Corruption in public procurement/internal market

Background

This own-initiative opinion from the European Economic and Social Committee addresses the problem of public procurement and corruption, especially within the framework of EU competences.

Over the past few years, public authorities have responded to successive crises by increasing public investment to secure and maintain a core level of goods and services.

These resources help to ensure Europe’s prosperity, competitiveness and social cohesion. However, the resulting increase in public procurement presents opportunities for corrupt players to profit from public investment at the expense of the general public.

Corruption linked to EU public procurement has an impact not only on the Union's financial integrity, but also on the core policies at the heart of its internal market.

This EESC opinion argues that the EU needs to assess whether the current legal environment relating to EU public procurement is suitable for today's and tomorrow's fight against corruption. In particular, the EESC sees the regulatory framework as being too fragmented and calls for a re-focus on the values underpinning the EU's social, economic and environmental strategy.

The EESC also voices its support for an EU strategy to address corruption as a global phenomenon that requires effective anti-corruption institutions, prevention mechanisms and an international regulatory framework, together with asset recovery and criminal prosecution within the EU.

Key points

The EESC:

• emphasises that efforts to fight corruption should be better aligned with efforts to safeguard and develop democracy in the EU, noting that corrupt practices can offer political players illegal gains, which they use as resources to campaign and maintain their clientelism-based support system;
• calls for the European public procurement market to be more advanced in digitisation, and for the Commission to continue to provide national authorities with technical support throughout this difficult process;
• encourages the Commission and other EU and national institutions to consider worker representation, collective bargaining and social dialogue as key instruments to make anti-corruption effective at all levels.

Link to full opinion

Additional information

• EESC section responsible: Single Market, Production and Consumption (INT)
• Opinion type: own-initiative opinion
• Rapporteur: José Antonio MORENO DÍAZ (Workers – ES)
• Co-rapporteur:  Cristian PÎRVULESCU (Civil Society Organisations – RO)
• Date of adoption by section: 20/12/2023
• Outcome of vote: 43 votes for, with no abstentions
• Date of adoption by plenary: 17/01/2024
• Outcome of vote: 219 votes for, with no abstentions

Contacts

Daniela MARANGONI

• Press officer
• Tel.: + 32 2 546 8422 | Mob: +32 475 99 94 32
• email: daniela.marangoni@eesc.europa.eu

Silvia STAFFA

• Policy officer
• Tel.: +32 2 546 8422
• email: silvia.staffa@eesc.europa.eu