Public procurement in the European Union: exploring the way forward. Green paper

In adopting the report by Mr Michael TAPPIN (PSE, UK) the European Parliament calls for greater compliance with existing regulations. It also calls for the regulations to be clarified so that they can be more easily understood by the companies concerned. It calls on the Commission to encourage Member States to establish at least one national procurement centre along with regional sub-centres which will have to fulfill some of the mandatory requirements such as to disseminate and materials on procurement and clarify procedural rules. Parliament calls on the Commission to develop a policy to actively encourage public procurement in use of sustainability and urges that invitations to tender take account of social and environmental criteria. It is of the opinion that the Commission should be given the right to instigate an investigation and to act upon findings as is the case with competition in order to achieve effective enforcement. Parliament calls for more effective control and enforcement of directives, together with the uniform imposition of meaningful penalties for those who breach or seek to evade provisions of the directive as well as a more accessible level of judgment for the resolution of minor disputes or infringements. It calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure respect for the recommendation on late payments. At international level, Parliament calls for third countries to be given access on a reciprocal basis to contract award procedures in the European Union. It urges the Commission to play an active role in setting up a harmonized code of practice on openness, fairness and transparency within procurement dealings at WTO level and applicable to all Member States. �