and the portal’s participation instructions).

This is an ex-ante announcement for a future negotiated low or middle value services contract by the European Commission’s DG ESTAT (Eurostat). The forthcoming procurement will seek a contractor to assist Eurostat in preparing analyses on specified financial accounting matters and in supporting stakeholder engagement to advance accrual accounting implementation in the EU Member States under the EPSAS initiative. The work may require close cooperation with national public accounting standard-setting authorities, national government accounting authorities, and other national and international stakeholders such as Ministries of Finance and Courts of Auditors in the Member States.

Key identifiers, contracting authority, and timeline

This publication is not a call for tenders but an ex-ante notice of the contracting authority’s intention to publish a negotiated low or middle value procedure. Procurement documents will be made available only once the negotiated procedure is launched following the expression of interest phase. General guidance on ex-ante publicity for such procedures is provided by the Commission ¹.

Scope of work and technical focus

Objectives:Assist Eurostat with the preparation of analyses on specified financial accounting topics and provide stakeholder-related assistance to support accrual accounting implementation in EU Member States within the EPSAS context.

• Preparation of analyses on specified financial accounting topics relevant to EPSAS and accrual accounting in the public sector.
• Assistance with stakeholder engagement and coordination to support implementation efforts at Member State level.
• Cooperation with national public accounting standard-setting bodies, national government accounting authorities, and relevant national and international stakeholders including Ministries of Finance and Courts of Auditors in the Member States.

Expected technical domains:public sector accrual accounting, financial reporting frameworks for the public sector, government finance statistics interfaces, stakeholder coordination and policy support within the EPSAS initiative. Precise tasks, deliverables, meetings, and reporting requirements will be defined in the negotiated procedure’s procurement documents.

Participation and eligibility

This is an EU procurement procedure. Economic operators will be invited to express interest electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. An EU Login account is required for submission and for accessing eProcurement guidance EU Login help page. Eligibility and selection criteria including legal, financial, technical, and professional capacity requirements will be specified in the negotiated procedure documents made available after the ex-ante stage.

Application process and stages

1. 1Expression of interest: Economic operators submit an electronic expression of interest via the portal by the deadline indicated. This step is required to be considered for the subsequent negotiated procedure.
2. 2Negotiated procedure (invitation phase): The contracting authority will invite one or more operators to submit tenders and enter negotiations. Detailed technical specifications, award criteria, and draft contract terms will be provided at this stage.

Expressions of interest must be submitted electronically through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Applicants need an EU Login account to access and submit their expression of interest and to follow Q&A on the portal.

Categorization answers

Eligible Applicant Types:Economic operators capable of providing the required services under EU procurement rules. This can include SMEs, large enterprises, consulting firms, universities, research institutes, nonprofit organizations, NGOs, and public bodies. The notice does not restrict the legal form; groupings or consortia may also participate subject to conditions set out in the future procurement documents. Specific exclusion, selection, and eligibility criteria will be defined at the negotiated procedure stage.

Funding Type:Procurement services contract. This is not a grant. The contractor will be paid for services delivered as per contract terms.

Consortium Requirement:Not required. The ex-ante notice does not mandate a consortium. Participation by a single applicant or a consortium is typically allowed in EU procurement; precise conditions will be confirmed in the negotiated procedure documents.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):EU procurement procedure. Geographic eligibility is governed by EU public procurement rules applicable to the European Commission’s low and middle value negotiated procedures. The ex-ante notice itself does not specify country restrictions. The services will support implementation in EU Member States.

Target Sector:Public administration and governance; finance and accounting; statistics; public sector financial reporting; accrual accounting; EPSAS-related policy support.

Mentioned Countries:EU Member States are referenced collectively. No individual countries are listed by name.

Project Stage:Service delivery focused on analysis, stakeholder support, and implementation assistance. Not R&D; the emphasis is on expert support for implementation and policy alignment.

Funding Amount:Estimated total value is not disclosed in the ex-ante notice. The procedure is categorized as a negotiated low or middle value contract; exact budget will be provided in the negotiated procedure documents.

Application Type:Expression of interest followed by a negotiated procedure. Electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (EU Login required).

Nature of Support:Money. The successful contractor will receive payments for services rendered under the contract.

Application Stages:Two stages: 1) Expression of interest; 2) Negotiated procedure with invited tender submission and negotiations.

Success Rates:Not provided in the notice. No statistical success rate information is available at the ex-ante stage.

Co-funding Requirement:No co-funding. This is a procurement contract; the contracting authority pays for the contracted services. Contractors bear their bid costs.

Submission specifics and portal access

• Submission channel: Electronic expression of interest only via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
• EU Login requirement: An EU Login account is mandatory to express interest and to access eProcurement resources. See EU Login help for guidance EU Login help page.
• Q&A handling: Managed within the portal. Public Q&A may become available; applicants should monitor the listing for updates and any clarifications.
• Address for expression of interest: Provided through the portal’s submission interface (Express interest function).

Indicative templates and documents to expect

Because this is an ex-ante announcement, the full procurement dossier is not yet published. Based on the Commission’s approach to ex-ante publicity for negotiated low and middle value procedures, the negotiated procedure package typically includes: technical specifications, draft contract, instructions to tenderers, administrative compliance forms, and pricing templates. The definitive list will be provided at launch of the negotiated procedure ¹.

• Invitation to tender and instructions: procedural steps, deadlines, language, submission format, and negotiation framework.
• Technical specifications: detailed description of services, methodology expectations, deliverables, milestones, KPIs, and quality assurance requirements.
• Draft contract: general conditions, special conditions, contract scope, deliverables schedule, acceptance criteria, invoicing and payment terms, confidentiality, data protection, intellectual property, and liability clauses.
• Administrative forms: declarations on honor regarding exclusion grounds, legal entity and bank account forms, power of attorney for consortia or joint tenders, and subcontracting declarations.
• Financial proposal template: breakdown of prices or fees, unit rates, reimbursable expenses policy if any, and pricing schedules.
• Selection and award criteria: minimum capacity thresholds and the most economically advantageous tender evaluation (quality and price weighting) as applicable to the negotiated procedure.

What this opportunity is about

Eurostat plans to procure specialized services to advance the European Public Sector Accounting Standards initiative by supporting Member States’ transition and alignment with accrual accounting practices. The contractor will produce analyses on selected public sector financial accounting topics and coordinate with key national stakeholders such as public accounting standard-setters, government accounting authorities, Ministries of Finance, and Courts of Auditors. This is a services contract under a negotiated low or middle value procedure with a maximum duration of 20 months. Interested operators must first submit an electronic expression of interest via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal by 31/03/2026. Following this, selected operators will be invited to a negotiated procedure where full technical specifications, selection and award criteria, and the draft contract will be provided. The work targets public administration and finance sectors with a strong focus on accrual accounting and EPSAS-related implementation support across EU Member States.

Footnotes

1. 1For general context on ex-ante publicity for negotiated low and middle value procedures, see Information ex ante publicity for planned negotiated low and middle value contracts of the European Commission Commission guidance document. The official planned call for tenders listing is available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal Planned call for tenders page.

This is a planned negotiated procedure for a middle or low value service contract to support Eurostat in advancing the European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS) initiative. The contractor will assist in preparing analyses on specified financial accounting topics and engage with stakeholders to promote accrual accounting implementation across EU Member States.

Opportunity Overview

The procedure identifier is EC-ESTAT/2026/MVP/0010-EXA. It falls under CPV code 79330000 for statistical services and involves services related to national public accounting modernisation. This is not a full call for tenders but ex ante publicity announcing the intent to launch a negotiated procedure for a low or middle value contract. The maximum contract duration is 20 months.

Lead Contracting Authority:European Commission, DG ESTAT - Eurostat.

Primary Source:Full details available at EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Key Milestones

1. 1Start date for expression of interest: 12/03/2026 (Europe/Brussels)
2. 2Deadline for expression of interest: 31/03/2026 23:59 (Europe/Luxembourg)
3. 3Indicative date of launch of the negotiated procedure: 16/04/2026 (Europe/Luxembourg)

Eligibility and Participation

This is a negotiated procedure, typically involving a limited number of pre-selected candidates. Interested parties must submit an expression of interest electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. An EU Login account is required for submission, subscription, and accessing Q&A. Create an account using only an email address and password if needed. Submissions must be sent exclusively through the designated electronic address: Express interest.

No specific eligibility criteria are detailed in the ex ante publicity, as this precedes the full negotiated procedure launch. Contractors should have expertise in financial accounting analyses, accrual accounting, and stakeholder engagement with public sector entities such as national standard setters, government accounting authorities, Ministries of Finance, and Courts of Auditors.

Scope of Work

The contractor will support Eurostat in preparing analyses on specified financial accounting areas to encourage accrual accounting adoption in Member States. This includes close cooperation with national and international stakeholders, such as public accounting standard setters, government accounting authorities, Ministries of Finance, and Courts of Auditors.

EPSAS aims to harmonise accruals-based public sector accounting standards across the EU, improving transparency, accountability, and data for statistics. It builds on a voluntary, progressive approach: Phase 1 promotes accrual accounting and develops the EPSAS framework; Phase 2 focuses on comparability through implementation¹.

Financial Details

Estimated Total Value:Not specified in the available metadata (typical for ex ante publicity of low/middle value contracts).

Nature of Contract:Services, potentially under a framework agreement.

Additional Considerations for Applicants

• Monitor the portal for the full negotiated procedure launch after 16/04/2026.
• Review Q&A section (currently no public Q&As; login required to submit questions).
• ExA references indicate planned negotiated low/middle value procedures, not open tenders.
• EPSAS context: Many Member States are progressing towards accrual accounting, with varying maturity levels (e.g., Nordic countries and France fully accrual-based; others cash or partial accrual)².
• More on EPSAS governance and progress: Eurostat EPSAS Page.
• Ex ante publicity guidance: Information Document.

Footnotes

1. 1EPSAS initiative details from Eurostat and related reports on harmonised accrual-based standards.
2. 2Accounting maturity varies across EU; accrual adoption supports better fiscal statistics (IMF and Eurostat analyses).