Strategic procurement ASG remarks SEGPP meeting 15 june

Strategic Procurement: how to achieve green, social and innovation goals through public spending? – Some critical remarks

Dr Albert Sanchez-GraellsEuropean Commission Stakeholder Expert Group on Public Procurement (2015-2018) 3rd meetingBrussels, 15 June 2016

15 June 2016

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Strategic / Smart Procurement: a confusing label• Discussion tends to conflate issues that require

different assessment• Green public procurement• Social public procurement• Innovative public procurement

• Innovation in solutions• Innovation in processes

SEGPP Meeting 15 June 2016

15 June 2016

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What are the main differences / difficulties (I)• Two of the issues can (generally) be pursued in a

competition neutral way and with respect for undistorted market competition• Green public procurement, particularly through

technical specifications/labels and award criteria [but difficulties for life-cycle consting]

• Procedural innovation in public procurement


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What are the main differences / difficulties (II)• Other two issues are (impossible) to pursue in a

competition neutral manner and unavoidably result in market distortion / protectionism• Social public procurement -> social and employment

benefits are necessarily localised (or impossible to delocalise) + Other instruments exist (PWD, PWED)

• Procurement of technological innovation -> has a strong link with industrial policy / State aid


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Different solutions• From an internal market perspective, only 2

systemically-consistent solutions• GPP + Procedural Innovation: application of strict

proportionality test to green or process-related innovation requirements

• SPP + Technological Innovation: limitation of actions in PP that are in compliance with existing rules on social protection and support of R&D&I


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Further details• A Sanchez-Graells, ‘Truly competitive public

procurement as a Europe 2020 lever: what role for the principle of competition in moderating horizontal policies?’ (2016) 22(2) European Public Law Journal 377-394• A copy is circulated together with these slides, not

for further circulation


15 June 2016