Revision of Public Procurement rules

Suur-Ameerika 1 / 10122 Tallinn / Estonia / +372 611 3558 / [email protected]

www.rahandusministeerium.ee / Reg. code: 70000272

Stéphane Séjourné

European Commission

[email protected]

Rue de la Loi 200

1049, Brussels

Revision of Public Procurement

rules

Dear Mr Séjourné

We welcome the opportunity to provide input on the European Commission’s initiative to

review the Public Procurement Directives considering evolving economic, geopolitical, and

climate challenges. Estonia supports this initiative and its inclusion among the Commission’s

legislative priorities. We agree that the primary aims of this revision should be to simplify

public procurement and enhance the strategic use of public funds to advance sustainability,

resilience, and social objectives.

Estonia’s public procurement strategic principles align with the perspective presented in your

letter. We are therefore enthusiastic about collaborating to develop an effective public

procurement system that reduces administrative burdens and streamlines processes for

businesses.

While guiding principles such as free competition, proportionality, and non-discrimination

remain crucial, the evolving landscape demands that public procurement systematically

integrates strategic objectives, including energy efficiency, environmental criteria, social

goals, innovation, resilience, and strategic autonomy, alongside security considerations. A key

challenge lies in achieving a harmonious balance when these policy aims conflict, such as

between prudent budget use and ambitious environmental goals. We believe the focus should

be on providing clear, practical rules and guidelines for contracting authorities rather than

introducing further legal provisions, which often create more confusion without establishing

clear priorities, as strategic procurement often suffers from a lack of application, not a lack of

regulation.

Integrating a concept of “European preference” is important for enhancing the EU’s

competitiveness, particularly in critical sectors such as infrastructure, energy, clean

technologies, digital services, pharmaceuticals, and food. This concept must be clearly

formulated and technically feasible to avoid creating excessive administrative overhead. Such

a preference can also support sustainability and resilience by shortening supply chains.

Concurrently, the notion of “strategic dependence” requires a clear identification of key

sectors where the EU or its Member States face vulnerabilities.

Your ref. 18.02.2025 No 10.1-13/141-1

Our ref. 20.06.2025 No 11-3.1/912-2

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Future regulations must be flexible enough to adapt to continuously changing policy priorities,

from sustainability targets to defence objectives. This includes updating criteria for

environmental protection, regional development, and social welfare. Greater flexibility is also

needed in applying social and sustainability criteria, which may require reconsidering the

strict “link to the subject matter” requirement that can complicate strategic procurement. The

framework must afford Member States adequate leeway, avoiding overly rigid regulations,

and consider the administrative capacity of smaller Member States while fostering

innovation.

The current geopolitical climate necessitates enhanced legal certainty and robust tools to

mitigate national security risks, including cybersecurity, through non-military procurement

and contract execution. Member States require a clear mandate to implement measures such

as exclusion grounds, supply chain verification, and restrictions on products or subcontractors

from high-risk third countries if there is a potential threat to Member States’ security.

Regarding specific areas for reform, Directive 2009/81/EC in the fields of defence and

security requires a review to enhance agility and adaptability. The objectives should include

strengthening European preference to foster the competitiveness of EU companies, increasing

efficiency and speed in procurement procedures, and providing greater legal certainty for joint

procurement and supply chain risk management. The requirements must also ensure equal

opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Recent Court of Justice case law highlights the need for clearer rules regarding the access of

third-country economic operators and products to the EU public procurement market,

particularly when tenders are submitted by European-based offices of third-country

companies. Furthermore, many EU sectoral laws establishing environmental requirements are

not consistently aligned with the Public Procurement Directives, creating legal uncertainty for

contracting authorities. Harmonization is essential, potentially through standardized template

provisions and ensuring new sectoral rules are developed in coordination with procurement

principles.

Recent crises also underscore the need for more efficient procurement during emergencies. A

clear definition of “crisis” and the establishment of specific, streamlined rules would empower

public buyers to act decisively when urgent needs arise. To further simplify the system, EU

thresholds should be revised upwards to reflect inflation and current market realities, and

thresholds should be unified across directives. More justifiable direct awards could be

introduced, particularly in crisis situations or following premature contract termination. In

addition, rules of in-house and cooperation between contracting authorities should be revised

so that they are more easily and broadly implementable.

From a structural perspective, consolidating the regulations for the classical and utilities

sectors into a single directive would significantly improve simplicity. Given the proliferation

of procurement provisions in sectoral legislation, a broader codification is needed. The

development of one-stop-shop helpdesk services and the enhancement of centralized registers

like eCertis would also significantly reduce the administrative burden.

In conclusion, Estonia advocates for a revised legislative framework that has clear priorities,

is simpler, more flexible, and consistent. This must lead to more effective and less time-

consuming procurement procedures with reduced transaction costs.

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We reiterate our gratitude for this opportunity and anticipate a constructive collaboration to

achieve more strategic, resilient, and competitive public procurement throughout the

European Union.

Yours sincerely,

(signed digitally)

Jürgen Ligi

Minister of Finance

Madina Talu +372 58851418

[email protected]

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Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs