TIRANA, July 30 – The European Court for Auditors’ report said the Albanian government has developed about 30 percent of its public procurement procedures during 2017 through a negotiation process that doesn’t foresee publication of a contract notice.
The ECA controls the finances of the entire European Union, while this report is a study of all public procurement in the Western Balkans.
Overuse of negotiated public procurement procedures without prior publication of a contract notice carry the risk to abuse state budget. This procurement is not transparent or based on fair competition, thus bringing lack of offers from different companies and competing prices for certain services.
The Public Procurement Agency itself has reported during the past years that this negotiation process uses up almost the entire fund limit available, as companies negotiating with different institutions don’t have incentives to offer their services for lower prices than the fund limit.
In this context, the ECA also points out that Albania’s legal framework for public procurement is not just far away from the European one, but also not in line with the country’s general governing strategy for financial management.
Albanian legislation allows this negotiation process to take place only in situations of emergency, but the ECA’s report concluded that the law doesn’t provide clear definition of what consists as ‘emergency’, thus allowing institutions to abuse it.
Among others, the ECA report advises the Albanian government to adapt its legislation not only with the European one, but also with Albania’s financial management legislation. Another recommendation looking to raise awareness towards citizens is establishing an electronic system for public procurement to be negotiated.
