Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the "Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)"
Date: 2002-03-14
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: award of contract, exchange of information, public contract, single market, statistical nomenclature, terminology

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12.8.2002

members and their local and regional authorities, in the design
and delivery of workshops and other aspects of the Forum.
Given the central role played by local and regional authorities

in both leading and facilitating local development, the CoR
requests that it be consulted and involved from a very early
stage in the planning and conceptualisation of the Forum.

Brussels, 13 March 2002.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Albert BORE

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘Proposal for a Regulation of the European
Parliament and of the Council on the Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)’

(2002/C 192/12)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Proposal for a ‘Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the
Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)’ (COM(2001) 449 final);

having regard to the decision of the Council on 15 September 2001, under the first paragraph of
Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to consult it on this matter;

having regard to the decision of the President of the Committee of the Regions on 11 September 2001 to
instruct Commission 6 (Employment, Economic Policy, Single Market, Industry and SMEs) to draw up an
opinion on this subject;

having regard to the Commission’s Communication on Public Procurement in the European Union,
COM(98) 143 final;

having regard to its opinion on the Commission’s Communication on public procurement in the
European Union, CdR 108/98 fin (1);

having regard to the Commission’s Green Paper on public procurement in the European Union: Exploring
the way forward, COM(96) 583 final;

having regard to its opinion on the Green Paper on public procurement in the European Union: Exploring
the way forward, CdR 81/97 fin (2);

having regard to the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the
coordination of procedures for the award of public supply contracts, public service contracts and public
works contracts and the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council
coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy and transport sectors
(COM(2000) 275 final and COM(2000) 276 final);

(1) OJ C 373, 2.12.1998, p. 13.
(2) OJ C 244, 11.8.1997, p. 28.

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having regard to its Opinion on the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the
Council on the coordination of procedures for the award of public supply contracts, public service
contracts and public works contracts and the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of
the Council coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy and
transport sectors, CdR 312/2000 fin (1);

having regard to the draft opinion (CdR 391/2001 rev. 2) adopted unanimously by Commission 6 on
21 January 2002 (rapporteur: Ms Segersten Larsson, S-EPP, Opposition Commissioner, Värmland County
Council);

whereas the Committee of the Regions strongly supports the CPV and welcomes the new, improved
version of the nomenclature, it would point to the need to consider further changes in order to make the
code more relevant and navigable,

adopted the following opinion unanimously at its 43rd plenary session of 13 and 14 March 2002
(meeting of 14 March).

1. Views of the Committee of the Regions on the

proposal

1.1.
The Committee of the Regions feels that an effective
procurement nomenclature is a prerequisite for proper oper-
ation of public procurement. Unless the contracting entities
are able to classify tenders relevantly, potential suppliers will
not be able to find the notices of tender, thereby impeding
competition.

Delivery of bed linen to hospitals is included among health
services while bed linen for medical staff is classified as a
laundry service. Another problem is that certain products are
classified under several different headings, which makes it
difficult for contracting entities to know whether they have
indicated the right product. Classification of medicines is
another area where many problems arise. The distinction
made between the different headings causes much confusion.
Purchasers of medicines find it hard to understand why this
particular classification was chosen. For instance, why are five
vaccines specified as preparations yet there is no heading
whatsoever for many groups of medicines?

In previous opinions on public procurement

1.2.
the
Committee of the Regions has stressed the urgency of stream-
lining rules in this area. With this in mind the Committee
warmly welcomes the Commission’s proposal that a single
system should be used. That will make it easier for both
contracting entities and suppliers. The Committee fully sup-
ports the view that an effective classification system is an
excellent tool for making the process easier for both parties
and substantially reducing the risk of misunderstandings. It
also saves time and money by improving the efficiency of
tenders.

1.3.
Though the Committee welcomes the new, improved
version of the CPV nomenclature, it feels that the CPV is still
afflicted with shortcomings which make it difficult to navigate.
One of the reasons is that many contracting entities active in
the field regard the basic structure as illogical. In addition,
some sections of the classification are felt to be far too detailed,
and others far too rough.

1.4.
To take some examples of confusing classification:
comforters and credit cards are in the same group. Picture
frames, hooks and eyes and ship propellers are in another.
Pumps for medical use are classified among concrete pumps.

1.5.
The Committee would stress that e-commerce is
increasingly gaining ground in the Member States. An effective
procurement nomenclature is a prerequisite for optimum
efficiency.

1.6.
The Committee would point out that a better CPV
could also provide the Commission with a tool for obtaining
accurate procurement statistics directly through TED (2), there-
by reducing the administrative burden on the contracting
entities.

1.7.
The Committee of the Regions points out that the CPV
is an example where an early involvement of the CoR and
better involvement of local and regional actors in preparation
of EU policy-making in Member States, as outlined in the
White Paper on European Governance (3), would have strength-
ened the consultation procedure of the European Commission
as the amending of CPV to a sufficient extent can only be done
by practitioners that work with the CPV regularly.

(1) OJ C 144, 16.5.2001, p. 23.

(2) Tenders Electronic Daily.
(3) European Governance: A white paper COM(2001) 428 final.

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1.8.
The Committee of the Regions urges the Commission,
the European Parliament and the Council to consider the
amendments proposed to the CPV in this opinion and also to
consider further amendments proposed by local and regional
players or their representatives at a later stage of the decision-
making procedure on the CPV.

2. Recommendations of the Committee of the Regions

concerning the proposal

Several earlier Committee of the Regions opinions on
2.1.
public procurement have highlighted the practical problems
connected with the CPV (1).

The Committee supports a single nomenclature but on
2.2.
condition that it operates satisfactorily. Feedback from both
contracting entities and firms indicates that the revised CPV is
still imprecise, uneven and difficult to navigate.

2.3.
The main problem is considered to be the illogical
basic structure. In the case of goods, a classification according
to the potential use of the product, rather than the material
used for its manufacture, should be considered. The difficulty
of the latter approach is that a product is classified in many
different places. Where internationally recognised and applied

(1) CdR 81/97 fin, p. 3.4.1-3.4.3, CdR 108/1998 fin, p. 3.3.5,

CdR 312/2000 fin, p. 2.8.1-2.8.4.

Brussels, 14 March 2002.

methods of classification exist in an area, their use should be
envisaged, as in the case of medicines, where the ATC system
could suitably be applied. The ATC nomenclature is drawn up
by the WHO and recommended for notification of the use of
medicines.

2.4.
Public procurement offers to tender should seek out
suppliers which do not primarily target the public sector or a
particular geographical area. In this connection it should be
noted that a classification system exists for seeking, selecting
and identifying products and services: the UNSPSC (Universal
Standard Products and Service Classification). This system has
now made a major impact, via e-commerce, on many groups
of users.

2.5.
The desired smooth interaction between the CVP and
UNSPSC can be achieved, for instance, by compiling an inter-
system cross-reference list. The Commission should therefore
take steps, in conjunction with the UNSPSC, to see that such
inter-system cross-reference lists relevant to e-commerce are
compiled and kept updated.

2.6.
To ensure the success of efforts to review, maintain
and update the CVP and to attain the common objective of
achieving an effective nomenclature,
it is vital to involve
contracting entities and suppliers active in the field. As regional
and local authorities are responsible for a large share of public
procurement, the Committee of the Regions recommends a
large proportion of the procurement experts should come
from these bodies.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Albert BORE