Last summer, in July 2025, I successfully defended my PhD dissertation at the University of Hasselt before a committee of esteemed EU specialists in public procurement and circular economy. But that milestone was just the beginning. Over the past year, I have...
Introduction: A New Era for Public Procurement Innovation and Sustainability Does public procurement need more rules or new ones to be a strategic engine for a greener and innovative Europe? The SAPIENS Network is proud to announce the publication of "Rules for a...
About the event On 28 November, distinguished professors and experts from across Europe convened in Brussels for an expert meeting organized under the Belgian and Flemish research consortium Circular Economy Center, dedicated to advancing...
Introduction Staying abreast of the latest legal developments is crucial for navigating the complex public procurement landscape. Our ESR 3, Aura Iurascu recently delved into the latest news from the Italian Council of State, focusing on some significant questions....
1. Continuing the SAPIENS Policy Brief Series with a focus on Circular Economy In today's global economy, linear practices dominate, fueling exponential growth in material consumption, pollution, and waste generation. The EU has embraced a Circular Economy (CE)...
1. Sustainable Public Procurement: From the International Agenda to Actual Buying Practices Aura Iurascu’s research on public procurement and circular economy focuses on the EU and Member States level. However, the relevance of the international context and...
I. Launching the Early Stage Researchers Webinar Series The SAPIENS’ Webinar series is intended to disseminate the research results to the general public, highlighting their societal benefits and communicating the same results to policymakers and sustainable public...
I. Introduction In recent years, national laws focusing on circular economy requirements have increased substantially. Our network has already examined the significant accomplishments achieved in Italy due to the establishment of legally binding minimum...
Our Early-Stage Researcher, Aura Iurascu (Hasselt University) published an open-access journal article titled ‘How Will the Adoption of Mandatory GPP Criteria Change the Game? Lessons from the Italian Experience’. The article was published in Vol. 18, Issue 1,...
I.Introduction The new Italian Public Contract Code (hereafter, the code) was approved on the 28th of March 2023 and entered into force on the 1st of April 2023, with applicability from July 1st, 2023. The code was adopted with the Legislative Decree 31 of March...
