In this paper, I reflect about a recent regulatory trend concerning the enforcement of labour standards through contract compliance clauses and other requirements of public contracts tendered under European Union public procurement law. On the back of recent developments in the case law of the...

One of the criticisms against the new rules applicable to the granting of State aid to finance the provision of services of general economic interest in the "Almunia package" is that enforcement is likely to be their weakest point. Similarly, in the more general setting of the "private"...

The use of soft law instruments is pervasive in the field of EU competition policy. This poses significant legal challenges derived from the progressive ‘hardening’ of these regulatory tools by the European Courts as a result of the application of the general principles of EU law. The...

This paper describes the situation and applicable rules to public procurement below EU thresholds in Spain. The paper describes the main provisions regarding these contracts, which are substantially identical to those applicable to contracts subject to EU rules with the relevant exceptions of...

This paper briefly reviews the need for the Proposed Concessions Directive and the opportunity of the proposal; explores the logic and main aspects of the Proposed Concessions Directive, particularly regarding its more ‘concession-specific' rules on their economic balance; and offers some...

This paper focuses on the recent novelties introduced by the ‘Almunia' Package in the regulation of activities at the intersection of the EU rules on State aid, public procurement and the financing of SGEIs. Taking the uncertainties left by the fourth Altmark condition as the point of...

The relationship between public procurement and State aid control rules had been controversial for a long time. However, a growing academic consensus and, more significantly, the official position of the European Commission, ruled out that the award of a public contract can amount to the grant...

This paper attempts a concise comparison of the rules applicable to the rejection of abnormally low and non-compliant tenders in a number of EU jurisdictions (namely, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom). In order to set the common ground for the...

This paper stresses the negative impact that the excessive levels of transparency imposed by public procurement rules can have on competition for public contracts and, more generally, on the likelihood of cartelisation of the markets where public procurement takes place. The paper critically...

Este artículo reflexiona críticamente acerca de las posibilidades de controlar el comportamiento de mercado del comprador público mediante la aplicación de las normas comunitarias de defensa de la competencia y de contratación pública, con un énfasis particular en su aplicación por la...