The launch of the consultation has already prompted a broad and sometimes controversial discussion. The current public procurement directives allow for greater consideration of social and environmental aspects in principle. However, in particular trade unions believe that the current voluntary provisions are insufficient. At the same time, complaints have been raised concerning the increasing complexity of procurement procedures, and companies are calling for a more “pragmatic” policy. The current discussion is thus characterised by a conflict of interests: on the one hand, the aim is to more firmly anchor social and environmental standards in public procurement procedures, while there are loud calls for simplification and a reduction in regulatory obligations on the other.

Business associations in favour of simplification and deregulation
Corporate representatives are opposed to a revision of the public procurement act that would create an instrument for enforcing social and/or environmental objectives. They want the focus to be on economic expediency and efficiency in public fund use. Furthermore, they mention the risk of market distortions. In their view, favouring companies solely on the basis of social or environmental standards could undermine fair competition. Their demand therefore is that economic criteria should play the key role.

Trade unions demand social responsibility and fair working conditions
Many stakeholders at European level stress the necessity of using public procurement as a lever for social and environmental goals. In particular, the awarding of contracts to companies that comply with collective agreements is a key point. After all, not all EU Member States have such a high  density of collective agreements as Austria. Overall, the aim is to ensure fair wages and working conditions for employees. There are also calls for strengthening environmental sustainability criteria in order to support, among other, the EU climate targets.

The proposal put forward by UNI Europa is that companies participating in tenders must actively confirm that they apply a collective agreement. This confirmation should earn the bidder more points under the selection criteria or quality assessment. This would simplify the process while at the same time safeguarding social standards, as was also pointed out at an event held by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) on 3 March 2025. In any case, the lowest price must not be the only award criterion.

There is agreement that the complexity of the procurement rules is a major challenge, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The threshold values and the multitude of requirements often effectively exclude SMEs from the procurement competition.

Balancing act between simplification and social responsibility
The coming months will show which direction of the reform of the public procurement directives will take. In his Mission Letter, Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President of the EU Commission for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, has been given the task of revising public procurement law, with the aim of ensuring security of supply for certain vital technologies, products and services while simplifying the rules and reducing administrative burden. The reform should enable preference for European products in public procurement for certain strategic sectors and technologies. The EU Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) is currently working on a resolution containing recommendations. Unfortunately, the draft report of the resolution does not include a recommendation with regard to using collective agreements as an award criterion. However, the draft opinion of the EU Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) does refer to the importance of the right to collective bargaining in several places. The vote on the resolution is scheduled for July 2025.

AK's demands
AK has also been addressing this important topic for some time and participated in the consultation. AK supports the plan to use public procurement for industrial policy and strategic purposes. In order to promote the development of leading European companies, a certain share of European added value should be defined as a prerequisite for awards. The special provisions for public services (transport, water supply and disposal, energy, postal services) must be retained and further developed in the sense of a triple - i.e. green, digital and social - transformation. In terms of sustainability and European added value, three points are central to reforming public procurement law: introducing the best-bidder principle instead of the lowest-bidder principle (obligation of public clients to take socio-environmental criteria into account), combating wage and social dumping (general contractor liability and shortening the permissible subcontractor chain) and simplifying public procurement law by opening up the possibility of direct awards to strengthen the regional economy.

Further information:
EU Commission: Revision of EU procurement directives - Consultation
AK EUROPA Position Paper: Revision of the EU public procurement directives – consultation
AK EUROPA: Public procurement. How can it be made more socially and environmentally sustainable?
AK EUROPA Policy Brief: Public procurement based on social and environmental criteria
UNI Europa:  No Public Contract Without Collective Agreement
ETUC: European trade unions call for simplified pro-worker procurement rules