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DRAFT REPORT (2024/2103(INI))

On Public procurement

IMCO-PR-767975

Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection · Rapporteur: Piotr Müller

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✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 4 Sept 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

This draft report on public procurement calls for reform to reduce bureaucracy, simplify rules, and boost competitiveness, while opposing preferential treatment for green technologies and supporting SME participation. It recommends digitalisation, standardisation, and measures against unfair competition from non-EU entities, as well as strategic procurement for resilience and emergency response.

Committee position. The rapporteur proposes a resolution calling for reform of EU public procurement to reduce bureaucracy, simplify rules, and enhance competitiveness, while opposing green preferential treatment and supporting SME access.

Key points

  1. Calls for public procurement reform aligned with reducing bureaucracy, simplification, and boosting competitiveness, avoiding conflicting policy objectives.
  2. Urges substantial reduction of the 476 articles or 907 pages of procurement law, keeping rules procedural and specifying how rather than what to buy.
  3. Opposes preferential treatment for green technologies, insisting procurement must remain technology neutral and competition-driven.
  4. Notes declining competition and increasing complexity, with more single-bid tenders and longer procedures since 2021.
  5. Calls for digitalisation, including automating processes, reducing e-forms, and integrating procurement documents into broader systems.
  6. Requests harmonisation limited to essential aspects like digital tools and standardised tender procedures, not harmonisation for its own sake.
  7. Calls for uniform guidelines, standardised monitoring, and enforcement tools to ensure legal certainty across the EU.
  8. Urges action against non-EU entities using state subsidies, including stronger measures against abnormally low bids and independent cost assessments.
  9. Calls for enhanced SME support, including a mandatory SME test, tailored financial instruments, and mandatory division of contracts into smaller lots.
  10. Supports contract pricing flexibility for inflation and cost changes, and special rules for research and innovation projects.
  11. Calls for robust emergency procurement measures for rapid response to critical supply shortages without compromising competition.

Who is affected

  • Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) would benefit from simplified procedures, smaller lots, and support mechanisms.
  • Non-EU entities bidding in EU procurement face stronger scrutiny and measures against unfair advantages.
  • Contracting authorities and bidders would see reduced administrative burdens and more standardised procedures.

Figures and deadlines

  • approximately 14 % of the EU’s gross domestic product
  • 476 articles or 907 pages of law

Legal basis: Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union