Europe: Government, Public Sector

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.

Die Europäische Kommission hat einen Vorschlag für einen neuen "Public Procurement Act" vorgelegt, der das europäische Vergaberecht grundlegend neuordnen soll. Die bisherigen drei Vergaberichtlinien würden durch eine unmittelbar anwendbare EU-Verordnung ersetzt, die nicht nur das Vergabeverfahren vereinfachen und digitalisieren, sondern öffentliche Beschaffung stärker für Nachhaltigkeit, Resilienz, Innovation und europäische Wertschöpfung einsetzen soll. Der Vors