Activities of Jürgen CREUTZMANN related to 2009/2175(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT Report on new developments in public procurement PDF (287 KB) DOC (186 KB)
Amendments (35)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
- having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 10 February 2010 on ‘contributing to Sustainable Development: the role of Fair Trade and non-governmental trade-related sustainability assurance schemes’ (RELEX-IV-026),
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 6 June 2006 on Fair Trade and Development (2005/2245 (INI)),
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas private undertakings must have the opportunity to win public contracts and there should be fair competition for public contracts,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas an important purpose of the public procurement rules is to ensure that the State spends public money as efficiently as possible,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – title
Paragraph 1 – title
General remarks and recommendations
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Deplores the fact that the aims of the 2004 revision of the public procurement directives have not yet been achieved particularly with regard to the simplification of the procurement rules as well as the creation of more legal certainty; expresses the hope, however, that the most recent judgments handed down by the CJEU will help to resolve the outstanding legal issues and that the number of appeal procedures will fall;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Deplores, further, the fact that, in particular as a result of the plethora of soft law proposals put forward by the Commission and Commission departments and of the interpretation of the relevant legal provisions by European courts, the interaction between European, national and regional law has given rise to a complicated and confusing set of rules which is creating, in particular for smaller local authorities and for small and medium-sized undertakingfor small and medium- sized undertakings and for smaller local authorities, serious legal problems which they can no longer overcome without incurring substantial administrative costs or seeking external legal advice; urges the Commission to remedy this situation and, as part of the Better Lawmaking initiative, to examine the impact of soft law proposals and assess them in the light of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Deplores, further, the fact that, in particular as a result of the interaction between European, national and regional law, as well as the plethora of soft law proposals put forward by the Commission and Commission departments and of the interpretation of the relevant legal provisions by European courts, the interaction between European, national and regional lawand National courts, has given rise to a complicated and confusing set of rules which is creating, in particular for smaller local authorities and for small and medium-sized undertakings, serious legal problems which they can no longer overcome without incurring substantial administrative costs or seeking external legal advice; urges the Commission to remedy this situation and, as part of the Better Lawmaking initiative, to examine the impact of soft law proposals, to restrict them to the essential and assess them in the light of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Points out that as a result of this development, the public procurer often has to prioritize legal certainty above policy needs, and given the pressure on public budgets, frequently has to award the contract or service to the cheapest offer, rather than to the most economically advantageous tender. Is afraid that this will weaken the EU’s innovative base and global competitiveness; Urges the Commission to remedy this situation and to develop strategic measures to encourage, empowering public procurers to give contracts to the most economical and best quality offers;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Criticises the lack of transparency regarding the composition and results of the work of the internal Commission advisory committee on public procurement (ACPP) or the role and competencies of the advisory Committee on the Opening up of Public Procurement (CCO) and calls on the Commission to take steps to ensure that both this committee and the planned new advisory committee on public-private partnerships have a balanced composition and work in a transparent manner; demands that the European Parliaments is properly informed and is provided with all the information available;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Takes the view that as public contracts concern public funds, they should be transparent and open for public scrutiny; asks the Commission for clarification to ensure that local and other public authorities have legal certainty and can inform their citizens of their contractual obligations;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission, when reviewing the public procurement directives, to take account of the opinions expressed in this report; expects that review to be carried out with the full involvement of all stakeholders, but warns that it regards a revision of the directives at this juncture as premature; when such a revision is carried out at a later date, however, advocates that it shoul and in close cooperation with the European Parliament; advocates that a revision should take into account the whole framework and also encompass the directive on review procedures concerning public contracts, in order to prevent any further fragmentation of public procurement law; takes the view that the practical impact of that directive cannot yet be assessed, as it has not been transposed in all the Member States;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – title
Paragraph 6 – title
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – indent 1
Paragraph 6 – indent 1
- the purpose of the partnership is the joint provision of a public-service task conferred on all local authorities,
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – indent 1
Paragraph 6 – indent 1
- the purpose of the partnership is the joint provision of a public-service task conferred on all local authorities, where public- interest objectives are thereby achieved and the performance of the task is actually made possible or significantly improved through the cooperation,
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – indent 3 a (new)
Paragraph 6 – indent 3 a (new)
– the services covered by the cooperation are not remunerated; no financial transfers may take place between the public partners and, in particular, no profits may be generated from the cooperation;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6d. Points out that the possibility of cooperation between public bodies is limited both geographically and as regards the number of budgets affected by the cooperation;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Points out that in its judgment of 10 September 2009 in Case C-573/07 the CJEU found that the mere possibility of the opening-up of the capital of a previously publicly-owned company to private investors may not be taken into consideration as a factor making competitive tendering a requirement unless there exists, at the time the contract is awarded, a real prospect in the short term of such an opening-up; notes that the law in this area is now sufficiently clear; calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide information about the legal implications of these judgments and expects that in future no further appeal procedures will be brought in these areas; ; further calls on the Commission, in cooperation with the European Parliament and the Member States, to define clear and generally binding criteria governing cooperation between local authorities and in-house operations on the basis of the case-law of the CJEU and to provide information on them in a communication;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – title (new)
Paragraph 8 – title (new)
Service Concessions
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes the Commission Communication of 19 November 2009 on the development of public-private partnerships and awaits the relevant impact assessment with great interest; emphasises that due account must be taken of both the complexity of the procedures and the differences in legal culture and practice between the Member States with regard to service concessions, and doubts, therefore, whether a proposal for a legal act dealing with service concessions would have any added value; takes the view that with the 2004 public procurement directives and the supplementary case-law of the CJEU the process of defining the term ‘service concession’ and establishing the legal framework governing such concessions has been completed; it would be desirable, however, to develop rules on the publication of invitations to tender for service concessions;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 – title (new)
Paragraph 10 – title (new)
Public-Private Partnership
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 – indent 1
Paragraph 10 – indent 1
- the private participant must be selected by means of a public procedure,transparent procedure, with publication in advance of the contract following a review of the financial, technical, operational and administrative requirements and the characteristics of the tender in the light of the particular service to be provided;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 – title (new)
Paragraph 11 – title (new)
Town Planning/Urban Development
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Looks forward with great interest to the CJEU judgment in Case C-451/08 and hopes that it will clarify the issues still under dispute in the area of town planning; endorses the opinion delivered by the Advocate-General of the CJEU in this case on 17 November 2009 to the effecttakes the view that ‘the broad and ambitious aims of the directive must be borne in mind when interpreting the Directive but it should not be assumed that, by appealing to the purpose of the measure, its scope can be extended indefinitely’ (point 35); otherwise there would be a danger that ‘all town planning activities would be subject to the Directive since, by definition, provisions on the possible execution of building works substantially alter the value of the land in question’ (point 36);
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – title (new)
Paragraph 12 – title (new)
Procurement below the threshold
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Points out that the European Parliament it is a party to the action Germany v Commission brought before the CJEU against the Commission interpretative communication of 1 August 2006 on the Community law applicable to contract awards not or not fully subject to the provisions of the Public Procurement Directives and expects a prompt ruling;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises 12a. Asks the Commission to evaluate the impact of the public procurement directives on micro, small and medium- sized enterprises especially in their role as sub-contractor and to assess for a future review of the directives if we need further rules for the award of sub-contracts to avoid specifically that SMEs as subcontractors get worse conditions than the main contractor of the public contract;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 – title (new)
Paragraph 13 – title (new)
Green Procurement
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Draws attention to the great importance of public procurement for climate and environmental protection, energy efficiency, the environment and innovation and reiterates that public authorities should be encouraged and put in a position to base public procurement on ecological, social and other criteria; welcomes the practical assistance given to public authorities and other public bodies in connection with sustainable procurement and urges the Commission and the Member States to organise training courses and campaigns to raise awareness of this issue; supports the idea of a transparent process, involving the Member States, to develop the relevant criteria further; points out that in the area of social criteria in particular such a process offers good prospects for improvements;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Draws attention to the great importance of public procurement for climate protection, energy efficiency, the environment and innovation and reiterates that public authorities should be encouraged and put in a position to base public procurement on ecological, social and other criteria; welcomes the practical assistance given to public authorities and other public bodies in connection with sustainable procurement and urges the Commission and the Member States to organise training courses and campaigns to raise awareness of this issue; supports the idea of a transparent process, involving the Member States, to develop the relevant criteria further; points out that in the area of social criteria in particular such a process offers good prospects for improvements;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls for the development of a database so that the criteria on which the various labels are based can be used for public procurement purposes; calls on the Commission to put forward initiatives at European and international level with a view to the gradual harmonisation of labels and the criteria on which they are based; expects the Member States and stakeholders to be fully involved in this process; draws attention, at the same time, to the negative impact which a market fragmented by the existence of so many regional, national, European and international labels has on innovation and research;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls for the development of a database so that the criteria on which the various labels are based can be used for public procurement purposes; calls on the Commission to put forward initiatives at European and international level with a view to the gradual harmonisation of labels and the criteria on which they are based; expects the Member States and all stakeholders to be fully involved in this process; furthermore draws attention, at the same time, to the negative impact which a market fragmented by the existence of so manynumerous varying regional, national, European and international labels has on innovation and research;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Emphasises the lack of clarity in the area of socially responsible public procurement and calls on the Commission to provide assistance in the form of legally non-binding manuals; in that connection, draws attention to the changes in the legal framework brought about by the Lisbon Reform Treaty and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and looks to the Commission to implement the relevant provisions in an appropriate manner; emphasises the underlying problem that social criteria relate to the manufacturing process, so that their impact is generally indiscernible in the final product, and that globalised production systems and complex supply chains make compliance with the criteria difficult to monitor; expects, therefore, precise, verifiable criteria and a database containing product- specific criteria to be developed for the area of socially responsible public procurement as well; draws attention to the problems contracting authorities have, and the costs they incur, in verifying compliance with criteria and calls on the Commission to offer suitable assistance and to promote instruments which can be used to certify the reliability of supply chains;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Practical Help: Database and training courses Calls for the development of a frequently updated database so that the criteria on which the various labels or sustainability assurance schemes are based can be used for public procurement purposes and so that public authorities can verify the compliance with the criteria demanded; Urges the Commission and the Member States to organise training courses and campaigns to raise awareness for local authorities and political decision-maker and to include other stakeholders, in particularly providers of social services;