DG REGIO Peer2Peer Public Procurement: for the first time in the new year on public procurement within the framework of international cooperation

On 22nd January an on-line meeting of the Public Procurement group was held with the participation of CEUTP expert and about 30 representatives of institutions from other EU Member States involved in the management and control process within EU projects.

The meeting began with the introduction of key participants, including representatives of DG REGIO, PwC and Community Champions, i.e. the leaders of the group, who present issues selected by themselves and the participants, thereby setting the tone for the group’s work.

The role of Community Champions in the group is performed by:

• representative of the CEUTP (Control and Audit Department) – Przemysław Ostrowski;
• representative of the Ministry of Interior from Bulgaria – Kristina Vasileva;
• representative of the Minstry of Transport and Communication from Bulgaria – Yasen Markov;
• representative of Audit Authority in Croatia (ARPA) – Antonija Ćurić.

Przemysław Ostrowski (CEUTP) was the first to speak. He raised the topic of the recent case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the field of public Procurement:

• Case C-769/23 Mara soc. coop. Arl v Ministero della Difesa,Gruppo Samir Global Service Srl
• and Case C‑210/24 Asociación de Empresas de Servicios para la Dependencia (AESTE)
  v Ayuntamiento de Ortuella

and additionally presented the latest and useful information regarding documents which appeared on the websites of institutions participating in the public procurement system:

– on the website of the Public Procurement Office in Poland: „Guide to the regulations on green procurement”;

– on the website of the Spanish Ministry of Finance (Ministerio de Hacienda): „Report of the general intervention of the state administration relating to the main control results in matters of public procurement in accordance with article 332.11 of the LCSP” i.e. collected findings and recommendations from control process carried out in Spanish contracting authorities.

The final part of the meeting consisted of presentations by Yasen Markov and Przemysław Ostrowski, addressing the multifaceted principle of proportionality in public procurement.
Drawing on practical examples form the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU and the National Appeal Chamber, as well as appeals filed by economic operators regarding the provisions of terms of reference, it was demonstrated, when broadly understood requierements can be defined as proportionate to the subject matter of the contract, and when on the contrary.

This event proved once again that Peer2Peer provides an interactive, needed and rapidly growing platform for the exchange of knowledge and experience between public administration employees in the EU. It is also worth highlighting the active participation of meeting participants, who, during the interactive part of the meeting (using the Mural tool), presented proposals for numerous new procurement – realted topics, particularly the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Community meetings will continue, recognizing the value of exchanging information on public procurement (case law, documents and personal experience) in order to stay up to date and enhance our knowledge and skills.