Aggregation Rules

Aggregation rules are the mechanism that prevents contracting authorities from escaping the EU procurement rules by carving a single large requirement into multiple smaller contracts. When requirements are sufficiently similar or related, their estimated values must be added together before comparing the total against the relevant threshold. Understanding aggregation is essential both for authorities designing a procurement strategy and for bidders monitoring whether a buyer is following the rules.

What are aggregation rules?

Article 5 of Directive 2014/24/EU requires that the estimated value must cover the full scope of a contracting authority's requirement. The core principle is that when works, supplies, or services are of the same type or functionally related, they should not be artificially separated to produce a series of contracts that each fall below the threshold.

The aggregation analysis depends on several factors:

Same type or similar nature. Contracts for cleaning services across different buildings in a single authority are typically of the same type and should be aggregated. Contracts for cleaning services and IT support, being fundamentally different, do not need to be aggregated with each other.

Same contracting authority. Aggregation operates within a single contracting authority. Different contracting entities within a group (for example, a parent ministry and a subordinate agency that are separate legal entities and procure independently) are not required to aggregate their separate requirements, though central purchasing body arrangements change this analysis.

Simultaneous or consecutive award. Contracts awarded or intended to be awarded close together in time for the same or similar subject matter are more likely to require aggregation than contracts genuinely separated in time and purpose.

Framework agreements. The total maximum value of all call-offs anticipated under a framework agreement must be aggregated, as described in threshold calculation methods.

Why it matters for bidders

Aggregation rules are one of the key tools for identifying when a buyer may be running a below-threshold procedure that should have been above-threshold and advertised on TED. If you notice that a contracting authority has issued several small contracts for essentially the same goods or services in quick succession, each below the threshold, and these contracts appear to be fragments of a single larger requirement, there may be grounds to question whether the authority has correctly applied aggregation rules.

Aggregation also determines market opportunity. A large authority that aggregates its requirements across departments will run fewer but larger above-threshold procedures, creating different competitive dynamics than an authority that procures department by department.

Example

A Romanian county hospital runs separate procurement procedures for surgical gloves (80,000 euros), surgical gowns (60,000 euros), and sterile drapes (70,000 euros) in the same financial quarter, awarding each to different suppliers under simplified national rules. All three product categories are personal protective equipment used in operating theatres, supplied by the same market of medical goods distributors. An aggregated view puts the total at 210,000 euros, which exceeds the sub-central services threshold. A supplier who lost business to a favoured vendor could legitimately argue that these should have been aggregated and advertised on TED.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a fixed rule for what counts as "the same type"?

Not a precise numerical rule. Authorities must apply judgment based on whether the requirements could reasonably be satisfied by the same supplier, whether they fall within the same CPV code group, and whether they would normally be purchased together by a commercially rational buyer. The absence of a bright-line rule gives authorities some discretion, but that discretion must be exercised in good faith.

Does aggregation apply to recurring annual requirements?

Yes. For requirements that repeat on an annual or regular basis, authorities must aggregate across the typical cycle. A cleaning contract renewed each year and expected to continue for several years must be valued on its full anticipated life for threshold assessment, not just the value of the next annual call.

What is the relationship between aggregation rules and anti-splitting rules?

They are closely related but distinct. Anti-splitting rules specifically address the prohibited practice of deliberately dividing a single requirement to avoid the threshold. Aggregation rules are the positive obligation to combine related values. Both serve the same policy goal: ensuring that requirements of real economic significance are subject to full competitive procedures.