the EU bank

As the European Union’s financing institution, the Bank, in its dealings with external providers, is committed to respecting the fundamental EU principles regarding public procurement (equal treatment, non-discrimination and transparency).

The Bank follows the procedures described in Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts (hereafter “the Directive”).

The criteria on which the Bank bases the award of contracts are either:

• the most economically advantageous tender (best price-quality ratio) from the point of view of the Bank, taking into account items such as quality, price, technical merit, aesthetic and functional characteristics, environmental characteristics, running costs, cost-effectiveness, after-sales service and technical assistance, delivery date and delivery period or period of completion; or
• the lowest price only.

Within 15 days of receipt of a written request from the party concerned, the Bank will inform:

• any unsuccessful candidate or tenderer of the reasons for the rejection of their request to participate or tender;
• any tenderer who has submitted an admissible tender of the characteristics and relative advantages of the tender selected as well as the name of the successful tenderer or the parties to the framework agreement.

Energy and waste considerations are systematically inserted in the calls for tender for IT hardware and photocopiers.

As far as office and cleaning materials are concerned, the EIB usually requires that the products proposed are respectful of the environment and that the tenderers have in place an environmental management system, such as being certified ISO14001 or equivalent.