ABSTRACT
Non-tariff protection represents a disguised form of discrimination and can take place through a wide spectrum of administrative or legislative frameworks relating to public monopolies, fiscal factors such as indirect taxation, state aids and subsidisation, technical standards and last but not least public procurement. Public procurement could be best described as the supply chain system for the acquisition of all necessary goods, works and services by the state and its organs when acting in pursuit of public interest. Public Procurement has been considered as the most important non-tariff barrier for the completion of the common market and its regulation received priority by the European Union Institutions and the Member States. The liberalisation of public markets reflects the attempts of the European Institutions to enhance competitiveness in the public sector and industrial efficiency in order to achieve a uniform pattern of industrial policy at centralised level. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
