Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social committee and the Committee of the Regions - Action plan for the implementation of the legal framework for electronic public procurement {SEC(2004)1639}
Date: 2004-12-29
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: action programme, award of contract, electronic document, electronic government, electronic signature, information system, invitation to tender, public contract, standardisation

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 29.12.2004 
COM(2004) 841 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Action plan for the implementation of the legal framework for electronic public 
procurement 

{SEC(2004)1639} 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Action plan for the implementation of the legal framework for electronic public 
procurement 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

Introduction………………………………………………………………………... 4 

Objectives and Action……………………………………………………………...4 

2.1. 

Ensure a well functioning Internal Market in electronic public procurement……...4 

2.2.  Achieve greater efficiency in procurement, improve governance and competitiveness 

……………………………………………………………………………………...9 

2.3.  Work towards an international framework for electronic public procurement…….13 

3. 

Implementation of e-procurement Action Plan and Monitoring…………………...13 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

This  Communication  proposes  an  Action  Plan  for  the  implementation  of  the  new  legal 
framework for electronic public procurement adopted in April 2004 as part of the legislative 
package  of  Procurement  Directives,  2004/18/EC  and  2004/17/EC.  These  provide  a  coherent 
framework  for  conducting  procurement  electronically  in  an  open,  transparent  and  non-
discriminatory  way,  establish  rules  for  tendering  electronically  and  fix  the  conditions  for 
modern purchasing techniques based on electronic means of communication.  

If online procurement is generalised, it can save governments up to 5% on expenditure and up 
to 50-80% on transaction costs for both buyers and suppliers. While it is difficult to quantify 
competition and efficiency benefits for the EU as a whole, greater competition and efficiency 
in public procurement markets can impact - directly and indirectly -  on the whole  economy 
and play an important role in achieving the Lisbon objectives.  

However,  the  inappropriate  introduction  of  e-procurement  carries  high  risks  of  market 
fragmentation.  The  legal,  technical  and  organisational  barriers  that  may  result  from 
procurement online are one of the greatest challenges for policy makers. 
The consultations as part of the impact assessment conducted by the Commission1 confirm the 
need  for  an  Action  Plan.  Member  States,  candidate  countries  and  businesses  are  ready  to 
participate  in  it.  Building  upon  existing  efforts  to  modernise  European  public  procurement 
markets  and  to  make  these  more  open  and  competitive, the Commission proposes measures 
along three axes:  

•  Ensure  a  well  functioning  Internal  Market  when  public  procurement  is  conducted 

electronically;  

•  Achieve greater efficiency in procurement and improve governance; 

•  Work towards an international framework for electronic public procurement. 

2. 

OBJECTIVES AND ACTION 

2.1. 

Ensure a well functioning Internal Market in electronic public procurement 

2.1.1. 

Implement the legal framework correctly and on time  

Member States are required to implement the new legal framework by 31 January 2006, but 
slippages cannot be excluded. Early adoption of the new e-procurement provisions is essential 
to  avoid  barriers  to  and  distortion  of  competition.  It  is  also  very  important  for  the  rapid 
development and the effective use of  e-procurement by economic  operators. Member States 
should deploy all efforts to comply with the Directives’ deadline. 

Erroneous or divergent interpretation of the new rules can create barriers to cross-border trade 
and ultimately fragment the market. The Commission will monitor transposition closely and 
encourage  appropriate  exchanges  with  the  Member  States  at  the  draft  stage  in  order  to 
facilitate understanding of the legal framework. It will issue an interpretative document on the 

1  SEC  (2004)  1639,  Extended  Impact  Assessment  for  an  Action  Plan  on  electronic  public  procurement, 

Commission staff working document  

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legal requirements for e-procurement. At the same, time training demonstrators simulating the 
new  electronic  environment  will  be  available  to  support  initiation  of  administrations  and 
businesses. 

•  1st quarter 2005 The Commission issues an interpretative document on the new rules on 

electronic public procurement 

•  1st  quarter  2005  The  Commission  makes  online  training  demonstrators  available, 
allowing  contracting  authorities  and  economic  operators  to  familiarise  with  the  new  e-
procurement provisions and tools 
2005 The Commission provides appropriate assistance to Member States in transposing 
the new legal provisions 

• 

2.1.2.  Complete the legal framework by the appropriate basic tools  

Of all notices sent for publication on TED2, 90 % are still in paper form. The standard forms 
established  by  Directive  2001/78/EC  have  slightly  improved  the  situation.  Their  processing 
however still implicates high costs, delaying publication and increasing risks of errors. 

The new Directives do not provide for an all electronic notification system; this would not be 
feasible  in  the  short  run  given  the  different  levels  of  development  and  penetration  of 
electronic  means  in  the  Member  States.  Instead,  a  phased  approach  has  been  chosen.  The 
Commission  will  adopt  in  early  2005  a  Regulation  on  standard  forms  adjusting  the  existing 
forms to the elements introduced by the new Directives, e.g. e-auctions, dynamic purchasing 
systems  and  buyer  profiles.  By  the  end  of  2006,  the  Commission  will  propose  a  new 
generation  of  structured  electronic  standard  forms  to  allow  for  the  electronic  collection, 
processing and dissemination of all procurement notices covered by the Directives. This new 
generation  should  facilitate  the  automatic  production  of  summaries  in  all  official  EU 
languages,  and  should  be  easy  to  integrate  into  all  operational  e-procurement  systems.  The 
establishment of an electronic directory of EU public purchasers should also be considered. 

The new Directives make the use of the Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV), introduced 
by  Regulation  2195/2002/EC,  mandatory.  Electronic  public  procurement  creates  new 
possibilities for using the CPV, e.g. structuring and analysing procurement expenditure, or the 
compilation  of  statistics.  Revision  of  the  CPV  is  under  way  to  adjust  it  for  use  in  a  fully 
electronic  environment.  To  this  end,  a  study  was  launched  to  which  Member  States  and 
interested  parties  will  be  invited  to  actively  contribute.  If  successfully  completed  it  should 
lead to a world class international classification model for public procurement contracts.  

•  In  early  2005  The  Commission  adopts  new  Standard  Forms  taking  account  of  new 

procedures and the use of electronic means of communication. 

•  By  early  2006  The  Commission  presents  proposals  for  revising  the  Common 
Procurement Vocabulary based on the results of the review study currently under way 
•  By end 2006  the  Commission  presents  a  blueprint  for  a  fully  electronic  system  for  the 

collection and publication of procurement notices on TED 

•  By  end  2007  Member  States  implement  fully  electronic  systems  at  national  level 

including appropriate tools for automated collection and publishing in TED 

2  ‘Tenders  Electronic  Daily’,  the  EU  official  website  which  publishes  all  notices  covered  by  the  Procurement 

Directives.  

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2.1.3.  Remove / prevent barriers in carrying public procurement procedures electronically 

Barriers businesses fear most in cross-border tendering are inappropriate design of tendering 
systems  and  incompatible  IT  standards.  Diversity  and  incompatibility  of  technical  solutions 
can  render  suppliers’  access  to  e-procurement  systems  impossible  or  discourage  their 
participation because of additional difficulties or increased costs. Barriers may exist in terms 
of functional as well as technical characteristics. 

In  moving  procurement  online  Member  States  should  at  all  stages  be  guided  by  the  basic 
concept  that  means  of  communication  and  tools  used  in  electronic  public  procurement 
systems be non-discriminatory, generally available and interoperable and by no means restrict 
economic operators’ access to the tendering procedure. 

To  prevent  the  emergence  of  e-barriers,  Member  States  should  use  the  results  of  the 
Commission’s functional requirements analysis undertaken by IDA3 when drafting legislation 
and  designing  e-procurement  systems.  The  results  of  the  project  will  be  validated  by  the 
Commission and the Member States in light of the interpretative document to be issued by the 
Commission in 2005. 

To  build  up  confidence  in  e-procurement,  the  development  of  compliance  verification 
schemes should be promoted. The Commission strongly recommends that Member States, in 
accordance  with  the  Directives,  introduce  or  maintain  voluntary  accreditation  schemes  to 
ascertain  that  e-procurement  systems  conform  to  the  requirements  of  the  Directives.  A 
European scheme which would build on and integrate national schemes would seem desirable 
to ensure the smooth functioning of the Internal Market. The Commission and Member States 
should  examine  through  a  feasibility  study  the  development  of  such  a  TRUST  (Transparent 
Reliable Unhindered Secure Tendering) scheme based on the functional requirements. 

Some  horizontal  problems  also  threaten  to  negatively  affect  the  functioning  of  the  Internal 
Market and the initiation of e-procurement. Potential difficulties relate to the use of advanced 
electronic  signatures,  in  particular  signatures  based  on  a  qualified  certificate  and  which  are 
created by a secure-signature-creation device (hereafter ‘qualified signatures’).  

The  new  Directives  do  not  define  which  type  of  e-signature  should  be  used  in  electronic 
tendering. Thus Member States - who have different legal signature concepts – may choose 
the level they require in conformity with the e-signatures Directive 1999/93/EC. However, the 
Directives oblige any public purchaser in the EU to effectively recognize, receive and process 
tenders submitted, if required, with a qualified signature and their accompanying certificates, 
regardless of their origin within the EU or their technical characteristics, and even when they 
contain documents of different origins (i.e., from a consortium of suppliers) and possibly bear 
signatures of different levels from different sources (i.e., from different national authorities).  

This  makes  e-procurement  the  first  sector  in  which  businesses  use  qualified  signatures  in 
transactions  with  public  authorities  in  a  Member  State  other  than  their  home  country.  The 
existing  significant  differences  between  qualified  signatures  as  required  by  some  Member 
States  should  therefore  be  reason  for  great  concern.  The  interoperability  problems  detected 

3 ‘Interchange of data between administrations’ programme 

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despite the existence of standards4, and the absence of a mature European market for this type 
of signatures pose a real and possibly persistent obstacle to cross-border e-procurement5. 

A  project  called  Bridge/Gateway  CA  was  launched  under  the  IDA  programme  in  2002  to 
address  the  issue  of  recognition  and  trust  of  electronic  certificates  issued  by  different 
Certification Authorities (CAs) in the framework of exchanging secure e-mails and signatures 
between  different  national  administrations.  The  results  of  the  Bridge/Gateway  CA  Pilot, 
including  recommendations  on  technical,  organisational  and  operational  aspects  of  such 
operational  schemes,  should  be  available  by  mid-2005.  Although  addressing  some  issues 
related to e-procurement, it would not, however, be enough to resolve the problems described 
above  before  the  2006  deadline.  Building  on  the  current  efforts,  Member  States  and  the 
Commission,  hearing  industry’s  views,  should  work  together  on  an  operational  project  to 
rapidly  find  a  solution  based  on  the  mutual  recognition  principle.  At  this  stage,  the 
Commission would favour a solution to test and promote solutions enabling cross-border use 
of  qualified  signatures.  Any  solution  identified  should  be  easy  to  generalise  also  in  other 
fields of activity. In the meantime, the Commission recommends that Member States examine 
any  appropriate  transitional  measures,  e.g.,  confirmation  in  paper  form  for  tenderers  whose 
electronic signature does not correspond to the required one. 

Lack  of  generalised  and  interoperable  e-ordering  and  e-invoicing  tools  across  the  Internal 
Market  also  creates  obstacles  to  the  equal  participation  of  suppliers  in  cross-border 
procurement.  At  present,  these  types  of  transactions  are  little  used  in  practice  and  on  an 
optional  basis  only.  The  Commission  will  continue  monitoring  the  situation  while  solutions 
are being sought in the framework of standardisation activities undertaken by the EU. 

•  In 2005 Member States  and the Commission  test, refine and  validate the results  of the 
IDA  common  functional  requirements  for  e-procurement  systems,  based  on  the  2004 
IDA study on common functional requirements 

•  Early 2006 Member States review whether all operational e-procurement systems have 

been adjusted to the requirements of the Directives 

•  By  mid-2005  Member  States  introduce  national  accreditation  schemes  to  verify 

compliance of electronic tendering systems with the legal framework 

•  By  end  2005  Member  States  and  Commission  consider  through  a  feasibility  study 

whether to introduce a European compliance verification scheme 

•  In 2005-2006 The Commission proposes an action under the IDABC programme to help 
Member  States  coordinate  implementing  the  use  of  advanced  qualified  signatures  to 
resolve interoperability problems6 

•  By  31  January  2006  Member  States  apply,  if  required  by  national  law,  interoperable 

qualified electronic signatures  

4 Pursuant to Directive 1999/93/EC, technical standards have been promulgated within ETSI ESI and CEN/ISSS 

e-Sign Workshop. 

5  For  a  detailed  analysis  see  “The  legal  and  market  aspects  of  electronic  signatures”,  Study  for  the  European 

Commission, Interdisciplinary Centre for Law and Information Technology, CUL, Leuven, Oct. 2003. 

6  The  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  formally  adopted  on  21  April  2004  Decision  2004/387/EC 
establishing  the  new  IDABC  Programme.  Building  on  the  achievements  of  the  preceding  IDA 
programme its aim is to identify, support and promote the development of interoperable pan-European 
e-Government services as of 2005. 

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2.1.4.  Detect and address interoperability problems over time 

In  light  of  the  above,  it  is  clear  that  interoperability  problems  are  persisting  or  may  still 
emerge. Some have already been detected and appropriate actions have already been induced; 
others  should  be  discovered  through  the  gap  analysis  on  interoperability  needs  in  e-
procurement currently carried out by CEN/ISSS7. However, interoperability should remain a 
constant concern. Technical and operational developments make it necessary to continuously 
revise and improve existing systems covering all stages of the purchasing cycle. Standards in 
the  area  are  market-driven.  Relevant  input  from  RTD  projects  in  the  area  of  e-government 
should  also  be  considered.  Governments  must  follow  and  work  on  interoperable  solutions 
through  dialogue  between  the  different  parties  involved  either  at  national  or  European  level 
and trail developments in business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce in order to avoid 
driving a wedge between private and public procurement markets.  

The  Commission  will  continue  to  monitor  the  situation  with  respect  to  the  emergence  of 
interoperability problems in the Internal Market and in international trade and, if appropriate, 
consider issuing standardisation mandates. It would be desirable to continue current work in 
the  IDA  e-Procurement  workshop  and  to  continue  monitoring  developments  so  as  to  share 
information on specifications and good practices.  
•  By 1st quarter of 2005 CEN/ISSS completes gap analysis on interoperability needs for 

effective electronic public procurement 

•  2005-2007  The  Commission  proposes  to  continue  activities  on  electronic  public 
the  IDABC  programme  for  exchange  and  discussion  on 

procurement  under 
interoperability issues and monitoring of Member States developments 

•  2005-2007  The  Commission  and  Member  States  promote  standardisation  activities  at 

European level and liaise with international standardisation bodies 

2.2. 

Achieve  greater  efficiency 
competitiveness 

in  procurement, 

improve  governance  and 

2.2.1. 

Increase efficiency of public procurement and improve governance 

Moving  public  sector  procurement  online  requires  legal,  institutional  and  organisational 
changes at many levels. Member States will have to decide on the type and scope of purchases 
to  computerise,  the  policies  to  implement,  the  systems  and  tools  to  use  and  the  level  of 
administrations  involved.  The  risks  of  failure  are  not  negligible.  It  is  therefore  essential  to 
plan and monitor these efforts.  
Greater efficiency will depend on the degree of automation in the field of public procurement 
as  a  whole,  although  a  phased  development  of  e-procurement  is  most  likely  to  maximise 
benefits for both the public and the private sector. The Commission invites all Member States 
to  transpose  into  national  law  all  aspects  of  the  legislative  package  in  a  comprehensive 
manner. Governments should, however, be able to modulate and adjust implementation of the 
new  electronic  tools  and  techniques  over  time.  In  particular,  they  should  pay  attention  to 
potential  excessive  or  abusive  centralisation  of  purchases,  inappropriate  use  of  electronic 
auctions  and  preferences  for  closed  purchasing  systems  (e.g.  framework  agreements)  over 
open systems. Such practices may cancel out the benefits from increased efficiency.  
To optimise benefits, Member States should establish national plans to be complemented by 
individual plans especially for their most powerful buyers. Setting uniform targets and ways 

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for generalising e-procurement would not be expedient, as conditions in each Member State 
vary  considerably.  The  Commission  should  assist  Member  States  in  this  exercise  where 
appropriate  and  facilitate  the  dissemination  and  sharing  out  of  information.  It  will  also 
monitor developments through appropriate indicators using data from the TED database. The 
Public  Procurement  Network  established  in  Copenhagen  in  January  2003  could  provide  a 
forum for the exchange between Member States.  

Increased efficiency depends also on the automation of certain types of transactions such as 
invoices, orders and payments. Today at an early stage, their development is likely to pick-up 
driven  by  standardisation  and  automation  of  financial  and  budget  systems.  Following  a 
mandate  from  the  Commission,  CEN/ISSS  has  assessed  standards  requirements  and  is 
finalising  detailed  guidance  material  on  the  implementation  of  Directive  115/EC/2001  on 
electronic invoices. In addition, IDA is running a project for developing XML schemas for e-
procurement, including e-invoicing and e-ordering. Efforts in this area should be pursued in 
view of achieving interoperable solutions. 

National policies can hardly be developed in the appropriate quality without a detailed picture 
of  procurement  markets.  Existing  statistical  information  is  mostly  incomplete  and  data 
collection  mechanisms  are  poorly  organised.  E-procurement  presents  the  opportunity  to 
remedy  this  situation.  The  Commission  will  mobilise  the  Advisory  Committee  on  Public 
Contracts  (ACPC)  and  the  Working  Group  on  Statistical  Information  to  fully  exploit  the 
introduction of e-procurement new technologies. 

•  By  end  2005  Each  Member  State  prepares  a  national  plan  for  introducing  electronic 
public  procurement  setting  measurable  performance  targets,  taking  account  of  the 
specific national needs 

•  By end 2005 Each Member State encourages preparation of similar plans by individual 

national buyers and to coordinate and monitor their implementation 

•  In 2005-2006 The Commission continues monitoring work on e-invoices by CEN/ISSS 
and proposes the continuation of XML activities undertaken in 2003-2004 on e-invoices 
and e-ordering under IDABC 

•  By  end  2006  Member  States  set  up  efficient  electronic  systems  for  the  collection  and 

processing of statistical procurement data 

2.2.2. 

Increase competitiveness of public procurement markets across the EU 

The Commission’s online consultation of businesses identified transparency as a major aspect 
of  computerisation  of  public  procurement,  together  with  confidence  in  the  fairness  of 
awarding  procedures.  Electronic  means  offer  more  transparency  as  they  allow  for  easy  and 
timely  dissemination  of  contract  information  and  reduce  opportunities  and  incentives  for 
fraud. They can also improve the quality of government procurement management, including 
monitoring and decision-making. Practices for disseminating contract related information may 
differ  among  Member  State  as  well  as  requirements  for  traceability  and  auditing  of  e-
procurement  operations.  The  Public  Procurement  Network  could  play  an  active  role  in 
exchanging  information  and  practices  on  those  issues.  The  Commission  could  support  a 
benchmarking exercise with a view to compare and measure performances. 

The  majority  of  businesses  consider  that  online  procurement  should  require  less  effort  than 
traditional  procedures.  National  administrative  provisions  and  guidelines  regulating 
procurement  procedures  have  been  conceived  with  a  view  to  the  handling  of  operations  in 
paper  form.  Electronic  means  offer  new  opportunities  to  streamline  procedures  and  save 

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suppliers  time  and  money.  Success  depends  on  the  degree  of  transformation  of  off-line 
practices to fully fledged online services. This requires re-thinking the service provided and 
re-engineering the different processes. 

To generalise e-procurement, it is important that all steps are taken to reduce the regulatory 
burden.  Standardising  and  restructuring  business  documents  as  well  as  more  uniform 
tendering documents should help automating certain purchase routines and allow both sides to 
concentrate on the substance of the purchase.  

A  typical  example  of  red  tape  concerns  the  numerous  certificates  and  business  documents 
required. These are  rarely  available  in electronic  form.  Additionally,  they  need  to  be  usable 
and  acceptable  across  borders.  The  Commission  and  Member  States  should  analyse  and 
compare results achieved in this area at national level in the framework of the ACPC with a 
view to agreeing in early 2006 on a common set of electronic certificates, at least for some of 
those  most  frequently  required.  E-procurement  would  be  an  excellent  test  base  for  the 
development of such e-government services. The Commission will propose this line of action 
to Member States. 

The use of e-catalogues is another major issue. Their deployment is important in particular for 
involving  small  and  medium-sized  enterprises  (SMEs)  in  public  procurement.  Current 
applications  make  it  possible  for  enterprises  to  present  their  products  and  services  to 
contracting  entities  at  reasonable  cost,  time  and  effort.  Lack  of  uniform  specifications  and 
standards  for  e-catalogues  means  that  there  is  a  risk  of  IT  applications  on  the  market  not 
meeting  requirements  of  the  public  sector.  Work  to  prepare  framework  standards  for 
cataloguing  is  under  way  in  a  specific  CEN/ISSS  workshop.  Building  upon  the  IDA 
functional requirements project, the use of e-catalogues in dynamic purchasing systems and e-
procurement framework agreements could be further studied and tested. 

Finally,  businesses  expect  e-procurement  to  increase  contract  opportunities,  facilitate  cross-
border  market  access  and  make  procurement  procedures  faster  and  cheaper.  Public  e-
procurement  represents  a  great  potential  for  SMEs.  In  order  to  encourage  those  SMEs 
interested  in  public  contracts,  Member  States  have  every  interest  to  promote  standard  e-
procurement  systems  based  on  existing  and  simple  technologies  and  to  tailor  contract 
opportunities so as to not exclude SMEs.  

•  2nd half 2005 The Commission considers proposing services for the electronic supply of 
business information and certificates in public procurement for implementation under the 
IDABC programme 

•  In 2005-2006 Member States and the Commission agree on a common set of frequently 

required electronic certificates for use in e-procurement procedures 

•  In  2005  The  Commission  proposes  launching  a  study  on  e-catalogues  in  dynamic 
purchasing  systems  and  electronic  framework  agreements  using  work  by  CEN/ISSS 
under the IDABC programme 

•  In  2005  The  Public  Procurement  Network  launches  a  benchmark  exercise  on 

transparency, auditing and traceability of e-procurement systems 

•  In 2006 The Public Procurement Network organises workshops to promote exchanges on 

tender document standardisation 

•  2005-2007 Member States launch and support specific awareness campaigns and training 

programmes targeted at SMEs at national and regional level 

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2.3.  Work towards an international framework for electronic public procurement 

While  e-procurement  develops  worldwide,  the  existing  international  agreements  do  not 
regulate  its  use.  Legal  and  technical  choices  in  e-procurement  systems  may  reduce 
procurement  opportunities  for  EU  businesses  in  third  countries,  as  well  as  restrict  access  of 
third  country  suppliers  to  the  EU  market.  The  Commission  will  monitor  developments  to 
ensure that implementation of the new EU procurement regime fully respects the international 
obligations  of  the  Union,  while  accordingly  taking  initiatives  to  adapt  international 
disciplines.  It  will  also  follow  attentively  current  and  future  international  standardisation 
initiatives.  

The  Commission  will  also  consider  any  adjustments  necessary  and  the  feasibility  of  e-
procurement in the context of the EU's external aid instruments. It already cooperates closely 
with  international  bodies  such  as  the  World  Bank  to  ensure  that  execution  of  purchases 
financed  by  these  in  third  countries  does  not  hinder  EU  suppliers.  Finally,  it  will  take  all 
appropriate  measures  aimed  at  sharing  EU  experiences  and  achievements  with  developing 
countries. 

•  In  2005  The  Commission  pursues  negotiations  on  the  review  of  the  Government 

Procurement Agreement (GPA) 

•  In 2007 The Commission takes initiatives in the GPA to progress towards utilisation of a 
single common nomenclature for the classification of procurement goods and services 
•  In 2005-2007 The Commission promotes the activities of and liaises with international 
standardisation  bodies  and  fora  to  avoid  emergence  of  technological  interoperability 
barriers at international level 

•  In  2005-2007  The  Commission  cooperates  with  the  Multilateral  Development  Banks 
(MDBs)  network  in  view  of  co-ordinating  technical  assistance  to  third  countries 
supporting re-organising and computerising their public procurement regimes 

•  In 2005 The Commission considers any adjustments necessary and the feasibility of e-

procurement in the context of the EU's external aid instruments  

3. 

IMPLEMENTATION OF E-PROCUREMENT ACTION PLAN AND MONITORING  

In the long run, computerising public procurement practices will impact on the way in which 
national  public  purchasing  practices  are  organised.  Successful  implementation  of  e-
procurement may require changing administrative practices, not only those directly linked to 
the  procurement  process,  but  also  indirectly,  such  as  budgetary  reviews.  The  sooner  such 
reforms  are  implemented,  the  better  for  Europe’s  citizens  and  businesses.  The  Commission 
considers  that  the  Action  Plan  measures  provide  the  best  possible  blend  in  order  to  fully 
exploit the potential benefits from moving public procurement online while minimising risks. 
Candidate countries will be closely associated with the implementation of the Action Plan. 
The  Commission  assisted  by  the  Advisory  Committee  for  Public  Contracts  will  monitor 
overall progress. By end of 2007, the Commission will review the situation and report on the 
results  achieved;  it  will  propose  at  any  time,  if  need  be,  corrective  action  or  additional 
measures.  

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LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

1.  NAME OF THE PROPOSAL : 

Action  plan  for  the  implementation  of  the  legal  framework  for  electronic  public 
procurement 

2.  ABM / ABB FRAMEWORK 

Policy Area(s): Internal Market  

Associated Activity/Activities: IDABC Programme, Standardisation, Publications 

3.  BUDGET LINES 

3.1. Budget lines (operational lines and related technical and administrative assistance 

lines (ex- B. A lines)) including headings.  

Les  dépenses  administratives  et  opérationnelles  s'inscrivent  et  sont  couvertes  par  les 
lignes  budgétaires  et  les  programmes  existants  et  n'occasionnent  pas  un  engagement  de 
crédits  supplémentaires  par  rapport  à  la  programmation  financière  officielle  de  la 
Commission. 

MARKT 

12.0201  

Implementation and development of the Internal Market 

OPOCE 

260201  Procedures  for  awarding  and  advertising  public  supply,  works  and  services 
contracts  

ENTR 

020403  

Normalisation et rapprochement des législations  

Services  paneuropéens  de  gouvernement  électronique  aux  

02020401   
administrations publiques, aux entreprises et aux citoyens (IDABC) 
02010405   
Services  paneuropéens  de  gouvernement  électronique  aux  
administrations  publiques,  aux  entreprises  et  aux  citoyens  (IDABC)  Dépenses 
administratives 

3.2. Duration of the action and of the financial impact: 

2005-2007 

EN 

11 

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3.3.   Budgetary characteristics (add rows if necessary) : 

Budget line  Type of expenditure 

New 

EFTA 
contribution 

Contributions 
from applicant 
countries 

Heading in 
financial 
perspective 

120201 

020403 

260201 

02020401 

02010405 

Non-
comp 

Non-
comp 

Non-
comp 

Non-
comp 

Non-
comp 

Diff[1] 

NO 

YES 

Diff 

NO 

Diff 

NO 

NO 

NO 

Diff 

No 

YES 

Non-Diff 

No 

YES 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

NO 

No [3] 

No [3] 

No [3] 

No [3] 

No [3] 

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4.  SUMMARY OF RESOURCES 

4.1. Financial Resources 

4.1.1.  Summary of commitment appropriations (CA) and payment 

appropriations (PA) 

EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

Expenditure type 

Section 
no. 

Year n 

n + 1 

n + 2 

n + 3 

n + 4 

(2005) 

Total 

n + 5 
and 
later 

Operational expenditure8 

Commitment 
Appropriations (CA)9 

8.1 

Payment 
Appropriations (PA) 

a 

b 

1,15

1,35

0,705

0,855

0,875

0,875

0,6

Administrative expenditure within reference amount10 

Technical 
administrative 
assistance (NDA) 

& 

8.2.4 

c 

TTOOTTAALL  RREEFFEERREENNCCEE  AAMMOOUUNNTT  

0,080

0,080

0,080

Commitment 
Appropriations 

Payment 
Appropriations 

a+c 

b+c 

1,23

1,43

0,785

0,935

0,955

0,955

0,6

Administrative expenditure not included in reference amount11 

The needs for human and administrative resources shall be covered within 
the allocation granted to the managing DG in the framework of the annual 
allocation procedure 

3,205

3,205

0,240

3,445

3,445

Human resources and 
associated 
expenditure (NDA) 

8.2.5 

d 

0,594

0,594

0,594

1,782

8 Expenditure that does not fall under Chapter xx 01 of the Title xx concerned. 
9 Investments by the Publications Office should over time considerably reduce expenditure for publications 

in the Official Journal.  

10 Expenditure within article xx 01 04 of Title xx. 
11 Expenditure within chapter xx 01 other than articles xx 01 04 or xx 01 05. 

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than 

Administrative 
costs, 
other 
human 
and 
resources 
associated  costs,  not 
included 
in  reference 
amount (NDA) 

8.2.6 

e 

0,109

0,109

0,109

0,327

    Total indicative financial cost of intervention     

TOTAL CA including 
cost 
Human 
of 
Resources 

TOTAL  PA  including 
cost 
Human 
of 
Resources 

a+c+d
+e 

b+c+
d+e 

1,933

2,133

1,488

1,638

1,658

1,658

0,6

5,554

5,554

4.1.2.  Compatibility with Financial Programming 

X 

Proposal is compatible with existing financial programming for 2005 and 
2006. 

Pour  l'année  2007,  la  proposition  est  conforme  au  nouveau  cadre  des 
la  Communication 

perspectives 
[COM(2004)101] de la Commission de février 2004. 

2007-2013, 

financières 

voir 

(cid:133) 

(cid:133) 

Proposal will entail reprogramming of the relevant heading in the financial 
perspective. 

Proposal may require application of the provisions of the Interinstitutional 
Agreement12  (i.e.  flexibility  instrument  or  revision  of  the  financial 
perspective). 

4.1.3.  Financial impact on Revenue 

X 

(cid:133) 

Proposal has no financial implications on revenue 

Proposal has financial impact – the effect on revenue is as follows: 

5.  CHARACTERISTICS AND OBJECTIVES 

Details  of  the  context  of  the  proposal  are  required 
in  the  Explanatory 
Memorandum.    This  section  of  the  Legislative  Financial  Statement  should  include 
the following specific complementary information: 

5.1. Need to be met in the short or long term 

12 See points 19 and 24 of the Interinstitutional agreement. 

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On  30  April  2004,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  have  adopted  Directives 
2004/17/EC and 2004/18/EC as part of the legislative package of Procurement Directives. 
These  Directives  provide  for  the  first  time  a  coherent  framework  for  conducting 
procurement electronically in an open, transparent and non-discriminatory way, establish 
rules for tendering electronically and fix the conditions for modern purchasing techniques 
based on electronic means of communication.  

However,  the  move  towards  using  electronic  means  in  the  procurement  process  is  not 
without  risks.  Incorrect  application  of  the  new  EU  rules  and  discriminatory  technical 
solutions  and  practices  could  fragment  the  Internal  Market  and  increase  the  risk  of 
inefficiencies  and  bad  governance.  Implementing  the  new  EU  provisions  on  electronic 
public procurement correctly and as quickly as possible will determine Europe’s capacity 
to  keep open the markets for electronic public procurement and  contribute to achieving 
the Lisbon objectives. 

5.2. Value-added of Community involvement and coherence of the proposal with 

other financial instruments and possible synergy 

the  simple 

transposition  of 

The  transformation  of  public  procurement  from  procedures  carried  out  on  paper  to 
electronic procedures is a complex operation which requires action and decisions at many 
levels  beyond 
the  new  rules  by  Member  States. 
Organisational, technical and institutional issues should be addressed by governments in 
order  to  re-engineer  existing  processes  for  tendering  and  purchasing,  and  to  exploit  the 
available  ICT  solutions  and  tools.  Adoption  of  the  EU  legal  framework  for  the  use  of 
electronic means in the public procurement process was a first significant step in order to 
remove legal uncertainties and to establish the required safeguards for open, transparent 
and non-discriminatory public procurement using electronic means. 

Use of electronic means should guarantee in practice that any business in Europe with a 
PC and internet connection can participate in a public purchase conducted electronically. 
Besides  ensuring  compliance  with  the  legal  framework,  Community  involvement  is 
intended  to  provide  guidance  and  impetus  to  Member  States’  efforts  and  coordination. 
Through  the  Action  Plan,  it  addresses  risks  and  problems  in  particular in  the  following 
areas:  legal  environment;  technical  environment;  administrative  and  organisational 
processes; businesses’ access to public procurement markets; knowledge-building, skills 
and awareness.  

In doing so, Community action in relation to e-procurement may be expected to provide a 
coherent  framework  for  introducing  e-government  services  more  generally  and  sustain 
convergence  of  RTD  efforts  in  this  field.  Eventually,  use  of  e-procurement  at  national, 
regional  and  local  level  in  the  Member  States  may  also  contribute  to  more  efficient 
management of Community structural funds.  

5.3. Objectives, expected results and related indicators of the proposal in the context 

of the ABM framework 

To  achieve  generalised  use  of  for  electronic  public  procurement  by  2010,  the 
Commission  proposes  an  Action  Plan  for  a  functioning  Internal  Market  and  good 

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governance in electronic public procurement. The Action Plan shall assist Member States 
and facilitate implementation of the relevant provisions of the Directives correctly and in 
time, in particular with the aim:  

-  To  prevent  fragmentation,  e.g.  the  emergence  of  new  ‘e-barriers’  in  EU  public 
procurement markets; 

- To provide the conditions for ensuring good governance and greater efficiency of public 
procurement markets and 

- To work towards an international framework for electronic public procurement. 

The Commission assisted by the Advisory Committee for Public Contracts will monitor 
overall progress in implementing the Action Plan. By the end of 2007, the Commission 
will  review  the  situation  and  report  on  the  results  achieved.  This  assessment  will 
concentrate on the progress achieved on the legal front, the development of the necessary 
infrastructures  for  carrying  procurement  electronically,  the  use  of  electronic  means  and 
progress achieved in implementing the Action Plan. An assessment of economic impacts 
would  be  rather  premature  as  experience  shows  that  benefits  from  such  reforms  take 
longer  to  materialise.  The  Commission  will  use  the  following  indicators  to  monitor 
progress: 

•  Indicators  for  the  implementation  of  the  legal  framework:  Proper  alignment  of 
national legislations to the legislative package, e.g. transposition of all provisions on 
electronic public procurement in each Member State; implementation of the directives 
in due time; number of legal actions for failure in transposing into national legislation; 
date of transposition of the directives into national legislation. 

•  Indicators  for  use  of  electronic  means  in  public  procurement  process:  General 
development  of  electronic  procurement  across  the  Union,  e.g.  share  of  notices 
dispatched  electronically  by  contracting  authorities;  share  of  tender  documents 
accessible  electronically;  number  and  volume  of  dynamic  purchasing  systems;  share 
of calls for tender using electronic auctions; share of cross-border procurement. And 
increased transparency and compliance in public procurement activities 

•  Economic  indicators:  statistical  information  is  already  being  collected  on  public 
procurement  markets;  this  information  will  be  progressively  extended  to  cover 
electronic  means  such  as  the  share  of  central  purchasing  and  evolution  of  dynamic 
purchasing  systems.  The  Action  Plan  envisages  improvements  to  collection  and 
processing of procurement data at both, national and Community level.  

To implement the Action Plan on e-procurement, the Commission intends to carry out a 
substantial  number  of  actions,  among  which  an  Interpretative  Communication  on 
electronic public procurement and a Commission Regulation establishing standard forms 
for  the  publication  of  notices.  In  this  context,  the  Commission  will  table  proposals  and 
take the appropriate initiatives according to the time-table set out in the Action Plan. It 
will  provide  the  necessary  legal  support  and  assistance  to  the  Member  States  for  the 
transposition  of  the  public  procurement  directives  and  monitor  the  application  of 

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Community  law  as  well  as  organise  meetings  of  the  relevant  committees,  in  particular, 
the Public Procurement Advisory Committee and the Working Group on e-procurement; 
it will also propose continuation of the activities of the e-procurement workshop managed 
under the IDA programme. In addition, meetings with Member States will be organised 
within  the  Statistics  working  group  to  improve  data  collection  and  explore  solutions  to 
automate it in view of the end-2006 deadline laid down in the e-procurement Action Plan. 
Finally,  the  Commission  will  participate  actively  in  international  fora  and  provide 
adequate input to international standardisation fora, most particularly on interoperability 
issues.  

Commission output will be surveyed in terms of timely delivery and content of outputs; 
the  completion  of  studies  on  time;  compliance  cost  indicators  for  public  procurement 
rules;  appropriate  impact  assessments  where  applicable  and  the  degree  of  acceptance 
from stakeholders. The quality of economic indicators will be judged by the quantity of 
reliable data available, and the fulfilment of EU statistical obligations. 

5.4. Method of Implementation (indicative) 

Show below the method(s)13 chosen for the implementation of the action. 

X  Centralised Management 

X     Directly by the Commission 

   ٱ  

Indirectly by delegation to: 

      ٱ 

      ٱ 

      ٱ 

Executive Agencies 

Bodies set up by the Communities as referred to in 
art. 185 of the Financial Regulation 

National  public-sector  bodies/bodies  with  public-
service mission 

ٱ  Shared or decentralised management 

ٱ  With Member states 

ٱ  With Third countries 

ٱ  Joint management with international organisations (please specify) 

Relevant comments: 

13  If  more  than  one  method  is  indicated  please  provide  additional  details  in  the  "Relevant  comments" 

section of this point 

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6.  MONITORING AND EVALUATION 

6.1. Monitoring system 

6.2. Evaluation 

6.2.1.  Ex-ante evaluation 

Extended impact assessment 

6.2.2.  Measures taken following an intermediate/ex-post evaluation (lessons 

learned from similar experiences in the past) 

Not relevant 

6.2.3.  Terms and frequency of future evaluation 

Review  by  the  Commission  and  Advisory  Committee  for  Public  Contracts  in 
2007; if necessary, additional evaluation exercises will be considered.  

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