Government procurement: how the EU is giving away a fundamental industrial policy tool

The author contends that the EU is abandoning government procurement (GP) as a fundamental industrial policy tool in favor of a neo-liberal model based on international competition and non-discrimination. While the EU pushes for openness to third countries and supports WTO rulings that restrict the use of local content requirements, some Member States, such as France and Italy, continue to use GP to incentivize renewable energy and domestic photovoltaic sectors. The text highlights a conflict between the EU's commitment to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and the needs of national governments to foster innovative sectors and create jobs during economic crises.

• Government procurement (GP) typically accounts for an average of 20% of GDP in most industrialized nations, making it one of the few remaining significant economic policy instruments for governments facing budgetary constraints.
• The EU has adopted a more open approach to government procurement than other major industrialized powers; for example, the EU's proposal for a reciprocity instrument assumes GP is open to third countries by default, whereas in the US or Japan, closure is the standard rule.
• Under the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), the EU committed 85% of its procurement to national treatment, a significantly higher level of commitment than the US (32%) or Japan (25%).
• A WTO Appellate Body ruling on a Canadian province's feed-in tariff system narrowed the definition of 'governmental purpose' to mean 'need', restricting it to goods consumed directly by authorities for ordinary functions and denying a broader public policy function for GP.
• Despite the EU's general policy of liberalization, France and Italy have implemented local content requirements to support their photovoltaic sectors and the transition to clean energy.
• Emerging economies, such as Brazil and China, continue to use government procurement as a tool for national industrialization and are generally reluctant to join the GPA.

APA

Miglioli, C. (2013). Government procurement: how the EU is giving away a fundamental industrial policy tool. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/government-procurement-how-the-eu-is-giving-away-a-fundamental-industrial-policy-tool/

Chicago

Miglioli, Chiara. Government procurement: how the EU is giving away a fundamental industrial policy tool. Green European Journal, 2013. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/government-procurement-how-the-eu-is-giving-away-a-fundamental-industrial-policy-tool/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Miglioli |first1=Chiara |title=Government procurement: how the EU is giving away a fundamental industrial policy tool |publisher=Green European Journal |date=1 October 2013 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/government-procurement-how-the-eu-is-giving-away-a-fundamental-industrial-policy-tool/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{miglioli2013government, author = {Miglioli, Chiara}, title = {{Government procurement: how the EU is giving away a fundamental industrial policy tool}}, institution = {Green European Journal}, year = {2013}, month = oct, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/government-procurement-how-the-eu-is-giving-away-a-fundamental-industrial-policy-tool/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }