COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS End-to-end e-procurement to modernise public administration
Date: 2013-06-26
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: administrative formalities, electronic government, information technology, invoicing, public contract, savings

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 26.6.2013  
COM(2013) 453 final 

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

End-to-end e-procurement to modernise public administration 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
  
 
1. 

INTRODUCTION  

This  Communication  identifies  the  state  of  implementation  of  “end-to-end  e-procurement”1 
(from the electronic publication of notices  to electronic payment) in the EU, as foreseen by 
the 2012 Communication “A strategy for e-procurement”2. It sets out actions which should be 
taken  by  the  EU  and  by  Member  States  to  achieve  the  transition  towards  end-to-end  e-
procurement. 

The management of public procurement is of primary policy importance in the current context 
of fiscal consolidation. As public expenditure on goods, works and services represents 19% of 
the  EU’s  GDP3,  managing  it  more  efficiently  can  significantly  contribute  to  improving  the 
overall  efficiency  of  public  expenditure.  The  current  crisis  provides  an  opportunity  for 
Member  States 
in  their 
administration, with the aim of reducing the share of public expenditure in their GDP while 
leveraging  saved  resources  to  invest  in  growth-enhancing  policies.  The  World  Bank 
estimates that e-procurement can trigger savings of 6 to 13.5% of the total public procurement 
expenditure4. 

implementing  structural  changes 

to  further  engage 

in 

An  effective  public  administration  is  a  key  element  of  the  competitiveness  of  the  EU 
economy.  The  modernisation  of  public  administration  was  identified  as  one  of  the  five 
priorities of the Commission’s Annual Growth Survey in 2012 and in 20135. Reform of public 
procurement,  digitisation  of  public  administration,  reduction  of  administrative  burden,  and 
increased transparency are all growth enablers. 

The  transition  to  end-to-end  e-procurement  can  generate  significant  savings,  facilitate 
structural  re-thinking  of  certain  areas  of  public  administration,  and  constitutes  a  growth 
enabler by opening up the Internal Market and by fostering innovation and simplification. It 
can  also  facilitate  SME  participation  in  public  procurement  by  reducing  administrative 
burden, by increasing transparency over business opportunities, and by lowering participation 
costs. 

End-to-end e-procurement is not about implementing an IT project which would just replicate 
paper-based  processes;  it  is  an  opportunity  to  fundamentally  re-think  the  way  public 
administration  is  organised.  End-to-end  e-procurement  is  therefore  a  key  enabler  of  the 
above priorities, and can contribute to the sustainable growth objectives of the EU 2020 
Strategy. 

In order to reap the benefits of e-procurement6, and as part of the modernisation of the public 
procurement legal framework7, at the end of 2011 the Commission proposed to make the e-

1 

2 
3  

4 

5 
6 

7 

End-to-end e-procurement is the use of electronic communications and transaction processing by public 
sector organisations when buying supplies and services or tendering public works, from notification to 
payment. 
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/docs/eprocurement/strategy/COM_2012_en.pdf  
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/docs/modernising_rules/public-procurement-
indicators-2011_en.pdf   
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/docs/eprocurement/conferences/speeches/robert-
hunja_en.pdf  
Communications COM(2011) 815 final and COM(2012) 750 final. 
This document refers to e-procurement as e-notification, e-access and e-submission, which are defined 
below. 
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/modernising_rules/reform_proposals_en.htm  

2 

 
 
 
                                                 
notification8, e-access to procurement documents9, and e-submission10 phases mandatory. The 
Commission  has  now  adopted  a  proposal  which  aims  to  digitalise  another  phase  of  the 
procurement  process:  invoicing.  This  proposal,  foreseen  in  the  2012  Single  Market  Act  II, 
aims to achieve a transition towards mandatory acceptance of e-invoices by all public buyers 
by a deadline linked as closely as possible to that of e-procurement. This would maximise the 
benefits  for  the  EU  economy  and  allow  European  companies  and  contracting  authorities  to 
fully take advantage of the benefits of the Digital Single Market.  

The  modernisation  of  the  public  procurement  legal  framework  and  the  proposal  on  e-
invoicing address the main drivers of the digitisation of public procurement. E-payment is to a 
large extent already addressed by the legislation on the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), 
while e-ordering depends on the implementation of e-catalogues, contained in the legislative 
proposal  on  public  procurement.  The  remaining  process  (e-archiving)  is  dependent  on  e-
invoicing, confirming the need to pursue the latter first. Therefore, although the final goal is 
to  conduct  the  whole  procurement  cycle  from  e-notification  to  e-payment  electronically,  at 
this  stage  the  Commission  does  not  foresee  legislative  proposals  to  digitalise  the  remaining 
processes.  The  Commission  will  however  monitor  future  developments  in  these  areas  and 
may decide to undertake action if it deems it useful or necessary.  

Member States will play the key role in implementing end-to-end e-procurement, as they will 
need  to  set-up  actionable  strategies  to  govern  the  transition.  Most  strategies  which  have 
already been set-up do not contain action plans addressing operational issues. Out of the 22 
Member  States  which  have  established  strategies  for  e-procurement,  only  8  have  set  e-
procurement take-up targets. 

2. 

END  TO  END  E-PROCUREMENT  AS  A  MEANS  TO  MODERNISE  PUBLIC 
ADMINISTRATION 

Member  States  should  seize  the  opportunity  of  implementing  end-to-end  e-procurement  to 
improve  the  way  public  procurement  is  conducted,  and,  even  more  importantly,  to 
fundamentally  modernise  the  functioning  of  their  public  administrations.  To  maximise 
benefit,  it  is  necessary  to  take  a  strategic  and  holistic  approach,  setting  out  the  appropriate 
policy  and  legislative  legal  framework,  and  ensuring  governance  and  coordination.  For 
example, policy choices will have to be made to ensure that companies have easy access to 
procurement  opportunities.  This  could  be  achieved  by  publishing  all  national  procurement 
opportunities  on  a  single  website  or  by  establishing  multiple  websites  which  exchange 
information. 

End-to-end  e-procurement  offers  the  opportunity  to  re-engineer  the  entire  procurement 
procedure, potentially affecting the degree of (de)centralisation of public procurement in the 
Member States11  

End-to-end  e-procurement  can  improve  the  overall  administrative  efficiency  by  cutting  the 
duration of the purchase-to-pay cycle, by reducing administrative burden, and by improving 
auditability.  These  in  turn,  reduce  the  opportunity  for  corruption  and  tax  fraud,  increase 
security of data and reduce litigation12. The Lombardy Central Purchasing Body assessed in 

8 
9 
10 
11  

12 

Electronic publication of notices announcing public procurement tenders. 
Publication of public procurement documentation, such as terms of reference on the web. 
Electronic submission of tenders by companies when responding to a call for tenders. 
The  shift  towards  centralisation  is  an  on-going  trend  further  supported  by  the  introduction  of  e-
procurement. 
The list of benefits is not exhaustive: reduction of CO2 emissions, opening international markets etc. 

3 

 
 
 
                                                 
2009 that the introduction of e-procurement reduced the duration of procurement procedures 
by 26% and litigation by 88%. 

Moreover,  digitalisation  facilitates  the  monitoring  of  public  procurement  and  therefore  of  a 
significant portion of public expenditure. In Portugal, the public procurement portal ‘Base’13 
allows the monitoring of public procurement expenditure and volume and the establishment 
of statistics on the type of purchases, tenders won by companies, etc. 

triggering  wider 
End-to-end  e-procurement  can  also  produce  spill-over  effects  by 
digitalisation of government services, resulting in more efficient, citizen and business-friendly 
public services. This can also stimulate innovation and contribute to achieving the objectives 
of the Digital Agenda for Europe14 and the eGovernment Action Plan 2011 – 201515. 

The  introduction  of  e-invoicing  can  contribute  to  the  automation  of  other  post-award 
processes  via  spill-overs,  such  as  e-ordering,  e-payments,  and  e-archiving.  Moreover,  e-
certificates16  may  be  set  up  as  digital  one-stop-shops  for  all  certificates  requested  in  public 
procurement.  Contracting  authorities  would  no  longer  need  to  request  documents  from 
companies  as  these  would  be  available  online.  These  e-certificates  could  be  used  by  other 
public administrations than contracting authorities leading to simplification and reductions in 
administrative  burden.  In  Italy  such  a  system  is  estimated  to  lead  to  savings  of  up  to  €  1.2 
billion  per  year  for  companies17.  The  use  of  e-certificates  by  UGAP,  a  French  Central 
Purchasing Body, reduced administrative costs by 35% and the awarding process was reduced 
by 10 days. 

Several  countries  have  already  started  implementing  end-to-end  e-procurement.  Greater 
benefits can be achieved if the co-existence of parallel systems (electronic and paper) can be 
avoided. 

3. 

END-TO-END  E-PROCUREMENT  TO  INCREASE  SMES  PARTICIPATION  IN  PUBLIC 
PROCUREMENT 

A majority of SMEs are equipped for the use of end-to-end e-procurement, allowing them 
to benefit from its use. According to 201318 Eurostat figures, only 4.6% of SMEs did not have 
access to the internet in 2012. 

In particular, e-invoicing can reduce the costs and complexity of sending invoices; it can also 
limit  errors  via  automation  and  it  simplifies  auditing  and  tax  collection.  The  latter  in  turn 
reduces the administrative burden on enterprises, which weighs more heavily on SMEs. 

Several  studies  show  that  SMEs  find  e-procurement  beneficial19.  Positive  aspects 
mentioned  by  SMEs  include  swifter  access  to  information,  access  to  a  wider  pool  of  tender 
opportunities, and procedural simplification. 

13 
14 

15 
16 

17 

18 

www.base.gov.pt  
The Digital Agenda for Europe, COM(2010) 245 aims at increasing the use of e-Government services 
by EU citizens and businesses by 2015. 
eGovernment Action Plan 2011 – 2015 - COM(2010)743 
Rolece  in  Spain,  the  French  service  e-Attestation,  and  AVCP  (Autorità  Vigilanza  Contratti  Pubblici) 
Virtual Company Passport in Italy. 
Estimate of AVCP based on number of companies and tenders, the average number of participation per 
company, the cost of producing documents and personnel cost. 
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/information_society/data/comprehensive_databases  

4 

 
 
 
                                                 
The experience in countries where e-Procurement is common practice (e.g. Portugal, Ireland) 
is  generally  positive.  In  South  Korea,  the  participation  of  SMEs  in  public  procurement 
increased by 20% between 2003 (when e-procurement was introduced) and 2010. 

Despite these inherent benefits, action should be taken at EU, national and regional levels to 
facilitate  the  access  of  SMEs  to  end-to-end  e-procurement  (see  section  5).  Particularly, 
Member  States  should  promote  low-cost  and  easy-to-use  e-invoicing  and  e-procurement 
services with a view to minimising any potential costs and complexity. 

4. 

LOW USE OF END-TO-END E-PROCUREMENT BUT RAPID GROWTH 

4.1. 

E-invoicing state of play 

As the benefits of e-invoicing are becoming increasingly recognised, several Member States 
have  undertaken  initiatives  towards  its  introduction.  E-invoicing  in  public  procurement  is 
currently  mandatory  to  some  degree  in  Denmark,  Sweden,  and  Finland,  and  will  become 
mandatory  in  Austria  (at  federal  level)  and  in  Italy  as  of  2014.  The  Netherlands  have 
developed  a  portal  (Digipoort)  through  which  e-invoices  can  be  sent  to  the  central 
government, and steps are currently being undertaken to include regional and local bodies. In 
France and the Czech Republic, governmental departments can decide to mandate e-invoices 
if  they  so  choose.  Other  countries,  such  as  Spain,  Belgium,  Ireland  and  Germany,  are  also 
taking steps towards broader use of e-invoicing in public procurement. 

Despite these efforts, the adoption of e-invoicing in public procurement is still limited in the 
EU.  According  to  data  from  Eurostat,  only  12%  of  enterprises  use  electronic  means  when 
sending or receiving invoices to public authorities. Another source indicates that in Europe, e-
invoicing accounts for only 4 to 15% of all invoices exchanged. 

Enterprises sending / receiving both e-invoices in a standard structure suitable for automatic processing 
and electronic data to/from public authorities in 2011 [%] (Source Eurostat) 

Moreover, those countries which have mandated e-invoicing have often done so on the basis 
of  their  own  national  e-invoicing  standards,  which  for  the  most  part  are  not  interoperable. 
This has contributed to the fragmentation of the Single Market and therefore raised the cost 
and  complexity  of  e-invoicing  in  cross-border  public  procurement.  Potentially  significant 
savings opportunities for all stakeholders are not being realised. 

19 

The National Survey on e-Procurement in Portugal (2012) indicates that 78% of SMEs reported higher 
transparency, 
also: 
higher 
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/business-
environment/files/smes_access_to_public_procurement_final_report_2010_en.pdf 

competition. 

50% 

See 

and 

5 

 
 
 
 
                                                                                                                                                         
The  Commission's  2010  Communication  "Reaping  the  benefits  of  electronic  invoicing  for 
Europe"20 sets as an objective that "e-invoicing becomes the predominant method of invoicing 
by  2020  in  Europe”  and  sets  out  a  plan  for  increasing  uptake.  The  Commission  has  now 
adopted  a  proposal  which  aims  to  make  e-invoicing  the  standard  invoicing  means  in  public 
procurement (see 5.1).  

4.2. 

E-procurement state of play 

E-notification and e-access to procurement documents are generally available across the EU, 
though  in  some  Member  States  these  functionalities  are  not  used  for  all  procedures  and 
purchases.  22  Member  States  have  already  made  the  use  of  e-notification  mandatory,  well 
before  the  entry  into  force  of  EU  legislation.  A  study  carried  out  for  the  European 
Commission  in  201321  estimates  the  level  of  up-take  of  e-submission  in  the  EU  at  about 
10%22 in 2011 (+13% compared to 2010). 

Lithuania, Portugal, Sweden and the UK made significant progress, as uptake was estimated 
to be above 30% in 2011. However, most countries had a level of uptake of below 5%, while 
4  Member  States  had  no  e-submission  availability in  public  procurement  in  2012: Bulgaria, 
Greece, Hungary and Slovenia. 

20 
21 

22 

study 

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2010:0712:FIN:en:PDF  
and 
out 
The 
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/internal_market/tenders/2011-097-c/download_en.htm  
Up-take  is  estimated  as  the  value  of  public  procurement  for  which  companies  submitted  offers 
electronically in the EU, divided by the total value of procurement in the EU. 

Capgemini: 

carried 

Italia 

IDC 

by 

is 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
In  a  majority  of  Member  States  (15)  e-submission  is  voluntary.  Only  Portugal  has  made  it 
mandatory for all contracting authorities and purchases, but only above a certain threshold. 5 
Member States mandate it in certain specific cases. The use of e-procurement in Portugal is 
estimated  to  generate  savings  of  6  to  18%  of  the  total  public  procurement  expenditure.  E-
procurement has also become mandatory at regional level (e.g. Flanders, Lombardy). Detailed 
e-procurement 
at: 
consulted 
profiles 
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/docs/eprocurement/d2-annex-
eprocurement-country-profiles-final_en.pdf 

country 

can 

be 

Overall,  the  procurement  landscape  is  highly  fragmented23  and  complex,  accounting  for  a 
high  number  of  different  procedures,  IT  technologies,  certification  requirements,  using 
practices  that  do  not  fully  exploit  the  opportunities  offered  by  IT  technologies.  The  ease  of 
use  of  e-procurement  systems  and  their  interoperability  are  key  elements  enabling  high  e-
procurement take-up and large savings and benefits. 

In  order  to  overcome  the  low  up-take  and  to  address  the  risk  of  market  fragmentation,  the 
Commission proposed, as part of the modernisation of the Public Procurement Directives, to 
make e-procurement mandatory by mid-2016 and to foster its interoperability. The proposal is 
currently  being  discussed  with  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council.  While  the  exact 
deadline for e-procurement implementation is still under negotiation, the co-legislators agree 
on the principle of completing the transition towards e-procurement. Following the legislative 
proposal, the Commission issued a Communication which announced measures to support the 
implementation of e-procurement in the EU (see the Annex for the state of implementation of 
the  actions).  In  particular,  the  Commission  published  a  report,  ‘The  Golden  Book  of  e-
procurement’  presenting  best  practice24.  Additionally,  a  Commission  Expert  Group  on  E-
tendering  issued  recommendations  to  simplify  the  way  e-procurement  is  conducted, 
particularly for SMEs and cross-border suppliers25. Both reports are proving to be effective in 
improving e-procurement solutions. 

5. 

THE WAY FORWARD  

The Commission proposal to make e-notification, e-access and e-submission mandatory and 
the  measures  announced  in  the  Communication  ‘A  strategy  for  e-procurement’,  represent 
important steps forward towards reaping the benefits offered by e-procurement. 

To further enable end-to-end e-procurement, the Commission is now undertaking a series of 
actions, including a legislative proposal to make e-invoicing the rule rather than the exception 
in  public  procurement,  and  non-legislative  measures,  meant  to  further  support  the 
implementation of end-to-end e-procurement by Member States. These actions are described 
below26. 

23 
24  
25  
26  

There are between 250 000 and 300 000 contracting authorities in the EU. 
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/e-procurement/golden-book/index_en.htm  
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/e-procurement/expert/index_en.htm  
All  of  the  actions  proposed  in  this  document  are  consistent  and  compatible  with  the  current  Multi-
Annual Financial Framework (MFF: 2007-2013) and the proposal for the new MFF 2014-2020. 

7 

 
 
 
                                                 
5.1.  Making e-invoicing the rule rather than the exception in public procurement 

Based  on  the  extrapolation  of  national  evaluations  of  benefits27,  the  Commission  estimates 
that the adoption of e-invoicing in public procurement across the EU could generate savings 
of up to 2.3 bn €. 

In order to reap these benefits, the Commission has adopted a proposal which aims to make e-
invoicing the standard invoicing mode for public procurement. Through spill-over effects, this 
should also facilitate the take-up of e-invoicing by all market operators. The chosen approach 
is twofold. Firstly, in order to eliminate interoperability issues between national standards, it 
is proposed to mandate the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) to develop a new 
European  e-invoicing  standard  which  would  standardise  the  information  contained  in  an  e-
invoice  which  is  essential  to  enable  cross-border  interoperability  and  to  ensure  legal 
compliance.  Secondly,  the  proposal  foresees  making  it  obligatory  for  Member  State 
administrations  to  accept  e-invoices  which  comply  with  the  new  European  standard.  The 
European Commission proposes that these obligations enter into force at a deadline linked as 
closely as possible to the deadline for the obligations on e-procurement foreseen by the Public 
Procurement Directives. 

This approach to e-invoicing implementation is designed to give all stakeholders time to meet 
the  operational  challenges,  whilst  ensuring  that  all  Member  States  successfully  achieve  the 
transition.  The  Commission  calls  upon  Member  States  to  launch  the  necessary  preparatory 
work as soon as possible to ensure timely compliance with these provisions. It recommends 
that Member States make e-invoicing mandatory for all stakeholders as soon as they set up the 
necessary  infrastructure,  so  as  to  benefit  from  these  investments  as  soon  as  possible. 
However, Member States should at the same time undertake all necessary steps to ensure that 
this does not generate any unnecessary additional cost or burden on SMEs. The Commission 
will review the situation within 5 years after the deadline for the transition in order to assess 
the progress towards e-invoicing implementation. 

KEY ACTIONS: 
(1) 

European Parliament and Council to agree new legal framework making mandatory 
the acceptance of e-invoices compliant with a new European standard.  

5.2. 

Standardisation work  

The  legislative  proposals  on  e-invoicing  and  on  e-procurement  are  a  necessary  but  not  a 
sufficient condition for the successful implementation of end-to-end e-procurement in the EU. 
Several  non-legislatives  measures  meant  to  support  the  implementation  of  end-to-end  e-
procurement  are  necessary.  Particularly,  further standardisation  work  is  needed  to  allow  the 
implementation of the legislative proposal on e-invoicing. 

CEN shall therefore carry out the necessary standardisation work on the basis of a mandate by 
the  Commission  which  will  be  prepared  at  a  later  stage.  The  mandate  will  include  a  list  of 
minimum  requirements  which  the  standard  will  have  to  incorporate.  The  work  will  then  be 
carried  out  according  to  standard  CEN  procedures  for  developing  new  European  standards. 
While such a standard can only be adopted by a Technical Committee (TC), the decision as to 
whether an existing TC can take on this task or whether a new one needs to be created will be 
taken  by  CEN.  CEN  should  also  continue  its  work  on  e-procurement  with  a  view  to 
simplifying  e-procurement  solutions,  to  foster  SME  participation  and  to  improve  the 

27 

Reply from Swedish and Danish national forums on e-invoicing received within the EMSF consultation 

8 

 
 
 
                                                 
monitoring of public procurement via e-procurement systems. The Commission will continue 
to finance projects that promote the development of end-to-end e-procurement in the EU such 
as e-SENS28, and will ensure that the relevant CEN work is embedded in this project. 

Member States should promote the use of the CEN standard within their countries in order to 
ensure full end-to-end e-procurement interoperability. 

As  part  of  the  multi-annual  financial  framework,  the  Commission  proposed  to  launch  the 
'Connecting  Europe  Facility'  (CEF)29  programme.  Its  goal  is  to  support  investments  in  the 
infrastructure required to deliver cross-border public services, including e-procurement and e-
invoicing, by enhancing the interoperability of cross-border processes. This can foster end-to-
end  e-procurement  standardisation  beyond  the  areas  covered  by  the  forthcoming  legislation 
and contribute to limiting non-interoperable national solutions. 

KEY ACTIONS: 
(2) 

to  carry  out  necessary 
European  Committee  for  Standardisation  (CEN) 
standardisation work to allow the implementation of the legislative proposal on e-
invoicing  in  public  procurement.  CEN  to  further  standardise  e-procurement  in 
order to simplify its usage by SMEs. 

(3) 

(4) 

European  Commission  to  finance  projects  that  promote  the  development  of 
interoperable e-invoicing solutions in the EU (e-SENS). 

European  Commission  to  fund  and  support  the  development  of  end-to-end  e-
procurement (including e-invoicing) infrastructure across Europe via the proposed 
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). 

5.3. 

National strategies for end-to-end e-procurement 

Member  States  play  a  key  role  in  making  end-to-end  e-procurement  a  reality.  The 
Commission therefore encourages Member States to set up national strategies, with detailed 
action  plans  to  ensure  the  implementation  of  e-procurement  and  of  e-invoicing  by  the 
deadlines  set  out  in  the  Public  Procurement  and  E-invoicing  Directives.  Setting-up  these 
strategies is an opportunity to review the current complex set-up of end-to-end e-procurement 
(fragmented,  sometimes  user-unfriendly  and  non-interoperable  solutions), 
to  further 
rationalise public procurement, and to allow a wider modernisation of public administration. 

In  order  to  make  these  strategies  actionable,  specific  action  plans  should  be  established  in 
order to: 

• 

• 

28 

29 

Establish intermediate targets for e-procurement and e-invoicing usage to monitor 
the  progress  towards  the  objectives  set  out  in  the  Public  Procurement  and  E-
Invoicing Directives; 

Govern the transition by choosing a strategy which maximises the benefits of end-
to-end  e-procurement.  The  European  Commission  will  launch  a  study  to  identify 

eSENS  aims  at  consolidating  the  core  results  of  the  existing  Large  Scale  Pilots  lead  under  the 
Competitiveness  and  Innovation  framework  Programme.  http://www.esens.eu  Depending  on  the 
signature of the Grant Agreement (under finalisation), e-Sens will be an EU co-funded project.  
See COM(2011)676,  COM(2011)665 and COM(2013) 329 of 28 May 2013. 

9 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

those  strategies  for  e-procurement  and  e-invoicing  which  prove  to  be  most 
successful. This will support Member States in assessing their own policies; 

Promote simplification, administrative burden reduction, and the participation 
of  SMEs  and  cross-border  suppliers  in  end-to-end  e-procurement  by  taking  into 
account the results of the Golden Book study  and the Expert  Group  on  e-tendering 
(see end of section 4.2); 

Foster  the  development  and  use  of  e-certificates.  The  use  of  tools  such  as  the 
PEPPOL30 Virtual Company dossier (VCD)31 could help in establishing them; 

Monitor  procurement  spend  and  key  performance  indicators  (e.g.  participation 
of  SMEs,  benefits  of  end-to-end  e-procurement)  at  national  level  by  using 
information  generated  by  e-procurement  systems  in  order  to  achieve  savings  and 
greater transparency; 

Set-up  training  programmes  for  companies  (particularly  SMEs)  and  contracting 
authorities  to  support  them  throughout  the  transition.  Member  States  have  the 
possibility of using structural funds to finance training and, if needed, to set up 
the  necessary  infrastructure.  To  take  advantage  of  this  possibility,  they  should 
include  these  priorities  in  their  future  operational  programmes  implementing  the 
Structural Funds in the 2014-2020 period. 

Address  internal  market  objectives  within  national  strategies.  The  European 
Commission  will  publish  key  principles  with  which  any  e-procurement  system  in 
Europe  should  comply  in  order  to  be  compatible  with  the  Internal  Market.  The 
guidelines will address issues such as: ease of access for cross-border suppliers (e.g. 
e-procurement systems should not contain national specific data fields, which could 
block  access  from  foreign  companies),  ease  of  access  for  SMEs,  interoperability 
requirements, etc. Member States should ensure that their national strategies enforce 
these guidelines. 

KEY ACTIONS: 
(5)  Member States to set-up national strategies and detailed action plans for end-to-
end e-procurement to ensure implementation by the deadlines foreseen in the Public 
Procurement and the E-Invoicing Directives. 

(6) 

European  Commission  to  launch  a  study  that  identifies  the  most  successful  e-
procurement & e-invoicing strategies in Europe.  

(7)  Member  States  to  consider  the  possibility  of  using  Structural  Funds  to  finance 
training  (particularly  for  SMEs),  to  strengthen  administrative  capacity,  and  to 
build infrastructure, by including these priorities in their operational programmes as 
adequate. 

(8) 

European  Commission  to  publish  key  principles  with  which  any  e-procurement 
system in Europe should comply in order to be compatible with the Internal Market 
principles. 

30 
31 

http://www.peppol.eu/. 
http://www.peppol.eu/peppol_components/virtual-company-dossier  

10 

 
 
 
                                                 
5.4. 

Sharing best practice 

The  Commission  will  continue  the  work  of  the  European  Multi-Stakeholder  Forum  on  e-
Invoicing and will set-up a similar forum for e-procurement. The forums will identify further 
standardisation  work,  will  coordinate  European  and  national  initiatives,  and  will  share  best 
practice.  The  forums  will  group  key  actors  of  end-to-end  e-procurement:  national  policy 
makers,  company  representatives/SME  organisations,  contracting  authorities/buyers,  e-
procurement and e-invoicing solution providers, standardisation bodies etc. 

The  Commission  will  also  launch  a  study  which  identifies  best  practice  in  the  area  of  e-
procurement  tools,  such  as  e-auctions32  and  e-catalogues33.  These  tools  are  occasionally 
misused  –  for  example,  if  offers  under  e-auction  procedures  are  disclosed  too  early  in  the 
process,  they  can  favour  collusion  between  suppliers.  The  study  should  identify  how  these 
tools could best be used to maximise their benefits. 

The  Commission  is  leading  by  example  in  the  area  of  e-procurement  and  e-invoicing.  The 
Commission  will  implement  full  e-procurement  (covering  e-notification,  e-access  and  e-
submission) by mid-2015, as indicated in the Communication of 201234. E-invoicing has been 
used for the  procurement of IT goods and services since 2009, generating significant savings, 
faster  processing  time,  absence  of  data  encoding,  etc.  The  Commission  is  progressively 
extending  the  mandatory  use  of  e-invoicing  to  other  areas  of  Commission’s  procurement. 
These solutions will be made available to the Member States in an open source basis to reduce 
investment costs. 

KEY ACTIONS: 
(9) 

European  Commission  to  continue  the  work  of  the  European  Multi-Stakeholder 
Forum  on  e-Invoicing.  European  Commission  to  set  up  a  similar  forum  for  e-
procurement  to  identify  further  standardisation  work,  coordinate  European  and 
national initiatives, and share best practice. 

(10)  European Commission to launch a study that identifies best practice in the area of 

e-procurement tools, such as e-auctions or e-catalogues. 

6. 

CONCLUSION 

To  achieve  the  huge  benefits  offered  by  end-to-end  e-procurement,  it  is  essential  to  put  in 
place  an  effective  legal  framework  at  EU  level.  The  Commission  therefore  invites  Member 
States  and  the  European  Parliament  to  adopt  the  new  proposal  on  e-invoicing  in  public 
procurement as soon as possible; this would give a clear political signal of their commitment 
to  the  transition.  However,  benefits  can  only  fully  be  reaped  if  Member  States  put  in  place 
strategies to govern the transition and to address the operational challenges. 

32 
33 
34 

Electronic auctions are a specific procurement procedure which is fully electronic. 
Electronic catalogues are a means to receive and evaluate offers in a structured form – catalogue. 
See Communication COM(2012) 179 final referred to in footnote 2. 

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
ANNEX:  
IMPLEMENTATION STATUS OF THE ACTIONS OF THE COMMUNICATION “A STRATEGY FOR E-PROCUREMENT” 

KEY ACTIONS 

IMPLEMENTATION STATUS 

(1) European Parliament (EP) and Council to agree new legal 
framework requiring full transition to e-procurement. 
Deadline: adoption by end-2012.  

(2) Where necessary, Commission to harmonise technical 
requirements via delegated acts. Deadline: after adoption of new 
directives. 
(3) Commission to propose a new legal framework for electronic 
identification, authentication and signatures. Deadline: by 2nd 
quarter 2012. 
(4) e-TEG (Expert Group) to issue recommendations to promote 
“best of breed” e-procurement systems facilitating cross-border 
access and ease of use for all companies. Deadline: by early 2013. 
(5) Commission to publish report on best e-procurement 
practice and to promote it across the EU. Deadline: by mid-2013. 
(6) Commission to support the sustainability of PEPPOL 
components as of mid-2012. 

On-going: The proposal is being discussed with the EP and the Council; a 
compromise may be reached by mid-2013. 

Implementation after adoption of the revised Public Procurement Directives. 

Done: Proposal adopted on 4 June 201235. The proposal is discussed with the 
EP and the Council.  

Done : report published36. 

Done : report published37  

Done: Open PEPPOL was set-up as a non-profit international association under 
Belgian law and its work is continuing. The Commission continues to support 
PEPPOL development through the actions included in the ISA programme. 

35 
36 
37 

http://europa.eu/newsroom/calendar/event/363056/commission-adopts-proposed-regulation-on-eid-and-esignature  
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/e-procurement/expert/index_en.htm 
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/e-procurement/golden-book/index_en.htm  

12 

 
 
 
                                                 
KEY ACTIONS 

IMPLEMENTATION STATUS 

(7) Commission to fund and support the development of e-
procurement infrastructure across Europe via Connecting 
Europe Facility (CEF). Commission to launch projects as of 
2014-2015. 
(8) Commission to promote use of Structural Funds to foster e-
procurement take-up across Europe, as set-out in the Common 
Strategic Framework for 2014- 2020. 
(9) Commission to implement a wide-ranging dissemination 
strategy on e-procurement. 

On-going: the proposal to establish the CEF was adopted by the Commission 
end 2011 and modified in May 2013; the proposal is currently discussed under 
the new multiannual financial framework 2014-2020.  

Done: Several national programmes already include references to e-
procurement.  

On-going: Commission organised events: high level conference on e-
procurement (June 2012); seminar on e-procurement (December 2012). It 
attended a high number of conferences and used various networks to 
disseminate information (e.g. Europe Enterprise Network).  

(10) Commission to organise annual conference on e-
procurement, starting in mid-2012. 

Done: conference organised mid- 2012, 350 participants. Second conference is 
planned on 18 September 2013. 

(11) Commission to lay the foundations for electronic systems to 
monitor procurement expenditure in real-time. Deadline: by 
mid-2013. 
(12) Commission to issue annual report on e-procurement. 
Deadline: first report in mid-2013. 
(13) Commission to implement full e-procurement by mid-2015 
(one year before the deadline for Member States).  

On-going: The European Commission contracted a study which will be 
completed by mid-2013.  

Done: See section 4 of the Communication.  

On-going: e-notification and e-access to documents are operational. E-
submission will enter into a pilot phase by mid-2013. 

13 

 
 
 
KEY ACTIONS 

IMPLEMENTATION STATUS 

(14) Commission to make its e-procurement solutions available 
to Member States that are building their infrastructure, to reduce 
investment costs. 
(15) Commission to promote international regulatory dialogues 
about open e-procurement systems and to actively monitor 
relevant international standardisation work. 

On-going: Belgium adopted e-Prior, the Commission e-procurement system. 
Norway and Ireland are currently testing e-Prior. 

On-going: dialogues with the US, China and UN/CEFACT38 launched.  

38 

http://www.unece.org/cefact.html  

14