Statement on the review of the EU Directives on public procurement
7 March 2025 | The steel industry in Europe has embarked on the path to climate neutrality and is a pioneer in the production of CO2-reduced steel. To support this transition, the rapid development of lead markets for clean steel is crucial. Public procurement law plays a central role in this, but a review of public procurement law is necessary due to the complex procurement procedures and inconsistent regulations in Europe. Consequently, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has announced a review of the European public procurement directives to support the transformation of the European
steel industry.
To make public procurement sustainable would have a huge impact as it accounts for 15% of EU GDP and 11% of steel consumption, particularly in construction and public vehicles. Currently, green procurement is only voluntary, with 55% of tenders going for the lowest price. Thus, public procurement has great potential for climate-friendly basic materials like steel and concrete, especially in construction and infrastructure projects, which account for 54% of all public contracts. Today, 28% of greenhouse gas emissions in the construction sector are generated by basic materials and can be significantly reduced in the future by emission-reduced basic materials.
The EU should therefore introduce binding sustainability criteria for public procurement to reform national regulations and promote harmonization of regulations. Clear definitions and labels such as the Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS) are playing a crucial role in closing the information gap regarding sustainability-related criteria.
Our most important aspects are:
- Developing European lead markets for clean steel based on LESS.
- Focusing public procurement directives on mandatory sustainability award criteria.
- Simplifying the rules for public procurement.
- Avoiding “National gold plating”.
- Decreasing the thresholds of the EU directives on public procurement.
- Preferential treatment of European content in sectors of strategic importance for the EU.
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