Breakthrough on public contracts

MEPs and EU governments have broken a deadlock on rules for awarding public contracts.

The compromise was reached after "very tough" debate in a conciliation committee between European Parliament and national government representatives on Tuesday night, according to a spokesman.

Under the compromise, environmental and social concerns can only be taken into account when handing out public contracts if there is an established link with the nature of the contract.

For example, member states can now reserve certain contracts for "sheltered workshops" for disabled employees, without having to open them to any bidder.

But contracts for the purchase of schoolbooks will not be excluded from the scope of the laws, as was agreed in the European Parliament in July.

MEPs and member states had wrangled over the two proposals on public contracts, one covering general public contracts and the other a more specific law on the procurement of contracts for utilities such as water, energy and transport.

MEPs wanted to introduce environmental and social criteria into the rules on public contracts, and rapporteur Stefano Zappala almost rejected the common position taken by EU governments in the Council.

Their position followed a ruling last year by the European Court of Justice that a Helsinki bus company was justified in taking account of environmental concerns in awarding its contracts.
 
The bus company had faced a court challenge by a losing company for trying to promote a reduction in air pollution in the city.

Finally the council conceded it would introduce such criteria for certain contracts.

But it rejected parliament calls to exclude the purchase of schoolbooks from the directive on the grounds it would threaten competitivity and go against the grain of the proposals.

The proposals now need a majority vote in the parliament plenary session, and a qualified majority vote at the council.

The European Commission on Wednesday welcomed the breakthrough.

Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein said "Europe needs these reforms of public procurement rules and I trust the agreement will now be endorsed by the parliament and the council."

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