Our summary
Directive 2014/24/EU, adopted on 26 February 2014, sets the main EU rules for how public authorities buy works, goods and services above certain value thresholds. It replaced Directive 2004/18/EC. Each EU country has put it into its own national procurement law. It defines the procurement procedures (open, restricted, competitive negotiation, competitive dialogue and others), the rules for selecting and evaluating bidders, and the use of electronic procurement.
For integrity, two parts matter most. Article 24 requires contracting authorities to prevent, identify and remedy conflicts of interest. Article 57 lists grounds for excluding bidders, including convictions for corruption, fraud, money laundering and participation in a criminal organisation, and allows exclusion for collusion and other serious misconduct. Change is coming: on 9 September 2026 the European Commission proposed a Public Procurement Act (COM(2026) 590), a single regulation that would replace this directive and the other two 2014 procurement directives. Until it is adopted, the 2014 directive and national laws still apply.
How auditors use it: Use Articles 24 and 57 as a checklist when you test tender files in EU public bodies or companies that bid for public contracts: conflict of interest declarations, checks on exclusion grounds, and documentation of evaluation decisions. Follow the new Act as it moves through the EU legislative process.