Completing the Puzzle of European Public Procurement Reform: Towards a European System of Supplier Qualification?

Forthcoming reforms of EU public procurement coincide with a broader shift toward a more strategic role of the state, in which procurement is increasingly expected to deliver sustainability, resilience, innovation and, in sensitive sectors, European preference, alongside value for money. This paper argues that supplier qualification constitutes a pivotal but under examined design variable, particularly in works and infrastructure procurement. It develops an analytical framework to assess qualification systems along three dimensions—trust building, cost, and timeline effects—and applies it to the Italian SOA system, the most advanced mandatory pre qualification regime for public works in the EU. The analysis combines legal and institutional assessment with original survey evidence collected in December 2025 from SOA certified Italian construction firms. Findings show that direct cross border participation remains extremely limited and is mainly deterred by information gaps and administrative duplication rather than discrimination at award stage. The paper demonstrates that reusable, legally constitutive pre bid qualification can reduce public verification costs, compress award timelines, and enhance trust. It concludes by outlining three EU policy pathways: strengthened mutual recognition of qualification evidence, an EU enabled system of harmonised supplier qualification bodies issuing reusable passports, and the creation of a European Supplier Qualification Authority (“Euro SOA”).