Public procurement glossary
One term per page, with its definition, legal basis and where you meet it in practice.
ΑΔΑΜ
The ΑΔΑΜ is the unique code of every record in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ. How it is formed (year, REQ, PROC, AWRD, SYMV or PAY prefix, nine-digit number), where to find it, why it must appear on the invoice and how it differs from the ΑΔΑ.
GLOSSARYContracting authority
A contracting authority is the public body that launches and awards a public contract. Definition under Law 4412/2016, the difference from a contracting entity (utility), and what it means for the supplier.
GLOSSARYEconomic operator
An economic operator is any natural or legal person or group that offers works, supplies or services on the market. Definition, groups of economic operators, reliance on third parties, registration in ΕΣΗΔΗΣ.
GLOSSARYTender documents (διακήρυξη)
The διακήρυξη is the document that sets all the terms of a Greek public tender. What it contains, how it differs from the notice (προκήρυξη), where it is published and which parts a supplier reads first.
GLOSSARYAward (κατακύρωση)
The award decision is the act by which the contracting authority awards the contract to the provisional contractor. When it is issued, what precedes it, where it is published and what it means for those who did not win.
GLOSSARYContractor (ανάδοχος)
The contractor is the economic operator that signed the contract with the contracting authority. Difference from the provisional contractor, obligations during performance, subcontracting and payment.
GLOSSARYProvisional contractor and award evidence
The provisional contractor is the bidder with the best offer before the award evidence is checked. Which documents are requested, the 10-day deadline, what happens if they are missing and when it becomes the final contractor.
GLOSSARYTED (Tenders Electronic Daily)
TED is the official EU database of public tenders, the online supplement to the Official Journal. What is published, from which threshold, how to search by CPV code and what it means for a supplier based in Greece.
GLOSSARYΔιαύγεια and the ΑΔΑ
Διαύγεια is the programme of mandatory online posting of Greek public sector decisions and the ΑΔΑ is the unique number of each posting. What is posted, how the ΑΔΑ differs from the ΑΔΑΜ and which decisions matter to a supplier.
GLOSSARYOpen procedure
The open procedure is the most common type of Greek public tender: any interested party may submit a bid. Deadlines above and below the EU thresholds, stages, differences from the other procedures.
GLOSSARYAbove and below the thresholds
The terms "above the thresholds" and "below the thresholds" refer to the EU thresholds of the Directives: 140,000, 216,000 and 5,404,000 euros for 2026-2027. What changes in publication, deadlines and rules, and how the estimated value is calculated.
GLOSSARYNegotiated procedure without prior publication
Negotiation without publication is an exceptional award procedure: after a failed tender, for extreme urgency, for exclusivity or for additional deliveries. The conditions, the role of ΕΑΔΗΣΥ and what it means for the supplier.
GLOSSARYSplitting (κατάτμηση)
Splitting is the artificial division of a single need into smaller contracts to avoid a tender or European publication. What article 6 of Law 4412/2016 provides, how it differs from lawful division into lots and what it means for the supplier.
GLOSSARYSubcontracting
How subcontracting is governed by article 131 of Law 4412/2016: what is declared in the bid, when the authority checks the subcontractor for exclusion grounds (above 30% of the value), who is liable, and when the subcontractor is paid directly.
GLOSSARYContract modification
When a public contract may be modified during performance without a new procedure: review clauses, additional deliveries up to 50%, unforeseeable circumstances, minor modifications up to 10% or 15%, and what counts as a substantial modification.
GLOSSARYΜΗΕΕΔΕ and ΜΗΜΕΔΕ
What the Register of Public Works Contracting Companies (ΜΗΕΕΔΕ), which replaced the ΜΕΕΠ, and the Register of Consultants (ΜΗΜΕΔΕ) are, how classes and categories work, and why registration is a precondition for taking part in works tenders.
GLOSSARYΕΚΑΠΥ
What ΕΚΑΠΥ is (Law 4472/2017), what it buys centrally for the hospitals of the national health system, how its framework agreements and dynamic purchasing systems work, and why admission to them decides access to the health market.