Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors to the volume
- Preface
- Chronological table of cases
- Table of European legislation
- Table of UK legislation
- Editors' Note – the decision in Rüffert v. Land Niedersachsen
- 1 Public procurement and horizontal policies in EC law: general principles
- 2 EC regulation of public procurement
- 3 A taxonomy of horizontal policies in public procurement
- 4 Application of the EC Treaty and directives to horizontal policies: a critical review
- 5 The impact of the EC state aid rules on horizontal policies in public procurement
- 6 EC public procurement law and equality linkages: foundations for interpretation
- 7 Disability issues in public procurement
- 8 The legality of SME development policies under EC procurement law
- 9 The procurement of ‘green’ energy
- 10 Reconciling national autonomy and trade integration in the context of eco-labelling
- 11 CSR in the utilities sector and the implications of EC procurement policy: a framework for debate
- 12 Coordinating public procurement to support EU objectives – a first step? The case of exclusions for serious criminal offences
- Index
- References
8 - The legality of SME development policies under EC procurement law
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors to the volume
- Preface
- Chronological table of cases
- Table of European legislation
- Table of UK legislation
- Editors' Note – the decision in Rüffert v. Land Niedersachsen
- 1 Public procurement and horizontal policies in EC law: general principles
- 2 EC regulation of public procurement
- 3 A taxonomy of horizontal policies in public procurement
- 4 Application of the EC Treaty and directives to horizontal policies: a critical review
- 5 The impact of the EC state aid rules on horizontal policies in public procurement
- 6 EC public procurement law and equality linkages: foundations for interpretation
- 7 Disability issues in public procurement
- 8 The legality of SME development policies under EC procurement law
- 9 The procurement of ‘green’ energy
- 10 Reconciling national autonomy and trade integration in the context of eco-labelling
- 11 CSR in the utilities sector and the implications of EC procurement policy: a framework for debate
- 12 Coordinating public procurement to support EU objectives – a first step? The case of exclusions for serious criminal offences
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
The attainment of certain industrial objectives is one of the main ‘horizontal policies’ for which Member States have sought to use their purchasing power. In the past, public procurement was used to support domestic industry, in most cases through a ‘buy national’ strategy, protection of national enterprises from foreign competitors or the promotion of a ‘national champion’ in a particular sector of the economy. More recently, the issue of the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the market for public contracts has received considerable attention. The concern expressed is that although SMEs are the backbone of the European economy they do not win public contracts in a percentage analogous to their share of the overall economic activity in the Community. This chapter examines the legality under EC law of various measures that can be used to increase participation of small and medium-sized economic actors in the procurement market. After a discussion, in section 2, of the reasons which may support a policy in favour of SMEs, section 3 focuses on the practice of reserving for them specific contracts by excluding larger firms. Then, section 4 addresses the question whether an awarding authority can request a main contractor to subcontract part of the work to SMEs, and section 5 focuses on the measures which can help adapt procurement processes to their specific needs.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Social and Environmental Policies in EC Procurement LawNew Directives and New Directions, pp. 345 - 368Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009