What is a
public summary
Also known as: notice summary, offentlig sammendrag
A public summary is the new notice format in the European Commission's proposal for a new procurement regulation (COM(2026) 590), presented on 9 September 2026. The summaries are to replace today's contract notices and cover the whole life of a contract, not just the call for tenders and the award. It is a proposal, not adopted law, being handled by the European Parliament and the Council.
How does a public summary work?
Article 110 sets out six types of summary:
- Consultation: before the competition, when the contracting authority wants to hear from the market.
- Competition: the call for tenders itself.
- Result: who won.
- Contract: the contract that has been concluded.
- Modification: when the contract is changed.
- Completion: when the contract has ended.
Today's indicative notice (prior information notice, PIN) is not continued.
The flow is set out in Articles 112 and 113. The contracting authority sends the summary through its national data space to the Publications Office of the EU. The Office publishes it in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the EU, which today is TED, no later than five days after receipt. National publication cannot take place before EU publication, with a separate 48-hour rule. The EU covers the cost.
So TED remains the place of publication. What changes is the route there. Today the contracting authority fills in eForms that are sent to TED. Under the proposal, this becomes structured "procurement information" that goes via national procurement data spaces. Information that is not to be made public must still be delivered to the data space (Article 111(2)).
What does it mean for you as a supplier?
If the proposal is adopted, the whole contract life cycle becomes visible. You see not only who won, but also whether the contract was later changed and when it was completed. Summaries of contract modifications can make it easier to spot changes that should have been put out to competition. Summaries of completed contracts can show that a customer will soon need a new supplier. Tools like Cobrief help you keep track of the notices that are relevant to you.
Frequently asked questions
When does this apply?
Not yet. The proposal is being handled by the European Parliament and the Council. The regulation applies two years after it enters into force (Article 149), realistically 2029 at the earliest. For EEA EFTA states such as Norway, incorporation into the EEA Agreement comes in addition. Until then, tenders are advertised as today.
Will TED disappear?
No. The summaries are published in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the EU, which is what TED is today.
What happens to prior information notices?
The proposal does not continue them. The closest equivalent is the consultation summary, used when the contracting authority wants to talk to the market before the competition.
In short: public summaries are six standardised notices that follow a contract from the first market dialogue to the last delivery. They are still published in TED, but are sent in via national data spaces.