Public procurement

Single Market Review:
During 1997 EUR-OP and Kogan Page have been progressively publishing the titles in the major new series Single Market Review. This is a set of thirty nine volumes detailing the results of an exercise undertaken by the European Commission in 1996 assessing the progress made in implementing the Single Market Programme (SMP). The thirty nine volumes look at specific business sectors or Single Market issues, plus a business survey. Each report has been compiled by leading subject experts and co-ordinated by the Commission.

The first titles published in the series were described in 'Recent publications of interest' in European Access, No.3, 5 and 6, 1997. Recently, there has been a positive flood of new titles, brief details of which are noted below.

European Commission, DG XV/II
Public procurement
The Single Market Review, Subseries III:
Dismantling of Barriers, Vol.2
EC/Kogan Page, 1997
ISBN: 92-827-8790-7 (EC)/ 0-7494-2325-0(Kogan Page)
EC, No.C1-69-96-002-EN-C
Price: € 60.00/ £50.00

The opening-up of public procurement was seen as one of the cornerstones of the SMP. Before the SMP, analysts viewed public-sector markets as closed and generally uncompetitive. Between 1988 and 1993 a family of Directives was adopted defining the scope of public procurement and regulating the ways in which public and other covered purchasing entities procureworks, supplies and services. The aim of the legislation was to provide a framework for, and climate of, openness and fairness. The expectation was that this would lead to increased competition and reduced costs. This study investigates whether the SMP legislation in the public procurement sector has been successful.