Member States shall ensure that central governments purchase only products, services and buildings with high energy-efficiency performance, insofar as that is consistent with cost-effectiveness, economical feasibility, wider sustainability, technical suitability, as well as sufficient competition, as referred to in Annex III.

The obligation set out in the first subparagraph shall apply to contracts for the purchase of products, services and buildings by public bodies in so far as such contracts have a value equal to or greater than the thresholds laid down in Article 7 of Directive 2004/18/EC.

The obligation referred to in paragraph 1 shall apply to the contracts of the armed forces only to the extent that its application does not cause any conflict with the nature and primary aim of the activities of the armed forces. The obligation shall not apply to contracts for the supply of military equipment as defined by Directive 2009/81/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on the coordination of procedures for the award of certain works contracts, supply contracts and service contracts by contracting authorities or entities in the fields of defence and security25.

Member States shall encourage public bodies, including at regional and local levels, with due regard to their respective competences and administrative set-up, to follow the exemplary role of their central governments to purchase only products, services and buildings with high energy-efficiency performance. Member States shall encourage public bodies, when tendering service contracts with significant energy content, to assess the possibility of concluding long- term energy performance contracts that provide long-term energy savings.

Without prejudice to paragraph 1, when purchasing a product package covered as a whole by a delegated act adopted under Directive 2010/30/EU, Member States may require that the aggregate energy efficiency shall take priority over the energy efficiency of individual products within that package, by purchasing the product package that complies with the criterion of belonging to the highest energy efficiency class.