The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a new Regulation to modernise and simplify the EU’s public procurement framework in order to support effective investment in public services and infrastructure in line with the Union’s policy objectives.
Building on extensive consultations with public purchasers, businesses, trade unions and civil society, the Commission is proposing an ambitious reform to simplify, make more flexible and improve the efficiency of public procurement. It will help to complete the single market for public procurement, which accounts for around 15 per cent of the EU’s GDP.
Public procurement is vital both for the European economy and for citizens’ daily lives, ranging from transport, infrastructure and energy systems to schools and healthcare services. The proposal is expected to generate significant annual administrative savings of €650 million, resulting from a reduction in the administrative burden of €80 million for public procurers and €570 million for economic operators.
The proposed Regulation on public procurement builds on the strengths of the single market in four key ways.
Simpler and clearer rules
The proposed Public Procurement Regulation simplifies and clarifies the rules by consolidating the three existing public procurement Directives and the public procurement provisions currently scattered across sector-specific legislation into a single, directly applicable Regulation. This will create a more coherent and predictable public procurement framework, reducing complexity, the administrative burden and inconsistencies in the way the rules are applied, with three procedures instead of the current five. It will reduce the complexity and inconsistency arising from separate legislative acts and divergent national transposition choices.
The new framework offers public purchasers greater flexibility, allowing them to negotiate with the tenderer during the procedures. It encourages better market consultation, simplifies administrative procedures and allows for negotiations, bringing public procurement closer to private-sector procurement. It also introduces an innovation procedure for the development and procurement of innovative solutions that are not yet available on the market.
A single platform for all procurement across the EU
The key to simplification and reducing the administrative burden is the creation of an integrated digital procurement market comprising interconnected and interoperable e-procurement platforms from the Member States.
The digital market will simplify and facilitate procurement for public purchasers (for example, through the automatic verification of exclusion criteria). It will enable businesses to participate in public procurement procedures and submit tenders across the EU via any of the connected e-procurement platforms, in line with the ‘once-only’ principle, thereby avoiding the repetition of requests for information and documentation. This will promote access to new business opportunities and increase the number of tenders received by public purchasers, maximising the potential of the single market.
Furthermore, the digital marketplace will streamline data exchanges between Member States’ e-procurement systems by establishing a unified framework for data management, thereby strengthening transparency, accountability and anti-fraud capabilities.
Greater support for environmental, social and innovation objectives
The proposal stipulates that the ‘best value for money’ (BVFM) approach should be the standard award method, with quality criteria accounting for at least 30 per cent (50 per cent for labour-intensive contracts), subject to a ‘comply or explain’ mechanism. Contracting authorities may deviate from this approach if they explain how quality will otherwise be ensured, for example through minimum quality requirements.
Public procurers will therefore have to systematically take into account not only price but also quality, including environmental, social, innovation, safety and resilience considerations, and ‘European preferences’. Public purchasers will have full discretion over which quality criteria to apply and in what proportion in individual procurement procedures, and the proposaloffers practical tools to support public purchasers in this regard.
Greater security, resilience and strategic autonomy
In line with the recommendations of the Draghi report,the proposal reflects the growing geopolitical importance of public procurement. It allows, and in some cases requires, public procurers to address risks relating to the public security and defence of the Union or of the Member States, sensitive information, cybersecurity and undue influence from third countries.
The new provisions on resilience and security of supply would apply to contracts involving entities linked to critical infrastructure and would aim to support supply chain diversification, security of supply and crisis preparedness.
Finally, the Regulation introduces a horizontal European framework for preferences in public procurement in line with the Union’s international legal obligations. It clarifies which operators and products are covered by the Union’s international procurement commitments and facilitates their monitoring. The Commission may restrict such coverage where a market access analysis establishes that a third country has not granted Union operators fair market access in line with its commitments, or where restrictions are necessary to ensure zero dependence on security of supply or to protect our economic security interests.
Next steps
The proposed Regulation will be negotiated by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union before its adoption and entry into force.
Background
The review was announced in the case of President von der Leyen’s Political Guidelines.
It addresses long-standing shortcomingsidentified by the European Court of Auditors, such as reducedcompetition, limited cross-border and SME participation, and an increase in single-tender procedures. It also responds to calls fromthe Councilof the EU and the European Parliament for a strategic, simplified and competitive framework.
It also responds to the recommendations of theDraghi and Letta reports, which highlight public procurement as a strategic tool for strengthening Europe’s industrial base, supporting innovation, advancing the green and digital transitions, and bolstering economic security.
More information: European Commission
Publicaciones relacionadas:
2025 European Semester Spring Package sets out guidance to boost EU competitiveness
Commission requests information for European savings and investment accounts scheme
An ambitious budget for a stronger Europe: 2028-2034
A simpler tax architecture to benefit EU firms and citizens
Voluntary sustainability reporting standard to ease burden on SMEs
Leave a Reply