CER-EIM-UNIFE Recommendation to apply the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) & Good practices in the domain of railway procurement

Public procurement is the most common process for railway projects in Europe and can be a driver for more sustainable, high-performing and innovative products.

The 2014 EU framework provides new possibilities for contracting authorities to achieve best value for money through an increased focus on the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT). However, contracting authorities might assess MEAT in different ways, and awarding contracts based on price only is still a possibility. While an approach rather based on the best price-quality ratio over the lifetime of the products and services can provide extra benefits, there are also challenges to overcome: how to avoid additional burden in procurement procedures? How to professionalise procurement departments to new methodologies and approaches? How to incentivise and support contracting authorities in their transition?

Throughout 2019, CER, EIM and UNIFE worked together to develop a Europe-wide ‘Recommendation to apply the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) & Good practices in the domain of railway procurement’. The resulting document is available to download below.