Norwegian MP asks minister to ensure free access to tender documents

Photo: Peter Mydske/Stortinget

Nikolai Astrup, a member of the Norwegian Parliament (Storting) for the Conservative Party, has submitted a written question to Norway's Minister of Trade and Industry, Cecilie T. Myrseth, asking what she will do to ensure that the tender documents in public tenders are free, directly and unlimitedly accessible, as the Norwegian public procurement regulation requires. For us at Cobrief, this is a milestone. For three years we have highlighted the problem, and now a position must actually be taken.

The question on the minister's desk

The question was submitted on 6 August and forwarded to the minister on 10 August as document no. 15:3450 (2025-2026). It reads in full:

What will the minister do to ensure that the tender documents in public tenders are free and directly and unlimitedly accessible, as follows from the public procurement regulation?

In his reasoning, Astrup points out that the Norwegian public sector purchases goods and services for at least 800 billion NOK annually, and that the way tenders are published, announced and made available affects how many bids come in, and how good they are. This in turn has major consequences for quality, innovation and use of resources in the public sector. He describes the core of the problem like this:

According to the public procurement regulation, the tender documents in public tenders must be free, directly and unlimitedly accessible. In practice, that is not the case, because the tender documents are not available directly on Doffin. Suppliers therefore take a detour through a commercial third party to get tender alerts and access to tender documents.

This is exactly what we have pointed out for years: The Norwegian procurement regulation requires free, direct and unlimited electronic access, but the documents are not available on Doffin, Norway's national tender database. Instead, suppliers have to go through a commercial third party to get tender alerts and access to the documents.

Sweden has already reached a conclusion

This summer, the Swedish Competition Authority (Konkurrensverket) concluded in a similar case: When the tender documents are only available through a commercial portal with restrictions, the requirement of free access at no cost is not met.

The rules in Norway and Sweden are based on the same EU directive. Now the same question is on the Norwegian minister's desk.

DFØ: Lack of access is a breach of the regulation

The Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management (DFØ) tells Anbud365 that lack of access is a breach of the regulation, and that it is the contracting authorities who should set requirements for the tools they use. The Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries states that it takes note of the Swedish decision.

A milestone after three years of work

For three years we have highlighted this problem, and how enormously much it costs society when fewer companies can take part in public tenders. Among other things, we have told Finansavisen about businesses paying dearly for something that should be free.

That is why this is a milestone. A written question must normally be answered within six working days, and the answer is published openly on the Storting's website. For the first time, the Norwegian government must answer concretely how it will ensure that access to tender documents becomes what the regulation requires: free, direct and unlimited.

We are following the case closely and will share an update as soon as the answer arrives.