Public procurement : Commission recognises need for accelerated procurement procedure

In its conclusions of 12 December the European Council invited the Commission to adopt a number of measures in response to the financial crisis. One of these measures concerns the use of accelerated procedures in public procurement.

The public procurement Directive 2004/18/EC allows recourse to accelerated procedures where justified on the grounds of urgency. The Commission recognises that the exceptional nature of the current economic situation can justify the use of the accelerated procedure reducing considerably the overall time limit of the procedure from 87 days to 30 days. Such presumption of urgency should apply throughout 2009 and 2010 for all major public projects.

 

EU: updated lists of Contracting Authorities give better access to public contracts for businesses

The European Commission has updated the lists of Contracting Authorities and utilities that have to follow EU public procurement rules. The lists will give citizens and businesses the opportunity to identify which public authorities in the EU have to submit their public contracts to EU-wide tender procedures. As well as improving accountability and transparency in this area, the updated lists are intended to offer more opportunities for business to participate in public contracts. Total public procurement in the EU – i.e. the purchases of goods, services and public works by governments and public utilities – is estimated at about 17% of the Union’s GDP or €1900 billion in 2006. EU public procurement rules apply to purchases by public authorities and utilities falling above certain thresholds.

 

US: New York Announces Preliminary Guidelines for Eco-Friendly State Purchasing

Governor David A. Paterson’s green procurement initiative moved forward with today’s, December 12, 2008 announcement by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis and Office of General Services (OGS) Commissioner John C. Egan of the publication of preliminary purchasing specifications that will help state agencies, public authorities and public benefit corporations reduce costs while buying “green” products and services.

 

US: Contractors Must Disclose ‘Credible Evidence’ Of Fraud, Abuse

Quoting Washington Post’s Government Inc. blog:

All federal contractors on deals lasting four months or more and worth $5 million or more (including those outside the U.S. and those providing commercial items) must blow the whistle on criminal violations or overcharging.

Such contractors also will have to “establish and maintain specific internal controls to detect and prevent improper conduct,” according to the rules spelled out in the Federal Register.

The possible consequences of not blowing the whistle? Debarment and suspensions.

Read the whole article at http://voices.washingtonpost.com/government-inc/2008/12/contractors_must_disclose_cred.html.

 

Ireland: Public-private partnership scheme fails

The Irish Times reports:

Another Dublin City Council public-private partnership (PPP) which was to provide the regeneration of an inner city social housing complex has collapsed.

Croke Villas, a 1960s block of 79 flats off the Ballybough Road in the north inner city, was to have been redeveloped as a complex of retail, private apartments and 36 social housing units under a PPP between Bennett Developments Ltd and the council.

 

Charlie McCreevy: An exchange of views on Public Procurement

PPPs

I do not need to highlight the economic importance of PPPs as a tool to inject efficiency and quality control into the delivery of public services. BSA members well know that from their own experience.

In the area of PPPs, the consultation launched in 2004 with the Green Paper underlined the urgent need to clarify the application of the EU procurement rules to the setting up of joint companies by the public and private sectors to deliver public tasks.

 

European Commission welcomes the accession of Chinese Taipei to WTO Government Procurement Agreement

The European Commission has today warmly welcomed the formal decision by the members of the Committee on Government Procurement to adopt the accession of The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (Chinese Taipei) to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA).

 

US President-elect on the Economic Recovery Plan

First, we will launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy-efficient. Our government now pays the highest energy bill in the world. We need to change that. We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs. That won’t just save you, the American taxpayer, billions of dollars each year. It will put people back to work.

Second, we will create millions of jobs by making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s. We’ll invest your precious tax dollars in new and smarter ways, and we’ll set a simple rule – use it or lose it. If a state doesn’t act quickly to invest in roads and bridges in their communities, they’ll lose the money.

Source: http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/the_key_parts_of_the_jobs_plan/

 

Bulgaria: European Commission’s report on PHARE projects payments

The objective of the ex-post review earned out by DG ELARG in Bulgaria in the period of 23 September – 8 October 2008 was to check and analyse the extent to which a sample of individual transactions, already assessed as problematic or risky, was affected by irregularities or mismanagement. The review was focused on contracts procured by the two Implementing Agencies (IA) for which the EDIS accreditation was withdrawn on 23 July 2008, namely the CFCU and the one of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW). All the contracts were procured during the period from June 2007 to July 2008.

 

IHT: EU officials defend pricey coffee machines

The European Commission on Wednesday defended its decision to spend about €100,000 on coffee machines found to have high concentrations of heavy metals in the water they used. But the commission said more tests were needed to determine whether the espresso makers were safe.