Socially Responsible Public Procurement Under EU Law and International Agreements: The GPA, CETA and the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area

Abstract

The 2014 EU procurement directives contain a greatly expanded set of provisions relating to socially responsible public procurement (SRPP). From the application of higher thresholds and ability to limit competition for certain contracts through to the use of social award criteria and contract performance clauses, there are numerous possibilities for contracting authorities to take considerations related to labour law compliance, trading conditions and social inclusion into account. At the same time, the EU has expanded its international commitments in the field of public procurement through the revision of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada, and through the establishment of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (DCFTAs) with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. This paper looks at the extent to which SRPP provisions have been incorporated in these agreements, finding that in a number of areas such as reservation of contracts for disabled and disadvantaged workers, treatment of abnormally low tenders and use of third party certifications, they offer a less supportive framework than the EU directives for SRPP.

Keywords: government procurement, corporate social responsibility, social market economy, EU law, international trade agreements, fair trade, CETA, WTO law, Government Procurement Agreement, public procurement, Brexit

JEL Classification: H57, K23, F16, M14