(5 October 2015) The ETUC Congress gave firm backing to EPSU’s demand that the details of all public contracts should be made public to allow for proper scrutiny.
Public Procurement represents some 18 % of EU GDP and it is important that this money is well spent to provide quality goods and services with quality employment.
Isolde Kunkel-Weber, EPSU Vice-President, emphasised in the debate that the strategic use of public procurement is a clear trade union objective. EPSU and ETUC have been working hard in guaranteeing that social and environmental criteria are closely linked and mandatory in the new European public procurement framework. These new directives are real step forward! However better transparency requirements for all contracts are need to ensure that essential public services are delivered in the most equitable way to all citizens and that public money is used wisely. At local level citizens are not sufficiently informed about public contracts. We must in particular ensure that private companies can not hide behind confidentiality clauses when they provide public services such as health and care services or public utilities. This is necessary to fight fraud, mismanagement and corruption at all levels. But this is also necessary to ensure that in the current transposition of the new EU Public Procurement rules (adopted in 2014), Member States improve their national dispositions above the legal EU thresholds by which contracts have to be published. Information needs to be proactively disclosed from the earliest decisions to the final audits to ensure quality public services and trust. This also to incentivise good corporate performance and make sure mistakes are not repeated.
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