The European Commission launched on the 23 rd October an on-line survey to find out more about the actual experience of businesses and public purchasers with electronic public procurement ("e-procurement").

The survey will provide essential information for an evaluation which is taking place on the effective up-take of e-procurement across the EU. In particular the evaluation will assess how well the objectives of the "Action Plan for the implementation of the legal framework for electronic public procurement", adopted by the Commission in December 2004, have been achieved. Public procurement is a key sector of the EU economy accounting for about 16% of GDP. Modernising and opening up procurement markets across borders – including through the expansion of e-procurement – is crucial to Europe's competitiveness and for creating new opportunities for EU businesses. The deadline for responses is 18 December 2008.

Government contracts amount to more than 16% of the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP), but many European companies, especially SMEs, miss out on this substantial business because of the extensive paperwork required for bidding for government contracts, particularly across borders.

Several Member States have already realised the high impact of e-procurement, generating savings on administrative and transaction costs by eliminating invoices and orders by fax or email, the reduction of data entered manually and the time businesses spend queuing, filling out forms and sorting out paper work. While e-procurement is paving the way for simpler, more open and transparent public procurement at national level, the cross-border challenge remains.

Beneficts

The benefits of eProcurement do not stop at saving money. Traditional procurement systems can be difficult for potential bidders to access, while many may simply be unaware of existing tendering opportunities. Making it easier to obtain information and knowledge will benefit all businesses, but particularly SMEs, which often lack the manpower to monitor the market.

Participation in the survey

Parties interested in participating in this survey can send an email.

For general information on EU policy and legislation on public procurement, please visit the Commission’s Europa web site or the e-procuremen web site.