The American Chamber of Commerce in Romania (AmCham Romania), through its Structural Funds and Public Procurement working group, is following with great interest the legislative debate on the public procurement package of laws, respectively the progress that has been made, and emphasizes the importance of the urgent adoption by the Parliament of the public procurement legislative package as well as their integrated application.
AmCham Romania has constantly supported the reform of the public procurement system, with a direct impact on Romania’s economic development and business environment, both in terms of increasing European funds absorption and in view of accelerating priority investment projects. AmCham has significantly contributed with amendments to the draft public procurement legislation and will continue to actively support this process, based on its member companies’ expertise.
Daniela Nemoianu, AmCham Romania President and Chair of AmCham Romania’s Structural Funds and Public Procurement working group, noted that: "Public procurement has to become a transparent, functional and efficient tool, capable to ensure an efficient and competitive allocation of the budgetary or European funds towards economically viable projects, with an impact on the country’s medium and long-term development."
AmCham supports the promotion of those award criteria that take into account best value generated throughout the whole project life, economic efficiency, systemic benefits and the replicating impact, as well as technical quality of the implementation and the specialized experience of contractors. The devastating effect of the lowest price constraint in Romania’s public tenders is impossible to neutralize for the past, but there are remedies for the future. From the private sector perspective, what matters is the transparency of the dialogue with public authorities, the legal stability and economic development, the efficiency of the competitive process, as well as a solid project selection, based on opportunity and sustainability criteria.
The priorities are numerous and there are high budgetary constraints for the years 2016-2020 in Romania. All these factors involve a medium and long-term extensive exercise of strategic and systemic sustainable projections, synchronized administration and management capabilities of authorities, specialized resources dedicated to public procurement, capacity to propose viable and eligible projects, and also efficiency and transparency at all levels and stages.
AmCham emphasizes as chronic challenges the corruption threat, the lack of an integrated systemic vision, the accumulated gaps of the administrative capacity, that can only be overcome by setting and calibrating a multi-generational Country Project, as well as a competitive direction and strategic priorities that take into account both national values and country interests, within its role in the European and transatlantic context.
