1. Contracting stations intending to award a public contract for the services referred to in Annex IX shall make known their intention by any of the following means:
a) by means of a contract notice, which shall contain the information referred to in Annex XIV, letter F, in accordance with the standard forms referred to in Article 72;
b) by means of a prior information notice, which shall be published continuously and contain the information set out in Annex XIV, Part I. The prior information notice shall refer specifically to the types of services that will be the subject of the contracts to be awarded. It shall indicate that the contracts will be awarded without further publication and invite interested economic operators to express their interest in writing.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply where a negotiated procedure without prior publication has been used in conformity with the requirements provided for in Article 63 for the award of a public service contract.
3. Contracting stations that have awarded a public contract for the services referred to in Annex IX shall make known the results of the procurement procedure by means of a contract award notice, which shall contain the information referred to in Annex XIV, Part I, letter H, in accordance with the standard forms referred to in Article 72. They may, however, group such notices on a quarterly basis. In that case, they shall send the grouped notices within 30 days of the end of each quarter.
4. For contracts equal to or higher than the thresholds referred to in Article 35, the model forms referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 of this Article, are established by the Commission by means of implementing acts.
5. The notices referred to in this Article shall be published in accordance with Article 72.
5-bis. The provisions referred to in paragraphs 5-ter to 5-octies shall apply to the following services, as identified in Annex IX in the ordinary sectors: health services, social services and related services; social security services; other public services, social and personal, including services provided by trade unions, political organizations, youth organizations and other services of associative organizations.
5-ter. The award of services referred to in paragraph 5-bis shall ensure the quality, continuity, accessibility, affordability, availability and comprehensiveness of the services, taking into account the specific needs of different categories of users, including disadvantaged groups, and promoting the involvement and empowerment of the users.
5-quater For the purposes of applying Article 21, contracting authorities shall approve planning tools in compliance with the provisions of state and regional sectorial legislation.
5-quinquies The purposes set out in articles 37 and 38 are also pursued through the forms of aggregation provided for by sector regulations with particular regard to social-health districts and similar institutions.
5-sexties. The award procedures referred to in Articles 54 to 58 and 60 to 65 shall apply.
5-septies. Besides what provided for in paragraphs 1 to 5-sexies, provisions in Articles 68, 69, 75, 79, 80, 83 and 95 shall be also applied for the award, adopting the award criterion of the most economically advantageous tender identified on the basis of the best quality/price ratio.
5-octies The service contracts referred to in paragraph 5-bis, of an amount lower than the threshold referred to in Article 35, paragraph 1, letter d), are entrusted in compliance with the provisions of Article 36.
5-nonies. The provisions referred to in paragraphs 5-ter to 5-octies shall apply to the services referred to in Article 144, consistently with the provisions in that same Article.