One of the often overlooked implications of Brexit is that, despite the UK’s accession to the WTO GPA and the procurement chapter of the EU-UK TCA, UK companies are practically left out of the procurement procedures carried out by the decentralised and executive EU agencies—despite the obligation of National treatment of locally established suppliers (Art 288), which would only apply to UK suppliers ‘established in [the EU’s] territory through the constitution, acquisition or maintenance of a legal person’. This is a result of the UK tenderers being treated as third country operators for these purposes.
The current advice of the European Commission (DG BUDGET) to those agencies is that participation by UK tenderers in public procurement procedures governed by Regulation 2018/1046 to which the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement does not apply is to be treated as exceptional, as follows:
So it is fair to stress that the EU is as protectionist of its public funds as the next trading partner …