Geopolitics and Public Procurement
CONFERENCE

1 July 2026

Trg Republike Hrvatske 3, Zagreb (University of Zagreb Faculty of Law)
Lecture room III

https://gppp.pravo.hr/

Croatia needs more discussion on the big questions in public procurement, and more cooperation between academia and the private sector. With our upcoming “Geopolitics and Public Procurement” conference, we believe we are accomplishing both.
The external dimension of EU public procurement has moved from the margins to the centre of the policy debate. The question is no longer whether public procurement intersects with trade and foreign policy, but how that intersection should be governed. What should the EU do with third-country economic operators? Should we implement “Buy European” criteria? Are local content requirements compatible with the Treaties? Can procurement serve as a tool to achieve geostrategic goals? The Instrument for International Procurement, the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, and the recently adopted Industrial Accelerator Act all point in the same direction: procurement is now a front in the EU’s broader economic security agenda. But the legal and policy implications of this shift are far from settled.
The University of Zagreb Faculty of Law and the Croatian Employers’ Association (Hrvatska udruga poslodavaca) are organising this conference to bring together academics and practitioners and to continue the debate on these issues. An excellent lineup of international and Croatian speakers will address the topic from multiple angles, combining legal analysis with practical perspectives from the procurement community.
We look forward to welcoming you. Attendance is free with prior registration.

 

PROGRAMME

08.30 – 09.00
Registration

09.00 – 09.15
Welcome

09.15 – 10.45
Panel 1: The External Dimension of EU Public Procurement
Moderator: Mario Rašić
Roberto Caranta – ”Turning Carrots into Sticks? What the Future Holds for the External Dimension of Public Procurement”
Sarah Schoenmaekers – ”Made in Europe and Buy European – From Gentle Branding to Bold Commanding?”
Annamaria La Chimia – ”Buy Local in the Global Context – Aid Given by the EU”

10.45 – 11.15
Coffee

11.15 – 12.45
Panel 2: “Public Procurement as a Geopolitical Tool”
Moderator: Mario Rašić
Pedro Telles – ”Kolin and Qingdao Implications after 18 Months”
Hrvoje Stojić – ”Differences in Macroeconomic Effects Between Domestic and Third-country Bidders in Infrastructure Projects”
Maja Kuhar – ”Anti-Coercion Instrument- Using Trade as a Geopolitical Weapon”

12.45 – 13.45
Lunch

13.45 – 15.15
Book presentation – Marko Turudić – ”Third-Country Economic Operators in EU Public Procurement Law – Conditions for Market Participation”
Moderator: Mario Rašić
Discussant – Roberto Caranta

15.15 – 15.30
Concluding remarks

 

SPEAKERS

  • Professor Roberto Caranta is a Full Professor with the Law Department of the University of Turin (Italy). His work focuses on public procurement, particularly sustainable public procurement and remedies, as well as EU and comparative administrative law, with special attention to judicial protection. He is the Coordinator of the Horizon 2020 SAPIENS International Training Network (Sustainability and Procurement in International, European, and National Systems – Grant 956696),
  • Sarah Schoenmaekers is a Professor of European Economic Law at Maastricht University, endowed professor of EU law (more specifically with regard to ‘the culturally corrected market economy’) at the Open Universiteit and professor of construction law at Hasselt University. Sarah is specialized in European economic law. In her research she focuses particularly on European public procurement law, free movement law and the link between EU economic law and culture.
  • Annamaria La Chimia is Full Professor of Law and Development and Director of the Public Procurement Research Group at the University of Nottingham. Her research focuses on aid effectiveness, development aid procurement, and the external dimension of public procurement, and she has advised organisations including the World Bank, the European Commission, and OECD/SIGMA. She is the author of Tied Aid and Development Aid Procurement in the Framework of EU and WTO Law (Hart, 2013) and co-editor of Public Procurement and Aid Effectiveness (Hart, 2019).
  • Pedro Telles, Associate Professor in Public Procurement Law at Copenhagen Business School, is an expert in public procurement regulation, interested in analysing the law in context and changing practice. His recent papers focus on electronic procurement and data, market integration, and how procurement rules shape transparency, cross-border competition, and sustainability.
  • Hrvoje Stojić has been Chief Economist at the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP) since 2022, focusing on competitiveness policy, the investment climate, and energy and ICT policies. He previously spent over twenty years in the financial industry, leading economic research at Addiko Group and macro strategy at PBZ Croatia Osiguranje, and served as President of the Chief Economists’ Club at the Croatian Banking Association. He is a multiple recipient of FocusEconomics awards for forecasting accuracy across several countries and the euro area.
  • Maja Kuhar is President of the State Commission for the Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures of the Republic of Croatia. She has extensive experience in public procurement across multiple government bodies, including as adviser at the State Commission early in her career and as Deputy State Secretary at the Central State Office for Central Public Procurement. She is a lecturer on the international Public Procurement Excellence programme organised by the WU Executive Academy Vienna and teaches at the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb.