Council of State upholds right to reject bids containing predominantly non-EU products

AG Studio Legale represented a contracting authority operating in the special sectors and obtained a ruling in its favour from the Council of State. The Council of State, in its decision of 4 December 2025, No. 9575 (V Section), declared legitimate the discretion of a contracting authority operating in special sectors—i.e. within industries connected to strategic infrastructure and primary public services—to reject, without an obligation to provide specific motivation (and in particular without being required to link the refusal to the technical quality of products), tenders that include products predominantly originating from non-EU countries that have not signed the Agreement on Government Procurement (approved by the European Union in 1994 and updated in 2012) or that lack multilateral or bilateral agreements with EU Member States. This is the first pronouncement by the Council of State on the matter. The decision confirms the jurisprudence that has emerged in the regional administrative tribunals, including the TAR Toscana at first instance, and provides important operational guidance for public enterprises and contracting authorities operating in regulated sectors. AG Studio Legale represented the contracting authority with a team composed by: Andrea Grazzini, founder.

Council of State upholds right to reject bids containing predominantly non-EU products

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