The potential of Public Procurement for Social Economy enterprises

Background

In his recent report on the single market, which was welcomed by the EESC, former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta called for acceleration of measures in the European Commission’s Social Economy Action Plan, focusing on the strategic use of public procurement to support the social economy.

Access to public procurement is crucial for social economy entities. 250 000 public authorities spend the equivalent of more than 14% of the EU’s annual GDP, amounting to EUR 15 trillion, in the form of public procurement.

To improve social economy entities’ access to public procurement, innovative criteria with real, non-market value such as the commons, social and ecological added value and territorial proximity should be established.

But quality criteria, plus social, environmental and innovation considerations are currently not included in tender documents. As a consequence, most Member States’ contracting authorities award tenders above the EU thresholds solely on the basis of the lowest price or cost.

Member States should carry out all the measures proposed in the Recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions to help social economy entities access public procurement. In this Recommendation, the Council recommends that Member States encourage their contracting authorities to pursue social objectives and purchase goods and services strategically.

In the Recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions, the Council recommends that ‘Member States encourage their contracting authorities to purchase goods and services strategically, pursue social objectives, also taking into consideration social innovation and environmental goals’. It also states that ‘[t]o that end, they are encouraged to make full use of the tools available under Union public procurement rules, including those for the organisation of certain services, known as services to the person and as general interest services, through a specific regime, inspired by the principle of solidarity’.

The European Commission has launched various interesting initiatives in this field. A valid example is #WeBuySocialEU, which demonstrates how the use of public procurement contributes to achieving social objectives in the EU, and encourages contracting authorities to integrate social considerations into their policies and practices.

Key points:

In its opinion, the EESC:

  • points out that access to public procurement is crucial for social economy entities and stresses the importance of establishing innovative criteria with real, non-market value;
  • calls on the Member States and the different levels of government to implement all of the measures and actions in the Recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions in order to help social economy entities access the public procurement market, using proportionate selection criteria, for example, or dividing contracts into lots;
  • calls for an extensive evaluation and revision of the European public procurement framework in the current legislative term.

The text of the draft opinion can be found here.

Additional information

Section: Single Market, Production and Consumption (INT)

Opinion number: INT/1056

Opinion type: Own-initiative opinion

Rapporteur: Ferre Wyckmans

Reference: Rule 52(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Date of adoption by section: 1/10/2024

Result of the vote: 59 in favour/ against/ abstentions                                                   

Date of adoption in plenary: 23/10/2024–24/10/2024

Result of the vote: 237 in favour/ 1 against/ 4 abstentions

 

Contacts:

Press officer: Leonardo Pavan/Laura Lui          

Tel.: 00 32 2 546 9189

Email: leonardo.pavan@eesc.europa.eu/laurairena.lui@eesc.europa.eu

 

Administrator: Annalisa Tessarolo

Tel.: +32 2 546 9732

Email: Annalisa.Tessarolo@eesc.europa.eu