ABSTRACT
What is the value of the European procurement procedure if the contract ultimately performed by the successful tenderer is completely different from the public contract that was put out to tender? Leaving aside for a moment the legal aspects (which will be examined later), other tenderers may take exception because they are not given the chance to tender for that contract. The lack of competitive pressure on the tender for the final contract can also be undesirable from a government perspective. The doctrine of ‘material change’ avoids this problem: material changes may not be made to an agreement formed after a European award procedure. If they are, it creates a new contract which in principle has to be advertised in a European award procedure. The original contract has then been amended to such an extent that it ends.
