European Commission proposes an EU preference in public contracts
euronews
European Commission proposes an EU preference in public contracts
The EU executive has proposed a legislation introducing a European preference in public procurement for strategic public services, a move that clearly targets Chinese companies in a market valued at €2 billion annually. #EuropeNews
I can see this being good for open source adoption. While the licenses are free, implementation and consulting are not, and can be offered by local companies.
So…let’s say that a company based in Europe obtains a contract to provide, say, port service. Ten years down the line, say, can they be acquired by a company based elsewhere?
What about obtaining a de facto controlling interest via one mechanism or another?
That needs EU permission anyway.
I guess that’s fine but - as with many already existing similar legislation - it really depends on how it’s put into practice.
I’d rather see the opposite, where there was a list of disfavoured nations. I get why they feel this is needed, but nationalism and protectionism have some nasty side-effects.
It is not protectionism. On Euronews’ “Europe today”, in an interview with the Bruegel Institute, it was explained that this is rather reciprocal. For example, Japan and South Korea are also eligible to bid on public procurement, but in return, Japan and South Korea must also allow the EU to bid in their public procurement. This is not protectionism. This is sensible.