This piece examines how the proposed EU procurement regulation could change market access for Romanian small and medium-sized businesses.
A regulation replacing national transpositions
The European Commission published its proposal for a Regulation on public contracts and concessions on 9 September 2026. If adopted, it would replace the three 2014 directives and the 27 national versions of the rules governing public purchasing. Unlike a directive, a regulation is directly applicable, meaning businesses and contracting authorities would work from one EU rulebook rather than waiting for separate national transposition. The proposal therefore aims to reduce differences between markets such as Romania, Bulgaria and Italy. The article presents this as a potentially important change for smaller firms, while stressing that the text remains a proposal and will be negotiated by the European Parliament and the Council.
Lower entry barriers and shared eligibility data
The proposal would limit a contracting authority’s turnover requirement to 50% of the contract’s estimated annual value, compared with 200% permitted by the current directives, according to the source article. It would also prevent authorities from requiring previous experience in public contracts as such, although exceptions could apply where complexity is justified. For a three-year contract, assessing turnover against annual value could reduce the initial scale of the requirement. Article 22 would assess capacity at consortium level rather than member by member. A new electronic eligibility service would allow a business to submit information once, with public databases supplying tax, criminal-record and balance-sheet data already held by the state. The Commission estimates annual savings of one billion euros for economic operators.
The proposed protections do not cover liquidity
The Federation for Innovation and Sustainable Competitiveness in SMEs, or FICSIMM, supports several access measures but argues that the proposal does not yet protect smaller suppliers’ cash flow. Article 108 refers to timely payment without setting a 30-day deadline, automatic late-payment interest or a generally compulsory advance. FICSIMM is calling for a 30-day payment term, an advance of at least 30% on strategic contracts and a right for subcontractors to request direct payment. The proposal also does not set rules for performance guarantees or retained sums. These are positions advanced by FICSIMM, not requirements already secured in the draft. The text would require authorities to publish annual payment performance, which could make slow payment more visible.
Discretion over lots and framework agreements remains
The source article also identifies areas where the proposal leaves substantial discretion to contracting authorities. Article 100 would require authorities to consider dividing contracts into lots and record their reasons when they do not, but FICSIMM says those reasons would not necessarily be visible to suppliers. The federation wants an ‘apply or explain publicly’ approach and mandatory lots where national law permits. Framework agreements would generally be limited to three or five years, but could be extended in exceptional cases. FICSIMM proposes reopening them every 24 months to allow new entrants. The regulation would unify award rules but leave remedies to older directives and national systems, meaning challenge fees and deadlines would still differ between countries.
IN NUMBERS
The proposed regulation would apply two years after adoption, while national databases would need to connect to the European eligibility service by mid-2029. In Romania, the transition would involve linking ONRC, ANAF and SEAP and appointing a coordinating authority. The practical effect will depend not only on the final EU text, but also on how Romania defines exceptions, publishes procurement data and implements the new digital infrastructure.
Reported from economedia.ro, 2026-09-15. The Tender Wire is published by Otnox.
