The European procurement directives guarantee that any company from an EU Member State may participate in public contracts in another Member State. In theory, this is straightforward — in practice, platforms, languages and administrative systems differ from country to country. The Benelux is a logical first step for cross-border tendering: three small neighbouring countries with shared language areas and comparable legal traditions.
The European framework
Directive 2014/24/EU prohibits discrimination on the basis of nationality. A contracting authority may not impose conditions that exclude or disadvantage foreign tenderers — not at selection, not at award, not at execution. This principle applies in all three Benelux countries and has been transposed into national law.
TED: the central source
Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) is the EU publication platform for public contracts above the European threshold. TED publishes approximately 800,000 notices annually, representing over €815 billion in contracts. The notices are available in all 24 EU languages.
For a Benelux strategy, TED is the starting point: all contracts above the threshold in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg appear here automatically.
Three countries, three platforms
Although the legal framework is identical (the same EU directives), each country has its own procurement platform.
Belgium: e-Procurement
The Belgian e-Procurement platform (managed by BOSA) comprises e-Notification (publication), e-Tendering (submission) and the forum (questions and answers). Federal, regional and local contracts appear on this platform. The publication language is typically Dutch, French or German, depending on the authority.
Netherlands: TenderNed
TenderNed is the mandatory publication platform for all Dutch contracting authorities. The platform offers advanced search functions by keyword, sector and region. TenderNed is certified as a TED supplier: all publications above the threshold are automatically forwarded to TED. The publication language is Dutch.
Luxembourg: Portail des marchés publics
The Luxembourg Portail des marchés publics centralises all notices from Luxembourg contracting authorities. The platform is accessible via guichet.lu. The publication language is predominantly French, sometimes German.
The ESPD as European passport
The European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) — in French DUME, in Dutch UEA — is the core instrument for cross-border tendering. It is a self-declaration with which a tenderer demonstrates that it does not fall under exclusion grounds and meets the selection criteria.
The ESPD replaces the obligation to submit national certificates and attestations with every tender. The actual documents are only requested from the winning tenderer (or from a shortlist). This saves foreign tenderers considerable administrative burden.
eCertis: the translation dictionary
eCertis is a free online database from the European Commission that lists per Member State which evidence documents correspond to the European selection and exclusion criteria. Concretely: if a Belgian specification requires a social security certificate, eCertis shows which equivalent document a Dutch or Luxembourg company must produce.
eCertis is mandatory under Directive 2014/24/EU and is maintained by the national authorities of each Member State.
Qualifications and certifications
Contractor qualification (works)
In Belgium, contractor qualification is a legal requirement for public works contracts above certain thresholds. The qualification is personal — a Dutch or Luxembourg company wishing to tender for a Belgian works contract must either apply for Belgian qualification itself, or demonstrate that it holds an equivalent qualification in its home country.
The Netherlands has no comparable qualification system for contractors. Selection there is based on references, certificates and financial standing.
Luxembourg has a system of agréments comparable to the Belgian model, but with its own categories and classes.
Diploma recognition
Since 1 May 2024, a Benelux treaty provides for automatic mutual recognition of higher education diplomas. This replaces the earlier procedure requiring diplomas to be validated by national recognition bodies (NARIC). For contracts where specific qualifications are required (for example in intellectual services), this significantly simplifies the process.
VCA certification
VCA certification (Safety, Health and Environment Checklist for Contractors) was developed by Dutch and Belgian industry and is widely recognised in both countries. For construction and industrial contracts in Belgium and the Netherlands, VCA is often a selection requirement.
Practical barriers
Language
Language is the most visible obstacle. A Belgian specification is typically drafted in Dutch or French — a Dutch company must master the legal and technical terminology. Conversely, Dutch specifications are exclusively in Dutch, which forms a barrier for French-speaking Belgian companies.
The tender must be submitted in the language of the specifications. A translation effort is therefore always necessary — including technical annexes, reference letters and certificates.
Payment terms
Payment terms differ by country. Belgium has had a single payment term of 30 days since January 2025 (following the reform by the Royal Decree of 12 August 2024). The Netherlands applies a statutory term of 30 days for public contracts. Luxembourg follows the European directive with likewise 30 days.
In practice, delays are a reality in all three countries. For foreign suppliers with longer supply chains, this can pose an additional financial risk.
Dispute resolution
Disputes over public contracts fall under the national jurisdiction of the country where the contract was awarded. In Belgium, this is the Council of State (suspension proceedings) or the civil court (damages). In the Netherlands, it is the civil court or the administrative court, depending on the type of dispute. In Luxembourg, it is the tribunal administratif.
A foreign tenderer must therefore seek local legal assistance in the country where it wishes to take action.
Joint procurement
Article 39 of Directive 2014/24/EU allows contracting authorities from different Member States to jointly award contracts. This requires an agreement between the authorities concerned on the distribution of responsibilities.
A concrete Benelux example is BeNeLuxA: a cooperation for the joint purchase of medicines for rare diseases. This model demonstrates that cross-border cooperation in the Benelux works — though it remains limited to specific sectors for now.
Practical tips for cross-border tendering
Register on all three platforms. Create an account on e-Procurement (BE), TenderNed (NL) and the Portail des marchés publics (LU). Set up alerts for your sectors.
Use TED as your radar. Follow TED for all contracts above the European threshold. Filter by CPV codes relevant to your activity and by the three Benelux countries.
Check eCertis before tendering. Verify which national certificates and attestations are equivalent to the requested evidence. This prevents surprises at the verification stage.
Build a network of local partners. For works abroad, collaboration with a local partner (as a combination or subcontractor) is often more efficient than doing everything yourself. The local partner knows the market, the language and the administrative practices.
Budget for translation. Structurally budget time and money for translating tenders, technical documents and certificates. A poor translation undermines a professional impression.