Eurodiaconia has published a report update “Assessing the impact and uptake of social criteria in Public Procurement” where we take stock of the transposition into national legislation of Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement and the uptake of the opportunities created by its social dimension.

The Directive 2014/24/EU was adopted in February 2014 and since then, its rules have been transposed into all national legislations. The Directive introduced some noteworthy opportunities for the incorporation of a greater social dimension in public procurement. However, seven years after the enactment of the Directive, the information we receive from our members is that the social potential of the Directive has not been sufficiently tapped and the implementation of EU rules on public procurement still represents a challenge.

Here are some of our recommendations:

  • We call on the European Commission to continue encouraging Member States, regional governments, and local authorities to increase the uptake of the social dimension of public procurement for instance, through training and other appropriate support measures for buyers and bidders.
  • The Commission should organise a stock-taking exercise of the transposition of the Directive with specific emphasis on social elements, to steer further action after concrete areas for development have been identified.
  • A review of the effectiveness and adequacy of public procurement in funding social services should be conducted at the EU level revisions introduced where needed. Moreover, the European Commission should promote the use of other models of financing social services such user-based modalities (personal budgets or service vouchers), public-private collaboration agreements, and the use of public grants.

You can access our full report here.