Study - European Pillar of Social Rights – state of play in 2024

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is planning to launch a procurement procedure for a study on European Pillar of Social Rights – state of play in 2024.

WHAT IS THIS PUBLICITY ABOUT?

This announcement is made pursuant to Annex I.14 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, to award a low value contract for a study through a negotiated procurement procedure. This notice provides basic information about the contract's subject matter and gives economic operators the opportunity to express interest in participating as tenderers in the upcoming procurement procedure.

DESCRIPTION

The European Commission’s planned review of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) Action Plan in 2025, which will provide a basis for further actions at EU level with a view to achieving the 2030 EU targets, sets a milestone on social policy monitoring in Europe. The EESC has been a frontrunner in the social pillar, providing insights into its inception and that of its action plan by means of own initiative and referral opinions. The Workers’ Group played a particularly strong role, many of the initiatives devised by the plan were key priorities of the group. However, there is a sizeable distance between initial plans and actual legislative developments, and between those and implementation and enforcement.

This study aims to take stock and evaluate certain initiatives of the EPSR that have already been adopted at EU level, and what improvements could be made to enhance the implementation and enforcement as well as identify current legislative gaps in those areas. The proposed legislative items, as a minimum (the offer may bring additional proposals) are:

- The Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directive

- The Adequate Minimum Wages Directive

- The Work-Life Balance Directive

- The Gender Balance on Company Boards Directive

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the transposition and implementation of the directive (or lack thereof) in each Member State and the reasoning behind it, and the enforcement challenges encountered. For the working conditions and work-life balance directives, the deadline for transposition has already passed and the reports are available on the Eurlex website. For the Minimum Wages Directive, the deadline is November 2024 and should fall within the starting phase of the study. For the Directive on Gender Balance on Company Boards, as the deadline is in June 2026, more primary research will be required on the current state of legislative proposals at national level. A selection of countries for analysis, as outlined below, is possible as a representative sample of Member States.

The study will help develop the position of the Workers’ Group in its current priorities (‘Pushing for Social Progress’) and feed into all the legislative work of the EESC in the social field, as well as assist in the interinstitutional dialogue regarding the EPSR Action Plan and further steps for the next Commission term. In this manner, the study will also help the European institutions and stakeholders improve the implementation of the action plan measures.

TASKS

The study should:

1. Map the key initiatives selected to be evaluated, identifying the key literature, including not just legislative developments but also studies and forecasts, EESC opinions, evaluations and any other exercise surrounding them;
2. Departing from current literature on implementation and enforcement, analyse the state of play for the selected initiatives at national level and the rationale for the development;
3. Identify the policy and legislative gaps that might exist, as well as the possible challenges and opportunities in each case;
4. Produce country reports on the situation in each case;
5. Bring a compared perspective EU-wide;
6. Provide policy recommendations on specific cases, as well as general ones for future legislative developments and other areas not directly covered by the study.

Languages and geographical area

The study will ideally focus on transposition and implementation in all EU Member States. However, due to the extent this would mean the offer can provide a selection of countries. This selection should, at any rate, include Spain, Germany, France and Poland, plus 10 more Member States that should be distributed in such a way as to ensure reasonable coverage of the different groups of welfare state and industrial relations countries (Mediterranean, Continental, Nordic, Central and Eastern European, Liberal). The offer might provide a plan to work at this level, either directly or via a network at European level of contacts that can analyse each Member State chosen and may offer more Member States than the minimum selection.

Indicative timeline

1. Launch of the invitation to tender: Q3 2024
2. Deadline for submission of tenders: approximately Q4 2024
3. Contract award: Q4 2024
4. The final study report is expected within 11 months following the signature of the contract

WHO MAY EXPRESS INTEREST TO BE INVITED IN THE SUBSEQUENT CALL FOR TENDERS?

Participation is open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons established in the European Union (EU) or in a third country which has a special agreement with the EU in the field of public procurement on the conditions laid down in that agreement. This includes:

• All EU Member States;
• Parties to special international agreements with the EU in the field of public procurement:
  • European Economic Area agreement (EEA): Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein;
  • Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAA): North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.

HOW TO EXPRESS INTEREST?

Entities established in a country that has access to the procurement can express interest in participating in the planned procedure by filling in and submitting the contact form linked to at the bottom of this page.

DATA PROTECTION

By submitting your contact details, you consent to the EESC processing this personal data in line with this Privacy Statement. To access, change or delete your data at any moment, please contact the data controller by sending an email to studies-eesc@eesc.europa.eu.

DISCLAIMER

Please note that this announcement does not create any obligation for the EESC to launch a procurement procedure. The EESC will only use the submitted information to identify potential candidates. Expressing interest to participate in this type of negotiated procedure does not create any legal right or legitimate expectation on the part of any economic operator, and the EESC has the right to cancel the procedure at any time. The documents of the actual call for tenders (invitation letter, tender specifications and draft contract) will only be provided to eligible identified candidates when the procedure is launched, and any tender received from a legal or natural person not invited to tender will be rejected.