Overview
This regulation sets out the rules that apply to competitive dialogue procurement procedures, including the rules in relation to minimum timescales for requests to participate.
A contracting authority may only award a contract following the competitive dialogue procedure on the basis of the best price-quality ratio.
The authority may discuss all aspects of the procurement with the chosen suppliers during the dialogue but must ensure that suppliers are treated equally.
The regulation also states that a competitive dialogue procedure may take place in successive stages in order to reduce the number of solutions to be discussed.
Before assessing the final tenders, the contracting authority may request a supplier to clarify, specify and / or optimise its final tender, subject to certain conditions.
Once the contracting authority has identified the tenderer who submitted the final tender with the best price-quality ratio, then the contracting authority may request negotiations with the successful supplier to confirm financial commitments or other terms contained in the successful supplier’s final tender by finalising the terms of the contract, again subject to certain conditions.