Meeting with the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts

Ms. Nina Čulina and Mr. Ivan Palčić, from the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, participated in the Public Procurement Committee discussion on Public Procurement Act bylaws. Ms. Čulina informed Committee members of the upcoming plans of the Ministry with regards to public procurement. Planned to enter into force as of July 1, 2017 are the Regulation on supervision over the implementation of Public Procurement Act, the Regulation on training in the field of public procurement, the Regulation on Procurement Documentation and Bids in Public Procurement Procedures, and the Regulation on the plan of procurement, register of contracts, previous counseling and market analysis in public procurement.

The alignment of the national legislation with the Regulation on European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) is planned for fall of 2017 (by October 15). The integrated database will include access to criminal records, Commercial Court and Tax Administration (Tax Administration access is slightly complicated).

A one-stop-shop for all published public procurements will be available through the system of the National Gazette, and it will enable direct communication with the Tax Administration in order to improve the system (e-oglasnik).

The Government is planning to adopt the new price list of the National Gazette for public procurement. The novelty is that the package for a single tender will cost 1,500 HRK, as opposed to charging for each procurement procedure step separately. In the case of multi-annual tenders, the package will cost 2,000 HRK. As a result, it is estimated that active contracting authorities will save up to 1,300,000 HRK.

A new Anti-corruption Action Plan is being prepared and a significant part of it refers to public procurement procedures. The State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement Procedure (DKOM) is assessing anti-corruption risks in public procurement. It is scheduled for adoption in Q3.

The Ministry is also drafting an Educational Manual for implementation on the Public Procurement Act, including the use of MEAT criteria. In the fall, educational activities will be organized, using the Manual, by the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, and DKOM. The idea is to organize one-day-workshops in eight geographically divided locations across the country, including Zagreb. More information on the educational activities will be available on the Ministry website. The planned outcome is to specially educate trainers in public procurement, who would then be able to work in the field.