(29/01/04) Parlement stemt regeling inzake openbare aanbestedingen

• 2004-01-29

De nieuwe regelgeving inzake openbare aanbestedingen is een verbetering ten opzichte van de huidige toestand. De Europese Groenen hadden niettemin graag iets meer aandacht gehad voor de sociale en ecologische aspecten en voor eerlijke handel.

New public procurement rules: missed opportunity to promote green policies

The Greens/EFA in the European Parliament today welcomed a new directive on public procurement adopted which was endorsed by a large majority of MEPs (414 yes, 23 no, 29 abstentions). Green MEPs however criticised the legislation for not going far enough on social, environmental and fair trade issues.

Finnish MEP Uma Aaltonen said: "This directive brings much-needed reform to the rules for public sector procurement and public procurement contracts. It is certainly an improvement on the rules currently in place. However, we are deeply disappointed that the Council considerably watered down the good proposals made by the European Parliament in compromise negotiations. We wanted the EU's aims of promoting social cohesion and integrating environmental sustainability in all policy issues to be adequately addressed. Council obviously thought otherwise."

Belgian Ecolo MEP Pierre Jonckheer said: "We are facing a situation where most Member States are lagging behind in fulfilling the targets for sustainable development of the EU economy that were agreed in Gothenburg. This directive could have been a powerful instrument for the promotion and implementation of these targets and could have supported the switch from traditional to new and more environmentally friendly technologies. Given that public procurement counts for around 14% of the Union's GDP, refocusing procurement rules could have a considerable impact."

Swedish MEP Inger Schörling said: "A huge opportunity to promote green procurement has been missed. The new directive is rather ambiguous, so it will be up to individual municipalities to explore how far they can apply ecological and social criteria to their procurement procedures. We will encourage environmentally 'pioneering' countries and municipalities to explore all of the possibilities that the new directive offers. Public procurement is funded with citizens' money, and our citizens have the right to ensure that their money is spent supporting sustainable development, which, as they know, contributes to the quality of their life – and the life of their children."