General principles of European Union public procurement law

Abstract

Public procurement regulation within the EU is subject to a mixture of primary, secondary law and case law. This includes both detailed rules on how contracting authorities are to behave in the process of awarding a contract as well as the general principles that are applicable to their activity. The general principles usually associated with public procurement are equal treatment and non-discrimination, transparency and proportionality. As there is no test or formal requirements for the classification as general principles there is substantial discussion if two other concepts amount to general principles within EU public procurement, namely competition and sustainability. Beyond the scope of public contracts covered by EU secondary legislation which are considered automatically relevant for the internal market, the general principles are also relevant for other public contracts if they have 'certain cross-border interest,' a concept the Court of Justice of the European Union has been unable to clarify fully.