Delay comes amid wide debate over “Buying European”
The European Commission has delayed a planned overhaul of its rules for public procurement until September 9, according to an updated tentative agenda for its College meetings published on Tuesday.
The reform has been long awaited as a potential centrepiece of a push for “Buy European” rules, which aim to encourage public authorities to buy from European companies in critical sectors. Recent proposals for a Cloud and AI Development Act and an Industrial Accelerator Act have already included provisions along those lines.
The Commission had aimed at presenting the Public Procurement Act on 1 July, together with a planned Innovation Act.
That law, meant to encourage authorities to buy innovative products from EU companies, had originally been set to come out back in March. Having already been pushed back to July, it is now also set to be presented on September 9.
