Matheson EU Legislative Insights
Expert analysis of the EU legislation shaping Ireland’s Presidency agenda.
Matheson EU Legislative Insights is a fortnightly update focusing on key aspects of the legislative agenda during the course of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Every two weeks, Matheson experts will review a key piece of legislation to provide an “at-a-glance” summary of its strategic context, objectives and implications. Should you have any queries in respect of the contents of the update, please do not hesitate to contact your usual Matheson LLP contact or any member of our team detailed below.
In focus: the Public Procurement Act
What is the Public Procurement Act?
On 21 October 2025, the European Commission published its Work Programme for 2026, which included a proposal for a Public Procurement Act a revision of the existing public procurement framework at EU level. The main aim of this proposal is to introduce a “Made in Europe” criterion in public procurement, as well as simplifying overly complex rules, and mainstreaming the use of sustainability, resilience, social and in certain sectors European preference criteria in EU public procurement.
The European Commission has formally published the proposal, titled “Proposal for a Regulation on public contracts and concessions”. The choice of a Regulation as the legal instrument is significant: unlike the existing framework which rests on three Directives (Directive 2014/24/EU on public sector procurement, Directive 2014/25/EU on utilities procurement, and Directive 2014/23/EU on concessions) a Regulation applies directly and uniformly across all 27 Member States without requiring national transposition.
This is a deliberate design choice to eliminate the gold-plating and fragmentation that has characterised implementation of the 2014 Directives, and to ensure consistent application of the new European preference and “Made in Europe” criteria across the single market.
The proposal forms part of the Commission’s broader Competitiveness Compass agenda, which prioritises reducing strategic dependencies, strengthening European industrial sovereignty, and deploying the EU’s considerable public purchasing power in support of European industrial objectives, a lever which the Draghi report identified as significantly overused.
At a glance: the Public Procurement Act
| What it is | A proposed Regulation revising the existing EU public procurement framework, covering public contracts and concessions, introducing “Made in Europe” criteria, simplifying complex rules, and mainstreaming sustainability, resilience, social and in certain sectors European preference criteria across EU public procurement. |
| The legal instrument | A Regulation applying directly and uniformly across all 27 Member States without requiring national transposition, replacing the existing Directive-based framework (Directives 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU). |
| Common name | “Public Procurement Act” |
| Who it targets | European governments; European companies; and third-country companies wishing to sell to European governments and the EU itself. |
| Publication date | Proposal published on 9 September 2026 |
| Current stage | Legislative process underway; European Parliament IMCO Committee rapporteur designation pending; Council Working Party technical deliberations commencing. |
| Key institutional lead | Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné (Renew/France) |
| Key Matheson contact | Kate McKenna, Calum Warren, Niall Collins, Simon Shinkwin |
What does this mean for your business?
Now that the Commission’s proposal has been published, the Public Procurement Act is a live legislative file that warrants active monitoring by all businesses and organisations engaged in, or seeking to engage in, EU public procurement. At this stage, the following points are most relevant:
- Read the published proposal text now. The proposal is formally available on the European Commission’s Single Market and Economy portal. Businesses and contracting authorities should obtain and review the full text as a matter of priority in particular the specific “Made in Europe” content thresholds, the strategic sector designations, the European preference criteria, and the transitional provisions.
- Understand the significance of the Regulation instrument. Unlike the 2014 Directives, the proposed Regulation will apply directly and uniformly across all Member States once in force, without national transposition. There will be no national implementing legislation to provide additional clarity or flexibility. Businesses and contracting authorities should factor this into their compliance planning from the outset.
- Assess your exposure to “Made in Europe” and European preference criteria. Businesses that currently supply EU public contracts whether as prime contractors or subcontractors should begin mapping their supply chains and manufacturing footprint against the new requirements. Third-country companies in particular should urgently assess their vulnerability to European preference provisions and the interaction of those provisions with their GPA rights.
- Monitor the strategic sector designation process closely. The sectors ultimately designated as strategic will determine which contracts are subject to the most restrictive European preference criteria. Businesses operating in sectors such as defence, health, energy, digital, and critical materials should engage early and monitor Council deliberations on this question.
- Engage now – the legislative process has begun. The rapporteur designation in the European Parliament and Council Working Party deliberations are imminent. Businesses with a stake in the outcome particularly regarding “Made in Europe” content thresholds, sector classifications, simplification measures, and social criteria should begin their legislative engagement strategy without delay.
- Plan for a lengthy and complex legislative process. Deliberations on this file are likely to be highly complex and politically charged. By way of comparison, the 2014 procurement Directives took approximately three years from Commission proposal (December 2011) to publication (February 2014). A similarly complex negotiation compounded by the politically charged debate over the choice of Regulation versus Directive should be anticipated.
- Review your sustainability, resilience, and social compliance credentials. The proposal will mainstream sustainability, resilience, and social criteria in procurement decisions. Businesses should review whether their current ESG reporting, supply chain resilience documentation, and social compliance frameworks align with the likely requirements of the new regime, so as to maintain competitiveness in future public tender processes.
- Assess WTO GPA implications if you are a third-country company. If your business is based in a country that is party to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, you may have market access rights in EU public procurement that the new European preference criteria could affect. Assess whether your procurement categories and contracting authorities fall within the EU’s GPA schedule commitments, and monitor closely how the Commission structures the legal architecture of European preference provisions in the published text.
