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Public Procurement
Why is public procurement an issue in ETC?
In European Territorial Cooperation (ETC), public procurement is causing uncertainties and inefficienciesh within the area of spending funds. This is in part due to the international setting of cooperation projects, which deal with public procurement rules, which vary substantially from one country to the other, especially below the EU threshold for public procurements.
Another reason for uncertainties and inefficiencies is because ETC must not only apply to national, regional and institutional and programme-specific public procurement rules, but also to:
- the principles of the European Treaty (ensuring that certain public procurements are transparent and accessible to bidders in other Member States);
- the principle of "value for money" (ensuring that programmes and projects make the most of limited public resources);
- the principle of proportionality (ensuring administrative costs associated with a certain public procurement are justified in light of the value of the contract).
INTERACT conducts training events on public procurement in ETC programmes and projects and seeks to find solutions to unsolved issues, such as the application of the transparency principle in direct awards.
This section deals with public procurement in ETC programmes. Here you can find information on public procurement in IPA CBC.
As a starting point, you may want to take a look at the INTERACT publication: 50 questions and answers on public procurement in ETC. This document summarises the most frequently asked questions and answers.
Please note that Comission Regulation (EU) No 1251/2011 of 30 November 2011 amended the tresholds for the procedures for the awards of contracts according to Directives 2004/17/EC, 2004/18/EC and 2009/81/EC. The new tresholds are applicable from 1 January 2012.
Below you will find other relevant materials from our events on public procurement:
- Overview on Public Procurement in ETC: rules and principles, Katrin Stockhammer, IP Vienna;
- Public procurement irregularities in projects co-financed by ERDF and CF, Willebrord Sluijters, European Commission, DG Regional Policy;
- Lessons learnt from tender procedures financed by the Structural Funds, Claude Tournier, European Commission, DG Regional Policy;
- Managing Public Procurement Risks in ETC programmes, Christina Bauer, Managing Authority of Alpine Space Programme;
- Irregularity in public procurement, Tarja Richards, Managing Authority of MED Programme;
- Managing public procurement risks in ETC programmes, Veronica Estling, Managing Authority of Interreg IV A Nord Programme.
DG Internal Market and Services provides comprehensive information on EU Public procurement rules, including directives, amendments and guidelines.
Please also consult the webpage of OECD Sigma initiative for the overview of the EU public procurement rules as well as an overview of the national public procurement rules of various EU and non-EU countries (please note that some of the laws may have been amended).
Some public procurement toolkits are available. The toolkit, published by the UK Ministry of Defence, Acquisition Operating Framework, can be accessed here. The Scottish Public Procurement Toolkit can be accessed here.
Here you will find a fully revised version of Buying Green! – A Handbook on green public procurement published by the European Commission. This handbook is a concrete tool to help public authorities buy goods and services with a lower environmental impact.
Concerning irregularities, please consult the respective section of our webpage.
Here are the links to all the materials uploaded after INTERACT events on public procurement:
- Financial Management in ETC programmes with a special focus on public procurement, London, 19.10.2011
- Public procurement in ETC programmes and projects, Brussels, 25.11.2010
- Public procurement seminar, Madrid, 13.02.2009
- Double seminar on State Aid and public procurement, Brussels, 13.11.2008
Two very useful documents are available in German language regarding Public Procurements of the Austrian Managing Authorities and project partners:
- Vergabeleitfaden (Public Procurement Guidelines, updated 2012)
- Mustervorlagen (Templates for public procurement documents, updated 2012)
The public procurement section is regularly updated. Should you have any questions, remarks or suggestions, please contact: Katrin Stockhammer (name.surname@interact-eu.net), +43 14000 27 081.
Photo: www.digispacestudio.pl
