MEP Peter Agius presents amendments to EU rules to boost market access for SMEs and limit abuse of direct orders

MEP Peter Agius has submitted amendments in the European Parliament Internal Market Committee with a view to opening up new opportunities for SMEs by addressing the systemic abuse of direct orders in Malta.

‘Before the election I vowed to fight corruption using new methods. Direct orders by public authorities in Malta are becoming a systemic tool for hidden favours to people close to corrupt politicians. This is severely affecting our hardworking entrepreneurs, SMEs especially, who want to offer value for money and innovative products and services.

The amendments submitted by Dr Peter Agius foresee three key points addressing corresponding deficiencies in the current rules.

Empower companies to challenge award decisions

The existing EU rules do not allow for sufficient scrutiny of decisions by public authorities and do not empower SMEs sufficiently to challenge award decisions. Today we are making a first step to change the current rules: authorities will need to give duly justified reasons for using direct orders instead of a public tender procedure and companies will be empowered to challenge award decisions to see that taxpayer money is spent efficiently.’

Authorities must give detailed reasons for rejecting a public tender procedure

The first proposal by Dr Agius concerns an imperative obligation by public authorities to give detailed reasons for using the direct orders instead of a public call for offers.

‘Right now public authorities are using the direct order procedure without publishing their reasons for using such a procedure. When pressed during court proceedings, authorities frequently invoke urgency which is often self-induced. I am proposing that authorities systematically publish in advance the reasons for using direct orders. This would allow public scrutiny and lead to more transparency in the use of taxpayer money.’

The said publication of reasons would also be published on the authorities’ website or public noticeboard and not only in the official journal. This will  ensure more direct communication with interested bidders.

Boost access to justice for SMEs

A third proposal by MEP Peter Agius is that recourse to justice for rejected bidders in public procurement be facilitated. Right now, challenging an award decision is frequently subject to high processing fees reaching up to 50,000 euros just to start the administrative review process. This is deterring many bidders, especially small companies, from seeking justice after being unfairly rejected.

‘We need to empower small companies to challenge corrupt public decisions. We must not deter them from opening procedures through exorbitant fees. For this reason, I am proposing that fees for contesting award decisions be capped at 0.25% of the award value not exceeding 25,000 euro. This measure would subject public authorities to a real effective scrutiny of their decisions.’ said Dr Agius.

The discussion between MEPs in the Internal Market Committee on a revised Public Procurement Directive will continue over the following months until autumn this year when the European Commission is expected to submit a revised Directive to address MEPs’ concerns and take into account the feedback from stakeholders in the public consultation held over the past months.