Public procurement: services, supply and public work contracts (amend. Directives 92/50/EEC, 93/36/EEC, 93/37/EEC)

The Opinion took account of the experience of local and regional authorities, proposing examination of the effects of the directive. It suggested simplifying rules, reducing the number of regulations where possible, and providing information and advice on the implementation of these provisions for the authorities and service providers. The Committee of the Regions should be involved in assessing the directive’s impact in the individual Member States in order to ensure that the consequences at local and regional level were also taken into account. It was important to investigate specifically both the conditions under which and the manner in which public/private sector cooperation could take place under the directive and the increase in threshold values with a view to balancing out costs and benefits for both firms and public authorities. The Opinion concluded that the extent to which the unrestricted application of the directive might conflict with investment designed to generate employment should be examined. The scope for introducing back-up, supportive and stimulative measures to promote employment should be carefully considered.