The European Parliament has adopted an interesting resolution (P10_TA(2025)0174, dated 9.9.2025) confirming that the European Union is preparing a major reform that will turn public procurement into a strategic tool for EU development. The standard notion of public procurement as a bureaucratic and price-driven purchasing tool is falling by the wayside. Two areas of EU interest have been promoted in this form for longer: (i) innovation, quality and environmental sustainability, and (ii) strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises. The vision of a new economic independence of the EU and an increase in EU preference can be seen as more ground-breaking.
Innovation, quality and environmental sustainability
The new framework is intended to go beyond the current focus on the lowest price. Rather, the overall value and long-term benefits of public contracts are to the fore. This is to be achieved by prioritising sustainable solutions, with an emphasis on projects that deliver long-term benefits rather than short-term savings. Furthermore, more consideration is to be given to quality and innovation criteria (MEAT), as contracting authorities will also be obliged to take more account of factors such as technical level, reliability, environmental impact or the innovative potential of tenders. Finally, Parliament is also coming up with practical support for sustainability. A set of criteria and recommendations will be developed to help contracting authorities effectively incorporate environmental and social aspects into their procedures.
Strengthening the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
In this context, the reform aims to improve conditions and open up the market to smaller players - small and medium-sized enterprises. This will be achieved by simplifying procedures, specifically by changing the rules to make procurement less administratively burdensome. It will also involve splitting large contracts into smaller lots in order to increase the accessibility of tenders and to allow more SME bidders to participate. Start-ups and social enterprises will also be helped , where specific measures and support mechanisms are proposed to increase the competitiveness of these entities in the public market.
Strategic economic independence and the EU's European preference
Given the difficult international situation, Parliament considers it important to strengthen the EU's economic sovereignty. In this context, public procurement is to be a tool to promote the resilience and growth of the European economy in selected areas. It is about reducing dependencies on third countries. The reform is intended to reduce the risk of critical dependence on external suppliers, particularly in areas such as defence, healthcare and technology. It will also promote domestic value creation, as contracts are to be targeted to support production and services localised in the EU, thereby strengthening the stability and independence of supply chains. Finally, it will introduce a preference for European suppliers in strategic sectors, where preference is to be given to goods and services originating in EU Member States.
Source (resolution): www.europarl.europa.eu
