Local and regional governments as service providers

The need for a 'better coordination among European Commission services", as defended by CEMR, was taken into account by rapporteur Heide Rühle in her draft report on new developments in public procurement.

The MEP was invited to the CEMR working group, attended by 36 local and regional government representatives from 16 countries, on public services and procurement on 18 March to discuss her draft report. She had presented the report to the European Parliament Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) the previous day.

During the meeting, she expressed her belief that the objectives underlined in the 2004 revision of the public procurement directives have not yet been achieved. The situation has instead become more complicated due, in part, to the various European Court of Justice rulings.

 

In its policy paper, CEMR underlines the lack of coordination between the different services of the Commission and in the interaction between EU and other policies. Thus, members of the working group were pleased to hear from Rühle that the Commission DG Internal Market and Services (MARKT) is currently preparing a communication regarding these concerns.

 

The rapporteur called for an evaluation of the existing directives, with the involvement of relevant stakeholders, before proposing any new legislation.

 

Rühle's draft report will be put to vote within the IMCO Committee on 28 April.