The EU's new procurement regulation: the proposal is here. What made it in, and what should you watch?

In July we wrote about a leaked draft of new EU procurement rules. On 9 September 2026, the European Commission presented the official proposal, called the Public Procurement Act. It is easy to assume that a Commission proposal is the same as a new law. In fact, it is the start of a long process, and a lot can still change. Here we go through what made it in from the draft, what is different, and what you should keep an eye on as a supplier. We write from a Norwegian vantage point, and we flag clearly where Norway (as an EEA country) differs from the EU member states.

From three directives to one regulation

The proposal has been given the reference COM(2026) 590. It would repeal the three procurement directives from 2014 and replace them with a single regulation. That was also the core idea in the leaked draft, and it made it in.

The difference matters. A directive sets out what countries must achieve, and each country writes its own rules. A regulation applies directly and in the same way in every EU country. We have a separate glossary page on the EU Public Procurement Act.

For Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, the regulation does not apply automatically. It first has to be incorporated into the EEA Agreement and then implemented in national law. In Norway's case, the EØS-notat (the Norwegian government's EEA note) says the revision will probably require changes to the Norwegian Public Procurement Act and its regulations.

Quality must count for at least 30 percent

The leaked draft set a floor for how much quality must count in the evaluation. It made it in. Best price-quality ratio becomes the main rule for award. Quality criteria must be weighted at least 30 percent. In contracts that are labour-intensive by nature, quality must be weighted at least 50 percent.

Contracting authorities can depart from the floor. If they do, they must explain how quality is secured in other ways, for example through minimum requirements in the specification or through contract terms. The Commission calls this "comply or explain": follow the rule, or explain why you do not.

For you as a supplier, this is in our view one of the most important points. There will be fewer competitions decided on price alone. That raises the value of being able to describe quality well.

National data spaces and contract registration

Every country must set up or designate a national procurement data space. The data space gathers information about procurement in that country and connects to a common EU data space. Today's contract notices are replaced by public summaries covering the whole contract lifecycle, from market consultation to completed contract.

Contracts below the thresholds must also go into the data space. The proposal says that concluded and completed contracts worth at least 10,000 euros must be made available there no later than 20 days after the contract is concluded and completed. This was the requirement that drew attention in July, and it made it in.

What this means for Doffin (Norway's national public procurement database) has not been settled. The proposal says nothing about the Norwegian system. Doffin could become Norway's data space, or be connected to one. That is for Norway to decide.

Requirements for platforms: free from third-country control

In July we wrote that the draft required procurement systems to be established and controlled within the EEA, with data stored in the EEA. That made it in, and the wording is clear. Both the providers of the platforms and the national data spaces must be established in the EEA, owned and controlled by someone established in the EEA, and no one from a third country may have decisive influence over them. Procurement data must be stored in the EEA.

The fact that the proposal says "EEA" rather than "Union" is good news for suppliers of such systems in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Norway is in the EEA but not in the EU, so the choice of word matters. If you supply platforms to the public sector, this point is still worth following closely through the negotiations.

Easier to take part: once only and needs plans

Several of the simplifications in the draft made it in. The Commission wants to build a common digital marketplace where national platforms are linked together and where exclusion grounds are checked automatically. Companies should only have to register their information once. That is the once-only principle.

A new electronic suitability service is to become the main proof that you are not caught by any exclusion grounds. As we read the proposal, the ESPD form is not continued as a document. Instead, you share a digital profile. The Commission estimates that suppliers will save 570 million euros a year from the simplifications.

The leaked draft also required contracting authorities to publish needs plans at the start of each budget period. We cannot find that requirement in the proposal. The provision on preparations deals with market consultation, which a contracting authority may choose to carry out and must then announce. As we read it, the needs plans have been dropped.

Three procedures instead of five

Today's five procedures become three, as the draft signalled:

Open procedure: anyone can submit a tender from the start. The contracting authority decides in advance whether there will be negotiation. The Commission says negotiation can be used in every procedure where the contracting authority wants it.
Dynamic procedure: the contracting authority builds a supplier base that new suppliers can join along the way, and awards individual contracts from it.
Innovation procedure: for solutions that do not yet exist on the market. The procedure covers both the development and the purchase afterwards. The Commission says that intellectual property rights should, as a rule, stay with the companies developing the solution.

An open procedure with negotiation breaks with today's ban on negotiation in an open procedure. That changes how you should think about your first tender.

European preference: from rule to toolbox

This is where the proposal differs most from what was reported in July. Back then it was described as a rule to reject tenders where less than half of the value came from the EU or from countries with an agreement. In the proposal, European preference is a common framework of measures that contracting authorities can choose to use. The Commission will offer a tool to establish where suppliers and products come from.

Among other things, contracting authorities can exclude tenders from countries that have no procurement agreement with the EU. They can also reject a tender where less than 50 percent of the estimated value comes from the EU or from "covered" countries. So the threshold from July is still there, but as an option the contracting authority can choose, not as a fixed rule. The Commission can make the measures mandatory, for example when a third country does not give EU companies fair market access, or when security of supply is at stake.

For suppliers from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, the crucial question is whether they count as "covered". Norway is a party to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, and the EEA Agreement has its own procurement obligations. As we read the proposal, it points towards Norwegian suppliers being treated the same as EU suppliers. But where the EEA countries end up is decided when the regulation is incorporated into the EEA Agreement, not in the proposal.

The timeline ahead

The proposal has not been adopted. It will be negotiated in the European Parliament and the Council before it can become law. The Commission proposes that the regulation should only apply two years after it enters into force. In our view, that means 2029 at the earliest. This is what we know about the process now:

The Commission is accepting feedback on the proposal on its own website. The deadline is extended day by day until the proposal is available in all EU languages, so check the Commission's page for the current date.
The Council's working party on public procurement met on 29 and 30 October 2026, with legal form as a separate item on the agenda. In other words, the choice between a regulation and a directive is still being discussed.
For Norway: Nærings- og fiskeridepartementet (the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries) has put the proposal out for public consultation in Norway, with a deadline of 2 December 2026. The ministry is also holding an input meeting on 5 November 2026.
For Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein: once the regulation has been adopted in the EU, it must be incorporated into the EEA Agreement and implemented in national law. That may mean suppliers in these countries meet the rules later than EU suppliers.

What you should do now

Today's rules will apply for several more years. These are sensible steps to take:

Build the capacity to describe quality. The 30 percent floor makes good quality descriptions worth more.
Keep your company's registered information in order. Once only assumes that what is in the registers is correct.
Check how much of the value you deliver comes from countries outside Europe. That may matter if European preference is put to use.
Use the consultation rounds. Both the Commission and, in Norway, the ministry want input from suppliers.

In closing

Most of the leaked draft made it in: one regulation, the quality floor, the data spaces, once only and the three procedures. European preference has been reshaped into a toolbox, and several details are still unclear. The road to adoption is long, and for Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, incorporation into the EEA Agreement comes on top. We are following the process and will update our glossary pages as the proposal changes.

The content here reflects Cobrief's assessments and is intended as guidance, not legal advice.

We at Cobrief are happy to talk about what the new rules could mean for you.