The New EU Public Procurement Regulation: Key Reforms and What Contracting Authorities and Suppliers Need to Know

On the 9th of September 2026, the European Commission announced proposals that are set to significantly reform the legal framework of the EU public procurement market. Public procurement will no longer be viewed solely as a mechanism for ensuring competition and value for money. Instead, the proposed EU Public Procurement Regulation (“the Regulation”) positions procurement as a strategic tool for delivering wider EU objectives, including sustainability, innovation, economic security, industrial competitiveness, resilience and social inclusion.

A central feature of the reform is the replacement of the existing procurement directives with a single directly applicable proposed Regulation, intended to improve consistency across Member States and reduce legal fragmentation. Set to come into force in 2029, the new regime represents far more than a legislative update. It signals a fundamental shift in the role of public procurement, positioning it as a strategic tool for delivering broader policy objectives. 

A Glance at the Key Reforms

• Introduction of three core procedures: Open Procedure, Dynamic Procedure and Innovation Procedure.
• Replacement of MEAT with the Best Price-Quality Ratio (BPQR).
• Introduction of a European Preference regime.
• Greater emphasis on security, resilience and supply chain risk.
• Expanded exclusion grounds and stricter compliance requirements.
• New rules on framework agreements and contract modifications.
• Stronger sustainability, accessibility and social procurement obligations.
• Creation of an EU wide digital procurement ecosystem.

New procedural framework

The proposed Regulation aims to simplify and increase flexibility in procurement procedures by replacing the range of procedures under the 2014 Directives with three principal procedures: the Open Procedure, Dynamic Procedure and Innovation Procedure.

The Open Procedure becomes the default procurement route for all works, supplies and services contracts. It allows contracting authorities to decide whether negotiations will take place and, in certain cases, to award contracts directly based on initial tenders. The Open Procedure becomes the default procurement route for all works, supplies, and services contracts. Contracting authorities may decide whether to include a negotiation stage and, in certain circumstances, may award contracts directly based on initial tenders. Where negotiations are envisaged, all eligible participants may be invited to negotiate, with the number of participants capable of being reduced through successive negotiation rounds based on the published award criteria. Where negotiations are not envisaged, or where the contracting authority reserves the right not to negotiate, the contract may be awarded directly based on the initial tenders received.

A notable feature of the new Open Procedure  is that the use of selection criteria is optional, enabling authorities to streamline procurements where an assessment of suppliers' technical or financial capacity is not considered necessary.

The Dynamic Procedure replaces the current Dynamic Purchasing System and is designed for recurring purchases. It remains open throughout its lifetime, allowing suppliers to join at any time. Contracting authorities can decide whether to use selection criteria or negotiations, making the procedure more flexible and accessible for suppliers. The procedure is intended to simplify procurement, reduce administrative burdens, broaden supplier participation, and improve access to public procurement opportunities, particularly for SMEs.

The Innovation Procedure replaces the existing Innovation Partnership and Competitive Dialogue procedures. It introduces a structured, multi-stage process for the development, testing and procurement of innovative solutions. The procedure includes mandatory market consultation, the selection of innovative proposals, and a testing and validation phase, enabling contracting authorities to address societal challenges through innovation while reducing procurement risks.

Quality Over Price: The New BPQR Regime

One of the most significant policy changes is the replacement of the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (“MEAT”) with the Best Price Quality Ratio (“BPQR”).

Under the new framework, contracting authorities must allocate at least 30% of the available marks to quality, rising to 50% for labour intensive contracts.

While price only awards remain possible, contracting authorities must justify their approach through a new "comply or explain" mechanism. This represents a clear move away from lowest cost procurement towards a broader assessment of value.

The proposed Regulation also provides greater certainty around the use of strategic award criteria, confirming that sustainability, innovation, resilience, security and supply chain considerations may all form part of the evaluation process were linked to the subject matter of the contract.

European Preference and Market Access

Perhaps the most significant reform is the introduction of the new European Preference framework.

The proposed Regulation distinguishes between "covered" and "non-covered" suppliers. Covered suppliers include EU operators and suppliers from countries that benefit from procurement access under international agreements with the EU.

Contracting authorities may be permitted to:

• restrict participation to covered operators;
• apply preferential scoring or pricing mechanisms; or
• eject tenders where less than 50% of the value originates from covered jurisdictions.

The Commission will also have powers to strengthen these preferences further in strategic sectors where concerns arise regarding economic security, supply chain resilience or market reciprocity.

The reform represents a major shift in EU procurement policy and is likely to increase opportunities for EU based suppliers while creating greater challenges for suppliers from non-covered jurisdictions.

Security and Resilience Become Core Procurement Considerations

The proposed Regulation introduces an unexpected focus on security and resilience. Contracting authorities will be expected to consider cybersecurity risks, supply chain vulnerabilities, strategic dependencies, foreign ownership and security of supply concerns when designing procurement strategies and evaluating tenders.

The impact is likely to be most significant in sectors such as:

• digital infrastructure;
• cloud services;
• artificial intelligence;
• healthcare;
• energy; and
• transport.

Suppliers should therefore expect greater scrutiny of ownership structures, cybersecurity measures, business continuity arrangements and supply chain resilience.

In some circumstances, operators may be excluded where they present risks to the security or public safety interests of the EU or its Member States.

Tougher Compliance Requirements

The proposed Regulation also strengthens the exclusion regime. Mandatory exclusion grounds have been consolidated and expanded to cover offences relating to corruption, fraud, money laundering, terrorism, environmental crime, sanctions breaches and illegal employment practices.

A particularly important change concerns self-cleaning. Under the proposed framework, self-cleaning measures will only be available for discretionary exclusion grounds and not for mandatory exclusions. This significantly increases the importance of effective compliance, governance and sufficient risk management systems.

Sustainability and Social Procurement

The proposed Regulation considers sustainability and social considerations into public procurement. The Commission will gain powers to introduce mandatory environmental requirements for specific product categories, meaning that factors such as energy efficiency, recycled content, and circular economy principles may increasingly become procurement requirements rather than optional evaluation criteria.

Accessibility also becomes a mandatory consideration for goods, services and works intended for use by natural persons. In addition, contracting authorities are encouraged to consider wider social objectives, including workforce inclusion, skills development, labour standards, gender equality and human rights protection within supply chains.

For many organisations, these reforms will build on existing practices rather than fundamentally change them, while reinforcing the role of procurement in achieving broader policy objectives.

Digital ecosystem and governance

The proposed Regulation introduces an ambitious digital procurement ecosystem. Member States will be required to connect key national databases to a Commission operated Electronic Eligibility Service, establish National Public Procurement Data Spaces and participate in an EU wide Public Procurement Data Space.

The objective is to improve transparency, simplify supplier verification, facilitate cross border participation and create a more data driven procurement environment.

Although the detailed technical requirements remain to be developed, contracting authorities and eProcurement providers should expect significant system and process changes in the years ahead.

Conclusion

The proposed Regulation marks a significant shift in EU procurement policy. The Regulation must first be negotiated and approved by the European Parliament and the Council. The proposal provides for a two-year period between adoption of the Regulation and  entry into force, giving contracting authorities and suppliers to circa 2028/2029  to prepare for the new rules. Contracting authorities and suppliers should begin preparing now by reviewing procurement strategies, supply chains, governance arrangements and digital capabilities. Those that adapt early will be best placed to operate successfully under what is likely to become the most strategically focused procurement regime the EU has ever introduced.

Many details remain to be clarified through future delegated acts and Commission guidance. However, the overall direction of travel is clear. Procurement decisions will increasingly be assessed through a broader lens that extends well beyond price alone. While transparency and competition remain important, procurement is increasingly being used as a strategic tool to support wider objectives relating to sustainability, resilience, innovation, economic security and industrial competitiveness.

For further information, please contact Fergal Ruane, Head of Projects and Infrastructure at Byrne Wallace Shields LLP.  This article was authored by Fergal Ruane and Becky Ekema, Byrne Wallace Shields LLP.

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