Activities of Bernadette VERGNAUD related to 2009/2175(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT Report on new developments in public procurement PDF (287 KB) DOC (186 KB)
Amendments (30)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
- having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 10 February 2010 on ‘contributing to Sustainable Development: the role of Fair Trade and non-governmental trade-related sustainability assurance schemes’ (RELEX-IV-026),
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 6 June 2006 on Fair Trade and Development (2005/2245 (INI)),
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – title
Paragraph 1 – title
General remarks and recommendations
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Deplores the fact that the aims of the 2004 revision of the public procurement directives have not yet been achieved particularly with regard to the simplification of the procurement rules as well as the creation of more legal certainty; expresses the hope, however, that the most recent judgments handed down by the CJEU will help to resolve the outstanding legal issues and that the number of appeal procedures will fall;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Deplores, further, the fact that, in particular as a result of the interaction between European, national and regional law, as well as the plethora of soft law proposals put forward by the Commission and Commission departments and of the interpretation of the relevant legal provisions by European courts, the interaction between European, national and regional lawand National courts, has given rise to a complicated and confusing set of rules which is creating, in particular for smaller local authorities and for small and medium-sized undertakings, serious legal problems which they can no longer overcome without incurring substantial administrative costs or seeking external legal advice; urges the Commission to remedy this situation and, as part of the Better Lawmaking initiative, to examine the impact of soft law proposals, to restrict them to the essential and assess them in the light of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Points out that as a result of this development, the public procurer often has to prioritize legal certainty above policy needs, and given the pressure on public budgets, frequently has to award the contract or service to the cheapest offer, rather than to the most economically advantageous tender. Is afraid that this will weaken the EU’s innovative base and global competitiveness; Urges the Commission to remedy this situation and to develop strategic measures to encourage, empowering public procurers to give contracts to the most economical and best quality offers;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Urges the Commission to remedy this situation and to develop strategic measures to encourage and empower contracting authorities to give preference to the economically and qualitatively most advantageous offer, thereby contributing to the Union’s policy objectives, in particular the objectives of innovative and socially and environmentally responsible growth which lie at the heart of the Europe 2020 strategy;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Criticises the lack of transparency regarding the composition and results of the work of the internal Commission advisory committee on public procurement (ACPP) or the role and competencies of the advisory Committee on the Opening up of Public Procurement (CCO) and calls on the Commission to take steps to ensure that both this committee and the planned new advisory committee on public-private partnerships have a balanced composition and work in a transparent manner; demands that the European Parliaments is properly informed and is provided with all the information available;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Takes the view that as public contracts concern public funds, they should be transparent and open for public scrutiny; asks the Commission for clarification to ensure that local and other public authorities have legal certainty and can inform their citizens of their contractual obligations;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission, when reviewing the public procurement directives, to take account of the opinions expressed in this report; expects that review to be carried out with the full involvement of all stakeholders, but warns that it regards a revision of the directives at this juncture as premature; when such a revision is carried out at a later date, however, advocates that it shoul and in close cooperation with the European Parliament; advocates that a revision should take into account the whole framework and also encompass the directive on review procedures concerning public contracts, in order to prevent any further fragmentation of public procurement law; takes the view that the practical impact of that directive cannot yet be assessed, as it has not been transposed in all the Member States;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission, when reviewing the public procurement directives, to take account of the opinions expressed in this report; expects that review to be carried out with the full involvement of all stakeholders, but warns that it regards a revision of the directives at this juncture as prematureand in close collaboration with the European Parliament; when such a revision is carried out at a later date, however, advocates that it should also encompass the directive on review procedures concerning public contracts, and a specific legislative framework for service concessions, in order to prevent any further fragmentation of public procurement law; takes the view that a coherent legal framework for public contracts requires a framework directive on services of general economic interest; takes the view that the practical impact of that directive cannot yet be assessed, as it has not been transposed in all the Member States;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – title
Paragraph 6 – title
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – indent 1
Paragraph 6 – indent 1
- the purpose of the partnership is the joint provision of a public-service task conferred on all local authorities,
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Points out that in its judgment of 10 September 2009 in Case C-573/07 the CJEU found that the mere possibility of the opening-up of the capital of a previously publicly-owned company to private investors may not be taken into consideration as a factor making competitive tendering a requirement unless there exists, at the time the contract is awarded, a real prospect in the short term of such an opening-up; notes that the law in this area is now sufficiently clear;welcomes the recent judgments handed down by the Court in this area; therefore calls on the Commission and the Member States to providmake widely available information about the legal implications of these judgments and expects that in future no further appeal procedures will be brought in these areas;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – title (new)
Paragraph 8 – title (new)
Service Concessions
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes the Commission Communication of 19 November 2009 on the development of public-private partnerships and awaits the relevant impact assessment with great interest; emphasises that due account must be taken of both the complexity of the procedures and the differences in legal culture and practice between the Member States with regard to service concessions, and doubts, thereforetakes the view that, when ther a proposal for a legal act dealing with public procurement directives are revised in future, service concessions wshould have any added value; takes the view that withbe the subject of specific legislation based on their definition and their status as laid down in the 2004 public procurement directives and the supplementaryed by the case- law of the CJEU the process of defining the term ‘service concession’ and establishing the legal framework governing such concessions has been completed;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 – title (new)
Paragraph 10 – title (new)
Public-Private Partnership
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 – indent 1
Paragraph 10 – indent 1
- the private participant must be selected by means of a public procedure,transparent procedure, with publication in advance of the contract following a review of the financial, technical, operational and administrative requirements and the characteristics of the tender in the light of the particular service to be provided;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Invites the Commission, having regard to its communication of 19 November 2009, to advocate a more nuanced approach to the use of public- private partnerships, also taking into account the difficulties sometimes encountered; takes the view, however, that public-private partnerships can provide a solution in particular in the case of major infrastructure works, provided the balance is respected between cost and the quality of the service provided for users, on the one hand, and annuity profits awarded to undertakings, on the other; invites the Community to conduct a study of the real long-term economic benefit to public authorities and States of such partnerships in the different relevant sectors;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 – title (new)
Paragraph 11 – title (new)
Town Planning/Urban Development
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Looks forward with great interest to the CJEU judgment in Case C-451/08 and hopes that it will clarify the issues still under dispute in the area of town planning; endorses the opinion delivered by the Advocate-General of the CJEU in this case on 17 November 2009 to the effecttakes the view that ‘the broad and ambitious aims of the directive must be borne in mind when interpreting the Directive but it should not be assumed that, by appealing to the purpose of the measure, its scope can be extended indefinitely’ (point 35); otherwise there would be a danger that ‘all town planning activities would be subject to the Directive since, by definition, provisions on the possible execution of building works substantially alter the value of the land in question’ (point 36);
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – title (new)
Paragraph 12 – title (new)
Procurement below the threshold
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Points out that the European Parliament it is a party to the action Germany v Commission brought before the CJEU against the Commission interpretative communication of 1 August 2006 on the Community law applicable to contract awards not or not fully subject to the provisions of the Public Procurement Directives and expects a prompt ruling;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises 12a. Asks the Commission to evaluate the impact of the public procurement directives on micro, small and medium- sized enterprises especially in their role as sub-contractor and to assess for a future review of the directives if we need further rules for the award of sub-contracts to avoid specifically that SMEs as subcontractors get worse conditions than the main contractor of the public contract;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 – title (new)
Paragraph 13 – title (new)
Green Procurement
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Draws attention to the great importance of public procurement for climate and environmental protection, energy efficiency, the environment and innovation and reiterates that public authorities should be encouraged and put in a position to base public procurement on ecological, social and other criteria; welcomes the practical assistance given to public authorities and other public bodies in connection with sustainable procurement and urges the Commission and the Member States to organise training courses and campaigns to raise awareness of this issue; supports the idea of a transparent process, involving the Member States, to develop the relevant criteria further; points out that in the area of social criteria in particular such a process offers good prospects for improvements;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls for the development of a database so that the criteria on which the various labels are based can be used for public procurement purposes; calls on the Commission to put forward initiatives at European and international level with a view to the gradual harmonisation of labels and the criteria on which they are based; expects the Member States and all stakeholders to be fully involved in this process; furthermore draws attention, at the same time, to the negative impact which a market fragmented by the existence of so manynumerous varying regional, national, European and international labels has on innovation and research;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. EDraws attention to the great importance of public procurement for the achievement of EU social objectives and the advancement of sustainable development; emphasises the lack of clarity in the area of socially responsible public procurement and calls on the Commission to provide assistance in the form of manuals and to publish without delay a guide on the integration of social considerations in procurement; in that connection, draws attention to the changes in the legal framework brought about by the Lisbon Reform Treaty and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and looks to the Commission to implement the relevant provisions in an appropriate manner; considers that the new EU legal framework strengthens the legitimacy of ILO Convention 94 on labour clauses in public contracts and that Member States who have not yet ratified the Convention should be encouraged to do so; emphasises the underlying problem that social criteria relate to the manufacturing process, so that their impact is generally indiscernible in the final product, and that globalised production systems and complex supply chains make compliance with the criteria difficult to monitor; expects, therefore, precise, verifiable criteria and a database containing product- specific criteria to be developed for the area of socially responsible public procurement as well; draws attention to the problems contracting authorities have, and the costs they incur, in verifying compliance with criteria and calls on the Commission to offer suitable assistance and to promote instruments which can be used to certify the reliability of supply chains;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Practical Help: Database and training courses Calls for the development of a frequently updated database so that the criteria on which the various labels or sustainability assurance schemes are based can be used for public procurement purposes and so that public authorities can verify the compliance with the criteria demanded; Urges the Commission and the Member States to organise training courses and campaigns to raise awareness for local authorities and political decision-maker and to include other stakeholders, in particularly providers of social services;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 h (new)
Paragraph 15 h (new)
15h. Social services of general interest Draws attention to the difficulties in transposing the Services Directive of 12 December 2006 in many Member States, in particular as regards the specific nature of social services of general interest; emphasises that the way in which procurement operates in the field of social services through calls for tenders has a detrimental effect on quality and therefore on the service provided to users, because quality criteria are too often neglected; takes the view that the public procurement directives do not provide an appropriate framework for contracts connected with social services of general interest; therefore calls on the Commission to put forward, as soon as possible, specific legislation to provide a framework for social services of general interest;