Abstract

The position taken by Advocate General Collins in Case C-652/22 is controversial and a number of arguments can be raised against it. The issue of contractors from third countries accessing the EU public procurement market has gained importance, particularly in recent years. Member States have differing regulations in this respect, ranging from complete openness, through restricted access subject to the decision of the contracting authorities, to total exclusion from participation. Some Member States have expressed their positions and views on the regulations on this issue in the case in question. Existing regulations at EU level seem to indicate that there is no explicit prohibition on contractors from third countries participating in procurement procedures conducted in Member States, and that national legislators have a significant role to play here. There is no doubt that the ECJ’s judgment will have a major impact on current legal arrangements in individual Member States and the procurement practices applied there.