In the Netherlands, the key principles that should be met in government procurement in general are the principles of non-discrimination and transparency. This means that any authority procuring an object or service cannot discriminate amongst candidates offering the same quality, whether from domestic or international origin, and that the procurement process should be announced publicly. These principles are laid down in the Treaty of the European Union.
The Dutch national authorities are subject to EU regulation on open government procurement. These rules have been transposed into even stricter national legislation. The legislation offers different procedures, which can or should be applied, depending on the characteristics of the project to be procured. Furthermore, projects in all domains are subject to obligatory public consultations in different stages of the project, either within the framework of the Track Act and/or a spatial planning procedure.
Furthermore, additional principles applied by Dutch authorities in procuring a PPP contract are:
(a) Outcomes of public consultations concerning the project should be taken into account;
(b) Intellectual property rights of candidates should be protected, cherry picking should be prevented and confidentiality should be warranted; and
(c) The costs of bidding for candidates should stay within reasonable limits.