Belgium: Government Contracts, Procurement & PPP

The Belgian Council of State has issued a landmark judgment clarifying the obligations of both contracting authorities and tenderers under the EU's Foreign Subsidies Regulation in public procurement procedures. This ruling addresses a high-value casino concession dispute and establishes critical compliance requirements that could invalidate awarding decisions if not properly followed.

The Belgian Council of State has issued a landmark ruling on the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), clarifying the obligations of both contracting authorities and bidders in public procurement procedures exceeding €250 million. This decision arose from a dispute over Brussels' casino concession and establishes that FSR compliance is mandatory regardless of whether procurement documents explicitly mention it, with non-compliance rendering award decisions unlawful.

The EU is now taking concrete steps to build a European Defence Union. The current defence policy environment is characterised by the ambition to strengthen the competitiveness and innovative capacity of the European defence industry by deepening cooperation and building an internal market for military equipment and defence services.

The European Commission’s proposal for an Industrial Accelerator Act is intended to strengthen the EU’s industrial competitiveness, stimulate decarbonisation...

The BCA has designated five priority sectors for 2026 — agri-food, digitalization and telecommunications, healthcare, basic services (including regulated professions...

On March 4, 2026, the European Commission proposed the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), a draft regulation that aims to reverse the decline of the EU’s manufacturing sector while supporting the adoption of cleaner technologies.

In an increasing number of cases, public authorities and public law entities have an obligation of transparency when granting so-called "scarce public rights".

This regular alert covers key policy and regulatory developments related to EU geopolitical risks, including in particular, economic security, Russia's war against Ukraine, health threats, and cyber threats.

On 6 January 2025, the European Commission published a draft proposal aimed at further harmonising labelling requirements for plant protection products (PPPs) in the European Union (EU).