The practice of a main contractor engaging third-party suppliers to perform part of the contract. EU rules require tenderers to indicate intended subcontractors and their roles. Contracting authorities may require quality checks on subcontractors or limit subcontracting for critical elements.
This term is part of the EU public procurement glossary on TenderMetric. To see how it applies in practice, browse live EU tenders or read our procurement insights.
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Last Reviewed: April 2026 ·
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