(a) actions for the common procurement of goods or services which are prohibited by applicable international law;

(b) actions for the common procurement of lethal autonomous weapons without the possibility for meaningful human control over selection and engagement decisions when carrying out strikes against humans.

Article 9

Additional eligibility conditions

1. Member States and associated countries participating in a common procurement shall appoint, by unanimity, a procurement agent to act on their behalf for the purposes of that common procurement. The procurement agent shall carry out the procurement procedures and conclude the resulting contracts with contractors on behalf of the participating countries. The procurement agent may participate in the action as a beneficiary and may act as the coordinator of the consortium, and may therefore be able to manage and combine funds from the Instrument and funds from the participating Member States and associated countries.

This Regulation is without prejudice to the rules on the coordination of procedures for the award of certain works contracts, supply contracts and service contracts by contracting authorities or entities in the fields of defence and security laid down in Directive 2009/81/EC.

2. The procurement procedures referred to in paragraph 1 shall be based on an agreement to be signed by the participating Member States and associated countries with the procurement agent under the conditions set out in the work programme. The agreement shall, in particular, determine the practical arrangements governing the common procurement and the decision-making process on the choice of the procedure, the assessment of the tenders and the award of the contract.

3. The agreement referred to in paragraph 2 may authorise the procurement agent to procure additional quantities of the concerned defence product for Ukraine or Moldova. Such an authorisation shall be unanimously approved by the Member States participating in the common procurement.

Such additional procurement arrangements shall be without prejudice to applicable Union law and be in line with Member States’ national laws and regulations relating to the export of defence-related products.

4. Common procurement procedures and contracts shall include the participation requirements for contractors and subcontractors involved in the common procurement set out in paragraphs 5 to 12.

5. Contractors and subcontractors involved in the common procurement shall be established and have their executive management structures in the Union or in an associated country. They shall not be subject to control by a non-associated third country or by a non-associated third-country entity or, alternatively, they shall have been subject to screening within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2019/452 of the European Parliament and of the Council (22) and, where necessary, to mitigation measures, taking into account the objectives set out in Article 3 of this Regulation.