II.A.3.1. Verify instrument eligibility and compliance

• Review the procurement instrument selected in II.A.1 and ensure it meets the requirements set by EU and national regulations.
• Identify any procedural exemptions or specific clauses relevant to PCP, PPI, or Innovation Partnership.
• Confirm internal agreement on the selected instrument before advancing and consortium building (II.B.2).

II.A.3.2. Justify the legal basis in the proposal

• Draft a short justification explaining why the selected instrument is appropriate for the identified need and compliant with public procurement law.

II.A.3.3. Maintenance of full records for legal compliance.

• Document and justify each decision to allow a full audit trail that guarantees good administration and legal compliance.

Option 1: Understand and apply PCP legal elements

• Justify the selection of the instrument, confirming that no commercially available innovative solutions exist and that new R&D is required to address the unmet need.
• Ensure that the PCP process follows the fundamental EU principles of transparency, equal treatment, and proportionality throughout, even though it is exempt from standard public procurement rules.

Option 2: Understand and apply PPI legal elements

• Justify the choice of the instrument and clearly state that innovative solutions exist but are not widely adopted/commercialised yet, so no new R&D is needed.
• Beware that PPI must follow EU public procurement rules and corresponding national implementation provisions. Compliance with procurement principles and procedures must be guaranteed at all stages of the process.
• Note that the procurer cannot purchase the innovation developed during PCP directly from one of the suppliers, and competition must be guaranteed. Thus, the procurer must organise a separate commercial procurement procedure in compliance with the procurement directives.
• Suppliers from Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) partners and other countries that have signed an international agreement with the EU must be granted access to the commercial phase of the procurement and have the right to equal treatment.