In 2013, EuropeAid, the European Commission’s development arm, awarded 677.6 million euros ($893.1 million) in contracts. That figure is down 6 percent from 2012, which isn’t all too surprising amid intense pressures on Brussels’ foreign aid spending.
EuropeAid awards contracts for three types of procurements: services, works and supplies. Of the 445 contracts EuropeAid awarded last year, 237 were for services. In terms of contract value, however, EuropeAid awarded the majority (56 percent) of its contract spending to works procurements. The average size of a EuropeAid services contract in 2013 was 933,043 euros — a fifth of the average size of a works contract, which was 4.8 million euros.
While the European Union reports that it has untied nearly two-thirds of its aid spending, EuropeAid awards the bulk of its contracts, in terms of both number and total value, to firms from EU member states. In 2013, EU firms claimed 58 percent of EuropeAid contract spending, as well as 218 out of the 445 contracts awarded. Firms based in France received more than a fifth of EuropeAid contract spending — more than any other single country. (See chart above).