The European Commission’s proposal for a new Public Procurement Regulation is a significant step towards quality-based competition, but further improvements are needed to ensure fair and competitive public procurement for road transport.
The proposal, which would replace the EU’s three 2014 procurement directives with a single, directly applicable Regulation, simplifies procurement and makes it easier for smaller operators to compete. It reduces administrative burdens for SMEs and introduces digital tools to cut repetitive paperwork, practical improvements that IRU has long called for.
IRU EU Director Raluca Marian said, “The Commission has got several important things right. Putting quality ahead of lowest price, simplifying procedures and reducing paperwork will make public procurement fairer and more accessible.”
Crucially, contracts would, as a rule, be awarded on the basis of the best price-quality ratio, with minimum quality weightings, including greening criteria and social responsibility, in line with IRU’s longstanding call to move beyond lowest-price awards and give greater weight to quality. The proposal also strengthens safeguards against abnormally low tenders.
SME participation is facilitated through, among others, the possible division of contracts into lots and through subcontracting, with the restriction that a contract may not be subcontracted in its entirety.
The proposal introduces a European preference framework that allows public buyers to favour EU-origin goods, including through minimum origin requirements. Public buyers would also be able to determine whether supplies are of third-country origin by using a free online tool provided by the Commission.
“IRU supports efforts to strengthen European industry. However, when it encourages Member States to use European preference requirements in public procurement, it must also ensure that, when these requirements apply to transport services, operators are adequately protected and do not end up bearing disproportionate risks and liabilities beyond their control,” said Raluca Marian.
The proposal would continue to allow public buyers to award contracts to their own controlled entities without a competitive procedure under certain conditions. IRU seeks stronger safeguards around non-competitive awards. These exemptions must be narrowly defined, justified and regularly reviewed, giving private operators a genuine opportunity to compete.
“The possibility of non-competitive awards needs to be treated with particular care. While there may be circumstances where they are justified, they should remain exceptional and must not undermine fair access to public contracts, transparency or healthy competition between operators,” concluded Raluca Marian.
IRU also welcomes the fact that the Regulation makes public procurement procedures more crisis-responsive by enabling the inclusion of adjustment mechanisms, which allow for the objectively justified adjustment of the contract's economic conditions throughout its duration, for example, in the event of severe disruptions, emergencies, or crises.
The proposal will now be discussed by the European Parliament and the Council. IRU will work closely with both institutions to ensure the final Regulation delivers quality, fair competition and workable procurement rules for all road transport operators.