1 STATISTICAL REPORT 2 017-2020  
ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT  
ACCORDING TO THE  
AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT  
 
Communication by the European Union  
 
This is the European Union’s (EU) statistical report for 20 17-2020 for submission 
to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) Committee. For the purpose of 
this report, and with the aim of increasing transparency by making comprehensive 
use of electronic formats, the EU submits the report under Article XVI, paragraph 5 
of the Revised GPA.  
This report provides context and complementary information on the published 
datasets on European public procurement extracted from Tenders Electronic Daily 
(TED), the online version of the 'Supplement to the Official Journal' of the EU.  
The EU considers that statistical reports are a crucial element of GPA notification 
policy and of monitoring the Agreement. Therefore, the EU opted to publi sh, in 
addition to the required information about the datasets and how these data can be 
used to calcu late government procurement statistics in line with Article XVI, 
paragraph 6, its own estimates of the main procurement indicators.  
Both the TED datasets and the EU’s estimates refer to all administrative levels 
covered by the GPA.   
2 1. Datasets and key figures  
The datasets on contract award notices registered on the Tenders Electronic Daily 
platform are available under the following links:  
- TED – contract award notices 2017: 
https://data.europa.eu/api/hub/store/data/ted -contract -award -notices -
2017.zip ;  
- TED – contract award notices 2018: 
https://data.europa.eu/api/hub/store/data/ted -contract -award -notices -
2018.zip ;  
- TED – contract award notices 2019: 
https://data.europa.eu/api/hub/store/data/ted -contract -award -notices -
2019.zip ; 
- TED – contract award notice s 2020 : 
https://data.europa.eu/api/hub/store/data/ted -contract -award -notices -
2020.zip.  
These datasets contain variables that enable the identification of contract award 
notices covered by the GPA for 201 7-2020.  
In each .csv file, one compound variable (GP A_coverage) groups all the information 
needed to identify the contracts covered by the GPA. This variable takes five values:  
- 1 – contract award notices covered by the GPA. This refers to contracts 
above threshold awarded by contracting authorities/entitie s, and for goods, 
services and works covered by the EU’s GPA schedule. This category also 
includes contracts fulfilling these criteria but lacking a contract value or 
stating in TED an unrealistically low contract value, below EUR 45001 
- 2 – contract award  notices issued by entities not covered by the EU’s GPA 
schedule  
- 3 – contract award notices issued by entities that are covered by the EU’s 
GPA schedule, but that do not cover the goods, services,  or works concerned.  
- 4 – contracts not covered by the GPA be cause their value is below the 
threshold  
- 5 – contracts not covered by the GPA because the buyer is not a contracting 
authority/entity.  
Information on the above variable and other variables linked to GPA coverage 
(whether the entity is covered by the EU sch edule, whether the contract is covered, 
 
1 An explanation of this specific aspect is given in Section 2: Methodological issues for the estimated 
values   
3 the main Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV) code) along with methodological 
notes is available in a codebook at:  
TED_methodological_notes.doc (europa.eu)  
A more detailed methodological note can be downloaded at:  
TED_advanced_notes.pdf (europa.eu)  
Based on the dataset referenced above and the methodology described in Section 2, 
the following table summarises the key figures for 2017 -2020, without prejudice 
on the notes to the EU coverage schedule. For ease of reference, and to help assess 
the values over time, the averaged figures reported in the EU’s statistical report for 
2014 to 2016 are also provided.  
EU procurement: Key figures in 
billion euro  2014 -16 
(averaged)  2017  2018  2019  2020  
Value of contracts covered by GPA*  366.48  359.67  456.29  500.48  528.81  
Value of contracts above thresholds*  460.04  478.36  652.60  746.07  788.64  
Estimate of total general 
government expenditure on goods, 
services and works (excluding 
utilities)  2017.8  2083.1  2163.0  2265.5  2393.52 
* EU Member States and EU institutions3 
 
Contracts covered by the GPA  
This report presents the value of contracts procured in the EU  in 2017 -2020. 
Changes over time were influenced by, amongst others, infrastructure 
development, crisis response, and technological advancement. The Commission 
and the EU Member States are constantly working to increase the quality of the 
data with a view to get a more accurate  picture of  contracts  covered  by the GPA .  
2017  
In 2017, the total value contracted by the 28 Member States of the EU and covered 
by the GPA was EUR 357.10  billion. In addition, the EU ins titutions contracted EUR 
2.57 billion covered by the GPA. Taken together , the a bove -threshold contract 
procurement value covered in 2017 was EUR 359.67  billion. Of the total value of 
procurement covered, goods accounted for EUR 114.05  billion, works for EUR 
131.75  billion, and services for EUR 113.87  billion. The total value of covered 
procurement in 2017 was 1. 86% lower than the average total procurement 
 
2 UK 2020 d ata taken from UK Office of National Statistics  to manually calculate the EU28 total for 2020 . 
Average exchange rate in 2020 : 1 EUR  = 0.88970  GBP  
3 The European Council, European Commission and the European External Action Service  are the only 
EU institutions that are covered by the GPA.   
4 coverage of EUR 366.48 billion in the years 2014 -16 (EU Member States and 
institutions combined).  
The highest share in total value of EU contracts covered by the GPA in 2017 was 
procured by Annex 2 entities, which are bodies governed by public law, local 
authorities,  and regional authorities: EUR 232.93  billion. Central government 
entities (EU entities and central government authorities of EU Member States) 
contracted EUR 69.41  billion covered by the GPA, and entities operating utilities in 
the covered sectors contracted EUR 57.33  billion.  
2018  
In 2018, the total value contracted by the 28 Member States of the EU and covered 
by the GPA was EUR 451.38  billion. I n addition, the EU institutions  contracted EUR 
4.91  billion covered by the GPA. Taken together , the above -threshold contract 
procurement value covered in 2018 was EUR 456.29  billion. Of the total value of 
procurement covered, goods accounted for  EUR 146.78  billion, works for EUR 
182.37  billion, and services for EUR 127.14  billion. The total value of covered 
procurement in 2018 was 26. 86% higher than the total of EUR 359.67  billion in 
2017 (EU Member States and institutions combined).  
This signif icant increase is mainly caused by increased services contracts awarded 
by Annex 2 and Annex 3 covered contracting entities, as well as works contracts 
awarded by Annex 3 covered contracting entities.  
Also in 2018, the highest share in value of EU contrac ts covered by GPA was 
procured by Annex 2 entities, which are bodies governed by public law, local 
authorities,  and regional authorities: EUR 258.25  billion. Central government 
entities (EU entities and central government authorities of EU Member States) 
contracted EUR 91.96  billion covered by the GPA, and entities operating utilities in 
the covered sectors contracted EUR 106.08  billion.  
2019  
In 2019 , the total value contracted by the 28 Member States of the EU and covered 
by the GPA was EUR 498.66  billion. In addition, the EU instituti ons contracted EUR 
1.82 billion covered by the GPA. Taken together , the above -threshold contract 
procurement value co vered in 2019 was EUR 500.48  billion. Of the total value of 
procurement covered, goods accounted for EUR 145.47  billion, works for EUR 
181.48  billion, and services for EUR 173.53  billion. The total value of covered 
procurement in 2019 was 9.68 % higher than  the total procurement coverage of 
EUR 456.29  billion in 2018 (EU Member States and institutions combined).  
The highest share in total value of EU contracts covered by the GPA in 2019 was 
procured by Annex 2 entities, which are bodies governed by public l aw, local 
authorities,  and regional authorities: EUR 315.39  billion. Central government 
entities (EU entities and central government authorities of EU Member States) 
contracted EUR 91.27  billion covered by the GPA, and entities operating utilities in 
the c overed sectors contracted EUR 93.82  billion.  
2020   
5 In 2020, the total value contracted by the 28 Member States of the EU and covered 
by the GPA was EUR 520.47  billion. I n addition, the EU institutions  contracted EUR 
8.33 billion covered by the GPA. Taken t ogether , the above -threshold contract 
procurement value covered in 2020 was EUR 528.80  billion. Of the total value of 
procurement covered, goods accounted for EUR 178.65  billion, works for EUR 
182.86  billion, and services for EUR 167.29  billion. The total value of covered 
procurement in 2020 was 5.66 % higher than the total of EUR 500.48  billion in 
2019 (EU Member States and institutions combined).  
Also in 2020, the highest share in value of EU contracts covered by GPA was 
procured by Annex 2 entities, which are bodies governed by public law, local 
authorities,  and regional authorities: EUR 292.07  billion. Central government 
entities (EU entities and  central government authorities of EU Member States) 
contracted EUR 151.09  billion covered by the GPA, and entities operating utilities 
in the covered sectors contracted EUR 85.65  billion.  
 
  
1 Procurement Value per Type  2 Procurement Value per Annex  
 
Contracts above the set thresholds  
The total value of above -threshold procurement in the EU is greater than the value 
of contracts covered by the GPA.  
One reason for this difference is that not all procuring entities are covered by the 
GPA. In particular, the GPA does not cover utilities providing gas, coal, oil and gas 
exploration and extraction or postal services. Annex 1 and 2 entities in the fields of 
water, energy, transport,  and postal services are not covered by the GPA either, 
unless they are covered in Annex 3. Lastly, not all EU institutions are covered by 
the GPA.  
Another reason for the higher total value of above -threshold procurement in the 
EU is that not all t ypes of contracts are covered by the GPA. In particular, it does not 
cover the following types of contracts:  
- service contracts listed in Annex XIV to the 2014 EU Public Procurement 
Directive (2014/24/EU) (such as, hotel and accommodation services);   
6 - procurement in the defence and security industries (defence material and 
training, ICT, R&D, investigation,  and security services) by Annex 1 
authorities in the field of defence and security.  
In 2017, the total value of above -threshold procureme nt in the EU was EUR 478.36  
billion. Of this, the value of above -thresholds procurements contracted by entities 
not covered by the GPA wa s EUR 12.10  billion. In addition, the value of other 
above -thresholds contracts not covered by the GPA was EUR 106.58  billion.  
In 2018, the total value of above -threshold procurement in the EU was EUR 652.60  
billion. Of this, the value of above -thresholds procurements contracted by entities 
not covered by the GPA was EUR 13.95  billion. In addition, the value of other 
abov e-thresholds contracts not cover ed by the GPA was EUR 182.37  billion.  
In 2019, the total value of above -threshold procurement in the EU was EUR 746.07 
billion. Of this, the value of above -threshold procurement contracted by entities not 
covered by the GPA  was EUR 13.80 billion. In addition, the value of other above -
threshold contracts not covered by the GPA was EUR 231.79  billion.  
In 2020, the total value of above -threshold procurement in the EU was EUR 788.64  
billion. Of this, the value of above -threshol d procurement contracted by entities not 
covered by the GPA was EUR 12.14 billion. In addition, the value of other above -
threshold contracts not covered by the GPA was EUR 247.70  billion.  
 
Estimated total procurement  
The total volume of the EU procurement  market, including below -threshold 
procurement, is estimated using the value of total general government expenditure 
on goods, services and works, excluding utilities4.  
In 2017, the EU procurement market is estimated to be EUR 2083.1 billion. This 
represents an increase of 3.2 % compared to the average total volume of the EU 
procurement market in 2014 -16 ( EUR 2017.8  billion).  
In 2018, the EU procurement market is estimated to be EUR 2163.0 billion. This 
represents a 3.8% increase on 2017 (EUR 2083.1  billion).  
In 2019, the EU procurement market is estimated to be EUR 2265.5  billion. This 
represents an increase of 4.7 % compared to the total volume of the EU 
procurement market in 2018 (EUR 2163.0  billion).  
In 2020, the EU procurement market is estimated to be EUR 2393.5 billion. This 
represents a 5.6% increase  on 2019 (EUR 2265.5  billion).  
 
4 Due to difficulties in obtaining a  reliable update to the data on utilities procurement, the estimate of total 
general government expenditure does not include utilities. Based on the EU GPA statistical reports for 
2012 and 2013, the volume of utilities procurement in the EU is estimated to  around EUR 600 billion.   
7 These figures are based on Eurostat dat a on government expenditures on certain 
categories of purchases and are not fully comparable to procurement figures. For 
example, government expenditure includes  direct purchases below thresholds ( i.e., 
without a formal procurement procedure).  
 
2. Methodological issues for the estimated values  
The EU ’s objective is to continuously improve the accurateness and reliability of 
the data. Although TED provides reliable data in terms of the number of contracts 
recorded – a major improvement from the pre -2014 sourcing mechanism – some 
challenges remain regarding the reporting of contract values. Although it is the 
responsibility of each individual contracting authority to correctly fill in the value 
of all contracts in TED, the European Commission and the M ember States are 
working on several action points to remedy the situation, and the quality of the 
data has steadily improved since 2016.  
2017 -2018   
The lack and sometimes incorrectness of some contract values in the 2017 -2018 
TED data required the use of c ertain data entry methods. To ensure the 
procurement values remain comparative over time, the data entry techniques used 
for this report are based on the techniques applied in previous years. Compared to 
previous statistical reports submitted by t he EU to the GPA Committee, the  figures  
for 2017 and 2018 bring  in a few additional methodological changes for estimating 
procurement values.  
The following improvements were made in the TED 2017 and 2018 contract award 
notice datasets, most of which are in line wi th those used in previous reports:  
- Contract award notices were classified by GPA coverage (variable 
“GPA_coverage”), as explained in section 1 of this report. It included the 
following information: the entity conducting the procurement; the type of 
good/s ervice/work acquired (based on CPV codes); and the contract value.  
- Contracting entities were classified according to the Annexes to the EU’s 
Appendix to the Revised GPA, in line with the classification conducted for 
the EU’s statistical reporting for 2012 -2016.  
- A revision of the CPV and the type of contract was carried out to ensure 
consistency. If the contract type was ‘works’, the CPV code was set to 45; 
otherwise the revised CPV takes the value of the main CPV. If the revised 
CPV starts with 45, the typ e of contract is set to ‘works’. If the revised CPV is 
below 45, the type of contract is set to ‘supplies’. If the revised CPV is above 
45, the type of contract is set to ‘services’.  
- Contracts with a value exceeding EUR  100 million (EUR  10 million for 
Cypr us, Luxembourg, Latvia,  and Malta) were manually checked and 
revised.   
8 - For contracts with missing or incorrect contract values in TED, values were 
entered. The new values are based on the median contract values per 
Member State, GPA Annex and per type of c ontract.   
- Contract values below EUR  4500 were considered incorrect/missing and 
therefore entered using the above methodology. The reasoning underlying 
this decision is that, while below -threshold contracts can be published in 
TED on a voluntary basis, the administrative work required would not be 
justifiable for very small contracts.  
- Given the entering into force of the 2014 EU Public Procurement Directive 
(2014/24/EU) in 2014, 2017 is the first full year in which the Directive 
applies in the GPA Statistica l Reporting context. Hence, as of 2017, the data 
methodology includes concessions . 
2019 -2020  
The data  for 2019 and 2020 bring  in a few additional methodological changes for 
estimating  procurement values. The following improvements were made in the 
TED 2019 and 2020 contract award notice datasets  in addition to the one’s made 
for the 2017 and 2018 data:  
- The main change to be introduced to the methodology refers to the 
production of the initial list of entities to be classified. The methodology 
proposes a utomating the process of enriching the 2019 -2020 entities data 
with the entities classification already conducted for previous years. The 
Annexes to the GPA were reviewed to ensure any changes or modifications 
to the coverage are correctly applied to the e ntities ’ classification.  
- The review of single entities for their classification according to the GPA 
Annexes is conducted using the comprehensive methodology elaborated by 
the European Commission.  
- Each entity belonging to the joint procurement is looked up individually to 
review.  Some specific rules applied in joint procurement cases.  
- In order to present the total values and numbers of above -threshold 
contracts of individual Annex 1 authorities, all entities were identified to de-
duplicate those which are entered under different n ames. There are four 
sources containing entity names: TED data, entities listed in the Annexes of 
the Public Procurement Directive5, and the GPA 2012 report. In principle, 
the most descriptive name is used.  
- The COVID -19 pandemic has created emergencies th at forced entities to 
accelerate contracting procedures. For this reason, there has been an 
increase in the volume share of non -competitive6 procurements by 9% 
 
5 These are assumed to be the same as the GPA 1994 Annexes.  
6 Non-competitive procurement methods include: (i) negotiated procedure without a call for competition, 
(ii) negotiated procedure without a call for competition, and (iii) award without prior publication of a 
contract notice.   
9 points (from 10.3% of the volume in 2019 to 19.3% in 2020). The highest 
increase has taken plac e in supplies contracts: in 2019, 8.2% of the volume 
of supplies contracts was awarded through non -competitive procurement 
methods, and this percentage reached 22.6% in 2020.  
- The implementation of the current methodology required an additional 
variable tha t is not included in the TED dataset: the duration of the 
contracts, which is used to correct the value of long framework contracts. 
This variable has been obtained from the TED Contract Notice Dataset.  
 
3. Description of annexes to the report  
For addition al transparency, the EU has generated data tables summarising its 
calculations based on the methodology above. The following tables are attached to 
this report:  
- One table for each of the 28 EU Member States and each reporting year 
(2017 -20187, 2019 -20208) summarising the total values of above -threshold 
procurement, broken down by contract type (goods, works, services), GPA 
coverage, and GPA Annex.  
- An equivalent set of tables summarising the values for the 28 EU Member 
States  in aggregate for 2017 -2020. 
- A comparable set of tables summarising the values of above -threshold 
procurement carried out by the EU institutions  for 2017 -2020 .  
 
7 The United Kingdom (UK) withdrew from the EU as of 1 February 2020. However, during the reference 
period covered by this report, the UK was covered by the GPA as a Member State of the EU. 
Therefore, this report includes data on the UK. Any reference to Member States in this report and/or 
Union law for that period shall be understood a s including the UK. 
8 The UK withdrew from the EU as of 1 February 2020. However, during the refe rence period covered by 
this report, the UK was covered by the GPA  as a Member State of the EU until the date of its 
withdrawal from the EU and, subsequently, during a transition  period expiring on 31 December  2020 
by virtue of an agreement between the EU and the UK that provided for a transition period during 
which EU law (with a few limited exceptions) continued to be applicable to and in the UK. Therefore, 
this report includes data on the UK. Any reference to Member States in this report and/or Union la w 
for that period shall be understood as including the UK.