Cross-Border Tendering: Opportunities for Dutch Companies in Belgium, Germany and France

Only 3.5% of all European public contracts are awarded cross-border. That’s remarkably low for an internal market specifically designed to remove barriers. For Dutch companies, this represents an enormous opportunity: competition is limited, the regulatory framework permits it, and the neighbouring countries each harbour markets larger than the Dutch one.

Yet most Dutch companies bid exclusively on domestic tenders. The reasons are understandable — language barriers, unfamiliarity with local procedures, uncertainty about requirements — but they’re rarely insurmountable. In this article, we examine the three most important neighbouring markets: Belgium, Germany and France. For each country: the market size, the opportunities, the barriers, and how to get started as a Dutch bid manager.

Belgium: The Most Accessible Neighbouring Market

The Market in Numbers

Belgium publishes more than 15,000 tenders annually through its e-Procurement platform. The total value of public procurement is estimated at EUR 50-55 billion per year, spread across the federal government, three regions (Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels) and hundreds of local authorities.

Why Belgium Is Attractive for Dutch Companies

• Language: tenders in Flanders and Brussels are in Dutch. That saves enormous time when writing bids
• Similar legislation: Belgium follows the same European directives, with comparable procedures and thresholds
• Geographic proximity: projects in Antwerp, Ghent or Brussels are easier to serve than you might think
• Less competition: for specialised services, Belgium sometimes has only a handful of providers

Where Are the Opportunities?

The strongest sectors for Dutch companies in Belgium:

Sector	Why?
IT and software development	Strong Dutch IT sector; Belgium actively looks beyond its own market
Engineering services	Water management, infrastructure, sustainability — Dutch expertise is in demand
Consultancy and advisory	Strategic advice, organisational development, change management
Construction and building services	Particularly in the border regions; Dutch contractors are already active
Environment and sustainability	Circular economy, energy transition — the Netherlands leads the way

First Steps

1. Monitor Flemish and federal tenders via TenderWolf — these are published in Dutch
2. Apply for a Belgian enterprise number if you plan to bid regularly (not always required, but it simplifies administration)
3. Start with contracts as a subcontractor to build local references
4. Watch out for construction accreditations: Belgium has a contractor accreditation system that differs from the Dutch one

Germany: The Largest European Market

The Market in Numbers

Germany is by far the largest procurement market in Europe. Public purchasing amounts to over EUR 500 billion annually, of which an estimated EUR 150-180 billion is above the thresholds that make it formally accessible to foreign companies. Around 80,000 German tenders are published on TED each year.

The Challenge: Fragmentation

The German procurement landscape is complex. Unlike the Netherlands, where TenderNed serves as a central platform, Germany has:

• 16 federal states with their own procurement rules for contracts below the European threshold
• Dozens of platforms: alongside the federal BUND.de, there are regional Vergabeplattformen such as Vergabe.NRW, eVergabe Bayern, and many others
• Different legal traditions: the distinction between VOB (construction), VgV (services) and UVgO (below threshold) can be confusing

Why It’s Still Worth the Effort

• Scale: a single large German contract can define your annual revenue
• Quality focus: Germany rarely awards on lowest price alone — Best Price-Quality Ratio is the norm
• Export experience: Dutch companies are accustomed to the German market; public procurement is a logical extension
• Limited cross-border competition: despite the market size, few foreign companies bid

Where Are the Opportunities?

Sector	Details
Water management and flood defence	Top Dutch expertise; Germany is investing heavily after recent floods
IT and digitalisation	The German government is digitalising rapidly (Onlinezugangsgesetz)
Renewable energy	Offshore wind, hydrogen, smart grids — familiar territory for Dutch companies
Infrastructure	Bridges, tunnels, road construction — massive backlogs being addressed
Advisory and project management	Complex projects require experienced project managers

First Steps

1. Choose one or two federal states that best align geographically or sectorally (NRW and Lower Saxony are natural starting points)
2. Monitor via TenderWolf: TenderWolf aggregates German platforms so you don’t have to check dozens of sources yourself
3. Invest in German language capacity: bids must be in German. A native speaker on the team or a specialised translator is essential
4. Find a local partner for your first contracts — an Arbeitsgemeinschaft (ARGE, comparable to a consortium) is common practice in Germany

France: Great Potential, Higher Threshold

The Market in Numbers

France spends over EUR 200 billion annually on public procurement. The country publishes via BOAMP (Bulletin Officiel des Annonces des Marches Publics) and the PLACE platform more than 100,000 tenders per year. Around 65,000 French procedures appear on TED annually.

Why France Is Harder — But Not Impossible

• Language: virtually all tenders are exclusively in French, and bids must be submitted in French
• Cultural factor: the French market is more relationship-driven; local presence carries more weight
• Specific certifications: some sectors require French qualifications (Qualibat for construction, for example)

Where Are the Opportunities Despite This?

• Large European programmes: defence, aerospace, and cross-border infrastructure projects where international consortia are the norm
• Water management: French coastal protection and river management actively seek Dutch expertise
• High-tech and IT: Paris and its surroundings form a tech hub with strong demand for specialised IT services
• Sustainability and circular economy: France is investing heavily in the energy transition

First Steps

1. Start with TED publications: these often include an English summary that lets you quickly assess whether a contract is relevant
2. Find a French partner firm for joint submissions
3. Focus on European procedures: these are the most standardised and accessible for foreign parties
4. Monitor via TenderWolf with automatic translation to explore the market without having to translate everything yourself

The Legal Basis: Is It Actually Allowed?

Yes. The EU Treaty and European procurement directives (2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU, 2014/25/EU) guarantee:

• Non-discrimination: contracting authorities may not disadvantage foreign bidders
• Equal treatment: the same requirements for all bidders, regardless of country of establishment
• Mutual recognition: certifications and diplomas from other EU countries must be accepted
• ESPD (European Single Procurement Document): one standard declaration valid in all EU countries

In practice, indirect barriers do occur — think of very specific reference requirements or short submission deadlines — but the legal basis is clear: as a European company, you have the right to bid.

What Makes the Difference: Systematic Monitoring

The biggest barrier to cross-border tendering isn’t legislation or competition — it’s visibility. You can’t bid on contracts you don’t know about.

That’s exactly where TenderWolf makes the difference. Instead of manually searching three to five platforms in different languages, you get:

• One daily overview with relevant contracts from all your target countries
• Automatic translation of summaries so you can assess quickly
• CPV-based matching that works across all platforms
• Deadline management so you never miss a submission date

The step from national to international tendering is smaller than most companies think. It starts with knowing what’s out there — the rest is a matter of making choices and getting to work.

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