EU4PFM and Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture move forward with Public Procurement Reform

The EU4PFM Procurement Component Team Leader Eriks Mezalis, together with Javier Casasnovas-Bernad from the EU Delegation to Ukraine and Project experts, recently met with Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine Andrii Teliupa, Head of the Public Procurement and Competition Policy Department Valeriy Shergin and Prozorro CEO Iaroslav Liubchenko,  to review progress and set priorities for advancing Ukraine’s public procurement reforms.

The meeting reaffirmed Ukraine’s determination to align its procurement legislation with EU directives, strengthen transparency, and support economic development – even in the context of russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.

A central topic was the finalisation and forthcoming adoption of the new Public Procurement Law, a milestone on Ukraine’s path toward EU integration. The law is set to implement important EU procurement concepts and become a foundation for further reforms with continued EU4PFM support.

“We are finalising the alignment of the new Public Procurement Law with the European Commission and expect its adoption by the Verkhovna Rada already this year. This will become the foundation for further reforms – from the implementation of EU directives in the areas of defence and utilities procurement to strengthening transparency and the professionalisation of the Prozorro system. We are grateful to the European institutions and the EU4PFM team for their expert guidance and support throughout this process.”, – said Andrii Teliupa.

Discussions also touched upon defence procurement. Participants agreed on the importance of aligning Ukraine’s system with the EU Defence Procurement Directive. An interagency working group and a dedicated workshop are planned to balance efficiency with transparency in this sensitive area.

Other key topics included utilities procurement, localisation, professionalisation and capacity building, as well as monitoring and control.

Eriks Mezalis highlighted the resilience and results achieved jointly with the Ministry:

“We truly value your hard work in these challenging circumstances. Our joint efforts – from legislation development to policy implementation documents and online training courses – are already delivering tangible results. We remain ready to support the Ministry in the next phase of the Project.”

Despite wartime challenges, Ukraine’s public procurement system was recognised as one of the most open in Europe, with a clear goal of full alignment with EU standards by 2027. The parties reaffirmed their commitment to close cooperation to ensure the successful implementation of reforms.