Peter Agius amendments to limit doubtful direct orders supported by majority of MEPs

Forthcoming EU rules on public procurement are now expected to include an obligation on public authorities to justify direct orders after MEPs called for more transparency.

A proposal by MEP Peter Agius for reasoned justification of direct orders was supported by 432 MEPs across political groups as part of the European Parliament resolution on Public Procurement adopted in Strasbourg last week. Agius’s proposal requires public authorities to publish a notice with the specific reasons for using a direct order when they opt to do away with open tendering for all interested bidders.

‘Taxpayer money should be handled in a transparent way and not used as currency in corrupt deals. Right now in Malta, authorities and ministries are often abusing of direct orders as a way to bypass EU rules for open competition and transparency. It is time to close this window and oblige all public authorities to give good reasons publicly for using direct orders. 

'Honest business benefits from this as it increases fair competition.

'The taxpayer benefits from this because it increases democratic and financial oversight on the use of public money. I am very happy to see that my proposals have been supported by an overwhelming majority of MEPs from all the political groups. I will keep pushing to see these provisions implemented in the next revision of the EU Directive,’ said MEP Peter Agius

Read the full resolution here:

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-10-2025-0174_EN.pdf

The following are extracts from  MEP Peter Agius's amendments adopted in the EP resolution:

10. Reiterates that taxpayers’ money should be spent with utmost prudence and transparency so as to benefit citizens and, where economically feasible, support sustainable growth; considers that the revision of the directives should aim at completing the objectives set out in 2014 and adjusting to the new challenges Europe has to face; believes, therefore, that three guiding principles – value for money over the entire life cycle, fair competition and anti-corruption measures – remain valid in the context of the upcoming reform and should not be compromised;

18. Is concerned that transparency and enforcement in procurement remains inadequate, as evidenced by persistently low publication rates for contract awards, limited accessibility to procurement data and ongoing risks of abuses, fraud and corruption; recalls that favouritism, unclear or biased selection criteria and insufficient oversight mechanisms for enforcement and sanctions undermine trust in public contracting and fairness; stresses the need to establish obligations for publication and reinforced justification for all awards by negotiated procedure without a prior call for competition, in order to guarantee a minimum level of competition, traceability and control, avoiding abuse of legal exceptions; urges the Commission to make use of advanced digital tools and platforms to increase transparency and accountability in public procurement processes and deter corruption practices;

39. Recommends that concrete actions should be put forward by the Commission to combat corruption and increase transparency in the use of negotiated procedures without prior publication, notably through strengthening the voluntary ex ante transparency notice; calls for these notices to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and on the website or other public platform of the relevant contracting authority, depending on the value of the procurement; stresses that these notices must include a justification for the use of the negotiated procedure, outlining the specific reasons for departing from standard procurement methods, without placing an undue administrative burden on the contracting authorities.