An Internationally oriented interpretation of EU law on public procurement: strenghtening labour clauses through ILO Convention No 94

The paper explores the issue of working conditions and labour clauses in public procurement. It provides an analysis of the content of ILO Convention no. 94, as interpreted by the CEACR, as well as of the relevant EU legal framework, in order to clarify if and to what extent the obligations under international labour law differ from those set by the EU norms that protect competition and economic freedoms. The EU legal framework is extremely complex and not free from uncertainties, fuelled by a controversial case law of the Court of Justice, which has addressed, several times, the compatibility of labour clauses with the freedom to provide services. Moreover, both Directive 2014/24 and Directive 96/71 ignore ILO Convention no. 94. Consequently, an evident problem arises, especially for those States that do not provide for generally binding collective agreements, and, hence, may easily incur in violations of the internal market principles. The aim of the paper is to provide an interpretation of the founding principles of the internal market integration harmonious with the applicable international labour standards, implemented by numerous national laws. The solution is to be found in the proper application of Article 351 TFEU, which may prevent the risk of denouncing ILO Convention no. 94. In order to avoid an irreparable conflict between EU law and ILO sources, the authors try to avoid a shallow interpretation of the standards set by the latter. They rather opt for resolving ambiguities and uncertainties of the CJEU’s case law in a way that promotes the maximum employment standards in public procurement, precisely by promoting the ILO norms, as sources that concur to define the EU general principles on labour.