Nordic Public Procurement Bulletin - December 2025

Introduction of Bill on Wage and Working Conditions for Foreign Labour – On 6 November 2025, a bill to amend the Danish Public Procurement Act was published for public consultation. The bill implements part of the Danish Government’s agreement of 30 June 2025 on foreign labour and new measures to combat social dumping. The bill introduces a requirement for sub-central contracting authorities to ensure that wages and working conditions in public works contracts above the EU threshold value are no less favourable than those set out in relevant collective agreements. These requirements must apply to employees of both suppliers and any subcontractors involved in performing a contract. 

The provision in the bill is based on Article 70 of the Public Procurement Directive, which allows contracting authorities to lay down special conditions relating to the performance of the contract, provided they are linked to the subject-matter, including social or employment-related conditions. If adopted, the bill will enter into force in July 2026.

Section 42 of the Danish Public Procurement Act to recognise two exceptions to brand/type references – On 6 November 2025, the bill to amend the Danish Public Procurement Act proposed revising section 42 to clarify that the provision contains two distinct exceptions to the general prohibition against referring to specific brands or types in technical specifications. The current wording of section 42 only recognizes one exception: where a precise description is otherwise impossible, provided that the reference is followed by “or equivalent”. The amendment, however, will align with Article 42(4) of Directive 2014/24/EU, as interpreted in DYKA (C-424/23). In addition to the existing exception, the new wording clarifies that a reference to a brand/type is also permissible when the subject matter of the contract justifies a reference. This clarification reflects recent national practice. In its decision of 11 July 2025, Ketner-Utsch A/S v Skatteforvaltningen, the Danish Complaints Board held that section 42 must be interpreted in conformity with Article 42(4) and its two exceptions. The amendment therefore constitutes a refinement of the wording rather than a change in the legal situation. The forthcoming amendment to section 42 is expected to enter into force upon publication in the Danish Official Journal.

Proposed Changes to Finnish Public Procurement Rules

The Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts and the Act on Procurement in Special Sectors are under transformation. The government is expected to present the official proposal to Parliament in late November 2025 (week 48), with the revised laws intended to come into effect soon after this. The initially proposed changes are described in the Nordic Public Procurement Bulletin - April 2025 (link).

Update to the General Terms of Public Procurement Contracts (JYSE)

The Finnish Ministry of Finance has updated the General Terms of Public Procurement Contracts (so-called ‘JYSE’). These widely used terms are designed to serve as standard contract conditions between procurement entities and suppliers and can complement individual procurement agreements. The updates ensure better alignment with requirements set by procurement laws.

Key changes include:

• The supplier’s maximum liability for damages is now capped at the value of the procurement agreement, not five times its value as previously.

• A new clause stipulates that suppliers engaging in prohibited anti-competitive practices will incur a contractual penalty and the contract can be terminated immediately by the contracting authority.]

   

Faster Processing of Procurement Cases in the Finnish Market Court

Processing times for public procurement cases in the Finnish Market Court have significantly decreased. In 2023, the average processing time was clearly over seven months, while in 2024 it was just over four months. According to the Market Court, this improvement is due to several factors, including an increase in withdrawn appeals, procedural reforms such as fewer rounds of written submissions, and digitalization, which has accelerated court communications.

Supreme Administrative Court Decision No. 1336/2025 Leading to the Request for a Preliminary Ruling

On 13 June 2025, the Supreme Administrative Court submitted a request for a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the European Union under Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The case concerns a public procurement procedure conducted as a competitive dialogue and the issue to be determined is whether the procedure followed in indicating the relative weightings of the contract award criteria in the contract notice (price and quality related criteria each 30-70%) complied with the requirements set out in Article 30(2) and (7) and Article 67(5) of Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC, while the final weightings were price 30% quality 70% and the ranges of 30–70% did not indicate the order of importance of price and quality.

National review process

The Norwegian procurement regulations, which implement the EU directives, have undergone national review. Several changes aimed at simplification, strengthening environmental considerations, and improving enforcement have been proposed. These proposals are currently on hold due to the EU’s ongoing revision of the directives.

However, a legislative proposal has been submitted to the Norwegian Parliament and the following changes are expected to be adopted:

• The purpose clause will explicitly include sustainable use of public resources.
• The importance of preparedness in procurement procedures is emphasized.
• Contracting authorities will be required to adopt procurement strategies and routines for monitoring contract compliance.

In addition, social requirements, such as measures against social dumping, will be moved from regulations into the Procurement Act and the applicability of the legal framework will increase from NOK 100,000 to NOK 300,000.

While these changes send important signals, they do not represent fundamental changes.

Award criteria related to environment and climate

Since 1 January 2024, contracting authorities are required to include environmental and/or climate considerations as an award criterion, weighted at a minimum of 30%. Exemptions apply, for instance, where other requirements are more effective or where the environmental impact is minimal (e.g., consultancy services). This year, numerous cases before the Norwegian Complaints Board for Public Procurement have shown that both the application of environmental criteria and the use of exemptions are being scrutinized closely and interpreted strictly.

Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") Provides Guidance on Changes in Publicly Procured Framework Agreement — It remains a key question how far-reaching modifications that are accepted in publicly procured contracts and framework agreements. The Swedish Police Authority’s (Sw. Polismyndigheten) 2021 framework agreement for towing services was amended in a manner that led to a discussion on precisely this issue. The original model set a fixed price for the first ten kilometers and extra per kilometer after; this was changed to extend the fixed price distance and lower the per-kilometer rate, adjusting prices but only marginally affecting the total contract value.On 16 October 2025, the CJEU delivered its judgment in the case C-282/24 "Polismyndigheten", interpreting the scope for possible changes in relation to the “overall nature” in a framework agreement in Art. 72(2) of the Public Procurement Directive (2014/24/EU) (the "Directive").

The CJEU clarified in its judgment that “overall nature” is not defined in the Directive, but refers to changes affecting the agreement as a whole. The Court distinguished between a “substantial modification” and a change to the “overall nature” and found that a remuneration model changed only marginally does not alter the “overall nature” unless it fundamentally shifts the agreement’s balance. In this the modification was considered to be only marginal. The Swedish Supreme Administrative Court will now assess the case in a judgment. 

Court Confirms Security-Based Supplier Exclusion — The Swedish Administrative Court of Appeal in Stockholm recently confirmed in a judgment, that contracting authorities may exclude companies linked to countries that the Swedish Security Service (Sw. Säkerhetspolisen) ("Säpo") designate as security threats.[1] In the present procurement the Swedish Public Employment Service had procured IT workplace services. In the procurement, Säpo required bidders to ensure that no foreign power identified by Säpo as a threat to Sweden could access, influence, or manipulate data, software, or hardware. According to the requirement, compliance was impossible if the supplier, manufacturer, or subcontractor to the agreement had owners or voting rights of at least 10 percent in such countries.

The complainant chose not to submit a tender in the procurement due to Chinese ownership of the company exceeding 10 %. The Administrative Court of Appeal held that suppliers from non-EU countries, like China, cannot rely on equal treatment and proportionality under the Directive. Only Lenovo Sweden AB, as an EU company, could do so. The Court found valid reasons for distinguishing suppliers tied to security-threat states and considered the requirement proportionate, focusing only on ownership in the bidding company.