EU Commission issues first IPI Regulation report

Regulation 2022/1031 on international procurement instruments (‘the IPI Regulation’) regulates the access of third countries to the EU’s public procurement and concession markets and the procedures supporting negotiations on the access of EU operators to the public procurement and concession markets of third countries. This legislative instrument was introduced in June 2022 to enable the European Union to secure reciprocal treatment in the global public procurement markets. 

The IPI Regulation is therefore a key instrument in the rapidly developing topic of third countries’ access to EU public procurement procedures, with a focus on the reciprocity principle. Two of our previous newsflashes (Certain third country competitors barred from equal access and protection in EU public procurement and EU Commission Guidance on EU procurement participation for bidders from non-covered third countries) reported on the recent evolution of the EU’s position regarding access of third country economic operators.

In line with article 13 of the IPI Regulation, the EU Commission published, on 30 July 2025, its first bi-yearly report on the application of the Regulation and on the progress made in international negotiations regarding access to third country public procurement markets.

This newsflash outlines the most important take-aways from the report.  

IPI Tools

The Commission has made available to all relevant stakeholders a number of tools to facilitate the application of the IPI Regulation.

The Commission firstly issued operational guidelines in February 2023 that clarify the procedures that need to be followed by contracting authorities and economic operators in compliance with the IPI Regulation.

Secondly, the Online Complaint Tool (OCT) was made available to operate as the (confidential) complaint mechanism that can be used by EU interested parties or Member States to open an investigation under article 5(1) of the IPI Regulation. Robust safeguards ensuring anonymity and confidentiality were put in place. The report notes that no substantiated claim was submitted so far. However, the Commission did receive informal complaints via other channels.

Thirdly, the “Procurement4Buyers” platform helps contracting authorities to quickly and (relatively) reliably verify which third country bidders have legally guaranteed access to bid for an intended procurement and which do not. Entering the procuring entity’s identity, CPV code and estimated contract value into the “Procurement4Buyers” platform generates positive and negative country lists of bidders eligible or excluded, the latter possibly through an IPI measure. 

Finally, when an investigation is opened under article 5(1) of the IPI Regulation, interested parties and the Members States are invited to submit relevant information. The interested parties guidance details how these interested parties should make themselves known and how they should deliver their information during IPI investigations.

IPI investigation into the Chinese medical devices sector

In April 2024, the Commission launched, on its own initiative, an investigation pursuant to article 5(1) of the IPI Regulation concerning measures taken by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) restricting the access of EU operators to the Chinese public procurement market for medical devices. This first investigation faced significant challenges in establishing discrimination due to the opacity of the Chinese procurement market, where restrictions stem not only from legal restrictions but also from administrative barriers. 

After inconclusive consultations with the PRC in July 2024, the Commission published an investigation report in line with article 5(4) of the IPI Regulation in January 2025. This report found a comprehensive discriminatory system that systematically favoured domestic medical devices.  

In conformity with article 6 of the IPI Regulation, the Commission assessed proportionality, alternative supply sources and Union interest before moving to a corrective IPI measure as described by article 2(j) of the IPI Regulation. On 19 June 2025, the Commission’s Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1197 was adopted. This regulation establishes a five year exclusion of Chinese operators from EU procurement procedures concerning medical devices with an estimated value equal or above EUR 5 million and allows no more than 50% of inputs from China for successful bids. The restriction took effect ten days after publication and prompted retaliatory measures from Beijing. 

The Commission continues to engage with the PRC and remains open to lift the measure once China removes the discriminatory barriers.

Insights regarding the use of the formal complaint procedure

During the period under review, the Commission gathered evidence on a broad range of restrictive public procurement measures applied by third countries. These measures can consist of formal exclusions of EU economic operators or less apparent localisation requirements and domestic preferences such as offsets, which often also result in a de facto exclusion. These measures may result in lost opportunities for Union economic operators. 

The report notes an absence of formal complaints from the EU industry or Member States under article 5(1) of the IPI Regulation. The Commission attributes this to a strong dependency of the EU economic operators (the bidders) vis-à-vis public authorities (the buyers). Despite the strict confidentiality safeguards in place, economic operators fear suffering targeted retaliation in case of submitting a formal complaint. 

Secondly, some EU companies active in third-country procurement markets sometimes have limited interest in closing the Union market to obtain leverage. The economic interest of all Union companies must thus be taken into account before deciding to launch an investigation. 

Lastly, gaps regarding the data on international public procurement flows make investigations difficult. Persistent shortcomings in the EU procurement market data, such as, a.o., the Tender Electronic Daily (TED) missing information on the goods’ origin and limited information on subcontractor arrangements, also make assessing the impact of potential IPI measures rather challenging. 

Conclusion

Since the entry into force of the IPI Regulation, the Commission has put in place the tools necessary to facilitate the application of the IPI Regulation by economic operators and contracting authorities and entities.   

To date, there has only been one IPI investigation. The report concludes that it is therefore premature to draw conclusions as to the extent to which the instrument has met the objective of opening public procurement markets in third countries. 

Launching an IPI investigation requires careful consideration, since navigating foreign procurement systems is inherently difficult. Challenges include interpreting complex legal frameworks, identifying discriminatory practices hidden in administrative rules, and getting access to the large volume of procurement contracts needed for a proper assessment, which are often not available publicly. Therefore, close cooperation with industry is essential. The Commission confirms that it will continue to prioritise the maintenance of open communication channels ensuring full confidentiality of exchanges.