When the estimated value of the requirement is equal to or greater than the European thresholds defined, for local authorities, their establishments and groupings and other purchasers, in b of I of appendix no. 2 of the Public Procurement Code, the National Council awards the contracts mentioned in article R. 4122-4-4 according to one of the following formalised procedures, which it is free to choose:
1° Invitation to tender, whereby the National Council chooses the most economically advantageous tender, without negotiation, on the basis of objective criteria made known to the candidates in advance.
The National Council is free to choose between the following forms of invitation to tender:
a) Open invitation to tender, where any interested economic operator may submit a tender, under the conditions laid down in Articles R. 2161-2, 3° of Article R. 2161-3 and Articles R. 2161-4 and R. 2161-5 of the French Public Procurement Code;
b) Restricted invitation to tender, where only candidates selected by the National Council are authorised to submit a tender, under the conditions laid down in 2° of Article R. 2161-6 and Articles R. 2161-5 of the French Public Procurement Code. 2161-6 and Articles R. 2161-10 and R. 2161-11 of the French Public Procurement Code;
2° The procedure with negotiation, whereby the National Council negotiates the terms of the contract with one or more economic operators, under the conditions laid down in Articles R. 2161-21 to R. 2161-23 of the French Public Procurement Code and subject to the provisions of this sub-section;
3° Competitive dialogue, a procedure by which the national council enters into dialogue with the candidates admitted to participate in it with a view to defining or developing solutions likely to meet its needs and on the basis of which these candidates are invited to submit a tender, under the conditions laid down in Articles R. 2161-24 to R. 2161-31 of the French Public Procurement Code and subject to the provisions of this sub-section.