The Internal Market Committee approved the new rules on public procurement. MEPs agreed that public procurement should be greener and more socially responsible. They also proposed to establish a "procurement passport" to show that a firm fulfils the criteria without having to send in documentation every time they make a bid.

MEPs at the Internal Market Committee in the European Parliament voted on new EU Procurement rules on 18 December. According to them, public procurement contracts should go to the most "advantageous" bidder, assessed on environmental or social criteria, not just the lowest one. Public procurement contracts account for a significant share of the economy (around 19% of EU GDP) making public procurement rules a powerful tool for achieving specific societal goals, whether environmental, social or innovative. The reform of the public procurement legislation was proposed by the Commission in December 2011.

The Internal Market Committee agreed that public procurement should be greener and more socially responsible. Instead of simply accepting the lowest bid, public authorities should go for the "most economically advantageous tender" (MEAT). MEPs stressed that it should also be ensured that tenders live up to environmental and labour laws.

MEPs also proposed to establish a "procurement passport" to show that a firm fulfils the criteria without having to send in documentation every time they make a bid. According to them, this initiative will cut red tape, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. They also simplified the proposed rules enabling public authorities to subdivide contracts into lots, so as to enable small firms to bid for them. Moreover, MEPs expanded upon the concept of "innovation partnerships" in which the authority states the minimum requirements that a good or service must fulfil, but leaves it up to the tenderer how best to achieve these goals.