Article 21 Subcontracting

1.   To encourage new entrants, start-ups and SMEs across the Union and their cross-border participation, and to offer the widest possible geographical coverage while protecting the Union’s autonomy, the contracting authority shall request that the tenderer subcontract part of the contract by competitive tendering at the appropriate levels of subcontracting to companies other than those which belong to the tenderer’s group.

2.   For contracts above EUR 10 million, the contracting authority shall ensure that at least 30 % of the value of the contract is subcontracted by competitive tendering at various levels of subcontracting to companies outside the group of the prime tenderer, in particular in order to enable the cross-border participation of SMEs in the space ecosystem.

3.   The tenderer shall provide reasons for not fulfilling a request made under paragraph 1 or for deviating from the percentage referred to in paragraph 2.

4.   The Commission shall inform the Programme committee referred to in Article 47 of the fulfilment of the objectives referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article for contracts signed after 20 March 2023.