16.09.2025

Strengthening Ukraine’s European Integration Through Public Procurement Reform

The opening of EU accession negotiations brings new obligations for Ukraine. One of them is aligning the national procurement system with European standards. In this article, we look at the progress of public procurement reform, the crucial role of the EU4PFM Project in driving these changes, and the future trajectory of EU support in the coming years, as outlined by Eriks Mezalis, Team Leader for Component 2: Public Procurement of the EU4PFM Project.

EU4PFM Expands to Include Public Procurement Reform

At the start of 2024, the EU Public Finance Management Support Programme (EU4PFM) announced its expansion. As of January 1, the EU-funded “Support to Public Procurement Reform in Ukraine” Project was restructured and integrated as Component 2 “Public Procurement.” Over the past three months, the newly formed team has been scaling up its activities and is now ready to share its plans and priorities for the years ahead. And the best way to present any work is through results — so let’s start with those.

Key Achievements in 2023

Throughout 2023, the project team continued to provide active expert and advisory support to Ukrainian partners. The main objectives were to strengthen the public procurement system and ensure its effective operation in line with the principles of transparency, accessibility, resilience, and competitiveness.

Key activities included:

Completion of a comparative analysis of Ukraine’s legislation on public procurement, defense procurement, and concessions against EU law.
Preparation of a review of Ukrainian court practice and EU Court of Justice case law related to public procurement.
Analysis of over 20 draft legislative acts in public procurement, concessions, PPPs, and defense procurement, and expert input into the draft of the new Law on Public Procurement.
Preparation of analytical reports on oversight bodies’ capacity and recommendations for the development of centralized procurement and central purchasing bodies at national and local levels.
Recommendations for preparing the annual report on the functioning of the public procurement system and defining performance indicators at macro and micro levels.
Support to the Ministry of Economy in international engagement — facilitating cooperation between Ukrainian and EU businesses in procurement and promoting Ukraine internationally.
Organization of study visits for Ukrainian public officials on procurement practices.

In addition, the Project provided input into the new Public Procurement Development Strategy 2024–2026 and its Action Plan, adopted by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 76-r of February 2, 2024. Many of the measures proposed by the Project’s experts — especially on professionalization — were included in these strategic documents.

Professionalization of Public Procurement Specialists

Building the capacity for the professionalization of procurement specialists was a key focus in 2023. The Project supported the development and adoption of a professionalization strategy and action plan and promoted the “Public Procurement Specialist” professional standard, which defines the competencies and responsibilities of procurement officers, encouraging their professional growth.

All planned activities to enhance professional skills were completed:

A free online course was created in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, National Agency for Civil Service, and Prometheus. It includes a basic and an advanced level, with video lectures, manuals, presentations, and tests.
In early 2024, 9,693 participants completed the basic course (with 3,528 certificates issued), and 7,192 participants enrolled in the advanced course (with 2,798 certificates issued).
More than 15 webinars and 3 offline trainings were organized in cooperation with key stakeholders, attracting over 2,700 registered participants and 12,300 Facebook views.

The Project also provided recommendations for a Code of Ethics for public procurement, regulating fair and transparent behavior of contracting authorities and bidders.

A particularly important achievement was the cooperation with the National School of Judges, which led to the creation of a dedicated training program on public procurement for judges, piloted and prepared for inclusion in the mandatory curriculum.

International Cooperation

The Project actively supported Ukraine’s participation in international procurement markets as a WTO GPA Party. Support included:

Preparation of notifications for the WTO GPA Committee,
Drafting responses to WTO questionnaires,
Analysis of final market access offers from candidate countries,
Participation in accession procedures.

The Project also developed guides to facilitate Ukrainian businesses’ participation in GPA and EU procurement tenders, now available on the Ministry of Economy’s website.

Priorities for 2024

Despite significant progress, many ambitious tasks lie ahead — especially as Ukraine maintains reform momentum during wartime and reconstruction. Over the next two years, EU support will be delivered through EU4PFM in close cooperation with Ukrainian public and civil society partners.

In 2024, Component 2 will focus on:

Legislative alignment with EU law, including the new Law on Public Procurement, updates to concession and PPP legislation, and defense procurement regulations compatible with EU norms.
Capacity building for central purchasing bodies, particularly the Ministry of Economy, and transfer of EU best practices for procurement professionalization.
Support for oversight bodies such as the Antimonopoly Committee, State Audit Service, Accounting Chamber, and judiciary (via the National School of Judges).

Finally, a major emphasis will be placed on professionalization, as Ukraine relies on authorized persons (not committees) to conduct procurement — their capacity is a decisive factor for success. EU directives also require access to advanced procurement tools, including innovation partnerships, e-catalogues, and dynamic purchasing systems — which in turn requires highly skilled professionals.

Conclusion

Granting Ukraine EU candidate status was both recognition of reforms already carried out and a powerful incentive to continue aligning with EU law and best practices. The EU4PFM Project stands ready to support Ukrainian partners in further developing the public procurement system — and above all, pays tribute to their inspiration and resilience in continuing reforms under today’s challenging conditions.