How Ukraine's public procurement system will change on the path to EU and why it matters

In spring 2027, a new law On Public Procurement will come into effect. It represents the first major step towards integrating Ukraine’s public procurement rules with those of the European Union.

Public procurement is part of the first negotiating cluster, the chapters of which were opened in June 2026. This means that our procurement policies will be among the first to undergo close scrutiny for compliance with EU directives. At the same time, this cluster will be closed last, meaning it will receive the most thorough attention throughout the entire process.

Read more about how Ukraine’s public procurement system differs from those in EU countries and what will change in Ukraine in the article by Ivan Lakhtionov of Transparency International Ukraine: European integration in public procurement: how EU countries spend budget funds and what Ukraine needs to change.

Public procurement in the EU was reformed in 2014. One of the main goals at the time was to simplify procedures. However, the European Court of Auditors found that the situation had actually worsened afterwards.

In the time it takes the EU to make a decision on one procurement procedure, Ukraine manages to complete six and a half.

However, the duration of procurement procedures in Ukraine will increase starting in spring 2027, once the new Law On Public Procurement comes into force. Open tender procedures will take approximately 28 days at a minimum, meaning that the median duration will also increase. This is partly because we have extended the minimum deadlines for submitting bids. Nevertheless, Ukrainian procurement procedures will still be several times faster than those conducted in the EU.

Another difference concerns the use of non-price criteria.

Ukraine’s procurement system is often criticised because contracting authorities are unable to purchase high-quality goods, as "price is everything" in Prozorro.

Indeed, in 2025, non-price criteria were used in fewer than 0.26% of Ukrainian procurements where their use was permitted.

In the European Union, non-price criteria are much more widespread, and Ukraine should certainly move towards using them more frequently. They are a tool that helps make procurement more efficient and flexible.

However, this transition should be gradual and well thought out.

In particular, Ukraine first needs to work with contracting authorities and legislation to ensure that the application of non-price criteria is clear and understandable. Therefore, the new law provides, among other things, for the development of an appropriate methodology. It also establishes a gradual transition towards removing restrictions on the share of non-price criteria used when evaluating bids.

This is because, in the wrong hands, a good tool can turn into a means of discrimination. For example, the use of non-price criteria creates an opportunity to replicate the "schlagbaum" scheme.

So, in Ukraine, the financial thresholds for using a competitive procedure to select a supplier or contractor are still significantly lower than in the EU. Procurement is faster, and non-price criteria will be introduced gradually. There are many differences. So how does the new law compare with EU rules and the practices of its member states?

First of all, we have indeed slowed down our procurement procedures to promote greater competition.

Many of the changes concerned harmonising definitions and providing more detailed rules.

New procurement methods will be introduced in Ukraine.

Ukraine is still waiting for the European Commission to assess the adopted legislation. It is highly likely that the law will need to be amended.

Meanwhile, the European Union has already been preparing for several years for a major update to its core procurement directives. A comprehensive revision has not been carried out in more than 10 years.

Updating the EU directives will mean that we will once again need to update our own legislation, whether as a candidate country or as an EU member state.

However, once again, at the EU level, the directives establish approaches and contain relatively clear rules only for very high-value procurements. For everything else, each country has its own national regulations.

Therefore, Ukraine will also have the opportunity to preserve the achievements of its public procurement system.