Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2014)358 - Amendment of Regulation (EU, EURATOM) No 966/2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2014)358 - Amendment of Regulation (EU, EURATOM) No 966/2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2014)358  |
| date | 18-06-2014 |
Following the adoption of Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC[1] (“the Directive”) and of Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the award of concession contracts[2], provision should be made for the rules contained in these Directives to apply to contracts awarded by the European institutions on their own account.
Contents
As the present proposal merely implements the new directives on public procurement and on award of concession contracts, no public consultation was carried out.
The modifications brought about to the text of the Financial Regulation (FR) can be classified into three main groups.
A first series of changes is linked to the alignment with the Directive. New provisions are introduced, such as market consultation, the new innovation partnership as a procedure, the introduction of compliance with environmental, social and labour law as a key requirement, evaluation of criteria in no particular order, award methodology based on the most economically advantageous tender. In addition, concessions for works and services are introduced for the first time in the FR and are subject to the same types of procedures as public contracts.
A second group of changes concern the articles on exclusion. The grounds for exclusion are clarified and aligned with the Directive as well as the possibility for the economic operator concerned to take remedial measures. Exclusion is clearly separated from the rejection from a given procedure to avoid confusion. A single system is set up for increasing the protection of the Union financial interests which takes into account the existing Central Exclusion Database. The aim of the system is to ensure the early detection and prevention of risk as well as the publication of information related to excluded economic operators. An exclusion panel is set up to take exclusion decisions after the analysis of the case and it guarantees the right of defence of economic operators.
A third group of changes is linked to clarifications of the text and simplifications. Within the limits of the Directive and below the thresholds where the Directive applies, provisions concerning procurement are reviewed in order to ensure consistency of the vocabulary used throughout the Title and to clarify certain rules. These clarifications and simplifications concern publicity measures above and below thresholds, requirements for opening and evaluation, rejection of non-compliant tenders, bank guarantees for works and complex services contracts, the fact that Union institutions are considered central contracting authorities according to the Directive, the reference to applicable Directive thresholds, electronic procedures and the opening up of procurement by institutions to international organisations.