Towards a Green Procurement Union: Trade-offs and Strategic Choices

Conference Details

Date: 24 September 2025

Time: 13:00

Duration: 1 hour

Location: Brussels, Belgium and Online

Cost: Register online for more information.

Organiser: Bruegel

Conference Website

Conference Description

Is it possible to go green through procurement without compromising on cost or control?

Public procurement rules define how governments spend money on goods and services. The EU's upcoming reform of public procurement will be pivotal to its green transition, but designing the reform to advance climate goals will not be straightforward; going green can be expensive, and risks creating dependencies on foreign suppliers. At this event, we will explore the core trade-offs governments face when trying to align procurement with the green transition, geopolitical resilience and fiscal sustainability. This describes a challenge we call the DAS Trilemma: balancing decarbonisation, autonomy, and stability. We present findings from a new Bruegel paper which proposes how policymakers can navigate these tensions in a shifting global landscape.