European Court of Justice: EU Takes Germany to Task Over Public Procurement Regulations Mishaps 🚨🇩🇪🇪🇺
Germany is facing legal action from the European Union over allegations of breaching public procurement regulations.
gi tremendously critical of Germany's public procurement regulations. Despite attempting improvements, Germany hasn't adequately complied with relevant EU law, according to the Brussels authority.
One of the main concerns is the ambiguous definition of contracting authority in German law, making it challenging to select the appropriate procurement procedure. Furthermore, contracting authorities in the postal sector aren't obligated to comply with public procurement regulations.
The EU Commission reached out to Germany twice in 2019, and issued a reasoned opinion in 2021, demanding changes. Despite partial reactions from the German government, three of the eight identified problems remain unaddressed, prompting the Commission to take legal action.
Competition in public tenders is crucial for all parties involved, emphasized the Commission. It ensures fair conditions for businesses and enables authorities to find the best offer.
Modifying the European Commission-Germany tug-of-war over public procurement regulations boils down to Germany's purported misapplication of EU public procurement law. The Commission moved to take Germany to court as Berlin has not fully complied with EU rules on how public contracts should be awarded and tendered[🔗1][🔗2].
Germany aims to streamline its national procurement rules and simplify procurement processes for its Federal Army, but this may weaken safeguards by increasing value thresholds and reducing full competitive procedures[🔗4]. Additionally, proposals for new qualitative criteria (social, green) in procurement decisions may conflict with the EU public procurement directive framework[🔗1][🔗2].
At the heart of the fracas is the reinforcement of qualitative criteria in the awarding of public contracts. Germany's approach to these new criteria and its national procurement reforms seem to clash with the EU public procurement directive framework, triggering the Commission's infringement procedure and referral to the European Court of Justice[🔗1][🔗2][🔗3][🔗4].
Sources: ntv.de, dpa 📰
Potential Infringement from Germany's national procurement rules Public Procurement Law: Critiques and Controversies Reform Proposals in German National Procurement EU Public Procurement Directive: A Closer Look
- The European Union's criticism of Germany's public procurement regulations is largely due to industry concerns, notably non-compliance with EU law in the definition of contracting authority and obligations for contracting authorities in the postal sector.
- The ongoing conflict between the European Commission and Germany revolves around policy-and-legislation issues, particularly Germany's alleged misapplication of EU public procurement law, which includes the reinforcement of qualitative criteria in the awarding of public contracts.
- In terms of business and finance, the dispute between the European Commission and Germany highlights the importance of adhering to EU public procurement policies, as competition in public tenders ensures fair conditions for businesses and helps authorities find the best offers.
