Modernising Public Procurement: Key demands for sustainable development in public procurement

30 June 2011(Brussels) – The Network for Sustainable Development in Public Procurement (EPSU, GMB, UNISON, EMF, EFFAT, EFBWW, SOLIDAR, EFTA, Fairtrade International, WFTO-Europe, FERN, EMCEF, Ver.di, TUC, ENSIE, UNI Europa, Setem, and NETWORKWEAR) on the occasion of the European Commission’s Conference “modernising public procurement”1 on 30 June 2011 reiterates their ‘five key demands’ for the revision of the procurement Directives.

These demands call for public procurement to contribute to a socially sustainable economy that focuses on quality employment, decent work, international labour standards, fair trade, environmental and sustainability objectives rather than just the existence of an internal market.

In the ‘key demands’ the Network stresses that when public authorities buy sustainable products and services this contributes to the EU objectives of sustainable development and the EU 2020 strategy. Value for money/best value in public contracting is not achieved by going for lowest price – it is achieved only when wider social, ethical and environmental benefits are given clear weight in public procurement decisions.

The Network expects the follow up to the Green Paper on public procurement to take this on board.

Read the ‘five demands’ in English or French.

The Network’s contribution to the procurement debate builds on earlier work on the inconsistencies between internal market policies influencing public procurement and wider social and sustainability policy objectives and commitments of the EU. Read the Evaluation in English, French, German, Swedish and Russian, here.

Download the press release in pdf, here.

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