Simplification of access to public procurement procedures

Hundreds of public procurement professionals and more than 20 exhibiting organisations participated in the Public Procurement Expo, the most important annual event for public procurement market players. At the conference and exhibition, participants were informed about the renewal of the list of qualified tenderers. The panel discussions covered issues such as conflicts of interest, disproportionately low prices in public procurement, the public procurement aspects of legislation on works and control measures to reduce one-off procurements.

3+1 degrees

"We are renewing the qualification criteria for inclusion in the list of qualified bidders and for maintaining the status"

- announced Dr. László Kovács, President of the Public Procurement Authority, in his opening speech at the Public Procurement Expo. He pointed out that the revision aims to create a new, multi-tiered, sector-specific list based on the fulfilment of high professional standards, which will significantly facilitate participation in public procurement procedures for those involved in the sector.

The construction sector is the first to introduce the new qualifications

"For us, compliance with integrity criteria is of the utmost importance, so all bidders on the list must also subscribe to the Authority's Code of Ethics in Public Procurement", the head of the organisation added.
The legal instrument will be renewed in a gradual, ascending system, with the bronze and green grades, which will be introduced from 20 May, being only the first step, and further qualification criteria will be introduced progressively throughout the year.

A total of 3+1 grades are created: bronze, silver, gold and green. Silver and gold will - as planned - certify compliance with sector-specific certification criteria - in the first instance for construction projects in the categories of civil engineering and design. The Authority will provide certification holders with a logo indicating the category and the expiry date of the qualification.

The engineering profession has reacted to the changes

After the President's introduction, the President of the Hungarian Chamber of Engineers said that the sector-specific certification system meets the needs of the engineering profession. <Ernő Wagneraddressed the practical issues of conflict of interest, technical equivalence and the definition of assessment criteria. The President of the professional body stressed:

"It is essential that the scoring system used in public procurement procedures is designed in such a way that the results calculated on the basis of the scoring system reflect the real value for money, so that the best technical content can be achieved in the case of complex, multi-part works."

More than 350 professionals, 23 professional exhibitors

The Public Procurement Expo was hosted at the Eiffel Workshop. The event was attended by around 350 professionals, who were able to visit the stands of 23 professional organisations, where they had the opportunity to answer questions and present the activities of the exhibiting organisations in a clear and innovative way.