Defence or security contracts excluded or exempted from the Agreement on procurement or from another equivalent international agreement to which the European Union is a party shall be awarded to economic operators from Member States of the European Union.
The purchaser may, however, authorise, on a case-by-case basis, economic operators from a country outside the European Union to take part in an award procedure.
The purchaser’s decision shall take into account, in particular, the imperatives of security of information and supply, the preservation of the interests of defence and State security, the interest of developing the European defence technological and industrial base, the objectives of sustainable development, the obtaining of mutual benefits and the requirements of reciprocity.