Note from the editor 4-2014

One of the first social policy items as the internal market project got off the ground, back in the late 1980s, was the inclusion of a social clause in the European public procurement Directives which were completely renewed. The issue starts with an historical overview, followed by a larger account of the lobby work carried out by the trade union movement in strong and fruitful cooperation with a large group of social and environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The account was written by Penny Clarke and Christine Jakob from the European public sector trade union federation EPSU.