The EU public procurement market is among the largest and most accessible in the world. Despite this openness, however, many of the EU's major trading partners apply restrictive practices in their own markets that discriminate against EU companies. These restrictions affect competitive EU industries such as construction, public transport, medical devices, power generation and pharmaceuticals.
A new International Procurement Instrument (IPI) gives the EU more leverage to open markets for public procurement outside the EU and creates more opportunities for EU companies. Using the IPI, the Commission will be able to restrict access to EU public procurement markets (adjustment in bid evaluation, exclusion of bids).
