he Public and Regulatory Law Service Line of Andersen has organized a Webinar on December the 2nd. The Webinar will address Public procurement, regulatory framework and future legislative proposals and it will be mainly focused on the speech from Vassilios Kanaras, from the European Commission and a Q&A section.

To join the webinar register here

Webinar Overview

Topic – Public procurement, regulatory framework and future legislative proposals 

To create a level playing field for businesses across Europe, EU law sets out minimum harmonized public procurement rules. These rules govern the way public authorities and certain public utility operators purchase goods, works and services. They are transposed into national legislation and apply to tenders whose monetary value exceeds a certain amount. For tenders of lower value, national rules apply. Nevertheless, these national rules also have to respect the general principles of EU law.

The European Commission aims to promote joint cross-border public procurement and support training on SME friendly policies. This will help buyers work together, learn from each other, and ensure better value for money.

Under EU public procurement rules, contracting authorities may take multiple aspects into account when purchasing works, goods or services. Examples include protecting the environment, supporting social considerations and fostering innovation.

To support the further uptake of strategic procurement, the European Commission will update and issue new guidance documents on the use of innovative, green and social criteria. The Commission will also promote the exchange of good practice, including in strategic sectors, such as healthcare, IT and construction.

Guest Speaker

Speaker – Vassilios Kanaras | Legal Officer at the Unit “Access to Procurement Markets” at the Directorate General “Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs”

Vassilios Kanaras is a lawyer and a civil servant in the European Union since 2002, having worked in the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. Since 2018, he currently  works in the public procurement Directorate of Directorate General Internal market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW), having taken responsibility, amongst others, for monitoring the application of EU public procurement rules.

The public procurement Directorate of DG GROW in the European Commission is responsible for developing, applying and monitoring public procurement policy at EU level. Its competence expands from elaborating legislative proposals in the field of public procurement to taking the necessary initiatives aimed at making the best use of public procurement as a strategic instrument for implementing public policies to the benefit of citizens. The Directorate is composed of four operational Units staffed with policy and legal officers responsible for various sectoral aspects of public procurement policy, as well as for monitoring the application of the respective EU rules in Member States.