EU public procurement policy: responding to new challenges

EU procurement legislation has helped to embed a culture of professional and value-driven procurement across Europe. It has brought transparency to markets for public contracts. Over 150,000 contracts were advertised EU-wide in 2009, for an amount equal to 3.11% of EU GDP. It has fostered more competition for government contracts: on average, five bidders competed for every publicly tendered contract.
Contracting authorities believe that this has delivered average savings of 5-8% on expected costs. The wider public recognise the importance of effective procurement disciplines in combating corruption and favouritism.

European Commission: DG Internal Market and Services: Public Procurement http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/index_en.htm

---