WRITTEN QUESTION E-2640/99

by Antonios Trakatellis (PPE-DE), Ioannis Marínos (PPE-DE) and Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(12 January 2000)

Subject: Legal arrangements for the awarding of contracts and the construction quality of projects in Greece

Significant problems have arisen due to the inadequacy, lack of transparency and distortions in the institutional framework for the awarding of contracts and programmes, and because of the slipshod approach and inadequacy of the Greek inspection and supervisory authorities concerning the proper monitoring of Community projects under construction. In many instances the Commission has received complaints concerning the awarding of contracts, resulting in delays in the completion of contracts and possibly the loss of the corresponding Community appropriations.

Given that the planned third Community support framework for Greece (2000-2006) provides for nine trillion drachmas for the implementation of various infrastructure projects and development programmes and given that further construction projects are envisaged with a view to the 2004 Olympic Games:

1. What is the situation in Greece as regards the incorporation into national law and the application of the Community rules on the legal arrangements for agreements and the allocation of contracts and programmes?

2. What assessment has been made of their application and what measures will the Commission take in the event of breach of Community rules or distortion of the operating conditions of the market in question?

3. In which Community projects has substandard work been identified by the special supervisory council (ESPEL) in Greece and in which of these have fines and sanctions been imposed on those responsible?

4. What will be done to ensure transparency, the credibility of the system for awarding and completing contracts and the elimination of substandard work in Greece, in order to bring about shorter delays, a higher utilisation rate of Community appropriations and better quality in the construction of projects?

Answer by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(1 March 2000)

The Commission would like to inform the honourable Members that Greece has already transposed a number of directives on public contracts, namely Council Directives 93/36/EEC of 14 June 1993 coordinating procedures for the award of public supply contracts(1), 93/37/EEC of 14 June 1993 concerning the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts(8), 92/50/EEC of 18 June 1992 relating to the coordination of procedures for the award of

public service contracts(2), and 89/665/EEC of 21 December 1989 on the coordination of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the application of review procedures to the award of public supply and public works contracts(3). The national provisions for transposition do not seem to indicate any special problems of compatibility with Community rules. However, it must be acknowledged that there are still some significant delays with regard to the transposition of directives on public contracts in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors: Council Directives 93/38/EEC of 14 June 1993 coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors(9) and 92/13/EEC of 25 February 1992 coordinating the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the application of Community rules on the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors(4), together with Council Directive 97/52/EC(5) of 13 October 1997 amending Directives 92/50/EEC, 93/36/EEC and 93/37/EEC concerning the coordination of procedures for the award of public service contracts, public supply contracts and public works contracts respectively, in order to take account of the Council's approval of the international agreement on government procurement under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Because of the Greek authorities' failure to communicate the national texts transposing these directives, the Commission has initiated infringement proceedings and decided to bring some of these matters before the Court of Justice.

The Commission would also like to inform the honourable Members that it ensures that the procedures for awarding public contracts are properly applied in every Member State. In this regard, the Commission cooperates above all with the national authorities in the framework of its package meetings in order to promote awareness of Community rules in this area and to ensure their proper application. At the same time, it also investigates complaints and can initiate infringement proceedings, as laid down in Article 226 (ex Article 169) of the EC Treaty in the event of national authorities' acting in breach of Community rules.

As for improving the overall production system for public works with the aim of making more efficient use of Community funds, the Commission would like to point out that the Community Support Framework II provides for the introduction of a joint steering committee that has proposed a number of measures, some of which were adopted some time ago. The Commission expects this reform to be speeded up and the necessary measures taken to ensure effective compliance by the authorities undertaking the works.

Lastly, with regard to the quality of the works that have been jointly funded and the activities of the special supervisory council (ESPEL), the honourable Members are referred to the answers given to written questions E-1912/99 by Mr Hadzidakis(6) and E-2017/99 by Mr Papayannakis(7).

(1) OJ L 199, 9.8.1993.

(2) OJ L 209, 24.7.1992.

(3) OJ L 395, 30.12.1989.

(4) OJ L 76, 23.3.1992.

(5) OJ L 328, 28.11.1997.

(6) See page 2.

(7) See page 5.

(8) OJ L 199, 9.8.1993.

(9) OJ L 199, 9.8.1993.