Jörgen Hettne

Sustainable Public Procurement and the Single Market – Is There a Conflict of Interest?

Sustainable public procurement indicates that procurement is about more than just saving money. Other important interests such as social and environmental considerations can be promoted through public procurement. Thus, the Member States may use their purchasing power to procure goods and services that foster innovation, respect the environment and combat climate change while improving employment, public health and social conditions. However, the objective of the procurement rules is primarily to strengthen the single market and the EUs competitiveness. This article will discuss how sustainable procurement may be reconciled with the EU internal market law in general. It is the view of the author that contracting authorities within the EU cannot be given full freedom to set social and environmental requirements for the award of a public contract as such a development would undermine the Single Market. The newly proposed Directives on public procurement can therefore not be interpreted as a carte blanche for sustainable procurement. They show a possible way to foster innovation, improve the environment, public health and social conditions, but it should not be seen as a particularly simple or highly efficient way. (Less)

Transforming Monopolies: EU-Adjustment or Social Changes?

On the internal market in the European Union (EU), supply and demand should meet. The EC Treaty provides that across the whole union economic operators should under equal and undisturbed competition do business with each other, work, invest and produce, and thereby promote the objectives of the union. In an international perspective, it is an advanced form of economic integration between a limited number of countries. The idea is that distribution of production resources and the exploitation of “comparative advantage” in a larger market will create conditions for progress in all the countries involved. Adam Smith’s famous theory that a reasonable person should do what he does best and is most beneficial has thus been transposed to the relations between states. Each member state should concentrate on what best suits the country’s natural resources, climate and labour market. The development of the internal market in the EU has meant that many national barriers to trade that stood in the way of an optimal distribution of production resources now have been eliminated. It has also meant a move towards greater uniformity in terms of national market legislation and economic systems in general.

The Future Swedish Gambling Market: Challenges in Law and Public Policies

Swedish gambling regulation has been questioned from an EU law perspective. While no changes have yet taken place, a reform proposal has during 2017 been submitted and the Government has in April 2018 passed a bill to Parliament based on that proposal. The new Swedish Gambling Act shall be based on a licensing system: anyone who wants to act in the Swedish gambling market must have a designated licence. The proposal underlines that the negative consequences of gambling should be limited and that extensive consumer protection calls for curbs on marketing. This chapter will discuss different aspects of gambling regulation in Sweden, especially in the light of EU law. Particular attention will be paid to the legal scope for reform, differences in taxation including the position held by public interest non-profit organisations, marketing and consumer protection.