Jyrki Katainen, vice president of the European Commission | John Thys/AFP via Getty Images Commission Vice-President: EU ‘cannot afford’ Macron’s Buy European Act

European Commission vice president Jyrki Katainen Monday warned against French President-elect Emmanuel Macron's proposal for a "Buy European Act," which he said would distort the EU market.

"Buy European" is a key plank of Macron's economic policy, which would restrict access to public procurement contracts in the EU — like rail and infrastructure projects — to those companies that have at least half of their production inside the bloc.

“I strongly believe that Europeans are capable of providing services and goods that fulfill the expectations of European consumers without any artificial rules, which would force people or local authorities to only buy European [products] without a reason,” the Finnish Commissioner told reporters in Brussels.

He added that “the EU as a whole cannot afford to restrict public procurement,” and pushed instead for a “global public procurement system,” although he recognized that this was difficult to achieve.

Katainen was generally positive about the effect that Macron would have on EU trade policy.

“When I listen to what Emmanuel Macron said during the campaign, he seemed to have been a very active shaper of globalization instead of building walls around France, so I expect that France will be a strong influencer” in advancing the EU's trade policy and benefiting from globalization, Katainen said, adding that his election was "good" for Europe.

Katainen will present a Commission policy paper with proposals "to influence the future of globalization" on Wednesday.