Evaluation of the EU Public Procurement Directives

In the context of the revision of the EU public procurement directives (a legislative proposal is expected to be adopted in Q2 of 2026)¹, the European Commission has published an evaluation of the current framework (Directive 2014/23/EU; Directive 2014/24/EU; Directive 2014/25/EU).²

Public procurement plays a crucial role in the EU economy, given that it accounts for 15% of EU GDP, with roughly one quarter of this spending, equivalent to €616 billion, being subject to EU rules. Given these significant figures, both the Letta³ and the Draghi⁴ Reports urged the EU to better leverage public resources to achieve key policy objectives, such as sustainability, strategic autonomy, resilience and competitiveness.

In line with the Better Regulation Toolbox⁵, the evaluation assesses the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance and coherence of the three Directives. The evaluation also considers the results of the call for evidence and of the open public consultation⁶ launched by the Commission earlier this year.

At the time of their adoption, the objectives of the 2014 Directives were to increase legal certainty, simplify procedures, promote market access and secure the best value for public money. Moreover, they also sought to optimize societal outcomes (including sustainability, social inclusion and innovation, also referred to as the “strategic objectives” of public procurement). Since their adoption, the EU legislature adopted more than 50 sectoral legislation regulating public procurement.⁷

In a 2023 special report on public procurement in the EU⁸, the European Court of Auditors, by analyzing a series of indicators, such as cross-border biddings and share of single-bidding procedures, concluded that the Directives had essentially failed in achieving their strategic objectives and that competition had even decreased in the period following their adoption. Consequently, the Council of the European Union⁹ and the European Parliament¹⁰ called upon the Commission to revise and update the current framework. The Commission initiated this process with this evaluation.

Effectiveness

The evaluation shows that the Directives were not particularly effective in achieving the objectives of increased legal certainty as to their scope of application and definitions. Significant uncertainties remain across Member States on the interpretation of key definitions, such as “public contract” or “body governed by public law”. Limited results were documented also in relation to the simplification of procedures both in terms of their duration (which increased from an average of 58 days to 62 days), and administrative burdens faced by contracting authorities. However, it is interesting to note that a lot of the administrative complexity reportedly arises from the practice of gold-plating: the addition of extra requirements by Member States when transposing the EU Directives.

The Directives are generally considered adequate to ensure market access to EU economic operators, despite persisting structural and practical barriers (such as language differences, inconsistent documentation requirements and obstacles to worker mobility). On the contrary, significant uncertainty remains when it comes to the rules applicable to economic operators from third countries. This issue also relates to the broader challenges, which may hinder the EU’s pursuit for strategic autonomy and that will need to be addressed in the revision process, of reducing excessive dependence on non-EU suppliers for critical materials and technology and ensuring that EU operators are granted reciprocal access to third countries’ tenders.

Concerning the use of procurement to achieve strategic objectives, namely environmental objectives, social protection and innovation, the evaluation shows a mixed picture. While most of the contracting authorities who responded to the open consultation consider that the Directives encourage green, social and innovation procurement, economic operators remain more skeptical.

Overall, the assessment on the use of public procurement to achieve strategic objectives can be summarized as a “cautious approval”.

Efficiency, Relevance and Coherence

The evaluation shows positive results on the efficiency of the framework. Although contracting authorities face high direct and indirect costs (with direct costs averaging 1% of the contract value), they are more than offset by the benefits generated by the Directives, both in terms of immediate cost-savings and wider societal benefits.

The objectives of simplifying and modernizing public procurement procedures, as well as promoting the procurement of sustainable goods and services continue to remain relevant. A new emerging goal is the use of public procurement to strengthen strategic autonomy and economic security, particularly in light of the current geopolitical context.

In terms of coherence, the evaluation highlights two main concerns: first, since the enforcement of environmental and social concerns is left to the discretion of Member States, applications are very diverse. Second, the growing number of sectoral legislations directly or indirectly regulating public procurement has led to fragmentation and inconsistencies (e.g. in the use of certain terminology or in the diverging scopes of application of different instruments).

Lessons learned and conclusions

In conclusion, the evaluation shows that, while the objectives of the 2014 Directives have partially been met, the current public procurement rules are perceived as excessively complex and insufficiently flexible. This consideration highlights the need for a new framework that is more agile, coherent and focused on strategic objectives. Moreover, while the existing strategic objectives remain relevant, new priorities have emerged: economic security and strategic autonomy. These new priorities will also need to be taken into account in the revision process.

Following the publication of the evaluation, the Commission has launched a call for evidence¹¹ to consider for the drafting of the new framework and its impact assessment.

¹ Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Commission work programme 2026 Europe’s independence moment, annex I.
² Directive 2014/23/EU of 26 February 2014 on the award of concession contracts; Directive 2014/24/EU of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC; Directive 2014/25/EU of 26 February 2014 on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors.
³ E. Letta, “Much More than a Market – Speed, Security, Solidarity. Empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU Citizens”, April 2024.
⁴ M. Draghi, “The Future of European Competitiveness – In depth analysis and recommendations”, September 2024, p. 133.
⁵ European Commission, Better Regulation Toolbox, July 2023, Chapter 6, Tool #47.
⁶ European Commission, Call for evidence for an evaluation / fitness check, 13 December 2024, Ref. Ares(2024)8928678.
⁷ E.g. Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of 13 June 2024 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products, art. 65; Directive (EU) 2023/970 of 10 May 2023 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms, art. 24; Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 of 14 December 2022 on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market
⁸ European Court of Auditors, Special Report 28/2023: Public Procurement in the EU. Less competition for contracts awarded for works, goods and services in the 10 years up to 2021.
⁹ Council Conclusions on the European Court of Auditors’ Special Report No. 28/2023 Improve a fair and effective competition for EU public procurement contracts awarded for works, goods, and services, 3 June 2024, EUR-Lex – 52024XG03521 – EN – EUR-Lex.
¹⁰ European Parliament resolution of 9 September 2025 on public procurement (2024/2103(INI)).
¹¹ European Commission, Call for evidence for an impact assessment, 3 November 2025, Ref. Ares(2025)9425851.

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