Article 53 — Cases justifying use of the negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice in the context of a defence cooperation initiative

A contracting authority of a Member State, where it establishes a new or joins an existing genuine defence cooperation initiative established by an international agreement or arrangement between Member States and, where relevant, one or more associated countries or Ukraine, with the aim of the convergence of military capabilities, may award a contract to, or conclude a framework agreement on a defence product with, an undertaking, in accordance with Article 28(1), point (e), of Directive 2009/81/EC, provided that all of the following conditions are met: (a) the undertaking concerned complies with criteria equivalent to those laid down in Article 9(1), (3) and (4); (b) the defence cooperation initiative referred to in the introductory sentence of this Article was initiated prior to the commencement of the procurement procedure by the contracting authority of the Member State concerned; (c) one of the other Member States participating in the defence cooperation initiative referred to in the introductory sentence of this Article has already awarded a contract to, or concluded a framework agreement on a defence product with, that undertaking; (d) the defence product to be procured is identical to the one referred to in point (c) of this Article or is subject to minor modifications only; (e) the award of the contract or the conclusion of the framework agreement is necessary for the implementation of the defence cooperation initiative referred to in point (b) of this Article.