The National Assembly’s budget committee on Tuesday adopted a package of amendments to the public procurement law, clearing the way for a full vote in the chamber later this month. Members approved 23 of the 31 proposed changes after a nine-hour session in Riverton that ran well into the evening.
The most significant change caps so-called direct contracts, awarded without a public tender, at 20,000 euros for goods and services and 50,000 euros for works. Under the current law, ministries and public companies can sign direct deals worth up to four times as much if they cite urgency, a loophole auditors have criticized for years.
Every tender online
The amended bill also requires all contracting authorities, from ministries to municipal utilities, to publish tenders, bids and signed contracts in a single searchable online register. Contracts that are not published within 15 days would be considered void.
We are not inventing anything new; we are simply making sure the public can see how its money is spent.
Teodora Vasić, committee chair, Civic Union
The governing Civic Union and the Green Alliance voted in favor. The opposition Progress Party backed most of the transparency measures but voted against the package as a whole, arguing that the bill leaves too much room for exceptions in defense and health care purchases.
A cap means little if half the budget can be declared an exception. We will bring our amendments back on the floor.
Aron Delić, Progress Party deputy
What critics want
Anti-corruption groups welcomed the online register but said the law should also protect employees who report irregularities. A coalition of small business associations asked for shorter payment deadlines, saying firms in Northvale and the Valley Region often wait four months or more to be paid by public buyers.
The finance ministry estimates that public bodies spend roughly 3.8 billion euros a year on goods, services and works. Officials said that even a modest increase in competition could save tens of millions.
Next steps
If the National Assembly passes the bill, most provisions would take effect six months later, giving authorities time to move their records onto the new register. The cap on direct contracts would apply from the first day of the next budget year.
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