IMCO opposes mandatory qualitative award criteria.

The resolution on procurement reform is beginning to take shape. On 7 July, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) adopted, by 34 votes to 49, the draft own-initiative report on procurement law reform by ECR rapporteur Piotr Müller, including amendments. The report is scheduled to be voted on in Parliament after the summer recess and – according to the wishes of the MEPs – is to serve as the basis for the European Commission's proposal to revise the procurement directives, which is expected in 2026. A key point of debate among the MEPs was the consideration of non-price award criteria of a social, environmental, and geopolitical nature.

S&D calls for binding quality criteria

The report was adopted with the votes of the EPP, Renew, and the Greens. All 13 social democrat committee members voted against the text. The reason for their opposition was the lack of a majority in the committee in favour of making certain qualitative award criteria, such as compliance with collective agreements, mandatory. As a result, the report contains only a call to the Commission: to develop guidelines and a legal framework that provides legal certainty and enables public purchasers to apply social and environmental criteria at their discretion, without disproportionate legal risk.

Price should continue to play a major role

In the own-initiative report, MEPs explicitly emphasised that the primary function of procurement law is to ensure the efficient and transparent procurement of goods and services. Given the economic downturn and rising public debt, any legal changes that could limit the purchasing power of public authorities or reduce the number of suppliers should be carefully assessed. In other words: price takes priority! Everything else should remain optional.

Using procurement strategically

So far, the share of procedures using award criteria other than price remains low. Nevertheless, public procurement could be a useful tool for achieving strategic goals. In order to increase the use of qualitative, non-price criteria, the Commission should publish relevant best practice examples and develop “off-the-shelf” environmental and social criteria. It should also assess how public procurement can be used as a targeted instrument to stimulate demand for innovative and sustainable products made in Europe. The committee remains vague on this point.

Commission in favour of binding award criteria for critical medicines

In contrast, the European Commission already foresees mandatory consideration of non-price criteria in its proposal for the Critical Medicines Act (CMA) – such as stockpiling obligations, diversification through multiple suppliers, supply chain monitoring, or favouring production within the EU. It will be interesting to see which course the Commission will pursue when it presents its proposal to revise the procurement directives next year.