Brussels, 26/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 25 June, the Irish Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament reached a political agreement on the legislative package revising the European rules on public procurement and introducing a European framework for service concessions.
Reforming the rules on public procurement is a good opportunity to stimulate growth and jobs in Europe, said Irish Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin, speaking of simplified access for SMEs to public procurement contracts through the division of markets into lots as a “fundamental” element of the reform.
Marc Tarabella (S&D, Belgium), the European Parliament's rapporteur, listed the gains achieved - public procurement will no longer depend on bidding for the lowest price; working conditions and workers' rights will have to be taken into consideration; and public authorities will have to request that tenderers provide details on how they respect the environment, social rights and collective bargaining. “We have also ensured that transparency is enforced in the chain of subcontractors” so as to fight against “social dumping” more effectively, he said.
Water sector excluded from concessions directive. The European Parliament's rapporteur on the concessions directive, Philippe Juvin (EPP, France), raised the issue of the controversy that started in Germany on the attempt to privatise some public services, such as water management. “Nothing could be more wrong”, he stated, asserting in a press release that the water sector has been excluded from the scope of application of the concessions directive. Juvin added that “it's up to the public authorities to choose how they organise their public services. But if they choose to award a concession contract, we now have clear rules which will balance the needs of the parties involved in a contract.”
The national ambassadors to the EU will give their opinion on the provisional agreement this Thursday. The plenary vote of the European Parliament is planned for the autumn. (MB/transl.fl)