"As governments are major buyers of goods and services, foreign companies are keen to be able to participate in procurement opportunities on an equal footing with national firms. This has given rise to the inclusion of procurement disciplines in trade agreements and to internationally-agreed...

The rapid spread of COVID-19, firstly in Italy, exerted an impossible pressure on the EU and its Member States. Criticism of the speed of EU’s response to the pandemic, especially with regard to Italy, and signs of a lack of coordination accentuated by an initial “selfish” stance by some...