European Council Agrees to Negotiating Mandate for International Procurement Instrument
The European Union ambassadors to the European Council agreed to the terms of a mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament to create an International Procurement Instrument, the council announced in a June 2 news release. The IPI will work to open third countries' procurement markets and “ensure access and a level playing field to EU businesses in those markets.” The IPI would allow the EU to block access to its public procurement markets case by case without affecting existing EU commitments via the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and free trade agreements.
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The EC has agreed to legislative texts introduced by the Portuguese Presidency. Amendments in these texts include shorter deadlines for investigations, simplified origin determinations, the ability to adjust measures based on quality criteria in addition to price, and greater contractual obligations to avoid circumvention of the IPI.