The European Commission's public procurement package - BusinessEurope comments

Key messages

• BusinessEurope welcomes the Commission’s continued focus on improving the implementation of the public procurement directives, amongst others by publication of the ‘Public Procurement Package’ on 3 October 2017.

• However, the package only partially addresses the problems that companies face in participation for public tenders. From the supply side, we see the following main priorities:

  • due to misuse of in-house procurement, private suppliers are regularly excluded from competing in contracts where they could deliver more innovative, affordable and efficient solutions. In such cases, competition is effectively distorted;

  • social, innovation and green procurement are fully legitimate but should not result in unjustified additional barriers for companies to participate in tenders. Given the existing problems in the area of the prescription of strategic aspects, prioritisation of strategic procurement should not be approached as a blanket mandate to stimulate strategic procurement;

  • professionalisation should be organised in such a way that experts from the industry side are involved in the training for public purchasers;

  • infringements of public procurement rules should be rigourously enforced in a national and EU context, in particular those relating to transparency and non-discrimination.