Benelux

Benelux aims to simplify companies’ participation in public procurement

07 May. 2026

Public procurement is a major economic driver. At the level of the European Union, it amounts to no less than €2 trillion per year — accounting for nearly 14% of the EU’s GDP. Within the Benelux as well, public procurement represents a significant share of the economy, ranging between 13% and 20% of GDP in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Against this backdrop, the Benelux countries are taking a new step to facilitate cross-border participation. During an initial joint workshop, the relevant ministries explored how data exchange in public procurement can be made more efficient.

For businesses, this sends an important signal. Differences between national systems still often lead to additional administrative burdens, extra paperwork and complex procedures when companies seek to participate in tenders in a neighbouring country. By enabling faster and more secure data exchange, the Benelux countries aim to lower these barriers.

During the meeting, experts from the fields of economy, justice and digitalisation pooled their expertise. They analysed how existing systems operate in each country, identified bottlenecks and examined where further cooperation is possible.

This discussion comes at a pivotal moment, as the EU prepares to revise the rules on public procurement with the aim of significantly simplifying, accelerating and digitalising procedures.

The ambition is clear: reduce administrative burdens, speed up procedures and create more opportunities for companies to participate in cross-border public procurement. This should not only strengthen competition, but also contribute to a more efficient use of public funds.

The next step will be to translate these insights into concrete actions, such as pilot projects and joint proposals.