New EU rules on public procurement bring greater emphasis on quality of services

On 15 January, the European Parliament adopted the revised Public Procurement Directive which recognises the specificity of social, health and other services provided directly to individuals. The renewed legislation encourages member states to consider quality, not only price, when awarding contracts for social services.

Inclusion Europe together with other European civil society organisations repeatedly voiced their concerns over a system in which providers of social services were selected merely on the basis of the lowest price. The new directive recognises that some services, such as social and health should be adapted to the needs of users and therefore, the price should not be the only criterion when choosing a service provider. Instead, public authorities should decide according to set of criteria called “MEAT” (Most Economically Advantageous Tender) and take into account quality, environmental aspects or social considerations in addition to cost.

While marking a step to the right direction, the directive, does not oblige member states to consider quality requirements when procuring social services. This means that contracting authorities could still decide to award contracts solely on the basis of their cost. Members of Inclusion Europe will thus closely watch how governments transpose the directive into national public procurement legislation.

Inclusion Europe is also concerned about an article which limits the duration of reserved contracts to non-profit organisations to a maximum of three years. This provision may have negative effects on the continuity of social services and hinder continuous development of their quality.

The directive will enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. After this date, member states will have 24 months to transpose the directive into national legislation.

Adopted legislative texts will become available here.