Brussels, 06/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - As part of the debate at the European Parliament on the single market, the European Commissioner Michel Barnier made a declaration in Strasbourg on Wednesday 6 April on public procurement, which represents 17% of the markets of the Union.
Barnier identified a number of “areas for work”; - the general revision of the 2004 directive to guarantee optimal use of public funds and to make it possible to purchase quality goods and services without too much red tape. Barnier spoke in favour of simplified procedures, particularly to assist SMEs, incentivisation measures to make “responsible and ecological purchases favouring social inclusion”. These principles will be translated into simpler rules. At the same time, the Commission will be working on sectoral initiatives, such as updating the ecological public procurement handbook; - concessions. Barnier wants tangible progress fairly quickly, because in the absence of European legislation, we are living in a state of “real legal insecurity” (the proof of this, the commissioner added, is that there are 24 rulings of the Court of Justice of the EU in this field). He intends to propose a “framework lite, going no further than basic ideas”. If the national authorities decide to externalise public services, transparency rules will be needed to prevent discrimination and corruption; - the European defence market. A conference on this subject will be held in Brussels on 23 May at the European Parliament and will also be attended by Commissioner Antonio Tajani; - the international dimension of public procurement. The theory of open trade is a good thing, but there is a problem: the principal partners of the Union (US, China, Japan) do not really want to commit to open up their markets any more. Additionally, the member states apply rules very differently, which creates problems and competition distortions. Later this year, Barnier, together with the trade commissioner, will propose a “legislative instrument” which will give the Union negotiating leverage. “We are in favour of openness, but we are no proponents of naiveté”, Barnier concluded. (L.G./transl.fl)