The European Commission acted to ensure that this two Member States comply with their obligations to implement EU rules on defence procurement. In particular, the Commission is concerned that they have failed to fulfil their commitments under the Directive regarding procurement of arms, munitions and war material for defence purposes, and also the procurement of sensitive supplies, works and services for security purposes. The European Institution may refer the matter to the Court of Justice if the national authorities do not reply satisfactorily within two months.

The European Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Bulgaria and Luxembourg in order to act to ensure that two Member States (Bulgaria and Luxembourg) comply with their obligations to implement EU rules on defence procurement which were published in 2009. The Commission is concerned that they have failed to fulfil their commitments under the Directive regarding procurement of arms, munitions and war material (and related works and services) for defence purposes, and also the procurement of sensitive supplies, works and services for security purposes. The deadline for implementing the rules in question was 20 August 2011.

The Commission's decision to act on this way is motivated because while the majority of the Member States have either fully implemented the Directive or are finalising the adoption of transposing measures, in these two Member States -Bulgaria and Luxembourg, all of the Directive's provisions still have to be implemented and the transposition process is very slow.

The aim of the EU rule in question is to introduce at European level fair and transparent rules to help companies access defence and security markets in other EU countries; flexibility for contracting authorities to negotiate in detail all features of complex contracts; and the option for contracting authorities to require safeguards (from suppliers) to ensure the protection of classified information against unauthorised access and security of supply so that armed forces receive deliveries in time, particularly in times of crisis or armed conflict.