Article 59

Contracts shall be awarded by call for tender, using the open, restricted or negotiated procedure, after publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union or by negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice, where appropriate following a contest.

Calls for tender shall be open where all interested economic operators may submit a tender. Calls for tender shall be restricted where all economic operators may ask to take part but only candidates satisfying the selection criteria referred to in Article 74 and invited simultaneously and in writing by the Agency may submit a tender.

The selection phase may be repeated for each individual contract or may involve drawing up a list of potential candidates under the procedure referred to in Article 65.

In a negotiated procedure, the Agency shall consult tenderers of their choice who satisfy the selection criteria laid down in Article 74, and negotiate the terms of the contract with one or more of them.

In negotiated procedures where a contract notice is published, as referred to in Article 64, the Agency shall simultaneously and in writing invite the selected candidates to negotiate.

Contests are procedures which enable the contracting authority to acquire, mainly in the fields of architecture and civil engineering or data processing, a plan or design proposed by a selection board after being put out to competitive tender with or without the award of prizes.