I. Introduction
- The Polish public procurement market is part of the EU market which, according to the EU treaties, is a single and common market ensuring the free movement of people, capital, goods and services. The single market is considered to be the main pillar of the European economy, making the European Union (or “EU“) one of the most important trading partners in the world.
- However, the single market faces a number of challenges. One of the most serious is the interference of third countries which use public funds to finance, directly or indirectly, operations that distort competition in the single market. Prominent examples of such practices include the takeovers of European companies hit hard by the Covid pandemic by non-EU companies receiving public funds. This issue has arisen in the public procurement market where many non-EU companies have been suspected of bidding for contracts at prices well below their realistic costs, precisely because they have been supported by public funds in their respective countries.
- Until recently, the European Commission which oversees the internal market with a raft of specialized regulatory measures, had no tool in its arsenal to counter this type…
