Public procurement in the EU is moving from a voluntary concept to a defined framework, with Green Public Procurement now a mandated category under Article 54 and limited room for derogations due to fragmentation or cost/technical issues.

Ireland will lead negotiations during its Presidency and push to simplify procurement, increase transparency, and make opportunities more accessible to SMEs.

A new act would replace the three 2014 Directives with a uniform EU-wide framework; defense and security procurements would stay on a separate track, with reforms expected by 2028 and 2029–2030.

Businesses will need to prove quality, sustainability, and resilience in tenders; non-EU suppliers should map supply chains and ensure origin and security compliance, while IP and cybersecurity will be pivotal for tech firms.

The EC proposes modernising and simplifying the EU public procurement framework to support investment in public services and infrastructure and advance policy goals.

The proposal introduces a standard Best Price-Quality Ratio, with a minimum quality weighting of 30% (50% for labour-intensive contracts), and requires consideration of environmental, climate, and social factors in quality criteria.

In practice, the system shifts away from lowest-price competition toward BPQR, with quality accounting for 30% of points (rising to 50% for labour-intensive contracts) and possible derogations if quality can be ensured by other means; life-cycle costing and environmental and social factors are emphasized.

Three procurement procedures replace the current five: open, dynamic, and innovation procedures, with a direct award option for sole-source or emergency cases; selection criteria and negotiations may be used at the buyer’s discretion in open and dynamic procedures.

ESG criteria must be tied to the contract subject-matter and cover upstream and downstream life-cycle stages; broad corporate policy criteria are excluded.

A European preference framework would classify operators and products by Union status and trade agreement coverage, with an online tool to determine eligibility and potential advantages or access restrictions for non-EU bidders.

Overall goals include enabling more SMEs to compete, improving cross-border access, boosting competition, and maximizing taxpayers’ returns from public spending.

A new security and resilience chapter tightens exclusions for environmental crimes, sanctions violations, and high-risk suppliers; mandatory exclusion will apply to high-risk suppliers under cyber and security rules, while self-cleaning becomes optional.