Members of the European Parliament believe that public procurement rules in the European Union should be reformed to make it easier for small to medium sized companies to bid for contracts and ditch lowest price as the means for determining the winning bidder.

In a vote on Tuesday, MEPs voted to put proposals before the European Commission when it reviews procurement rules later this year to make applying for public contracts in the EU easier.

The Parliament suggests dividing large public contracts into lots to give SMEs a better chance of bidding. It also suggested a review of the rules on subcontractors to make sure that SME subcontractors are not subject to worse conditions than those applicable to the main contractor.

MEPs also suggested the establishment of a “procurement passport” which would make it easier for small companies to show they are compliant with EU rules by allowing self-declaration of compliance and by removing the need for unsuccessful bidders to provide original documentation.

The Parliament also suggested a new means of determining the winning bidder in a public tender: “most advantageous tender in terms of economic, social and environmental benefits, taking into account the entire life-cycle costs of the good, service or work” rather than lowest price.

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