Host Dr Marta Andhov presents an aperitif episode of the Bestek public procurement podcast, featuring the conversation that opened Day 2 of the Public Procurement & Contracts Conference (PurpLE Project, Copenhagen, 22–23 June 2026), chaired by Grith Skovgaard Ølykke (Partner, Poul Schmith/Kammeradvokaten). It is a first for the aperitif series: Bestek co-host Professor Willem Janssen (Utrecht University and University of Groningen) is on the panel.
The episode asks whether EU reform is making procurement better or simpler, or just adding more rules. Grith sums up the European Commission’s evaluation of the 2014 Public Procurement Directives: the framework “appears to be functioning, just not in the way one might have hoped”, and is only “partially equipped” to deliver.
Willem’s study for the Commission mapped 62 EU regulations and directives that now touch procurement, with 20 more in the pipeline. He argues for prioritisation, with sustainability first, and hopes the revision brings “more demanding rules, but also less rigid rules”: strict on green and social goals, flexible on procedure.
Professor Roberto Caranta (University of Turin), who also wrote a study for the Commission, says EU priorities need money the EU budget does not have, so procurement has become one stone aimed at 62 pigeons. He argues there is only so much simplification a complex subject allows, and that much of the rigidity comes from contracting authorities, not Brussels: many fear courts of auditors and oversight bodies.
The full session ranged more widely, with a lightning round of quick questions and answers. We invite listeners to continue the discussion with us on LinkedIn.