Spain is gearing up to take over the presidency of the Council of the European Union, looking for vendors to supply promotional materials for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s run for the job. It is offering contracts worth €845,647 for umbrellas, fans, scarves, and water bottles with Sanchez’s presidential logo, plus contracts for event organisation. Altogether, the contracts amount to over a million euros.
The presidency of the Council rotates every six months among EU member states. Spain has its next turn starting in June of 2023, the fifth time for the country to preside over the council of ministers. The last time Spain held the position was from January to June 2010, during the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
The call for proposals published on the procurement portal of the state justifies the expenditure by saying,
the presidency of the Council of the European Union (PEUE) is an event with great social, political and economic repercussions, which makes it possible to strengthen ties with the delegations of the rest of the Member States … It is usual for the host country to entertain its guests with presents and promotional and work material that, in addition to its formal nature, enhances the institutional image of the presidency and favours the development of the meetings.
The ministry of the presidency is looking for promotional materials of various types, and the contract includes detailed requirements for each product. For example, scarves must be made of rayon. Each one is to be delivered in a recycled cardboard package that does not have ink or other elements that cannot be recycled and contain, in addition to the scarf, a “certificate of authenticity” that highlights its commemorative nature and certifies its origin and design.
The ministry has also specified how much it is willing to pay for each unit of product and how many units it wants: 38,000 pins at 90 cents each; 21,000 scarves at €22.90; 7,000 cloth bags at €3.60; 10,250 bottles at €1.71; umbrellas and fans at €6.50 and €1.04 respectively; 50,000 pens at 61 cents; 50,000 notebooks at €1.80, and 5,500 luggage tags at 80 cents.
Each item will be decorated with the logo, which has yet to be revealed.
In November, bids for contracts worth €261,224 (including taxes) were also sought by the ministry of social rights and the 2030 agenda for event organisation in service of the Spanish presidency. These contracts are specifically for holding “technical and high-level meetings in different locations in Spain.” The services requested include summary videos of each meeting, event programs, catering, and space, divided into five lots, one for each meeting. The five meetings will bring together general directors of member states on the themes of care, homelessness, childhood, adolescence, family, and shanty towns.
The ministry of labour and social economy has also opened a contracting process for two events related to the EU presidency, in which it estimates spending €235,500. One event is slated for Barcelona in October 2023, and another for Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in December of next year.
