This Public Procurement Brief presents the new EU public procurement Directive (2014/23/EU) on award of concession contracts. The Directive is part of a recently adopted EU legislative package reforming the EU public procurement rules. The Brief...

This Public Procurement Brief presents two new EU public procurement Directives (2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU) on procurement by public and utilities sectors. The Directives are part of a recently adopted EU legislative package reforming the EU public...

SIGMA Brief 29 gives a short overview of the issue of common errors in public procurement. For the purposes of the Brief, errors are understood as infringements of public procurement rules and principles, regardless of the stage of the procedure. The...

SIGMA Brief 28 aims to give guidance to auditors dealing with public procurement processes. Based on audit experience, it examines the stages that are worth looking at and explains why. It highlights those aspects that are recommended to be...

Public procurement contracts represent a major share of any country’s GDP and public expenditure budget. For this reason monitoring the compliance and performance of public procurement systems is of the utmost importance. For the purposes of SIGMA...

The establishment of central public procurement policy making and implementing bodies constitutes a major contribution to the successful development and favourable overall position of the public procurement system in a country. To make the public...

A well-functioning procurement review and remedies system is in the interest of all stakeholders – economic operators, contracting authorities, contracting entities as well as the general public. SIGMA Brief 25 provides a description of the main...

The decision to exclude an economic operator from participation in a public procurement procedure is a serious one. The impact on the economic operator is potentially significant. The inappropriate exclusion of an economic operator can also adversely...

Defence procurement is the process through which authorities in the field of defence and security acquire various goods, services or works they need in order to perform their duties and missions. Defence procurement constitutes a noticeable segment...

When a contracting authority enters into a contract with an economic operator, the arrangement cannot just be left to run. It must be managed to enable both the contracting authority and the economic operator to meet their contractual obligations....

Public procurement contracts represent a major share of any country’s GDP and public expenditure budget. This fact alone provides sound reasons for analysing the performance of public procurement operations at all levels. Performance measurement is...

In some EU member states Central Purchasing Bodies are responsible for awarding public contracts and framework agreements for other contracting authorities. SIGMA Brief 20 provides an overview of the establishment and operation of a Central...

The framework agreements instrument has been widely used and is considered as an efficient procurement technique throughout Europe. A framework agreement means an agreement between one or more contracting authorities and one or more economic...

Concessions are contracts where the consideration for the works or services to be carried out consists either solely in the right to exploit the work or service, or in this right together with payment. The acronym PPP refers to Public-Private...

Electronic means of communication can greatly simplify the publication of public contracts and increase the efficiency and transparency of procurement processes. SIGMA Brief 17 explains what is meant by e-procurement and aims to explain the rationale...

The term “utilities” is commonly used to describe the organisations which deliver services – such as the provision of water, electricity, gas or transport – to a community as a whole, typically through fixed networks. In some EU member states...

The EU Public Procurement Directives only apply to contracts of a value that meet or exceed the relevant EU financial threshold. Below threshold contracts are not covered by the procurement Directives. However, below threshold contracts comprise the...

Public procurement is becoming a policy strategy instrument: public procurement procedures can also help public purchasers to implement policies governing social integration. SIGMA Brief 14 offers guidance for Contracting Authorities on what can be...

Public authorities are major consumers in Europe: they spend approximately 2 trillion euros annually. By using their purchasing power to choose goods and services with lower impacts on the environment, they can make an important contribution to...

Remedies are legal actions which allow economic operators to request the enforcement of public procurement regulations and their rights under those regulations in cases where contracting authorities, either intentionally or unintentionally, fail to...