Digital Sovereignty Anchored in Public Procurement Law

A new law that anchors digital sovereignty as a quality criterion for public procurement is scheduled for its second and third readings in the German Bundestag tomorrow. The initiative is driven by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, which highlights digital independence as crucial for state sovereignty in the 21st century.

Ralph Brinkhaus, head of the CDU/CSU group's working group on digitalization and state modernization, stated that digital sovereignty is a key issue for a state's independence. He considers the legislative amendment a significant achievement, granting public contracting authorities the ability to inquire about suppliers' capabilities to maintain digital control over procured systems.

Konrad Körner, the rapporteur for the legislation, described the proposal as a means to make public procurement simpler and more flexible. He believes it will facilitate the selection of digitally sovereign products and could potentially exempt security-critical IT procurements from existing regulations.

The background to this legislation involves an amendment to Germany's Act Against Restraints of Competition (GWB), which will henceforth include aspects of cybersecurity and digital sovereignty. Additionally, the Ordinance on Awarding Public Contracts (VGV) will be modified to ensure that factors related to digital sovereignty—such as interoperability, open systems, data processing traceability, and personnel security requirements—can serve as relevant and decisive quality criteria in procurement processes.