Proposed Amendments to Finland's Public Procurement Rules: Government Proposal Released
On 5 February 2026, the Finnish government published its long-awaited government proposal (HE 2/2026) for the reform of Finland's public procurement rules. A draft proposal published in spring 2025 sparked active public debate and attracted an unprecedented number of statements during the consultation period. The draft also led to intervention from the Chancellor of Justice concerning the compliance of in-house procurement restrictions with the Finnish Constitution. According to the government, the newly published proposal addresses these concerns. In this article, we provide an overview of the most significant amendments.
The reform aims to promote market efficiency, increase competition, improve conditions for participating in public tendering, and integrate security and security of supply requirements into public procurement.
The key proposed amendments include:
- restrictions on in-house procurement,
- measures to ensure security of supply and preparedness in public procurement, and
- obligations to ensure sufficient number of tenders.
Restrictions on in-house procurement
The regulation of in-house procurement is a key focus of the reform, forming part of the government's objective to improve public sector efficiency and strengthen conditions for regional economic growth and entrepreneurship.
According to the government proposal, the requirement for directly purchasing from an in-house entity without competitive tendering would be that each contracting entity owning the in-house entity would hold at least 10% of the shares in the in-house entity. This requirement would apply to in-house entities operating as limited companies and would extend to any of their subsidiaries and sister companies.
However, the proposal introduces an exemption from the minimum 10% ownership requirement for certain small affiliated entities with an annual turnover below EUR 1 million that have been established solely to provide statutory services or related information systems. The general requirement of a minimum of 10% ownership is proposed to take effect from 1 July 2027. Extended transition periods and other exemptions are proposed for sectors like healthcare and waste management. Following the transition period, existing agreements that do not meet the in-house procurement requirements will be assessed as direct awards that may be unlawful.
Measures to ensure security and security of supply in public procurement
The government proposal addresses the need to ensure adequate consideration of security, preparedness and security of supply in public procurement. Particularly where a procurement relates to critical functions and services, contracting authorities could set requirements with the aim of reducing risks and ensuring availability during the contract period. Such conditions may relate to, for example, origin of goods, geographical location and compliance requirements. Moreover, the proposal introduces a new discretionary exclusion criterion permitting the rejection of tenderers posing an apparent national or local security risk.
Obligations to ensure sufficient number of tenders
The government proposal states that increasing competition requires action through measures like market consultation, division of procurements into lots and the use of analysis tools.
Accordingly, one key element of the proposal is an obligation for contracting entities to conduct a market survey or otherwise assess the suitability of the intended procurement procedure in procurements exceeding EUR 10 million. Below this threshold, market consultation would remain voluntary.
Furthermore, the government proposal suggests limiting contracting entities' discretion on dividing procurements exceeding the EU threshold into lots, making such decisions subject to appeal. Contracting entities could refrain from dividing a procurement into lots, for example:
- if this would be justified due to the nature of the procurement or the risks associated with division,
- if a market survey has been conducted in advance, or
- if the aim is to achieve volume benefits through centralised procurement or to attract larger companies or foreign suppliers.
However, reasons for not dividing the procurement contract into lots must be stated.
Additionally, the government proposal introduces an obligation to restart procurements conducted as open procedures if only one tender is received unless the procurement has been divided into lots or a market survey conducted. An exception to the obligation could also be made for other particularly compelling reasons.
Other amendments
In addition to the above amendments, the government proposal introduces a number of other amendments to the current public procurement rules, some of which are more of a technical nature.
To mention a few, the reform would:
- add aggravated accounting offences and certain aggravated environmental offences to the grounds on which a tenderer may be excluded from a tender procedure;
- include security, sustainability and security of supply aspects to form part of the objectives of the procurement rules; and
- broaden the scope of the post-award notices to cover also national procurements and direct procurements.
The impact of the proposed reform
Most of the amendments discussed above are intended to enter into force in spring 2025. They will most likely have a substantial impact on the Finnish public procurement landscape.
Contracting authorities and tenderers alike are advised to familiarise themselves with the revised rules to prepare for more market surveys and other changes. As a result of the proposed in-house procurement restrictions, all entities with small ownership stakes in in-house entities will have to restructure their ownership arrangements to meet the 10% minimum ownership requirement or transition to public tendering.
Additional information
Please contact our Competition & Regulatory practice, if you have any questions regarding this article or would like to discuss the proposed amendments further.
