By the European Think Tank Pour la Solidarité - March 2013

What about the work of the European Union on the public procurement reform?

“The two reports on public procurement have been voted on December 18 and January 24. The next reforms were decided during the IMCO meeting on February 21, 2013.  In this assembly, the members voted the mandate for the beginning of the trilogue, i.e. the negotiation process between the Parliament, the Commission and the Council“.

Why is the “Public procurement Directive” important for the social economy sector?  

“The reform on public procurement has an impact on social economy because the directive touches all public procurements; also sanitary and social services, which are one of the ground basis of social economy. Indeed, a large number of social economy firms are active in lots of indicated sectors (construction industry, service-vouchers and personal services).

As rapporteur of the “public procurement” directive, I have tried to transpose the principles of social economy into public procurements, in other words, I took into account other criteria such as responsible purchasing and inclusion of marginalized people. Furthermore, I believe that it is essential to include actors of social economy in the implementation of the public procurement reform“.

What part the European Parliament, and more specifically its rapporteur, can play in the public procurement reform?

“The European Parliament is a co-decision-maker in the ordinary legislative procedure, created by the Lisbon Treaty. The EP has the same power as the Council in the legislative process. The Rapporteur leads the negotiations. She/he provides the guidelines and the political orientations of the case and is also responsible for elaborating the synthesis on the statements of the other political groups”.

What are the next steps in this field?

“The next steps have been determined during the meeting on February 21 at the same time that the beginning of the trilogue“.