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Declining competition in public procurement: what can buyers do?

News 2 minutes 08 January 2026

Public procurement now represents around fifteen percent of the European gross domestic product. At the same time, data shows that the number of bidders per tender is falling, single bidding is becoming more common, and tenders are increasingly withdrawn due to insufficient interest. This raises important questions about how competition functions within the current procurement system.

The opinion piece What to do with competition for public contracts in the EU, published in the Journal of Public Procurement, analyses this development. The article combines European procurement data with insights from academic literature and practice. It shows that declining competition is not only linked to market conditions, but also to choices made by contracting authorities — such as overly complex tender documents, risk allocation and insufficient dialogue with the market.

The article shows that many short‑term improvements lie well within the direct sphere of influence of procurement teams. Examples include clearer and more concise tender documents, longer submission periods, increased interaction with suppliers, more balanced risk allocation and avoiding unnecessarily large or complex contracts. In the longer term, a broader cultural shift is needed: moving from a heavily paper‑ and compliance‑driven approach towards a more value‑oriented mindset, in which buyers actively contribute to healthier competition and, above all, better outcomes. This also makes tenders more attractive for SMEs and better supports strategic procurement.

For procurement professionals, the article offers concrete points of reflection on their own tendering practices and on how public organisations can become more attractive clients — without overstepping the boundaries of procurement law.