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COVID-19 AND PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

The Hellenic Single Public Procurement Authority (HSPPA), since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, is following closely the new circumstances and developments in the field of public procurement in Greece.

HSPPA is the ex lege competent Greek authority for the proper and uniform implementation of the public procurement framework, by ensuring transparency, efficiency, cohesion and compliance of public procurement procedures and contracts with national and European law, constantly proposing improvements of the legislative framework on public procurement and monitoring its proper implementation by government bodies and contracting authorities.

Moreover, the Authority offers assistance to the stakeholders (policy makers, contracting authorities, economic operators etc.), among others, by issuing Opinions, Advices and Guidelines on public procurement issues.

In the present conjuncture, the HSPPA, on one hand, acknowledges the need for effective, timely and flexible solutions in order to handle the emergencies created by the pandemic, but on the other hand, stresses that these solutions should be followed only for the necessary time and to the absolutely necessary extent and should remain within the EU legal framework, which offers a series of flexibilities and possibilities, thereof.
In this context, HSPPA has issued the following documents and taken the following initiatives:

  • No.29/President Office/12-3-2020 document regarding the meaning of “force majeure” in the field of public procurement in connection with the pandemic.
  • No.1722/20-3-2020 explanatory document regarding the COM(2015)/454 final/9-9-2015 Communication of the European Commission.
  • No.1867/1-4-2020 explanatory document regarding the 2020/C108 I/01/1-4-2020 Communication of the European Commission “Guidance from the European Commission on using the public procurement framework in the emergency situation related to the COVID-19 crisis”.
  • A10/2020, A14/2020, Α16/2020, Α20/2020, A21/2020, A23/2020, A31/2020, A32/2020, A34/2020, A35/2020, A41/2020, A1/2021 and A5/2021 Opinions (art. 2 par. 2 subpar. c. [aa] L. 4013/2011) regarding Legislative Acts of the Government on public procurement issues related to the COVID-19 crisis.
  • No.24/2020 Guidelines “Special issues for the award and management of public procurement, in the context of tackling the health crisis of the COVID-19 virus, as well as the measures to prevent its spread”.
  • Initiative towards safeguarding the integrity and transparency in Public Procurement in the framework of derogations by virtue of emergency legislation connected with the pandemic of COVID-19:

- Modification of e-transparency Platform (KIMDIS) to include new fields regarding direct award and negotiation without prior publication on the grounds of COVID-19 extraordinary legislation.

- Data extraction, impact assessment, auditing and PP system monitoring.