EuroHealthNet responds to consultation on Public Procurement Directives
Public procurement in Europe amounts to around 14% of the European Union’s gross domestic product (GDP) each year. The scale of this creates major economic leverage that can be used to advance sustainability, social justice, and territorial prosperity. Yet, many contracting authorities still struggle to translate social and environmental objectives into tender requirements. This can lead to the lowest bid being accepted and results in less healthy, less sustainable, and less socially responsible outcomes, and miss opportunities to support local and regional economies and small-scale sustainable producers.
Revising the Public Procurement Directives can help ensure that strategic and sustainable procurement is not an optional “best effort” choice, but the default across the European Union. EuroHealthNet urges the following to be considered in the revisions:
- Leverage food procurement (around €50 billion annually) to shift food production and consumption towards more sustainable models that also promote fair wages and workers’ rights.
- Establish a clear distinction between general and sectoral legislation with updated criteria, and to have food-specific EU sectoral legislation.
- Simplification should take into consideration clear guidelines and more flexibility in the choice of procedures so that municipalities are informed on what to ask for.
- A targeted “Made in Europe” approach in the food sector can help reduce strategic dependencies, strengthen food sovereignty and food security, and support European farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises.
- Social protections to workers in the food chain, including migrants and underpaid workers, positive gender specific impact, secured equal pay and safer work spaces; and strengthens the social and solidarity economy.
Read EuroHealthNet’s consultation response here.
