Cuardaigh

This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT), investigates whether EU institutions implement human rights and sustainability due diligence when they purchase goods and services. Based on documentary analysis and interviews, this study finds that sustainability due diligence is lacking in procurement carried out by the European Parliament, the European Commission and the EU agencies. Accordingly, it makes recommendations to promote better integration ...

The Commission put forward its proposal for a regulation establishing the European defence industry reinforcement through common procurement act (EDIRPA) on 19 July 2022. The key goals were to address the EU's most urgent and critical defence capability gaps and incentivise the EU Member States to procure defence products jointly. On 27 June, the co-legislators reached a political agreement on EDIRPA. Parliament adopted the EDIRPA Regulation on 12 September and the Council followed suit on 9 October ...

This briefing will give a brief overview of the EU-Russia sanctions framework, before discussing existing EU tools for protecting its financial interests, access to beneficial ownership data and EU initiatives to ensure sanctions enforcement. It serves as background information for the CONT Committee workshop of 6 November 2023 on ‘Preventing EU funds from reaching sanctioned individuals or entities’.

The aim of this study is to present the possibilities offered by Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement for the achievement of social goals and to analyse how these possibilities have been transposed into national law and implemented by contracting authorities across the EU. Another aim is to identify obstacles to the use of existing provisions and make recommendations with regards to possible future EU action.

During the September 2023 plenary session, Parliament is scheduled to vote on the provisional agreement on EDIRPA reached with the Council in June 2023. EDIRPA is a €300 million fund to incentivise the joint procurement of urgent and critical defence products needed in the context of the response to Russia's war on Ukraine.

The aim of this study is to present the possibilities offered by Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement for the achievement of social goals and to analyse how these possibilities have been transposed into national law and implemented by contracting authorities across the EU. Another aim is to identify obstacles to the use of existing provisions and make recommendations with regards to possible future EU action.

Public financing of enterprises, which has been on the rise globally, can have a distortive effect on competitive markets. In response to this trend, in May 2021 the European Commission published a proposal for a regulation to tackle foreign subsidies with a distortive effect on the EU single market. It would enable the Commission to investigate subsidies granted by non-EU public authorities to companies operating on the single market, and to apply countervailing measures, should these subsidies ...

Corruption poses a significant threat in the European Union and can contribute towards an erosion of democracy and the rule of law, especially during times of crisis. The European Union can do more to tackle corruption and curb its negative impacts on society. This report presents a quantitative analysis of the potential gains from further EU action to tackle corruption, estimating that it could generate up to €58.5 billion per year. Other gains could also be expected in terms of reinforcing democracy ...

Government procurement forms an important part of national economies. The EU has opened up its public procurement markets to third countries to a large degree, while many other economies have had limited appetite to liberalise market access. In 2012, the European Commission tabled a proposal for an international procurement instrument (IPI). The IPI would give the EU leverage in negotiating the reciprocal opening of public procurement markets in third countries. The Commission revised the proposal ...

Foreign state financing of companies can have distortive effects on the single market. In its first November plenary session, the Parliament will vote on the provisional agreement, reached in trilogue negotiations, on a proposed regulation to tackle such distortive foreign subsidies. Under the regulation, companies would need to notify subsidies granted by non-EU public authorities in areas of mergers and acquisitions and bids in big public procurements, and the Commission would have the right to ...