Rahmenabkommen

Rahmenabkommen, or framework agreement, is a long-term contract between a buyer (often a public authority) and one or more suppliers that sets the terms and conditions under which individual contracts (call-offs) will be issued during a defined period. It does not itself constitute a direct purchase; instead it provides a stable, repeatable basis for future procurements and can help ensure price predictability, standardization, and administrative efficiency.

Key characteristics include the scope of goods or services covered, the duration of the framework, pricing rules (such as price lists or discount structures), delivery and service levels, quality criteria, and rules for handling volumes or demand forecasts. The framework may specify how call-off contracts are to be awarded, typically requiring a further competition among the pre-selected suppliers, though some calls can be placed directly if allowed by the framework and applicable law.

Types vary from single-supplier (mono) frameworks to multi-supplier frameworks. Multi-supplier arrangements are common because they maintain competition for each call-off and can mitigate supplier lock-in.

Legal and practical context: in the European Union, framework agreements are used within public procurement to streamline the award process while complying with procurement rules. They differ from ordinary purchase contracts in that the framework governs the terms for multiple future orders rather than constituting an immediate purchase, and individual orders are placed through subsequent procedures or direct award, depending on the framework and legal thresholds.