Public Procurement Office

On June 12, 2025, an international conference titled "The Evolution of EU Public Procurement Rules: from the 2014 Directives to Proliferation of Sectoral Approach" was held at the Bellotto Hotel in Warsaw, Poland. The event was organized by the Polish Public Procurement Office. Representatives from 36 countries took part in the conference. In addition to the EU Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Sweden), representatives from Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Moldova, Ukraine, Switzerland, Norway and the United Kingdom, as well as Turkey and Morocco, participated in the conference. It was the largest international event in the 30-year history of the Polish Public Procurement Office.

Public procurement at a turning point
The conference was opened by Ms. Agnieszka Olszewska, President of the Public Procurement Office, who welcomed the guests and pointed out the importance of EU regulations for the public procurement market. Then, the participants listened to speeches and took part in a discussion on the impact of key European reports – including those by the European Court of Auditors, Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta – on the future of the public procurement system. Does the European Union need a fundamental reform? Or should it rather focus on achieving the goals already set? The answers to these questions were sought among others by:

• Ms. Helga Berger – Member of the European Court of Auditors,
• Ms. Nathalie Berger – Director of GROW.D Coordination of Competitiveness, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW), European Commission.

From general directives to a sectoral approach
The next session concerned the growing number of sectoral acts that supplement and introduce derogations from the 2014 directives. Experts from the European Commission, the Council of the EU, Austria and Ireland discussed the challenges resulting from fragmentation of regulations, difficulties in implementing new regulations and the risk of unintended legislative consequences. Speakers included:

• Ms. Jugatx Ortiz Gonzalez - Deputy Head of Unit GROW D.2. - Public Procurement from the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW),
• Mr. Marco di Molfetta from the Directorate-General for Competitiveness and Trade in the Secretariat-General of the Council of the EU,
• Mr. Michael Fruhmann, Head of the Procurement Law Unit at the Federal Ministry of Justice in Austria,
• Mr. Martin O’Gorman National Expert from the Irish Public Procurement Office.

The importance of the CJEU case law
A key point of the conference was the panel on the impact of the CJEU case law on the evolution of public procurement practices. The speakers paid particular attention to two landmark cases – C-652/22 Kolin and C-266/22 Qingdao – and their implications for contracting authorities and review bodies.

The analyses were presented by:

• Mr. Marko Turudić - Associate Professor of Administrative Law and Public Procurement, Head of the Centre for Public Administration and Public Finance Studies, University of Zagreb,
• Mr. Silviu Popa - Chairman of the Panel of the National Complaints Board (CNSC) in Romania,
• Mr. Jan Kuzawiński - President of the National Appeal Chamber of Poland,
• Mr. Manuel Espárrago Arzadun - Legal Officer, Unit GROW E.2. Enforcement from the Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW).

Summary and a look into the future
The conference was closed by a panel in which representatives of Poland and two other countries taking over the Presidency of the EU Council - Denmark and Cyprus - summed up the Polish presidency and discussed the priorities for the public procurement market for the next 12 months. The following speakers took the floor:

Ms. Maria Toldam Rossmann - Ataché for Competition, State Aid, Consumer Protection and Public Procurement at the Permanent Representation of Denmark at the EU,
Ms. Laura Nyhuus Svaneklink from the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority,
Mr. Philippos Katranis – Head of Public Procurement Directorate at the Treasury of the Republic of Cyprus,
Mr. Artur Kowalski - Head of the EU and International Cooperation Department, Polish Public Procurement Office.