Proposed Public Procurement rules give potential boost to disability rights

09.09.2026

Andre Felix

Social Policy

The proposed EU public procurement rules, announced today, include important improvements that could lead authorities to adopt more inclusive practices.

Public procurement rules set how authorities (governments, municipalities, public companies, etc.) can buy goods, services and works. These purchasing rules shape the accessibility of infrastructure, transport, digital services, products and other services. It is significant because around 2.5 trillion euros per year does through public procurement procedures. That is around 15% of the EU’s GDP.

Therefore, we welcome several improvements to these rules:

Public Procurement legislation now takes the form of an EU Regulation rather than a Directive. This means the rules apply directly and equally in Member States, exactly as written in the EU’s legal texts.
Stronger accessibility requirements for persons with disabilities, including adding technical specifications when procuring goods, services and works.
Including the pursuit of a fair and inclusive society as a strategic goal when procuring goods, services and works;
Including several social inclusion issues as “legitimate outcomes” for procurement, meaning they can become an important criterion in decision-making (these include social inclusion and labour-market integration of persons with disabilities). In addition, greater weight is given to these “quality criteria” than just cost.
User involvement and empowerment, and the right of self-determination of persons with disabilities, become a criterion for contracts for social, health and educational services at or above 750,000 euros.

Another issue we have been watching closely is that of reserved contracts. Companies and enterprises where persons with disabilities make up at least 30% of their workforce can apply for “reserved contracts” that other companies are excluded from. This includes “sheltered” workshops for persons with disabilities, a type of employment that often segregates persons with disabilities. However, the new proposal stresses that these workshops can only apply “provided that the labour rights of the persons with disabilities or with disadvantages are safeguarded”. This would, from our understanding, exclude employment models that do not pay, or pay subminimum wages to persons with disabilities.

We will now advocate to ensure EU Institutions don’t dilute these gains during negotiations.

Nadia Hadad, EDF Executive Committee Member and Chair of its Social Policy Committee, stated:
“These proposed improvements are a vital step forward, but our work is far from finished. Public funds must never finance exclusion. We will actively advocate to ensure this framework is adopted swiftly and without compromise, transforming public procurement into a powerful driver for true independent living and equality across Europe.”