ECJ rules in support of 'social' public procurement

(15 May 2012) The European Court of Justice (ECJ) clarified on 10 May 2012 in the North Holland case that social considerations can be included in various ways in the tendering process under the current public procurement Directives. This important ruling supports a broad interpretations of social criteria as the ECJ states: ‘it must therefore be accepted that contracting authorities are also authorised to choose the award criteria based on considerations of a social nature, which may concern the persons using or receiving the works, supplies or services which are the object of the contract, but also other persons’. The ruling can therefore be helpful in countering the restrictive language in the European Commission’s proposal for a new public procurement Directive (e.g, as illustrated in Recital 41).

- See also the Press Release from the Fair Trade Advocacy Office (FTAO)