EU GPP Helpdesk Webinar: Reserved contracts and sustainable public procurement

On 11 June 2025, from 10.00 to 11.30am CEST, a webinar will take place addressing the topic of reserved contract and sustainable public procurement. This event will be held in the framework of the EU GPP Helpdesk.

Reserved contracts are one of means that help integrate social objectives in public procurement.

According to Art. 20 of the EU Public Procurement Directive 2014/24/EU, ‘Member States may reserve the right to participate in public procurement procedures to sheltered workshops and economic operators whose main aim is the social and professional integration of disabled or disadvantaged persons or may provide for such contracts to be performed in the context of sheltered employment programmes, provided that at least 30% of the employees of those workshops, economic operators or programmes are disabled or disadvantaged workers. Moreover, Art 77 of the 2014/24/EU Directive states that “Member States may provide that contracting authorities may reserve the right for organisations to participate in procedures for the award of public contracts” for certain health, social and cultural services and under certain conditions. In this way, it is possible to value the provision of these services which in some Member States represent a long tradition and a feature of the welfare system. Similar provisions are included in the Utilities Directive 2024/25.

The webinar will explore how reserved contracts can help public buyers achieve their social objectives. It will also provide concrete examples and tips on how contracting authorities can use reserved contracts to implement their SRPP strategies and plans.

Draft agenda:

10:00  Welcome and introduction Marta Toporek, Legal and Policy Officer, European Commission

10:15  Challenges and opportunities related to use of reserved contracts as a tool for social integration Kewan Mildred, Senior Policy Officer, Eurodiaconia

10:30 Supporting contracting authorities in the use of reserved contracts: good practices from the WeBuySocialEU Project Mathias Maucher, Senior Public Procurement Expert, AEIDL, and Dorotea Daniele, Senior Expert in Social Economy and Social Entrepreneurship, DIESIS

10:45 Reserved contracts as a tool to achieve social policy objectives: the experience of Ille-et-Villaine Jean-Paul Guidoni Departmental Councillor in charge of responsible public procurement, France

11:00 Q&A session

11:20 Concluding remarks Alice Sinigaglia, Senior Social Policy Expert, AEIDL