1. E-procurement in the 2014 EU Directives on Public Procurement
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT REFORM IN UKRAINE 27 May 2015
Matija Matoković
DG GROW E4

2. E-procurement: definition
“Carrying out of public procurement by electronic means (i.e. using electronic tools)”
Numerous different interpretations of ‘electronic’:
Scanned paper (e.g. PDF), sent as attachment via ?
Making documents available online for downloading (and printing)?
Manual entry of data into a portal/platform?
Transfer of fully structured information sets (e.g. XML files, EDI)?
Some phases of public procurement more ‘e-able’ than others (e.g. access vs. evaluation)

3. E-procurement in the EU context
Part of a broader EU policy agenda
Building a true Digital Single Market
Reform of public procurement Directives / ‘end-to-end e- procurement’

4. E-procurement: a complex problem
Opportunity to rethink PP:
Moving beyond the lowest price quality – how to focus on quality?
Designing the best e-procurement system:
Commercial vs. public?
Centralised vs. decentralised?
Buying vs. developing?
E-procurement systems are not exempt from PP rules

5. E-procurement is a game changer…

6. Busy years ahead! PP Directives entry into force – Apr 2014
eInvoicing Directive – May 2014
Adoption of ESPD – 2015
e-CERTIS
eNotification/eAccess (all CAs) – Apr 2016
eSubmission (CPBs) – Apr 2017
CEN eInvoicing standard – May 2017
eSubmission (all CAs) –October 2018
eInvoicing (central + CPBs) * - Nov 2019
eInvoicing (all CAs) * - Nov 2020
* Depending on the availability of the European standard

7. What has been agreed on so far at EU level?
e-Notification:
Notices shall be drawn up & transmitted by electronic means to the Commission and published in TED – Art. 51
New version of the standard forms
e-Access:
Full electronic availability of procurement documents – Art. 53
From the date of publication of the notice
List of exceptions
e-Submission:
Tenders to be submitted electronically – Art. 22
List of exceptions (technical issues, security issues)
e-Invoicing – Directive 2014/55/EU

8. What has been agreed on so far at EU level?
e-Catalogues:
CA can mandate them for certain specific issues
CA may require that tenders are presented in the form of an electronic catalogue
Specific rules for purchasing through Central Purchasing Bodies (CPBs)
All procedures conducted by CPBs to be performed using electronic means as of April 2017
Aggregators have a major leverage in the take up of e-procurement

9. What has been agreed on so far at EU level?
e-Tools/devices used must be non-discriminatory, generally available, and interoperable
Commission may adopt delegated acts to address issues of interoperability (e.g. technical formats, messaging)
Can impose standards, but very tough conditions for doing so
Proven problems of interoperability
Standard must already be in use and tested
COM to consider costs of adaptation of existing systems

10. Benefits for public authorities
Contributes to the modernisation of the public sector
More citizen- and business-friendly administration
Greater efficiency and effectiveness
Potential for significant savings
Simplification of processes
Better prices due to increased competition
Creates new business opportunities for enterprises
Greater competition
Helps to reduce fraud & corruption
Greater transparency, greater security of data, better control mechanisms
Reduces risk of litigation

11. Issues for public authorities
Which model to choose?
Centralised
Decentralised
Development of systems: In-house, Buy off the shelf, SaaS (Software as a service; private providers)
Ensuring administrative capacity
Communication and coordination with other parts of the public administration
Access to data
Dealing with legacy systems

12. Benefits for economic operators
Administrative simplification/cutting red tape
Simplification of processes
Process automation and spill over to other PA areas
Shorter purchase-to-pay cycle
Quicker payments
Easier access to PP markets, especially SMEs
Increased opportunities
Increased competition
Greater accountability in the public sector
Greater transparency, greater traceability, better control mechanisms

13. Issues for economic operators
Available training and education
Trust in the available systems
Lack of interoperability among platforms
Institutional inertia i.e. unwillingness to change

14. Electronic means of communication in public procurement
Directive 2014/24/EU
E-access:
Obligatory full e-access though generally available means or ensured alternative means of access
If using provisional tokens, they should be made available free of charge online or support an alternative channel
E-submission
Obligatory (there are exceptions) 14

15. Electronic means of communication in public procurement
Six exceptions:
Tools, devices, or file formats not generally available
IPR-related issues
Specialised office equipment (e.g. wide-format printers)
Submission of a physical or scale model
Protection of particularly sensitive information
Breach of platform security
Exceptions can be catered for through post, carrier or a combination with possibly eMeans 15

16. eSubmission
Electronic tenders must be received by eTendering solution within deadline
Economic operators receive a proof of delivery upon successful submission of their tender
Economic operators can resubmit their tenders up until the submission deadline
eTendering platforms keep tenders encrypted until the opening session 16

17. How does the Commission support the transition to e-procurement?
Ensuring correct transposition of e-procurement legislation
Multistakholder Forums: EXEP and EMSFEI
Structural funds (training and infrastructure)
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF)
Revision of standard forms (version 1)
European Single Procurement Document (ESPD)
E-Certis 2.0

18. Future Interoperability between eTendering systems
EO can use one communication tool to search for opportunities
EO can use this communication tool as well to retrieve procurement documents
EO can use this tool to submit bids electronically
Interoperability in eSubmission and eAccess wil be piloted within the large scale project eSENS

19. Smart Public Procurement: new frontiers for public procurement
The fourth annual conference on public procurement is taking place on 12 June 2015 in Prague, Czech Republic. The theme is smart public procurement
It is organised by the European Commission and the Czech Ministry of Regional Development
Registration link:

20. Thank you matija.matokovic@ec.europa.eu grow-e4@ec.europa.eu