The European Commission presented a proposal which aims to ensure that all companies (both European and non-European firms) are on an equal footing when it comes to competing for business in the EU's lucrative public procurement market. According to the Commission, the main objective of the initiative is to help open worldwide public procurement markets and to ensure European businesses have fair access to them.

A new proposal presented by the European Commission seeks to increase the incentives for the EU's trading partners to open up their public procurement markets to EU bidders. It therefore will ensure that EU companies can compete in the internal market with foreign companies on an equal footing. In the EU, public procurement represents up to 19% of GDP and is an essential lever for kick-starting growth again, especially during an economic crisis. In June 2011, the Commission launched a consultation on access to EU's public procurement markets.

The new initiative proposed by the Commission shall increase business opportunities for EU companies, both in the EU and internationally; also boost the potential for small- and medium-sized enterprises to operate in a globalised economy; and increase employment and promote innovation in the EU. The key aspects of the proposal includes that the important levels of openness of the EU's public procurement market are confirmed, and also the Commission may approve that EU contracting authorities, for contracts above €5 million, exclude tenders comprising a significant part of foreign goods and services where these contracts are not covered by existing international agreements. In addition, in the event of repeated and serious discrimination against European suppliers in non-EU countries, the Commission will have at its disposal a mechanism allowing it to restrict access to the EU market, if the country outside the EU does not engage in negotiations to address market access imbalances. Any restrictive measures will be targeted, for example by excluding tenders originating in a non-EU country or imposing a price penalty. The proposal also increases transparency on abnormally low offers in order to combat unfair competition by non-EU suppliers on the European market.

Public procurement affects a substantial share of world trade flows and amounts to €1000 billion per year. The EU's public procurement market is traditionally very open. However, worldwide, only a quarter of the world's procurement market is open for international competition. The restrictions applied affect sectors where the EU is highly competitive, such as construction, public transport, medical devices, power generation and pharmaceuticals.