e-Procurement

Key points:

The EESC reinforces the importance of e-procurement as a vehicle to spur pan-European commerce within the internal market for large as well as Small Medium Enterprises (SME) and micro-enterprises.

The EESC underlines that SMEs and micro-enterprises are the backbone of entrepreneurship in the EU. It is imperative that the work resulting from the review of the public procurement and the e-procurement frameworks respectively is directed to unleash SMEs' and micro-enterprises ability to compete in an e-procurement environment. The EESC recommends that:

- all calls for public procurement in Member States - below as well as above the threshold - are published in the portal of the national contracting authority;
- SMEs are assisted either through direct capacity building initiatives, setting up of e-Procurement Facilitating Support Centres by national, regional contracting authorities or constituted bodies representing SMEs through national and EU financing – to ensure that SMEs and micro-enterprises embrace and leverage e procurement.

For more information please contact the INT Section Secretariat