Commission proposes EU procurement regulation to weigh origin, resilience and security alongside price
The Tilt · Friday, 11 September 2026
Why it matters
Public procurement represents about 15% of EU GDP, so the proposal could materially change access to government contracts for EU and third-country suppliers by requiring evidence about where inputs are made, who controls them, and how dependent supply chains are. For this reader, the key development is a potential shift from broadly price-based competition toward formally differentiated treatment based on origin, security exposure, and resilience.
What happened
The European Commission proposed replacing three EU procurement directives with a directly applicable regulation, which would give public buyers more scope to assess supplier origin, supply-chain dependencies, resilience, security, and European-preference considerations. The proposal would make best price-quality ratio the default, with quality accounting for at least 30% of evaluations and 50% for labour-intensive contracts, subject to a comply-or-explain mechanism. It now goes to negotiations with the European Parliament and the Council, so its provisions can still change and it is not yet law.
Players & places
- European Commission
- European Parliament
- Council of the European Union