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title: "What are NUTS codes and classifications?"
canonical: "https://support.mercell.com/space/MTBLV/196854382707/What%20are%20NUTS%20codes%20and%20classifications%3F"
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---
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Mercell Tendering and Bidding uses NUTS codes and classifications to align with the requirements of the European Union to identify economic territories.

NUTS codes are explicitly requested during the creation of a new Tendering Notice.

*The following information as been provided by the *<u>*[Eurostat ](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts)*</u>*website (an official website of the European Union)*

To reference countries’ regions for statistical purposes, the EU has developed a classification known as NUTS (Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics).

> ℹ️ The **Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics**, abbreviated **NUTS** (from the French version ***N****omenclature des ****U****nités ****t****erritoriales ****s****tatistiques*) is a geographical nomenclature subdividing the economic territory of the European Union (EU) into regions at three different levels (NUTS 1, 2 and 3 respectively, moving from larger to smaller territorial units). Above NUTS 1, there is the 'national' level of the Member States.
> ℹ️ 
> ℹ️ The NUTS is based on <u>[Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003](http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32003R1059:EN:NOT)</u> (external link) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS), which is regularly updated.

NUTS is used for:

- collecting, developing and harmonising European regional statistics
- carrying out socio-economic analyses of the regions
- framing of EU regional policies
  - regions eligible for support from cohesion policy have been defined at NUTS 2 level
  - the <u>[cohesion report](https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/policy/what/glossary/cohesion-report_en)</u> (external link) has so far mainly been prepared at NUTS 2 level

### What are the NUTS codes and their classifications?

NUTS divides each EU country into 3 levels:

- NUTS 1: major socio-economic regions
- NUTS 2: basic regions (for regional policies)
- NUTS 3: small regions (for specific diagnoses)

> 📝 In Tendering Notices the region code should be set on eForms as a NUTS3 classification code.

The   <u>[NUTS 2024 classification](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/345175/629341/NUTS2021-NUTS2024.xlsx/2b35915f-9c14-6841-8197-353408c4522d?t=1717505289640)</u> (external link) is valid from 1 January 2024. It lists 92 regions at NUTS 1, 244 regions at NUTS 2 and 1 165 regions at NUTS 3 level.

## How to navigate NUTS codes in Mercell Bidding

When defining your Delivery regions, the selection process starts with **NUTS 1 regions** (major socio-economic regions), which are initially labeled as countries.

1. **Select a Country (NUTS 1):** Once a country is chosen, the next available options will be its sub-regions.
2. **Sub-regions (NUTS 2 & NUTS 3):** Depending on the country, the system will offer either a division into regions (**NUTS 2**) followed by smaller counties (**NUTS 3**), or a direct jump from the country level to counties.

**You can select a region at any NUTS level (1, 2, or 3).** Selecting a broader region automatically includes all smaller sub-regions (e.g., NUTS 2 and NUTS 3) beneath it. Your monitoring profile will then match any opportunity that falls within the geographical boundaries of your selection.

> 📝 When you select a region at a lower NUTS level, the **parent region above it is not automatically included**.
> 📝 
> 📝 - For example, selecting a **NUTS 3 county** only includes that county; the corresponding **NUTS 2 region** above it is excluded.
> 📝 - Similarly, selecting a **NUTS 2 region** does not include the corresponding **NUTS 1 country** above it.

<span style="color: #97a0af">*Article Ref: 131020251117*</span>