European Transport Workers' Federation ETF

What the Commission proposes

The European Commission is preparing a new EU Atlantic Maritime and Macro-regional Strategy to be adopted by June 2027, following a request from the European Council. Building on the existing Atlantic Maritime Strategy and Action Plan, the initiative aims to provide a broader, integrated territorial framework to address shared challenges and opportunities across the Atlantic region. It seeks to improve policy coordination, foster innovative solutions, strengthen multi-level governance, and increase the political weight of Atlantic priorities. The strategy targets the four EU Atlantic Member States and will be established through a non-legislative Communication without an impact assessment.

• Development of a new EU Atlantic Maritime and Macro-regional Strategy by June 2027.
• Builds on and integrates the Atlantic Maritime Strategy and the Atlantic Action Plan.
• Aims to improve policy coordination across EU, national, and regional levels and funding instruments.
• Restricted in scope to the four EU Atlantic Member States: France, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain.
• Will incorporate a monitoring framework integrated into the Commission's biennial reports on macro-regional strategies.
• Takes the form of a non-legislative Communication from the Commission without requiring an impact assessment.

What is asked: Respondents are asked to provide views on the Commission's understanding of the problem and possible solutions, and to share any relevant information they may have regarding the Atlantic maritime and macro-regional strategy initiative.

Summary written by AI from the Commission's document.

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1. Basis for EU action (legal basis and subsidiarity check) Legal basis The primary legal basis for this initiative is set out in Articles 174 and 175 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) detailing objectives that establish the EU’s role in strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion and in reducing disparities between regions. The initiative is also consistent with the legal framework governing European Territorial Cooperation (under Interreg, a series of EU funding programmes to support cooperation).

   Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the..., page 2 (EN)

2. A. Political context, problem definition and subsidiarity check Political context In its conclusions of 18 December 2025, the European Council invited the European Commission, in cooperation with Member States, to develop an EU Macro-regional Strategy for the Atlantic by June 2027, considering the existing Atlantic Maritime Strategy and the Atlantic Action Plan. In response, the purpose of this initiative is to develop an Atlantic Macro-regional Strategy. It builds on the well- established and successful framework for cooperation between the four Atlantic Member States provided by the EU Atlantic Maritime Strategy since 2011, which has focused on developing a sustainable blue economy and related thematic priorities.

   Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the..., page 1 (EN)

3. What does the initiative aim to achieve and how The aim of the future Atlantic Maritime and Macro-regional Strategy is to create a joined-up framework for cooperation across the Atlantic region, to strengthen resilience, security, sustainability, competitiveness and territorial cohesion. In line with the Commission’s approach to mainstreaming the principle of equality, the initiative will take account of equality and non-discrimination considerations, where relevant. Building on existing frameworks, the initiative seeks to improve coordination between existing policies, programmes and stakeholders and enable a common approach to shared challenges. It will also support implementation at regional level of related EU initiatives, such as the European Ocean Pact, the EU strategy for coastal communities and the EU strategy for islands.

   Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the..., page 2 (EN)

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What the Commission proposes

The European Commission proposes a revision of EU public procurement rules through a new regulation that repeals the existing 2014 directives on public procurement, utilities, and concessions. The initiative aims to modernize and simplify rules, reduce administrative burdens, and enable preferences for European products in strategic sectors to secure supply chains and add EU value. It also amends multiple sector-specific regulations and directives containing procurement provisions to improve coherence and transparency. Furthermore, the proposal addresses high administrative burdens and legal uncertainty identified in previous evaluations regarding public buyers and businesses.

• Revises and replaces Directives 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU, and 2014/25/EU with a single Public Procurement Act regulation.
• Enables preference for European products in strategic sectors to ensure security of supply and EU added value.
• Aims to modernize and simplify rules, specifically considering EU start-ups and innovators.
• Amends various sector-specific regulations and directives that contain public procurement provisions.
• Addresses administrative burdens and legal uncertainty that currently affect public buyers and businesses, including SMEs.

Summary written by AI from the Commission's document.

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1. EN 24 EN procurements should be assessed based on an appreciation of all relevant interests taken as a whole, in particular economic, geopolitical and societal interests of the Union, its Member States and its citizens. The relevance of such Union interest is illustrated by sectors such as railways and shipbuilding which, as manufacturing sectors of a dual-use nature, rely on infrastructure, mobile assets and information and communication technology (ICT) and traffic management systems that must be resilient and are critical to military mobility, security, and the Union's strategic autonomy objectives. Their strategic importance has been underlined by recent Union initiatives including the EU Economic Security Strategy, the EU High-Speed Rail Plan, and the EU Maritime Industrial Strategy.

   Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE..., page 25 (EN)

2. [BEU.2] offers a framework for coherent European preference in selected sectors in future acts, through a toolbox of mechanisms to public buyers, while standardising definitions, origin rules and documentation and integrating these tools into the EU digital procurement infrastructure. [BEU.3] makes European preference mandatory by requiring the exclusion of non-EU/EEA or non-covered third-country economic operators, subject only to limited safeguards such as lack of competition or excessive cost. • MPL - [MPL.1] establishes a decentralised network of interconnected national eProcurement platforms linked through an EU interoperability layer.

   Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE..., page 11 (EN)

3. Additionally, a European standard for procurement details should also be requested to be developed by a European standardisation organisation. It should also be clarified that the electronic communication directly within the eProcurement platform chosen by the public buyer remains permitted where it complies with the rules for electronic communication. (53) An important element of the simplification of procurement procedures is to lower the administrative burden contained in the check of the eligibility of the economic operator. To this end, the Commission should set up an electronic eligibility service, which provides information from the up-to-date digital business credential tool of the economic operator as well as any consortium member or subcontractor participating in

   Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE..., page 29 (EN)

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