Annexes to COM(2013)453 - End-to-end e-procurement to modernise public administration - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2013)453 - End-to-end e-procurement to modernise public administration. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2013)453  |
| date | June 26, 2013 |
Overall, the procurement landscape is highly fragmented[23] and complex, accounting for a high number of different procedures, IT technologies, certification requirements, using practices that do not fully exploit the opportunities offered by IT technologies. The ease of use of e-procurement systems and their interoperability are key elements enabling high e-procurement take-up and large savings and benefits.
In order to overcome the low up-take and to address the risk of market fragmentation, the Commission proposed, as part of the modernisation of the Public Procurement Directives, to make e-procurement mandatory by mid-2016 and to foster its interoperability. The proposal is currently being discussed with the European Parliament and the Council. While the exact deadline for e-procurement implementation is still under negotiation, the co-legislators agree on the principle of completing the transition towards e-procurement. Following the legislative proposal, the Commission issued a Communication which announced measures to support the implementation of e-procurement in the EU (see the Annex for the state of implementation of the actions). In particular, the Commission published a report, ‘The Golden Book of e-procurement’ presenting best practice[24]. Additionally, a Commission Expert Group on E-tendering issued recommendations to simplify the way e-procurement is conducted, particularly for SMEs and cross-border suppliers[25]. Both reports are proving to be effective in improving e-procurement solutions.
5. the way forward
The Commission proposal to make e-notification, e-access and e-submission mandatory and the measures announced in the Communication ‘A strategy for e-procurement’, represent important steps forward towards reaping the benefits offered by e-procurement.
To further enable end-to-end e-procurement, the Commission is now undertaking a series of actions, including a legislative proposal to make e-invoicing the rule rather than the exception in public procurement, and non-legislative measures, meant to further support the implementation of end-to-end e-procurement by Member States. These actions are described below[26].
5.1. Making e-invoicing the rule rather than the exception in public procurement
Based on the extrapolation of national evaluations of benefits[27], the Commission estimates that the adoption of e-invoicing in public procurement across the EU could generate savings of up to 2.3 bn €.
In order to reap these benefits, the Commission has adopted a proposal which aims to make e-invoicing the standard invoicing mode for public procurement. Through spill-over effects, this should also facilitate the take-up of e-invoicing by all market operators. The chosen approach is twofold. Firstly, in order to eliminate interoperability issues between national standards, it is proposed to mandate the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) to develop a new European e-invoicing standard which would standardise the information contained in an e-invoice which is essential to enable cross-border interoperability and to ensure legal compliance. Secondly, the proposal foresees making it obligatory for Member State administrations to accept e-invoices which comply with the new European standard. The European Commission proposes that these obligations enter into force at a deadline linked as closely as possible to the deadline for the obligations on e-procurement foreseen by the Public Procurement Directives.
This approach to e-invoicing implementation is designed to give all stakeholders time to meet the operational challenges, whilst ensuring that all Member States successfully achieve the transition. The Commission calls upon Member States to launch the necessary preparatory work as soon as possible to ensure timely compliance with these provisions. It recommends that Member States make e-invoicing mandatory for all stakeholders as soon as they set up the necessary infrastructure, so as to benefit from these investments as soon as possible. However, Member States should at the same time undertake all necessary steps to ensure that this does not generate any unnecessary additional cost or burden on SMEs. The Commission will review the situation within 5 years after the deadline for the transition in order to assess the progress towards e-invoicing implementation.
KEY ACTIONS:
(1) European Parliament and Council to agree new legal framework making mandatory the acceptance of e-invoices compliant with a new European standard.
5.2. Standardisation work
The legislative proposals on e-invoicing and on e-procurement are a necessary but not a sufficient condition for the successful implementation of end-to-end e-procurement in the EU. Several non-legislatives measures meant to support the implementation of end-to-end e-procurement are necessary. Particularly, further standardisation work is needed to allow the implementation of the legislative proposal on e-invoicing.
CEN shall therefore carry out the necessary standardisation work on the basis of a mandate by the Commission which will be prepared at a later stage. The mandate will include a list of minimum requirements which the standard will have to incorporate. The work will then be carried out according to standard CEN procedures for developing new European standards. While such a standard can only be adopted by a Technical Committee (TC), the decision as to whether an existing TC can take on this task or whether a new one needs to be created will be taken by CEN. CEN should also continue its work on e-procurement with a view to simplifying e-procurement solutions, to foster SME participation and to improve the monitoring of public procurement via e-procurement systems. The Commission will continue to finance projects that promote the development of end-to-end e-procurement in the EU such as e-SENS[28], and will ensure that the relevant CEN work is embedded in this project.
Member States should promote the use of the CEN standard within their countries in order to ensure full end-to-end e-procurement interoperability.
As part of the multi-annual financial framework, the Commission proposed to launch the 'Connecting Europe Facility' (CEF)[29] programme. Its goal is to support investments in the infrastructure required to deliver cross-border public services, including e-procurement and e-invoicing, by enhancing the interoperability of cross-border processes. This can foster end-to-end e-procurement standardisation beyond the areas covered by the forthcoming legislation and contribute to limiting non-interoperable national solutions.
KEY ACTIONS:
(2) European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) to carry out necessary standardisation work to allow the implementation of the legislative proposal on e-invoicing in public procurement. CEN to further standardise e-procurement in order to simplify its usage by SMEs.
(3) European Commission to finance projects that promote the development of interoperable e-invoicing solutions in the EU (e-SENS).
(4) European Commission to fund and support the development of end-to-end e-procurement (including e-invoicing) infrastructure across Europe via the proposed Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
5.3. National strategies for end-to-end e-procurement
Member States play a key role in making end-to-end e-procurement a reality. The Commission therefore encourages Member States to set up national strategies, with detailed action plans to ensure the implementation of e-procurement and of e-invoicing by the deadlines set out in the Public Procurement and E-invoicing Directives. Setting-up these strategies is an opportunity to review the current complex set-up of end-to-end e-procurement (fragmented, sometimes user-unfriendly and non-interoperable solutions), to further rationalise public procurement, and to allow a wider modernisation of public administration.
In order to make these strategies actionable, specific action plans should be established in order to:
· Establish intermediate targets for e-procurement and e-invoicing usage to monitor the progress towards the objectives set out in the Public Procurement and E-Invoicing Directives;
· Govern the transition by choosing a strategy which maximises the benefits of end-to-end e-procurement. The European Commission will launch a study to identify those strategies for e-procurement and e-invoicing which prove to be most successful. This will support Member States in assessing their own policies;
· Promote simplification, administrative burden reduction, and the participation of SMEs and cross-border suppliers in end-to-end e-procurement by taking into account the results of the Golden Book study and the Expert Group on e-tendering (see end of section 4.2);
· Foster the development and use of e-certificates. The use of tools such as the PEPPOL[30] Virtual Company dossier (VCD)[31] could help in establishing them;
· Monitor procurement spend and key performance indicators (e.g. participation of SMEs, benefits of end-to-end e-procurement) at national level by using information generated by e-procurement systems in order to achieve savings and greater transparency;
· Set-up training programmes for companies (particularly SMEs) and contracting authorities to support them throughout the transition. Member States have the possibility of using structural funds to finance training and, if needed, to set up the necessary infrastructure. To take advantage of this possibility, they should include these priorities in their future operational programmes implementing the Structural Funds in the 2014-2020 period.
· Address internal market objectives within national strategies. The European Commission will publish key principles with which any e-procurement system in Europe should comply in order to be compatible with the Internal Market. The guidelines will address issues such as: ease of access for cross-border suppliers (e.g. e-procurement systems should not contain national specific data fields, which could block access from foreign companies), ease of access for SMEs, interoperability requirements, etc. Member States should ensure that their national strategies enforce these guidelines.
KEY ACTIONS:
(5) Member States to set-up national strategies and detailed action plans for end-to-end e-procurement to ensure implementation by the deadlines foreseen in the Public Procurement and the E-Invoicing Directives.
(6) European Commission to launch a study that identifies the most successful e-procurement & e-invoicing strategies in Europe.
(7) Member States to consider the possibility of using Structural Funds to finance training (particularly for SMEs), to strengthen administrative capacity, and to build infrastructure, by including these priorities in their operational programmes as adequate.
(8) European Commission to publish key principles with which any e-procurement system in Europe should comply in order to be compatible with the Internal Market principles.
5.4. Sharing best practice
The Commission will continue the work of the European Multi-Stakeholder Forum on e-Invoicing and will set-up a similar forum for e-procurement. The forums will identify further standardisation work, will coordinate European and national initiatives, and will share best practice. The forums will group key actors of end-to-end e-procurement: national policy makers, company representatives/SME organisations, contracting authorities/buyers, e-procurement and e-invoicing solution providers, standardisation bodies etc.
The Commission will also launch a study which identifies best practice in the area of e-procurement tools, such as e-auctions[32] and e-catalogues[33]. These tools are occasionally misused – for example, if offers under e-auction procedures are disclosed too early in the process, they can favour collusion between suppliers. The study should identify how these tools could best be used to maximise their benefits.
The Commission is leading by example in the area of e-procurement and e-invoicing. The Commission will implement full e-procurement (covering e-notification, e-access and e-submission) by mid-2015, as indicated in the Communication of 2012[34]. E-invoicing has been used for the procurement of IT goods and services since 2009, generating significant savings, faster processing time, absence of data encoding, etc. The Commission is progressively extending the mandatory use of e-invoicing to other areas of Commission’s procurement. These solutions will be made available to the Member States in an open source basis to reduce investment costs.
KEY ACTIONS:
(9) European Commission to continue the work of the European Multi-Stakeholder Forum on e-Invoicing. European Commission to set up a similar forum for e-procurement to identify further standardisation work, coordinate European and national initiatives, and share best practice.
(10) European Commission to launch a study that identifies best practice in the area of e-procurement tools, such as e-auctions or e-catalogues.
6. Conclusion
To achieve the huge benefits offered by end-to-end e-procurement, it is essential to put in place an effective legal framework at EU level. The Commission therefore invites Member States and the European Parliament to adopt the new proposal on e-invoicing in public procurement as soon as possible; this would give a clear political signal of their commitment to the transition. However, benefits can only fully be reaped if Member States put in place strategies to govern the transition and to address the operational challenges.
Annex: implementation status of the actions of the communication “A strategy for e-procurement”
Key Actions || Implementation status
(1) European Parliament (EP) and Council to agree new legal framework requiring full transition to e-procurement. Deadline: adoption by end-2012. || On-going: The proposal is being discussed with the EP and the Council; a compromise may be reached by mid-2013.
(2) Where necessary, Commission to harmonise technical requirements via delegated acts. Deadline: after adoption of new directives. || Implementation after adoption of the revised Public Procurement Directives.
(3) Commission to propose a new legal framework for electronic identification, authentication and signatures. Deadline: by 2nd quarter 2012. || Done: Proposal adopted on 4 June 2012[35]. The proposal is discussed with the EP and the Council.
(4) e-TEG (Expert Group) to issue recommendations to promote “best of breed” e-procurement systems facilitating cross-border access and ease of use for all companies. Deadline: by early 2013. || Done : report published[36].
(5) Commission to publish report on best e-procurement practice and to promote it across the EU. Deadline: by mid-2013. || Done : report published[37]
(6) Commission to support the sustainability of PEPPOL components as of mid-2012. || Done: Open PEPPOL was set-up as a non-profit international association under Belgian law and its work is continuing. The Commission continues to support PEPPOL development through the actions included in the ISA programme.
Key Actions || Implementation status
(7) Commission to fund and support the development of e-procurement infrastructure across Europe via Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). Commission to launch projects as of 2014-2015. || On-going: the proposal to establish the CEF was adopted by the Commission end 2011 and modified in May 2013; the proposal is currently discussed under the new multiannual financial framework 2014-2020.
(8) Commission to promote use of Structural Funds to foster e-procurement take-up across Europe, as set-out in the Common Strategic Framework for 2014- 2020. || Done: Several national programmes already include references to e-procurement.
(9) Commission to implement a wide-ranging dissemination strategy on e-procurement. || On-going: Commission organised events: high level conference on e-procurement (June 2012); seminar on e-procurement (December 2012). It attended a high number of conferences and used various networks to disseminate information (e.g. Europe Enterprise Network).
(10) Commission to organise annual conference on e-procurement, starting in mid-2012. || Done: conference organised mid- 2012, 350 participants. Second conference is planned on 18 September 2013.
(11) Commission to lay the foundations for electronic systems to monitor procurement expenditure in real-time. Deadline: by mid-2013. || On-going: The European Commission contracted a study which will be completed by mid-2013.
(12) Commission to issue annual report on e-procurement. Deadline: first report in mid-2013. || Done: See section 4 of the Communication.
(13) Commission to implement full e-procurement by mid-2015 (one year before the deadline for Member States). || On-going: e-notification and e-access to documents are operational. E-submission will enter into a pilot phase by mid-2013.
Key Actions || Implementation status
(14) Commission to make its e-procurement solutions available to Member States that are building their infrastructure, to reduce investment costs. || On-going: Belgium adopted e-Prior, the Commission e-procurement system. Norway and Ireland are currently testing e-Prior.
(15) Commission to promote international regulatory dialogues about open e-procurement systems and to actively monitor relevant international standardisation work. || On-going: dialogues with the US, China and UN/CEFACT[38] launched.
[1] End-to-end e-procurement is the use of electronic communications and transaction processing by public sector organisations when buying supplies and services or tendering public works, from notification to payment.
[2] http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/docs/eprocurement/strategy/COM_2012_en.pdf
[3] http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/docs/modernising_rules/public-procurement-indicators-2011_en.pdf
[4] http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/docs/eprocurement/conferences/speeches/robert-hunja_en.pdf
[5] Communications COM(2011) 815 final and COM(2012) 750 final.
[6] This document refers to e-procurement as e-notification, e-access and e-submission, which are defined below.
[7] http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/modernising_rules/reform_proposals_en.htm
[8] Electronic publication of notices announcing public procurement tenders.
[9] Publication of public procurement documentation, such as terms of reference on the web.
[10] Electronic submission of tenders by companies when responding to a call for tenders.
[11] The shift towards centralisation is an on-going trend further supported by the introduction of e-procurement.
[12] The list of benefits is not exhaustive: reduction of CO2 emissions, opening international markets etc.
[13] www.base.gov.pt
[14] The Digital Agenda for Europe, COM(2010) 245 aims at increasing the use of e-Government services by EU citizens and businesses by 2015.
[15] eGovernment Action Plan 2011 – 2015 - COM(2010)743
[16] Rolece in Spain, the French service e-Attestation, and AVCP (Autorità Vigilanza Contratti Pubblici) Virtual Company Passport in Italy.
[17] Estimate of AVCP based on number of companies and tenders, the average number of participation per company, the cost of producing documents and personnel cost.
[18] http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/information_society/data/comprehensive_databases
[19] The National Survey on e-Procurement in Portugal (2012) indicates that 78% of SMEs reported higher transparency, and 50% higher competition. See also: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/business-environment/files/smes_access_to_public_procurement_final_report_2010_en.pdf
[20] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2010:0712:FIN:en:PDF
[21] The study is carried out by IDC Italia and Capgemini: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/internal_market/tenders/2011-097-c/download_en.htm
[22] Up-take is estimated as the value of public procurement for which companies submitted offers electronically in the EU, divided by the total value of procurement in the EU.
[23] There are between 250 000 and 300 000 contracting authorities in the EU.
[24] http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/e-procurement/golden-book/index_en.htm
[25] http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/e-procurement/expert/index_en.htm
[26] All of the actions proposed in this document are consistent and compatible with the current Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF: 2007-2013) and the proposal for the new MFF 2014-2020.
[27] Reply from Swedish and Danish national forums on e-invoicing received within the EMSF consultation
[28] eSENS aims at consolidating the core results of the existing Large Scale Pilots lead under the Competitiveness and Innovation framework Programme. http://www.esens.eu Depending on the signature of the Grant Agreement (under finalisation), e-Sens will be an EU co-funded project.
[29] See COM(2011)676, COM(2011)665 and COM(2013) 329 of 28 May 2013.
[30] http://www.peppol.eu/.
[31] http://www.peppol.eu/peppol_components/virtual-company-dossier
[32] Electronic auctions are a specific procurement procedure which is fully electronic.
[33] Electronic catalogues are a means to receive and evaluate offers in a structured form – catalogue.
[34] See Communication COM(2012) 179 final referred to in footnote 2.
[35] http://europa.eu/newsroom/calendar/event/363056/commission-adopts-proposed-regulation-on-eid-and-esignature
[36] http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/e-procurement/expert/index_en.htm
[37] http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/e-procurement/golden-book/index_en.htm
[38] http://www.unece.org/cefact.html