The European Commission, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Open Contracting Partnership are actually joining forces to enhance the quality as well as transparency of public tenders co-funded by EU money in Poland and Greece. Thanks to the support of theirs, 2 pilot projects are going to provide expertise and hands-on support to public authorities in both countries, with a focus on digital innovation.
By marketing the bright usage of open data and invention, the two pilots should help public administrations to much better plan, apply as well as monitor the procurement of is effective, goods and services. This will better the usage of public resources as well as improve opportunities for businesses, especially for little and medium businesses (SMEs). Additionally, because of a cooperation with local civil society organisations, this particular initiative will in addition favour transparency of public spending and stimulate citizens’ participation within the monitoring of investments with a direct effect on the town, such as investments in sustainability, social inclusion and local development.
The two pilot projects
In Greece, the task will aim at consolidating as well as integrating all databases into a specific smart public contract register. This will enable internet access for citizens and bidders, improve quality of data and facilitate the usage of data-driven analytical resources for monitoring the procurement process.
In Poland, the first step will help support Polish local and national authorities to introduce open details in public procurement and increase automated collection, standardisation, and consolidation of procurement data on all tenders.
The two pilots are going to run until the end of 2021 and their results will be disseminated in order to ensure a booming roll out in other Member States.
Commissioner for Reforms and Cohesion, Elisa Ferreira, said: “In the programming phase 2021 2027, Cohesion policy will will begin to support Member States and regions in their economic recovery after coronavirus pandemic, in addition to improving competitiveness through brand new investments in investigation and innovation, the implementation and digital transition of the European Dark green Deal agenda. Through the usage of new technologies, national and local public authorities managing EU funds will be able to invest public money more efficiently ensuring the very best outcomes for businesses” and citizens.
Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, added: “Transparency inside public procurement is actually vital to ensure effectiveness of public investments, in line while using the EU strategic policy targets aiming at a better, digital plus more resilient Europe. Public authorities are able to rely on the EU’s public procurement framework, resources like the electronic procurement systems as well as open details for a reliable use of public funds.”
The EBRD Vice President, Pierre Heilbronn commented: “The EBRD is dedicated to help institutional and legal reforms aimed at making sure that procurement laws as well as practices are actually modern, in keeping with international standards and also can swiftly react to emerging challenges. Together with Open Contracting Partnership, we’re sharing the experience of successful civil society procurement monitoring based on open data. The joint work of ours intend to produce a framework for enlisting civil planet organisations to allow for public procurement reforms and use open details to monitor procurement.”
Background
In the context of the next long-term EU budget, much more compared to €370 billion coming from Cohesion policy money will be invested to support the green and digital transitions belonging to the Member States. Each year, public authorities inside the EU invest about 14 % of GDP on public procurement, amounting to more than €1.9 trillion. Virtually fifty percent of Cohesion policy funding is actually channelled through public procurement. The Commission has promoted a series of initiatives targeted at helping Member States to boost the way administrations & beneficiaries use public procurement for EU investments. These include the Integrity Pacts to make sure more efficient and transparent tenders as well as safeguarding EU taxpayers’ cash. The Commission also took activity to facilitate citizen engagement for much better governance as well as effective Cohesion policy investments.
