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Public procurement and corruption - To what extent can procurement law mitigate corruption risks in the EU internal market

Fang, Rongbing LU (2025) HARN63 20251
Department of Business Law
Abstract
Public procurement accounts for a substantial portion of public spending within the European Union (EU), yet it remains highly vulnerable to corruption. This thesis investigates to how EU procurement law—particularly Directive 2014/24/EU—can mitigate corruption risks in the internal market. It examines the legal mechanisms embedded in the Directive, such as mandatory exclusion, procedural transparency, electronic procurement, and self-cleaning provisions, and evaluates their real-world implementation across Member States. Through a doctrinal legal analysis supported by case law, OLAF investigations, and soft law initiatives such as Integrity Pacts, the study identifies key gaps in the transition from legal design to practical enforcement.... (More)
Public procurement accounts for a substantial portion of public spending within the European Union (EU), yet it remains highly vulnerable to corruption. This thesis investigates to how EU procurement law—particularly Directive 2014/24/EU—can mitigate corruption risks in the internal market. It examines the legal mechanisms embedded in the Directive, such as mandatory exclusion, procedural transparency, electronic procurement, and self-cleaning provisions, and evaluates their real-world implementation across Member States. Through a doctrinal legal analysis supported by case law, OLAF investigations, and soft law initiatives such as Integrity Pacts, the study identifies key gaps in the transition from legal design to practical enforcement. These include inconsistent application of exclusion provisions, fragmented eProcurement adoption, weak post-award monitoring, and limited coordination between EU and national oversight bodies. The thesis further explores structural and political economy obstacles, including regulatory decentralisation, insufficient digital infrastructure, and resistance to enforcement due to vested interests. Ultimately, the study concludes that while EU procurement law provides robust preventive tools, its anti-corruption impact is constrained by systemic enforcement failures. The thesis recommends enhanced supranational oversight, harmonised standards for self-cleaning, mandatory digitalisation benchmarks, and stronger integration of soft law into binding legal frameworks to improve procurement integrity across the internal market. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Fang, Rongbing LU
supervisor
organization
course
HARN63 20251
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
public procurement, corruption, EU law, Directive 2014/24/EU, enforcement
language
English
id
9195489
date added to LUP
2025-06-10 15:09:02
date last changed
2025-06-10 15:09:02
@misc{9195489,
  abstract     = {{Public procurement accounts for a substantial portion of public spending within the European Union (EU), yet it remains highly vulnerable to corruption. This thesis investigates to how EU procurement law—particularly Directive 2014/24/EU—can mitigate corruption risks in the internal market. It examines the legal mechanisms embedded in the Directive, such as mandatory exclusion, procedural transparency, electronic procurement, and self-cleaning provisions, and evaluates their real-world implementation across Member States. Through a doctrinal legal analysis supported by case law, OLAF investigations, and soft law initiatives such as Integrity Pacts, the study identifies key gaps in the transition from legal design to practical enforcement. These include inconsistent application of exclusion provisions, fragmented eProcurement adoption, weak post-award monitoring, and limited coordination between EU and national oversight bodies. The thesis further explores structural and political economy obstacles, including regulatory decentralisation, insufficient digital infrastructure, and resistance to enforcement due to vested interests. Ultimately, the study concludes that while EU procurement law provides robust preventive tools, its anti-corruption impact is constrained by systemic enforcement failures. The thesis recommends enhanced supranational oversight, harmonised standards for self-cleaning, mandatory digitalisation benchmarks, and stronger integration of soft law into binding legal frameworks to improve procurement integrity across the internal market.}},
  author       = {{Fang, Rongbing}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Public procurement and corruption - To what extent can procurement law mitigate corruption risks in the EU internal market}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}