Collaborative Cross-border Procurement in the EU: Future or Utopia?

Collaborative cross-border public procurement has been gaining traction in recent years. The 2014 reform of the EU public procurement rules (Directive 2014/24, mainly) has expanded the tool-kit available to contracting authorities willing to engage in coordinated or centralised procurement activities. In a push forward, and as part of the Strategy for a deeper and fairer single market, the European Commission is now developing a strategy to facilitate and promote cross-border collaborative public procurement in the European Union. This paper focuses on the political, economic and legal factors that can facilitate or block such development, with a particular focus on a case study based on a theoretical scenario of cross-border collaboration between centralised purchasing bodies. The paper ultimately aims to establish a blueprint for future legal research in this area.