Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001619/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Per Clausen (The Left)
During the many debates about what is a needlessly low threshold for public procurement in the EU, including as regards the considerable administrative costs and burdens associated with tenders for which no-one submits bids because they involve such small amounts, one of a number assertions that have been made is that the EU will itself not be able to modify the threshold because of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and agreements, as described in Article 6 of the Procurement Directive[1]. But can it really be true that the EU is not in a position to determine when public bodies in the EU and Member States should put contracts out to public tender?
Accordingly:
- 1.Can the Commission confirm that the EU is powerless to raise or lower thresholds for public procurement in the EU or in Member States without first securing a review of the public-procurement thresholds in the WTO Government Procurement Agreement?
- 2.What is the estimated amount of administrative costs that the EU and individual Member States could save if the threshold for public procurement were raised to EUR 1 million?
Submitted: 23.4.2025
- [1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014L0024