# Sustainable Public Procurement in Central European Countries. Can It Also Bring Savings?
## 1 Introduction  
The sustainability of public spending is a key issue for many EU Member States, gaining even greater momentum in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Recovery Plan for Europe and the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) proposed by the European Commission (EC) to help repair the economic and social damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, kick-start the European economy, and create and protect jobs provide a framework for implementing structural reforms across the EU [1]. According to the European Council, the Recovery Plan for Europe will require massive public and private sector investment at the European level in order for the Union to stand firmly on the path to a sustainable and resilient recovery whilst supporting green and digital priorities [2]. While some investments at the Member State level may focus on structural-systemic reforms requiring legislative, conceptual, or other fundamental changes, many other investments may focus on infrastructure projects. This will represent a major challenge for all stakeholders to ensure that the public money from the MFF is used to get sustainable value for money. Regardless of how public resources are spent, it should be borne in mind that, within the EU legislative framework, public authorities must procure services, goods, or works in accordance with the rules and procedures laid down by the EU public procurement legislation. Public procurement is the process of acquiring goods, services, and works through public contracts. It plays a key role in the EU as one of the market-oriented tools to achieve smart, sustainable, andinclusive growth while ensuring the most efficient use of public funds [3]. The EC estimates that 14% of EU GDP is spent through public procurement. Given this significant amount of public finance, public procurement is considered to be a fundamental element of the investment ecosystem [4] (p. 2). In the context of the modernized legislative framework represented by the EU Public Procurement Directives, adopted in 2014, public procurement has become a tool for promoting environmental, social, and R&D policies across the EU. The definitions of sustainable public procurement (SPP) vary. [PERSON] et al. have defined SPP \"as the pursuit of sustainable development objectives through the purchasing and supply process\" [5]. [PERSON] and [PERSON] see SPP as \"the acquisition of goods and services in a way that ensures that there is the least impact on society and the environment throughout the full life cycle of the product\" [6]. Finally, the EC describes SPP as the \"process by which public authorities seek to achieve the appropriate balance between the three pillars of sustainable development--economic, social and environmental--when procuring goods, services or works at all stages of the project\" [7]. According to the definition provided by the European Commission, SPP includes economic, social, and environmental aspects. This fully corresponds to [PERSON] and [PERSON] who note that the European Commission's definition includes the triple bottom line dimensions often referred to as the three Ps: People (social), Planet (environmental), and Profit (economic) [8]. In addition to the definitions provided, the innovative aspects of procurement should also be included because innovation is considered a key driver to sustainability [9]. The purpose of this paper is to study the extent to which SPP, defined by most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) criteria, is used within Visegrad Group countries (Poland, Czech republic, Slovak Republic and Hungary), as well as to analyze the factors that influence the potential savings of SPP. The revision of the MEAT criteria introduced by the new EU public procurement directives is one of the tools through which contracting authorities achieve performance based on the best price-quality ratio (BPQR).