The lack of transparency in the concluding the public procurement contracts continues to be a major problem, as well as the lack of stability for laws, said on Monday the British Ambassador to Romania, Paul Brummell.
According to the British envoy, Romania has made considerable progress in recent years in sanctioning the conflict of interest, but the measures are not uniformly applied nationwide.
Ambassador Brummell said during a Procurement conference greater transparency and stronger mechanisms to prevent corruption in public procurement are needed.
The ambassador spoke about the European Commission’s latest report on the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), which draws attention to persistent flaws in the field.
He made reference to the fact that the National Integrity Agency (ANI) has identified more than 500 cases of conflicts of interest in carrying out the procurement procedures last year.
In his opinion three elements are essential: simpler, more flexible and more transparent procedures, furthermore he showed willingness to provide details about the British perspective in implementing the new European rules.
Reform of public procurement policy must be a strategic priority for growth anywhere in the European Union, added the British Ambassador. He pointed out that the UK has already implemented the directive on procurement in the public sector.
Also, in his view, greater flexibility and greater freedom of contract negotiation can lead to better results.
In Romania, public procurement represents a market of EUR 15 billion.