A REPORT FROM THE EFCA

A REPORT FROM THE EFCA, ECCE & ACE SEMINAR

EUROPEAN HARMONISATION OF PROCUREMENT PRACTICES

IN THE SECTOR OF THE ENGINEERING CONSULTANCY AND ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES

Thursday, 21st October 2004

at the Renaissance Hotel, 19 Rue du Parnasse, Brussels

New EU Public Procurement Directive:

ACE, ECCE and EFCA held a joint seminar on the New EU Public Procurement Directive on Thursday 21^st October 2004. The venue was the Renaissance Hotel, a short walk from the European Parliament Building in Brussels.

Speakers included representatives from the three federations, the European Commission, national Chief Procurement Officers, the cities of Espoo (SF) and Milan (I), and the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). It highlighted opportunities and potential pitfalls of the new EU legislation, green public procurement issues, and the U.S. Qualifications-Based Selection system.

ECCE President Yrjoe Matikainen presided over the first session of the morning. Diana Maxwell, ECCE Secretary General, presented ECCE views on the Directive whilst Thomas Maibaum, Chairman of the ACE Taskforce on Public Procurement spoke on behalf of the European Council of Architects and Jean Felix, Chairman of the EFCA Public Procurement Taskforce presented the views of the European Federation of Consultancy Associations.

Above: Commission speakers, Thomas Maibaum (ACE), Jean Felix (EFCA) and Session moderator Yrjoe Matikainen

European Commission speakers Mr. Ugo Bassi, (right) Unit Head in D.G. Internal Market presented an overview of the Directive whilst his colleague Mr. Claudio Romanini (left) provided a detailed response to the concerns of sector representatives.

Mr. Romani emphasised that the Directives are not harmonising procurement but are co-ordinating it, trying to take into account cultural differences and traditions. This is why they are neutral on design and construction or ‘design and build’.

In the course of the seminar participants expressed views on the practical implications of the Directive in their countries or field of expertise. One speaker, however, was able to demonstrate transposition since Denmark had moved quickly to transpose the Directive in mid-September 2004. Mrs. Larssen of the Danish Competition Authority explained that the rules would be in force in Denmark in January 2005. The political goal had been to implement as soon as possible to take advantage of the new rules from an early stage. Danes considered the swift process offered to be an advantage. On the negative side the Danes considered the text was still difficult to understand for the users and would require extensive guidelines for contracting authorities and entities.

In Denmark there is a decentralised system. Each contracting authority in Denmark is responsible for its own procurement. Central purchasing organisations can be used on a voluntary basis. Denmark had already imposed restrictions on e-auctions although it could be used on simple parts of the construction process.

An opportunity to compare European proposals with existing American practice was provided later in the day when Terry McNulty of ACEC, the American Council of Engineering Companies, outlined the U.S. Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) system. This is used by all U.S. federal agencies, 44 state governments, and many localities throughout the country.

Mr. McNulty explained that the cost of A/E services is typically less than 1% of life-cycle cost. Under QBS, the owner selects the best qualified firm and then negotiates price. They consider the advantages to be that it leads to lower life-cycle costs; fewer change orders; lower operation and maintenance costs; promotes innovation. The negotiated process allows for clarification.

A reverse auction process is found in Minnesota, Kentucky and Louisiana.

Further information on this system may be found on the following web-site: www.acec.org/advocacy/qbs.cfm

For further information please refer to the association web-sites: The Architects Council of Europe www.ace-cae.org ;The European Council of Civil Engineers: www.eccenet.org (‘News’) and The European Federation of Consulting Associations : www.efcanet.org