Lucian Cernat

Dr. Lucian Cernat is a part-time lecturer at the Utrecht University School of Economics and currently serves as a senior official in global regulatory cooperation and public procurement negotiations at the European Commission (DG TRADE). He previously held the role of Chief Trade Economist at the European Commission from 2009 to 2020. Before joining the EU, he worked at the United Nations in Geneva on trade policy development and with the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a trade negotiator.

He holds a PhD from the University of Manchester, with prior studies in engineering and economics at Bucharest University, postgraduate studies at the University of Amsterdam and Oxford, and an executive leadership program at Harvard University.

His research focuses on international public procurement markets, SME participation in cross-border tenders, sustainable procurement, and the impact of digital technologies on procurement processes. He advocates for evidence-based policymaking to address global challenges such as restrictive procurement practices and climate change imperatives.

Dr. Cernat emphasizes the need for adaptive global trade rules to respond to crises like the pandemic and geopolitical shifts, citing the EU’s joint procurement efforts during the pandemic as a model. He is also engaged in shaping the EU’s International Procurement Instrument to modernize procurement frameworks.