Commission Decision of 3 September 2011 setting up a Commission stakeholder expert group on public procurement and replacing Decision 87/305/EEC setting up an advisory committee on the opening-up of public procurement Text with EEA relevance

4.10.2011 EN Official Journal of the European Union C 291/2
COMMISSION DECISION
of 3 September 2011
setting up a Commission stakeholder expert group on public procurement and replacing Decision 87/305/EEC setting up an advisory committee on the opening-up of public procurement
(Text with EEA relevance)
2011/C 291/02
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Whereas:
(1) The Europe 2020 strategy stresses that public procurement policy should ensure the most efficient use of public funds, keep procurement markets open Union wide, especially in the context of severe budgetary constraints and economic difficulties in many Member States.
(2) The Europe 2020 strategy underlines that public procurement rules should improve the business environment, especially with respect to innovative small and medium sized enterprises in order to support the shift towards a resource efficient economy. Public procurement policy should also contribute to the achievement of common societal goals, including the fight against climate change and the promotion of innovation, which are important new challenges facing Europe.
(3) Within this context, the framework created by Commission Decision 87/305/EEC, of 26 May 1987, setting up an advisory committee on the opening-up of public procurement (1), is no longer suitable for providing the Commission with the expertise and practical input needed in order to shape a public procurement policy which meets the evolving challenges of the Union's public procurement policy.
(4) It is therefore necessary to set up a group of experts on public procurement within a new legal framework which will allow, on the one hand, to adapt the functioning of the group to the new Commission framework for expert groups (2), and, on the other hand, to provide the Commission with the necessary expertise, experience and insight in order to meet the new challenges in the field of public procurement.
(5) The group should therefore help the Commission to develop high quality procurement debate and policy. The group shall, where appropriate, prepare reports or issue opinions to help the Commission in developing and implementing Union policy and legislation on public procurement.
(6) Furthermore, such a forum would also enable the sectors concerned to be informed about the design and application of Union rules on procurement.
(7) In view of the above, the group should have a mixed composition of members chosen on the basis of their personal capacity and/or of the interests they represent, and from organisations. Those members should come from different backgrounds including, for instance, legal practitioners, technical experts involved in procurement contracts, academia, industry or trade organisations, associations of contracting authorities or entities.
(8) The composition of the group should be balanced both with regard to gender and geographical origin as far as possible.
(9) All members should satisfy high standards of active and quality participation during the meetings and in their preparation and follow up if needed.
(10) Personal data should be processed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (3).
(11) Therefore, Decision 87/305/EEC should be repealed,