Procurement

Recent Articles

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  23/04/2025

  Germany

  German retention supply contracts integrate civilian security and defence industries as Germany bolsters its armed forces

  In a bid to strengthen its armed forces, the German government is using retention supply contracts to integrate the civilian security and defence industries. These contracts can efficiently integrate civilian companies into the defence plan, and carry both legal and commercial implications for the companies involved.The main features of these contracts are outlined in the following article:Retention supply contracts: background and applicationRetention supply contracts are nothing new for the security and defence industry, having been used in the past in areas such as infrastructure, health care...

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  08/04/2025

  European Union

  European Defence Readiness 2030 regulatory shifts and the call for joint action

  On 19 March 2025, the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy presented the Joint White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030, which is a sign of a fundamental shift towards enhanced defence coordination, procurement harmonisation, and industrial strengthening within the EU.For businesses operating in the defence and dual-use sectors, the White Paper signals significant regulatory changes aimed at streamlining procurement processes, boosting European industrial capacity, and simplifying compliance frameworks.The following article...

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  11/03/2025

  Hungary

  Hungary’s changes to KÁT/METÁR support scheme rules to benefit industrial energy consumers

  On 1 March 2025, Hungary’s recently issued Government Decree No. 26/2025. (II. 27.), which further amends the rules of the obligatory take-off system (KÁT) and the rules of the new renewable support scheme (METÁR), went into force. The decree follows a previous government decision to temporarily suspend the automatic indexation of KÁT prices in years when the consumer price index of the previous year, as calculated by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, does not exceed 1.06.Although most of the changes introduced by the recent decree appear to be technical, they...

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  18/02/2025

  CEE

  The EU AI Act’s ten key points of AI literacy

  Under the EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, by 2 February 2025 all organisations must ensure that their staff are AI literate, whether they participate in the AI value chain as providers or as users (or deployers).Beyond the general provisions in Article 4 on AI literacy, the AI Act does not specify the measures organisations must take to develop AI literacy with their staff and among others involved in operating or using AI systems on their behalf.Practical compliance may be facilitated by using the guidelines issued by the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) in early...

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  10/02/2025

  CEE, UK

  EU Commission issues Guidelines on Prohibited AI Practices – Part II.

  The European Commission has issued long awaited comprehensive guidelines on prohibited artificial intelligence (AI) practices, as established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act). These practical guidelines, which include examples and “use cases”, are crucial for businesses and organisations involved in the development, deployment, and use of AI systems within the EU. They have been issued to ensure compliance with the AI Act, which seeks to balance innovation with the protection of fundamental rights and Union values.This is the second of two articles on these guidelines. In our first...

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  07/02/2025

  CEE, UK

  EU Commission issues guidelines on the definition of AI systems

  The European Commission has issued long awaited comprehensive guidelines on the definition of AI systems, as established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act). With these practical guidelines the Commission aims to assist providers, deployers, importers, distributors of AI systems in determining whether a system constitutes an AI system within the meaning of the AI Act, thereby facilitating the effective application and enforcement of that Act. The definition of AI systems entered into force on 2 February 2025.Key elements of the AI system definitionDue to the diverse nature of AI systems, the...

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