Agefi Luxembourg - mars 2026

Mars 2026 15 AGEFI Luxembourg Banques / Assurances L a quatrième éditionduForumdu GroupeBanque européenne d’investis- sement s’est tenue à Luxembourgdu 3 au 5mars 2026 sous le thème «Une Europe forte dans unmonde enmutation ». L’événement a rassemblé responsables euro- péens, représentants gouvernementaux, acteurs économiques etmembres de la société civile autour des priorités d’investisse- ment et des défis géopolitiques actuels. À cette occasion, la présidente de la BEI, Nadia Calviño, a annoncé de nouveaux soutiens financiers visantàrenforcerlasécuritéetladéfenseeuropéennes. Parmi les mesures phares figurent l’extension du mécanismed’apportdefondsproprespourladéfense et le lancement prochain d’un fonds de capital- risque paneuropéen dédié aux technologies de pointe («deep tech») et aux technologies dedéfense. Le Groupe BEI entend également élargir l’initiative « Champions technologiques européens » afin d’ac- croître le financement des entreprises innovantes à fort potentiel. Une nouvelle « boîte à outils de sortie » pour investisseurs et fondateurs – comprenant prêts, instruments convertibles, soutien aux acquisitions et auxintroductionsenbourse–seratestéepourfaciliter leur croissance enEurope. Présente au Forum, la présidente de la Commission européenne, Ursula vonder Leyen, a souligné le rôle stratégique de la BEI pour renforcer l’indépendance etlacompétitivitédel’Europedansuncontexteinter- national instable. Parmi les intervenants figuraient notamment António Costa, Teresa Ribera, Raffaele Fitto, Valdis Dombrovskis, Jessika Roswall, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, l’entrepreneur Arthur Mensch, l’astro- nauteSławoszUznański-Wiśniewski,l’acteurNikolaj Coster-WaldauetlamilitanteOleksandraMatviichuk. LeForumaégalementétémarquéparlaprésentation du rapport annuel de la BEI sur l’investissement, fondésuruneenquêtemenéeauprèsde13000entre- prises européennes. Celui-ci met en évidence leur résilience face aux chocs géopolitiques et énergé- tiques, leurs avancées dans le numérique et l’intelli- gence artificielle, ainsi que leur engagement dans la transition écologique. Le rapport souligne la nécessité de renforcer les réseaux électriques, le stockage d’énergie, les inter- connexions transfrontalières et les investissements dans la défense, avec l’objectif d’atteindre à terme 5 % du PIB européen consacré à la sécurité et à la défense d’ici 2035. Le troisième plan d’action du Groupe BEI pour l’égalité de genre et l’autonomisa- tion économique des femmes a également été pré- senté, confirmant l’ambitionde conjuguer compétiti- vité, innovation et cohésion sociale. L’appel duGrand-Duc à un investissement stratégique et durable Invité à l’ouverture du Forum, S.A.R. le Grand-Duc Guillaume a plaidé pour un investissement straté- gique, durable et fondé sur les valeurs européennes. Il a rappelé que la compétitivité de l’Union euro- péenne repose sur une vision à long terme, la solida- ritéetlacoopérationentreÉtatsmembres.Soulignant lerôlecentraldelaBEIcommepilierfinancierdupro- jet européen, S.A.R. le Grand-Duc a insisté sur l’im- portanced’investirnonseulementdanslesinfrastruc- tures et les technologies, mais aussi dans les per- sonnes, la recherche et la cohésion sociale. Il a égale- mentmis en avant lemarché unique commemoteur de prospérité et évoqué l’esprit de Schengen comme symboledeconfianceetdelibertéauseindel’Europe. Face aux tensions géopolitiques et aux défis clima- tiques,ilaappeléàprotégeractivementlapaix,àren- forcer le multilatéralisme et à accélérer la transition énergétique, considérant ces investissements comme essentiels pour préserver lemodèle européen et pré- parer l’avenir des jeunes générations. À l’issue de ces trois jours d’échanges, le Forum du Groupe BEI confirme la volonté européenne de ren- forcer sa souveraineté stratégique, enmobilisant l’in- vestissement auservicede ladéfense, de l’innovation et d’une croissance durable. Source :MaisonduGrand-DucetBEI Forum du Groupe BEI à Luxembourg : «Une Europe forte dans un monde en mutation » ©BEI By Valentijn D E B OE , Partner and Aude V AN DEN B USSCHE , Associate, Loyens & Loeff T he revisionof the EUpublic procu- rement framework is underway.Al- though sometimes perceived as formalistic and restrictive, public procure- ment plays a central role inpublic in- vestment: roughly one euro out of every seven spent in the EUeco- nomy is channeled throughpu- blic procurement. Unlike private buyers, public authori- ties must follow strict rules to ensure transparency, competition and equal treatmentwhenawardingcontractsfor works, supplies and services. These rules also aim to promote cross-border participation, sup- port policyobjectives andensurevalue for taxpayers’ money.Theexpectedreformoftheframeworkin2026 maythereforecreateimportantopportunitiesforpub- lic procurement inLuxembourg. TheCurrent EUFramework AwardingPublicContracts EUpublic procurement rules are primarily set out in the 2014PublicProcurementDirectives ,whichgov- ernprocurementinthepublicsectorandintheutilities sectors (water, energy, transport andpostal services). Separatelegislationappliestoprocurementinthede- fenseandsecuritysectors,whilethe 2014Concessions Directive establishesalighterregimeforservicesand works concessions. Theserulesapplyonlytocontractsabovecertainvalue thresholds. Member States retain some discretion when transposing the Directives into national law. Theymayintroduceadditionalormoredetailedpro- visions, provided that they do not reduce the level of protection granted under EU rules and respect the coreEUprinciplesof equaltreatment,non-discrimi- nation, transparency andproportionality . Legal Remedies Effective enforcement of procurement rules re- quires adequate legal remedies. The EU Remedies Directives establish minimum standards in this area. National reviewbodiesmust be able to adopt interim measures, annul unlawful decisions and award damages to harmed bidders. Amandatory standstill period applies between the awarddecision and the signature of the contract. In addition, contracts concludedwithout the required publication of a call for tendersmay be declared in- effective. Member States remain free to provide stronger forms of legal protection. Implementation inLuxembourg ALight-TouchApproach Luxembourg transposed the EU Directives without introducing many additional national rules. Never- theless, certain national particularities remain. One example is the standardisation of tender documen- tation inthebuilding,constructionandinfrastructure sectors.Thisapproachgenerallyhelpstoreducetrans- action costs and administrative burdens for partici- pants in thesemarkets. However, Luxembourg’s relatively light regulatory framework also presents certain limitations. For in- stance, national rules do not distinguish between “substantial”and“non-substantial”irregularities in tenders.Asaresult,contractingauthoritiesmaybere- quired to exclude bids containing evenminor issues, leaving little room for flexibility for negotiations in complex procedures. Another notable feature is the general limitation of publiccontractstoamaximumdurationoftenyears . Althoughexceptionsarepossible,thisrestrictionmay complicate the use of longer-term contractual struc- tures such as public-private partnerships (PPPs). LimitedRemedies? Under EU law, unsuccessful bidders generally have ten days to challenge an award decision before the contract is signed if they wish to preserve the possi- bility of ultimately obtaining the contract. In Luxembourg, however, tenderers seeking the suspension of an award decision must satisfy par- ticularly strict admissibility conditions. These re- quirementsmay limit the effectiveness of judi- cial protection as guaranteed under EU law. At the same time, Luxembourg courts often rely on case law from other Mem- ber States, providing opportunities to practitioners. The Upcoming Reform The European Commission has launched a review of the 2014 Public Procurement Directives . After more than a decade, the framework must adapt to new economic, technological and geopolitical realities. Digitalisation is one of the key drivers of reform. Developments such as artificial intelligence increase the need for trans- parency and oversight in procurement proce- dures, while also encouraging the modernisation of electronic procurement systems as part of a broader “digital-first” approach . At the same time, the geopolitical environment has changedsignificantly.Competitiveness,economicse- curity and strategic autonomy have become central policy objectives for the European Union, and these priorities are likely to shape the next generation of procurement rules. The Commission’s evaluation of the current framework echoes a common concern amongpractitioners:theneedfor lessformalismand greaterflexibility inprocurementprocedures,forthe benefit of both contracting authorities and bidders. Two priorities already stand out. First, simplification is expected tobe a central objec- tive. The reformaims todeliver faster andmoreflex- ible procurement procedures with reduced administrativeburdens. Similar ambitions existed in the 2014 reform, and stakeholders will be watching closely to see whether this time simplification be- comes a practical reality. Second, the EU is increasingly exploring ways to promote “Made inEU” technologies andproducts throughpublicprocurement.Howsuchpreferences will be incorporated intoprocurement rules remains uncertain and politically sensitive. There is already concern that additional policy requirements could undermine the objective of simplification. At the same time, policymakers will continue to pursue broaderpolicyobjectives, environmental,socialand innovation goals through criteria by increasing the roleof non-price criteria in the evaluationof tenders. The regulatory landscape is also becoming more complex as procurement-related provisions in- creasingly appear in sector-specific legislation. For example, the proposed IndustrialAcceleratorAct , presented by the Commission on 4 March 2026, seeks to support industrialization and decarboni- sation in strategic sectors. Among other measures, it aims to foster lead markets by introducing EU- origin or low-carbon requirements in public pro- curement and public support schemes. Similarly, under the Net-Zero IndustryRegulation , contracting authorities must apply minimum envi- ronmentalsustainabilityrequirementswhenprocur- ingcertaincleantechnologies,includingsolarpanels, wind turbines and hydrogen solutions. Contractingauthorities andeconomicoperatorswill therefore need to navigate an increasingly intercon- nectedsetoflegalinstrumentsextendingbeyondthe procurement directives themselves. The defence sector is also concerned. A revision of the 2009 Defence Procurement Directive has been announced inresponse to theevolvingEuropeanse- curity environment following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Strengthening Europe’s defence industrial base has become a strategic priority, and procure- ment rules will need to support this objective. Preparing for theNext Generation of Procurement Rules As theEUprepares to reformitspublicprocurement framework, contracting authorities and economic operators should anticipate a period of significant change. The next generation of procurement rules willaimtosimplifyprocedureswhilealigningpublic purchasingwith broader strategic objectives. AlthoughLuxembourg represents a relatively small procurement market in absolute terms, public con- tracts remain essential in sectors such as infrastruc- ture, construction, IT services and public utilities . Public procurement therefore continues to offer an important gateway for companies seeking access to publicly funded projects. Theupcoming reformalsooffers anopportunity for Luxembourgtorevisitcertainnationalparticularities of its procurement framework. Adjustments may helpaddress someof thepractical challenges identi- fiedbypractitionerswhile buildingupon the evolv- ingEUframework. Thiswill beparticularly relevant as Luxembourg undertakes increasingly complex public investments, including initiatives linked to its DefenceSpaceStrategy andmajordevelopments in satellite communications. For Luxembourg stakeholders, the reform of EU procurement law is therefore not merely a technical legislative update, but a strategic development that may shape public investment andmarket opportu- nities in the years ahead. The Next Reform of EU Public Procurement: Strategic Implications for Luxembourg