The “Most Economically Advantageous Tender“ in Austria. An Overview of Procurement Practice Following the 2016 and 2018 Reforms to Public Procurement Law

Following the public procurement law reforms of 2016 and 2018, the "most economically advantageous tender" became the binding norm in Austria. This project investigates whether the reforms merely expanded the scope of legal possibilities or have actually changed procurement practice. To this end, procurement practice prior to the reforms (up to 2015) is compared with the period from 2023 to 2025. The analysis examines the use of the most economically advantageous tender as well as the selection and weighting of award criteria. The analyses are based on European procurement data (TED) for contracts above the threshold. Based on the results, empirically sound conclusions will be drawn and economically justified recommendations formulated. Current issues relating to industrial, innovation and security policy will also be taken into account.