The Commission is currently in the process of revising its Guide on Socially Responsible Public Procurement in order to facilitate the implementation of the respective legal provisions of the Public Procurement Directives of 2014 in the Member States.
1. How will the Commission ensure that the revision of the ‘Buying Social’ Guide fully addresses the human rights and fundamental rights obligations of the EU and its Member States when implementing the 2014 Procurement Directives, as well as the EU’s and Member States’ policy commitments to uphold the UN Guiding Principles and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises in the context of public purchasing?
2. Will the Commission include in its definition of ‘socially responsible public procurement’ the requirement for public buyers to undertake risk-based due diligence, in order to identify, prevent, mitigate and remedy potential and actual adverse impacts on human rights, as well as paying attention to environmental and social concerns?
3. How will the Commission ensure that when it establishes its next Stakeholder Expert Group on public procurement, expertise on the integration of responsible business conduct and human rights due diligence into public procurement is appropriately reflected?