1. Launching SAPIENS Network Working Paper Series
The SAPIENS Network is thrilled to announce the launch of its Working Paper Series, an initiative dedicated to showcasing the research of our Early Stage Researchers. Working papers are preliminary drafts of original research, offering a unique glimpse into the studies and innovative ideas brewing within our network. These documents serve as a platform for researchers to share their findings with the academic community and the wider public, inviting feedback and fostering scholarly dialogue. By publishing these works in progress, the SAPIENS Network aims to encourage collaboration, stimulate intellectual exchange, and accelerate the dissemination of research insights. This series is a testament to our commitment to advancing knowledge and supporting the next generation of scholars in their quest to explore uncharted territories across various disciplines.
2. First Working Paper: Deforestation and Public Procurement
Our first working paper comes from ESR12 Federica Muscaritoli and ESR15 Chiara Falvo with their research work on the new EU Deforestation-Free Regulation and Public Procurement in the EU. The working paper has been previously presented at the 4th International Conference on Public Procurement Law in Africa, where it received feedback and was later reviewed by supervisors Ass. Prof. Marta Andhov and Professor Roberto Caranta.
3. Abstract
Deforestation and forest degradation are major environmental and socio-economic challenges threatening biodiversity and local communities’ livelihoods and exacerbating climate change. The global demand for certain agricultural commodities and products is one of the main drivers of these phenomena. In an attempt to respond to increasing pressures from EU stakeholders and to curb consumption-driven deforestation, the EU recently adopted Regulation 2023/1115, the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The EUDR applies to a list of commodities and products that are strongly linked to deforestation and forest degradation and are often part of global and complex supply chains. Under the EUDR, relevant commodities and products can be placed on or be exported from the EU market only if they are deforestation-free and legally produced. To this end, the Regulation foresees targeted due diligence obligations for market actors to ensure the traceability of their supply chains, collect information, and assess and mitigate risks. The EUDR also includes a procurement-specific provision establishing the “temporary exclusion from public procurement processes for a maximum period of 12 months” as a minimum penalty for the breach of its provisions. This Working Paper provides an overview of this new legal instrument and analyses the interplay between its rules and EU public procurement law. In particular, it aims to characterise this new “deforestation exclusion” in light of the regime on exclusion provided by Directive 2014/24/EU.
Chiara Falvo
ESR 15 - PhD Fellow at the University of Turin
Chiara Falvo conducts her research at the University of Turin on the various techniques to promote sustainable food and catering procurement. She has a master’s degree in Law from the University of Milan with a final thesis on “Collective Access to Justice in Brazilian Law” and an academic minor in Sustainable Development. Chiara completed an Erasmus+ exchange in Paris and a research exchange in Rio de Janeiro through a merit scholarship. She has professional and academic experience in Italian, English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish.
A brief explanation of her research is available here.
Federica Muscaritoli
ESR 12 - PhD Fellow at the University of Copenhagen
Federica researches at the University of Copenhagen on the interplay between EU public procurement law and EU environmental law, especially climate change mitigation aspects. The output of the study provides a detailed analysis of the two legal regimes through three different lenses: the first one is through the objectives and principles of EU public procurement law, the second is through the environmental principles contained in the EU Treaties, and the third through EU relevant secondary legislation placed at an equal footage as EU public procurement law.
Federica taught Governmental contracts and Udbudsret (Public Procurement Law) during a.y. 2021/2022.
A brief explanation of her research is available here.
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