As stated in the Communication from the Commission — Europe 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth (19), Sustainable growth for a resource efficient, greener and more competitive economy is one of the main pillars of the Europe 2020 objective of the smart, sustainable and inclusive growth strategy.

A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, i.e. involving growth patterns that enhance social, economic and territorial cohesion and enable the poor to increase their contribution to, and benefit from, national wealth, underlines the commitment of the Union to promote, in its internal and external policies, smart, inclusive and sustainable growth bringing together three pillars: economic, social and environmental.

Public procurement plays a key role in the Europe 2020 strategy, set out in the Commission Communication of 3 March 2010 entitled ‘Europe 2020, a strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’ (‘Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’), as one of the market-based instruments to be used to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth while ensuring the most efficient use of public funds.

A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, i.e. involving growth patterns that enhance social, economic and territorial cohesion and enable the poor to increase their contribution to, and benefit from, national wealth, underlines the commitment of the Union to promote, in its internal and external policies, smart, inclusive and sustainable growth bringing together three pillars: economic, social and environmental.

In accordance with the conclusions of the European Council of 17 June 2010, whereby the Union’s new strategy for jobs and smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, based on the Communication from the Commission of 3 March 2010 entitled ‘Europe 2020 – A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’ (‘Europe 2020 strategy’) was adopted, the Union and Member States should implement smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, while promoting harmonious development in the Union.

In its communication of 3 March 2010 entitled ‘Europe 2020 — A European strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’, the Commission set out as one of its priorities the development of an economy based on knowledge and innovation (‘smart growth’), and highlighted a flagship initiative (‘Youth on the Move’) in order to enhance the performance and international attractiveness of Europe's higher education institutions and to raise the overall quality of all levels of education and training in the Union, combining both excellence and equity, by promoting the mobility of young people and improving their employment situation.