For the MEPs of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA), it is high time to revisit the International Procurement Instrument (IPI). They had the opportunity to discuss this issue on Wednesday 1 September with experts at a meeting of the parliamentary committee.
After the agreement reached on this text on 2 June in the EU Council (see EUROPE 12732/22), the Parliament can resume its work with a view to restarting the trilogues shortly.
MEPs expressed their support for the rapporteur, Daniel Caspary (EPP, Germany), and his work to deliver an amended version of the text in the autumn. On the substance of the agreement reached in the EU Council, the MEPs welcomed the new approach based on the bidder rather than on the offer in itself. The possibility to exclude a company completely from a public contract after an investigation by the Commission is also, for them, a key element of the instrument.
While they are satisfied with the text, they do see room for improvement, particularly with regard to the possibility of exceptions to the tool. The EU Council agreement provides for contracting authorities to be able to circumvent the instrument in certain exceptional cases and thus not restrict access to European public procurement contracts for certain companies. For the rapporteur, the contours of these exceptions should be reviewed: “The European Commission could make exceptions in certain cases, but that is for the Commission alone to do. Member States cannot be given the opportunity to do so arbitrarily”.
His colleagues Reinhard Bütikofer (Greens/EFA, Germany), Marie-Pierre Vedrenne (Renew Europe, France) and Emmanuel Maurel (The Left, France) joined him on this point and warned against possible circumventions. Maria Angeles Asenjo, representative of the Spanish construction sector federation, and Jonathan Nguyen, from the rail industry association, also expressed concern about these exceptions. “We support the fact that the exceptions are managed by the Commission. [...] Exceptions have to be limited to cases of imperative need”, stressed Maria Angeles Asenjo.
Although the majority of the INTA Committee is united on this text, it is divided on the issue of adjusting the scores of bidders. This consists of reducing the score of a bidder if its country of origin discriminates against European companies in its public procurement. According to Reinhard Bütikofer, this is a somewhat bureaucratic option that could be dispensed with and exclude these companies directly: “When our companies are excluded from other public procurements, we should respond in kind”.
See the proposal for a report by Daniel Caspary: https://bit.ly/38 6/9K (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)