Brussels wants to use the EU’s vast public purchasing power more strategically, proposing a shake-up of procurement rules that could redirect hundreds of billions of euros towards European industrial, environmental and security goals.
Every year, public authorities across the EU spend about €2.6tn on items ranging from roads and telecoms networks to schools and healthcare, a sum equivalent to roughly 15 per cent of the bloc’s gross national product. But, the European Comm...
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ission argues, that money is still being allocated too mechanically, with too much weight given to the lowest bid and too little to wider policy aims.
“European public money should create jobs here, not fill the order books of our foreign competitors,” the Commission’s commissioner for prosperity and industrial strategy, Stéphane Séjourné, said on Wednesday as he presented the plan.
At the heart of the proposal is a move away from a pure lowest-price model towards a “price-quality” standard. Under the new approach, contracting authorities would be pushed to consider environmental and social factors when awarding work. That could include cleaner energy use, material recycling, decent labour conditions and fair pay. If a municipality, province or national government still chooses to award a contract solely on price, it would have to explain why.
The Commission also wants procurement rules, especially for infrastructure, to take account of economic security. That means allowing authorities to examine the risk of cyberattacks, espionage, interference and foreign influence, as well as dependence on suppliers outside Europe. Although it was not stated bluntly, the move is widely seen as aimed at China and Chinese firms. Brussels would also be able to restrict companies from countries that shut European businesses out of their own markets.
The plan draws on arguments made in 2024 by the former Italian prime ministers Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta, whose reports called for public investment to be used more strategically. They also argued that procurement should be simpler.
In response, the Commission says the current framework is far too cumbersome. The existing EU rules run to around 900 pages across two directives, one regulation and a host of related laws. Brussels wants to replace that with a single 200-page regulation that would tighten the framework for member states while reducing bureaucracy. The Commission estimates the changes would save businesses and governments about €650m a year in administrative costs.
A central part of the reform would be a single digital procurement marketplace for the whole EU. Companies would be able to register once rather than separately in each member state, which the Commission hopes will make participation easier and curb fraud and nepotism.
Séjourné insisted that stronger quality requirements would not automatically make projects more expensive. In his view, more competition and lighter administration should help keep prices in check.
The proposal now goes to the member states and the European Parliament, which must decide whether to approve it, with or without amendments. European trade unions and the federation representing major companies both welcomed the plan on Wednesday.
Source: Noah Wire Services
