By Vivienne Russell | 16 January 2014

The European Parliament has approved a host of changes to public procurement rules, which should make it easier for small firms to win contracts and boost value or money.

MEPs today voted in favour of the new directives, which were agreed by the European Council in June last year. They allow award criteria to reflect wider societal aims, so tenders can be designed to reward bidders that emphasise, for example, quality or environmental considerations in their bids rather than just cost.

Marc Tarabella, the Parliament’s rapporteur for procurement, said: ‘The new rules send a strong signal to citizens, who have the right to see public money used effectively.’

Among the changes are new criteria for the letting of concession contracts. These will allow bidding authorities to place more emphasis on environmental considerations, social aspects and innovation and are intended to make competition fairer and ensure best value for money.

‘The new criteria will put an end to the dictatorship of the lowest price and once again make quality the central issue,’ said Tarabella.

Red tape for bidders has also been cut back, reducing the administrative burden on companies by around 80%, according to European Commission estimates. The new rules also encourage the division of contracts into lots, which should make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to bid for contracts.

Tougher rules on subcontracting and ‘social dumping’ will also be applied, which could see contractors that do not abide by EU labour laws excluded from bidding.

And in a bid to boost innovation, a new ‘Innovation Partnership’ will allow public authorities to call for tenders to solve a specific problem without pre-empting the solution. This leaves room for the contractor and tenderer to come up with a solution together, the Parliament said.