Activities of Rodi KRATSA-TSAGAROPOULOU related to 2011/0439(COD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors
Amendments (19)
Amendment 44 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) In order to guarantee the opening up to competition of procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors, provisions should be drawn up coordinating procurement procedures in respect of contracts above a certain value. Such coordination is needed to ensure the effect of the principles of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and in particular the free movement of goods, the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services as well as the principles deriving therefrom, such as equal treatment, non-discrimination, mutual recognition, proportionality and transparency. In view of the nature of the sectors affected by such coordination, the latter should, while safeguarding the application of those principles, establish a framework for sound commercial practice and should allow maximum flexibility at every level of the public procurement procedure, particularly favouring small and medium-sized enterprises.
Amendment 45 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) Public procurement plays a key role in the Europe 2020 strategy as one of the market-based instruments to be used to achieve a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth while ensuring the most efficient use of public funds. For that purpose, the current public procurement rules adopted pursuant to Directive 2004/17/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts have to be revised and modernised in order to increase the efficiency of public spending, facilitating in particular the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises in public procurement procedures and to enable procurers to make better use of public procurement in support of common societal goals. There is also a need to clarify basic notions and concepts to ensure transparency, fairness and better legal certainty, and to incorporate certain aspects of related well-established case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) Research and innovation, including eco-innovation and social innovation, are among the main drivers of future growth and have been put at the centre of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Contracting entities should make the best strategic use of public procurement to spur innovationresearch and innovation, particularly at regional and local level. Buying innovative goods and services plays a key role in improving the efficiency and quality of public services while addressing major societal challenges. It contributes to achieving best value for money as well as wider economic, environmental and societal benefits in terms of generating new ideas, translating them into innovative products and services and thus promoting sustainable economic growth. This directive should contribute to facilitating procurement of innovation and help Member States in achieving the Innovation Union targets. A specific procurement procedure should therefore be provided for which allows contracting entities to establish a long-term innovation partnership for the development and subsequent purchase of a new, innovative product, service or works provided it can be delivered to agreed performance levels and costs. The partnership should be structured in such a way that it can provide the necessary “market-pull” incentivising the development of an innovative solution without foreclosing the market.
Amendment 49 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) Electronic means of information and communication in particular can greatly simplify the publication of contracts and increase the efficiency and transparency of procurement processes by reducing obstructive regulatory complexity. They should become the standard means of communication and information exchange in procurement procedures. The use of electronic means also leads to time savings. As a result, provision should be made for reducing the minimum periods where electronic means are used, subject, however, to the condition that they are compatible with the specific mode of transmission envisaged at Union level. Moreover, electronic means of information and communication including adequate functionalities can enable contracting authorities to prevent, detect and correct errors that occur during procurement procedures.
Amendment 50 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) There is a strong trend emerging across Union public procurement markets towards the aggregation of demand by public purchasers, with a view to obtaining economies of scale, including lower prices and transaction costs, and to improving and professionalising procurement management. This can be achieved by concentrating purchases either by the number of contracting entities involved or by volume and value over time. However, the aggregation and centralisation of purchases should be carefully monitored in order to avoid excessive concentration of purchasing power and collusion, and to preserve transparency and competition, as well as to enhance market access opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises by encouraging greater flexibility and suppleness in public procurement procedures.
Amendment 53 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 43
Recital 43
(43) Contracts should be awarded on the basis of objective criteria that ensure compliance with the principles of transparency, non-discrimination and equal treatment. Those criteria should guarantee that tenders are assessed in conditions of effective competition, also where contracting entities require high-quality works, supplies and services that are optimally suited to their needs. As a result, contracting entities should be allowed to adopt as award criteria either "the most economically advantageous tender" or "the lowest cost", taking into account that in the latter case they are free to set adequate quality standards by using technical specifications or contract performance conditions, in line with the principle of cost-effectiveness and adequate quality.
Amendment 54 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 44
Recital 44
(44) Where contracting entities choose to award a contract to the most economically advantageous tender, they must determine the award criteria on the basis of which they will assess tenders in order to identify which one offers the best value for money. The determination of those criteria depends on the subject-matter of the contract, since they must allow the level of performance offered by each tender to be assessed in the light of the subject-matter of the contract, as defined in the technical specifications, and the value for money of each tender to be measured. Furthermore, the chosen award criteria should not confer an unrestricted freedom of choice on the contracting entity and they should ensure the possibility of effective competition and be accompanied by requirements that allow the information provided by the tenderers to be effectively verified.
Amendment 55 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 46
Recital 46
(46) Those sector-specific measures must be complemented by an adaptation of the public procurement Directives empowering contracting entities to pursue the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy in their purchasing strategies. It should hence be made clear that contracting entities can determine the most economically advantageous tender and the lowest cost, in line with the principle of cost-effectiveness and adequate quality, using a life-cycle costing approach, provided that the methodology to be used is established in an objective and non- discriminatory manner and accessible to all interested parties. The notion of life-cycle costing includes all costs over the life- cycle of a works, supplies or services, both their internal costs (such as development, production, use, maintenance and end-of- life disposal costs) and their external costs, provided they can be monetised and monitored. Common methodologies should be developed at the level of the Union for the calculation of life-cycle costs for specific categories of supplies or services; whenever such a methodology is developed its use should be made compulsory.
Amendment 57 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 59
Recital 59
(59) Not all contracting entities, and particularly local authorities, may have the internal expertise to deal with economically or technically complex contracts. Against this background, appropriate professional support would be an effective complement to monitoring and control activities. On the one hand, this objective can be achieved by knowledge sharing tools (knowledge centres) offering technical assistance to contracting entauthorities; on the other hand, business, not least SMEs, should benefit from administrative assistance, in particular when participating in procurement procedures on a cross- border basis.
Amendment 59 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 60
Recital 60
(60) Monitoring, oversight and support structures or mechanisms exist already at national level and can of course be used to ensure monitoring, implementation and control of public procurement and to provide the required support at all stages of the public procurement process to contracting entities, and economicparticularly local and regional authorities, and to economic operators, and particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, operators.
Amendment 97 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 76 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Article 76 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Without prejudice to national laws, regulations or administrative provisions concerning the remuneration of certain services, the criteriaon on which contracting entauthorities shall base the award of public contracts shall be one of the following:the most economically advantageous tender;
Amendment 99 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 76 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 76 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 76 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 76 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Amendment 102 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 76 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 76 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Costs mayshall be assessed, at the choice of by the contracting entity, on the basis of the price only or using a cost-effectiveness approach, such as a life-cycle costing approach, under the conditions set out in Article 77.
Amendment 104 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 76 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 76 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
The most economically advantageous tender referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1) from the point of view of the contracting entity shall be identified on the basis of criteria linked to the subject-matter of the contract in question. Price shall be the decisive award criterion in the case of highly standardised products and services. Other criteria may include:
Amendment 105 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 76 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 – introductory part
Article 76 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 – introductory part
Amendment 106 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 76 – paragraph 3
Article 76 – paragraph 3
3. Member States may provide that the award of certain types of contracts shall be based on the most economically advantageous tender referred to in point (a) ofand the principle of cost-effectiveness and adequate quality, in line with the arrangements set out in paragraph 1 and in paragraph 2.
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 76 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1
Article 76 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1
In the case referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1, the contracting entity shall specify the relative weighting which it gives to each of the criteria chosen to determine the most economically advantageous tender.
Amendment 131 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 96 – paragraph 1
Article 96 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall make available technical support structures in order to provide legal and economic advice, guidance and assistance to contracting entities in preparing and carrying out procurement procedures. Member States shall also ensure that each contracting entity can obtain competent assistance and advice on individual questions. Special attention and increased support should be provided in this respect to local authorities, and particularly to small local authorities.