Europe gears itself for online public tendering

The Commission's Action Plan on electronic procurement sets out to help modernise and simplify EU procurement procedures. It introduces a coherent EU framework for electronic public procurement and complements the EU's public procurement Directives which came into force in January 2006. The objective is to enable any business with a PC and an Internet connection to bid for public contracts electronically, anywhere in the EU. In the process it will make the EU the most advanced zone in the world for public procurement and electronic procurement.

The Action Plan on electronic public procurement was launched by DG Internal Market and Services in January 2005 with the aim of providing guidance and organising a smooth transition towards eProcurement in the Member States. It sets out what the Commission and EU Member States can do to cut red tape and to ensure that the new legal framework is implemented in a consistent way across the EU. In particular, it aims to prevent barriers that could arise from incompatible systems in different Member States.

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"We have made a priority of research and innovation, giving fresh impetus to efforts to boost these twin keys to future competitiveness. These plans also highlight how we can better leverage the energy and inventiveness of SMEs. Europe’s small firms are the engine of our economy and the Commission is increasingly focused on helping them tackle the difficulties they face."

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