Public procurement in the EU – Less competition for contracts awarded for works, goods and services in the 10 years up to 2021

Summary:

Public procurement is a key element of the EU’s single market. It helps public authorities in member states achieve the best value for money when purchasing works, goods and services by selecting the best performing companies. This in turn contributes to making markets competitive and safeguards the public interest. We found that over the last decade, competition for public contracts has decreased, and that the 2014 reform of the EU directives has not shown signs of reversing it. Overall, there is a lack of awareness for competition in public procurement.

Data available is not used systematically to identify root causes for the decrease and only scattered actions are taken to reduce obstacles. We conclude that key goals of the EU’s 2014 reform to ensure competition, such as simplifying and shortening the procurement procedures, have not been met and that some of the objectives may even reduce competition. We recommend clarify and prioritise public procurement objectives, close the gaps in the public procurement data collected, improve its monitoring tools to allow better analysis, deepen the root cause analysis and put forward an action plan to overcome key obstacle​s to competition in public procurement.

Further information:

The Council of the European Union adopted on 24 May 2024 a set of conclusions reacting to this ECA Special Report.

• Primary Source

• Alternative Source

Commentary and Analysis

European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA): Blog, 29/01/2024: The Future of Public Procurement: The Impact of the ECA’s special report 28/2023 https://www.eipa.eu/blog/the-future-of-public-procurement-the-impact-of-the-ecas-special-report-28-2023/

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News

Reuters, 04/12/2023: EU auditors warn about worsening competition in public procurement https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-auditors-warn-about-worsening-competition-public-procurement-2023-12-04/

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Official

European Court of Auditors (ECA): News, 04/12/2023: Competition for public tenders in Europe shrinking https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/news/NEWS-SR-2023-28

EUR-LEX: C Series, 03/06/2024: Council Conclusions on the European Court of Auditors’ Special Report No. 28/2023 Improve a fair and effective competition for EU public procurement contracts awarded for works, goods, and services http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/3521/oj

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