3. That the EU make the legislative environment more 'SPP friendly'. Contracting authorities must be allowed to require suppliers to have effective sustainability policies in place. A shift is needed from enabling the Member States to pursue SPP to requiring them to buy sustainably by increasing the amount of mandatory sectoral legislation and by requiring contracting authority to take into account the life-cycle costs associated with their purchases. 1 Non-solution: Simply relying on the goodwill of individual procurement officers or policy makers without providing training and networking opportunities on SPP and information and communication tools; leaving the regulatory burden of pushing SPP forward on the shoulders of Member States. Instruments: The Commission, including DG Devco in its procurement activities in Official Development Assistance (ODA), and other EU institutions should lead by example concerning the professionalisation of procurement officials and the creation of competence centres. The Commission should act as a catalyst for the network of competence centres, and adequate funds should be released to fund the actions recommended under solution point 1 above. The Commission, possibly together with OECD, should collect data on breaches of environmental and social rules, including those protecting human rights, and make that data available to contracting authorities. The other solutions under points 2 and 3 mainly require amendments to Directives 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU. Ad hoc rules need to be adopted to enact further sectoral mandatory legislation.1 At the beginning of 2020, in the leaked draft of Communication from the Commission on new Circular Economy Action Plan, the Commission clearly states that the EU public procurement reform 'has not led to sufficient uptake if Green Public Procurement (GPP) yet'. Therefore, the Commission will propose minimum mandatory green criteria and targets for public procurement in key sectors. See: https://www.euractiv.com/section/circulareconomy/news/leak-eus-new-circular-economy-plan-aims-to-halve-waste-by-2030/ Similarly in the recent Communication from the Commission titled: Sustainable Europe Investment Plan, European Green Deal Investment Plan (14 Jan 2020): 'The Commission will propose minimum mandatory green criteria or targets for public procurements in sectorial initiatives, EU funding or product-specific legislation. Such minimum criteria will 'de facto' set a common definition of what a 'green purchase' is, allowing collection of comparable data from public buyers, and setting the basis for assessing the impact of green public procurements. Public authorities across Europe will be encouraged to integrate green criteria and use labels in their procurements. The Commission will support these efforts with guidance, training activities and the dissemination of good practices. At the same time, life-cycle-costing methodologies should be applied by public buyers whenever possible. The Commission calls on all players, including industry, to dev...

No abstract

From 2018, it became mandatory to obtain the Icelandic Equal Pay Standard (ÍST85) for all companies with 25+ employees annually operating on the Icelandic market. It has been unclear to what extent – if any – the ÍST85 can be applied in public procurements. This article analyses whether the ÍST85 is compliant with the relevant European Union internal market law, particularly public procurement law. The growing intensity of nudges to include and verify social elements in public procurements can be observed throughout the EU. The analysis of the Islandic case study bears relevance as it can be applied to the EU Member States and other EEA/EFTA States, contemplating similar approaches in their procurements. Section 1 introduces ÍST85. Section 2 analyses the relationship between EEA and EU law, showcasing that this article's analytical outcomes provide lessons applicable beyond Iceland. Section 3 examines how equal pay is regulated under EU law. Section 4 conducts an internal market analysis of ÍST85 compliance by examining the Treaties provisions on free movement. Section 5 introduces the EU public procurement law and examines ÍST85 compliance with Directive 2014/24/EU. Section 6 tests the application of ÍST85 to the Posted Workers Directive. Section 7 concludes the article.

No abstract

No abstract