LAW No 4013
Establishment of a Single Public Procurement Authority and Public Procurement Electronic Register Centre
Replacement of Chapter 6 of Law 3588/2007 (Bankruptcy Code)
Restructuring bankruptcy procedure and other provisions

THE PRESIDENT OF THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC
hereby ratifies the following law passed by Parliament:

PART ONE CHAPTER A ESTABLISHMENT OF A SINGLE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AUTHORITY

Article 1 Establishment of a Single Public Procurement Authority Purpose

Α Single Independent Public Procurement Authority (hereinafter ‘the Authority’) is hereby established, the purpose of which is to develop and promote national public procurement strategy, policy and action, in order to ensure transparency, efficiency, cohesion and compliance in the implementation of public procurement procedures and contracts with national and European law, constantly improve the legislative framework on public procurement and control its proper application by government bodies and contracting authorities. The Authority shall be operationally, administratively and financially independent and shall not be subject to control or supervision by government bodies or other independent or administrative authorities. The Authority shall be subject to control exercised by the Hellenic Parliament in accordance with Rule 138A of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.

Article 2 Scope/remit of the Authority

1. For the purposes of the present law, ‘public contracts’ mean contracts having as their object the execution of works, the supply of products and the provision of services, as these are defined in the existing public procurement legislation, as currently is stipulated in Law 4412/2016 (A’ 147) and Directives 2014/24EE and 2014/25EE, regardless of the estimated value of such contracts.

The present law shall also apply to framework agreements, dynamic purchasing systems, as well as work and services concession contracts, as these are defined in the existing legislation and in particular as currently defined in Law 4413/2016 and the Directive 2014/23/ΕΕ. The provisions of the present law shall not apply to contracts that fall within the scope of Law 3978/2011 (Government Gazette 137A), to contracts exempted from the present law pursuant to Articles 17 and 24 thereof or to contracts concluded pursuant to Article 346 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

2. The Authority shall have the following competences:

a) It shall supervise and coordinate the action of central government agencies in the field of public procurement and may take part in the collective central government bodies responsible for public procurement, which are established under Article 15 par. 2 (b) of Presidential Decree 63/2005 (Government Gazette 98’A). Furthermore, for the purposes of harmonization, consistent development and application of public procurement law, the Authority may convene coordination meetings between representatives of the central government agencies and adopt a decision setting up working groups in which all competent ministries are represented. The mandate, time-frame and method of operation of such working group shall be stipulated in said decision. The competent central government agencies and the local authorities shall plan their needs in terms of works, supplies and services for the following year and shall send a table of requirements to the Authority for its information.

b) It shall promote the national public procurement strategy and ensure that it complies with the rules and principles of European and national public procurement law. More importantly, it shall propose to the competent national bodies regulations for the proper harmonisation of national legislation with European law, the simplification, supplement, reform, codification and consolidation of the relevant national laws and regulations and the rationalization of administrative practices, in order to guarantee, in the public interest, their uniform and speedy application and the proper award and performance of public contracts.

c) It shall issue an opinion on any provisions of bills or draft regulations on public procurement and shall participate in the relevant legislating committees. The relevant bodies must take account of the Authority’s opinion. More importantly:

aa) the Authority shall issue its opinion on the provisions of bills relating to public contracts before they are tabled before Parliament. If the competent Minister disagrees with the Authority’s opinion, the Authority may convene a meeting at which all the competent Ministries are represented, in order to exchange and reconcile opinions. The Authority or any competent Minister may request the presence of independent third party public procurement specialists at the said meeting, which shall be held within ten (10) working days of receipt of the Authority’s invitation to attend by the delegates. If the said deadline expires to no effect, this shall not delay the procedure to pass the bill. If the disagreement between the competent Minister and the Authority is not resolved, a report by the Minister, specifically reasoning any derogation from the Authority’s opinion, shall be attached to it. These documents shall accompany the bill, when it is tabled before Parliament and shall be posted by the Authority on its website. If the bill derogates from the Authority’s opinion, the competent parliamentary committee may summon the President of the Authority to a hearing in accordance with Parliament’s Rules of Procedure;

bb) presidential decrees regulating public contracts shall be issued following an opinion by the Authority. This opinion shall accompany the draft presidential decrees when they are tabled before the Council of the State for processing and shall be posted by the Authority on its website.

cc) other regulatory acts issued by delegated acts, with the exception of invitations to tender, and the regulations of other government bodies and contracting authorities, especially regulations issued pursuant to Article 5 par. 3 of Law 2286/1995, including the rules of procedure of public procurement inspection agencies, shall be issued subject to the Authority’s consent.

The Authority’s competence to issue the above opinions shall be exercised within thirty (30) days of receipt of the above draft provisions from the competent body. If said deadline expires to no effect, the relative regulatory acts may be issued even without the Authority’s consent.

dd) Decisions by contracting authorities pertaining to have recourse to the negotiated procedure for the award of public contracts in accordance with Articles 26 par. 2 (b), 32 and 269 of Law 4412/2016 (Α’ 147), save in cases of force majeure, shall be issued with the Authority’s consent, provided that these contracts, as per their estimated value, fall within the scope of Directives 2014/24/ΕΚ and 2014/25/ΕΚ, which are transferred in the Greek legal order by Law 4412/2016. When exercising this competence, the Authority takes into account the general principles of national and European Law. This competence shall be exercised within twenty (20) working days following the date the Authority receives the draft decision, accompanied by all information that justifies recourse to the negotiated procedure in each individual case, from the contracting authority. If said deadline expires to no effect, the Authority shall be presumed to have given its consent. In exceptional cases, especially due to the complexity of contract to be awarded, the Authority may issue a decision, which is notified to contracting authority, extending once the above deadline by fifteen (15) more working days. Decisions of the contracting Authorities to have recourse to the negotiation procedure for the award of public contracts, pursuant to the provisions of Article 25 par. 3 of Presidential Decree 59/2007 (Α’ 63) and the Articles 24 και 25 of Presidential Decree 60/2007 (Α’ 64), issued, from the entry into force of Law 4013/2011 until the 31st.12.2012, without or before having been submitted to Single Public Procurement Authority for its consent, according to Article 2 par. 2c) (dd) of Law 4013/2011 shall not be invalid for that reason and produce all their legal effects.

d) The Authority shall issue and publish on its website regulations on specific technical or detailed issues on public procurement, pertaining in particular to the interpretation of the relevant national and EU legislation, taking into account the national and EU case-law, provide guidelines on the context of the above to the competent public bodies and contracting authorities and propose to the competent Ministers the issue of relevant circulars.
Said guidelines pertain in particular to the unification of control procedures preceding the award of public contracts. The competent public bodies must consult the Authority verbally or in writing before issuing any circular or guidelines. In the event of disagreement, said bodies must take into consideration the Authority’s opinion and justify their positions in writing.

e) The Authority shall issue standard tender documents and draft contracts, following consultation with the competent public bodies in each case. Any provisions of law authorising other bodies to issue standard tender documents, as in particular the provisions of Article 15 par. 2 of Law 3669/2008 (Government Gazette 116A) and Article 11 par. 4 of Law 3316/2005 (Government Gazette 42A), cease to be in force from the date set in the rules of procedure referred to in Article 7. Any binding standard tender documents that may have been issued pursuant to the above provisions shall continue to be in force until the time new standards be issued by the Authority. The Authority shall also formulate rules on the standardisation of technical specifications, in collaboration with the competent bodies, and shall verify their compliance with the general principles of national and EU law.

f) The Authority shall monitor and evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of actions by government public procurement agencies, including the competent Ministries, the competent inspection and supervision administrative bodies and the contracting authorities, in the context of the current national and European public procurement laws and regulations. The bodies and procedure for monitoring and evaluation of the above actions may be defined by presidential decree, issued following proposal of the Minister for Development, Competitiveness and Shipping, opinion by the Authority.

g) It shall carry out spot checks, by requesting ex officio from the contracting authorities and the public and private bodies involved information and data relating to procedures under way for the tender, award and performance of public contracts and shall summon their representatives to a hearing so that such information and data can be provided. Within this remit, the Authority may order the competent audit bodies to collect data and submit findings in the field of public contracts.

The relevant government bodies and contracting authorities must cooperate with the Authority, provide it with any necessary information and comply with its recommendations. The Authority shall use risk assessment methods to examine in particular the procedures to tender, award and perform public contracts that fall within the scope of EU law or are co-financed by EU programs. It shall also examine all procedures to tender, award and perform public contracts being under investigation by the EU for alleged infringement of European law. The findings of the Authority’s investigation into the above procedures to tender, award and perform public contracts shall be notified to the relevant contracting authority.

In case the Authority identifies any infringement of national or EU public procurement law, by its relevant decision, which is taken estimating the seriousness of identified infringement, the Authority shall address the appropriate simple and obligatory recommendations or suspend the progress of the procedure for tender, award and perform the public contract under investigation by the Authority. In case of suspension, the procedures shall not continue without decision of the Authority granting its written consent. Said findings may also be transmitted to the competent courts, on their request, and may be given by the contracting authority to any interested party that can prove a legitimate interest, so that they can exercise their legal rights. The Authority shall, likewise, immediately advise the competent supervisory and inspection bodies, so that they can exercise the powers vested in them by law and, if there has been any infringement of national or European law, it shall draft and post on its website a special report, which is forwarded to the President of the Hellenic Parliament and notified to the above competent bodies.

h) It shall supervise and evaluate the relevant public procurement inspection bodies in respect of the exercise of their duties in accordance with national and EU laws and regulations and the guidelines issued by the Authority. Said bodies must comply with the Authority’s guidelines. The bodies and the procedure of supervising and evaluating the above inspection bodies may be defined by presidential decree, issued following the proposal of the Minister for Development, Competitiveness and Shipping and the opinion of the he Authority.

i) The Authority may submit comments on public procurement issues, especially with regard to the interpretation of public procurement law, either verbally or in writing, on its own initiative or at the request of the competent courts in legal proceedings before them. If the Authority formulates a verbal opinion, it shall be represented by its President or Vice-President or a member authorised by the President. The Authority may ask the competent court for any document it deems necessary in order to formulate the above opinion.

j) It shall keep a National Public Procurement Database in accordance with the specific provisions of its Rules of Procedure. In particular:

aa) it shall collect and publish information on public procurement laws and regulations and related European and national case-law;

bb) it shall monitor and evaluate the collection, processing and publishing in the Central Public Procurement Database of information from the contracting authorities and competent public bodies in accordance with the provisions of Article 11. Further, it shall be responsible for updating the National Public Procurement Database with any other specific information provided for under the rules of procedure referred to in Article 7 and the provisions of the present law.

k) It shall provide advice to the contracting authorities on its own initiative or on their request, especially during legal or preliminary proceedings relating to the proper conduct of award procedures and public contracts perform and the uniform application of national and EU public procurement law.

l) It shall participate in the relevant EU institutions as the single national contact point for exchanging opinions, information and data on the national public procurement strategy, legal framework and procedures for tendering, awarding and performing public contracts. It shall also take part in Greece’s delegation to international public procurement organisations and conferences. Within the above remit, it shall serve as the central contact and coordination point of the Greek authorities with the EU institutions in connection with alleged infringements of EU public procurement law, without prejudice to the powers of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to handle infringements of EU law and to represent the Hellenic Republic before the EU courts. The findings from the Authority’s investigation of the proper interpretation of, compliance with and application of the said rules carried out pursuant to subparagraph (g) above must be attached to the reply by the Greek authorities to the European Commission on alleged infringements of EU public procurement law.

m) It shall draft and submit to the President of the Hellenic Parliament, by the end of the first quarter of every calendar year, an annual report, which shall be posted on the Internet and which shall contain an assessment of the Authority’s activities in accordance with its object and remit, proposals submitted to the competent authorities and bodies for the improvement of the legislative and regulatory framework and the procedures for tendering, awarding and performing public contracts and the progress made by the said competent authorities and bodies in complying with the said proposals.

3. By presidential decree issued at the proposal of the Minister for Finance and Development, the Minister for Infrastructures and Transport and any other competent Minister, additional powers may be granted to the Authority in order to fulfil its object. In order to scientifically support its competences and facilitate their exercise, the Authority shall have access to Administrative Justice and Court of Auditors integrated IT system, according to the terms set by the Personal Data Protection Authority, following relevant request by Single Public Procurement Authority, submitted prior to the relevant request to the Supreme Administrative Courts.

Article 3 Composition of the Authority

1. The Authority shall comprise seven (7) ordinary members and an equal number of deputies. The members of the Authority shall be selected by the Hellenic Parliament in application, mutatis mutandis, of Article 101A par. 2 of the Constitution and appointed by decision of the Minister for Development, Competitiveness and Shipping on the advice of the parliamentary Committee on Institutions and Transparency. Until such time as the necessary amendments are made to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, the members of the Authority shall be selected by decision of the Ministerial Council, on the advice of the parliamentary Committee on Institutions and Transparency. The members of the Authority shall be nominated as follows:

a) one (1) member, as President, with his deputy, by the Minister for Development, Competitiveness and Shipping;

b) one (1) member, as Vice-President, with his deputy by the Minister for Finance;

c) five (5) members, with their deputies, by the Minister for Finance, the Minister for the Interior, the Minister for Development, Competitiveness and Shipping, the Minister for Infrastructures, Transport and Networks and the Minister for Social Solidarity;

2. Individuals of recognized standing (repute) and of high standard of scientific training, who have qualified or specialised professionally in public procurement shall be selected as members of the Authority. Deputy members shall have the same qualifications as the ordinary members.

3. Following selection by the Conference of Presidents of the Hellenic Parliament, members of the Authority shall be appointed for a five-year term of office, without prejudice to paragraphs 4 and 5, by decision of the Minister for Development, Competitiveness and Shipping, to be issued within three (3) months of the date on which the present law enters into force. Members may not be elected for more than two (2) consecutive or non-consecutive terms of office.

4. Article 3 para. 4 and 6 of Law 3051/2002 (Government Gazette 220Α) shall also apply to the members of the Authority.

5. In order to safeguard the continuous operation of the Authority during the initial application of paragraph 3 above, two (2) of the five (5) members shall be drawn by lot immediately after they have been selected and shall be appointed for three (3) and four (4) year term of office respectively. This lot shall not include the President or Vice-President of the Authority, who shall be appointed for a full term. If the term of office of a member appointed for a shorter term of office in accordance with the previous sentence is renewed, it shall be renewed for a full five (5) year term.

6. The term of office of the members shall be extended ipso jure until the appointment of the new members. The Authority may continue to operate, if any of its members are deceased, or withdraw for any reason or lose the capacity on the basis of which they have been appointed, provided that their deputies and the rest of the ordinary members suffice to form a quorum. In case it is not possible to form a quorum due to an impediment of any nature of a member or of a deputy, the President of the Authority may invite deputies of any other members of the Authority, in the order they are appointed, regardless of whether the member they are replacing attends the meeting.

7. The President of the Authority, when impeded, absent or deceased, is replaced by the Deputy President and in case of an impediment of the latter, by the Vice-President of the Authority.

8. In case an ordinary or a deputy member, except the President, is deceased, or withdraws for any reason or loses the capacity on the basis of which he was appointed, another ordinary or deputy member shall be appointed in the vacant position, without a new advice of the competent Committee of the Parliament. For the implementation of the last sentence of par. 2, the terms of office must be completed.

Article 4 Operational independence

1. Members of the Authority shall only be bounded by the law and their conscience during the exercise of their duties. The President and the ordinary members of the Authority shall be employed on a full-time and exclusive basis, therefore they are under suspension of engaging in any paid or pro bono public office or legal office or any other professional activity, with the exception of teaching duties as a faculty member of a higher education establishment, in the case of the President. Full-time members that hold any paid public office, are relieved, during their term, of the obligation to exercise their office’s duties.
The deputy members of the Authority shall not be engaged in any paid or pro bono public office or any other professional activity which is incompatible with their status as members of the Authority. In particular, they shall not provide services on a freelance basis to contracting authorities or to natural or legal persons participating in tenders or are awarded public contracts. It is not incompatible for the deputy members of the Authority to teach as full or part-time faculty members of a higher education establishment and to serve as members of the Legal Council of State. Ordinary and deputy members of the Authority, for a period of three years following the termination of their term, shall not provide services on a retainer or under any other legal relation to companies or undertakings on matters which they personally handled or on which they helped to reach a decision during their term of office.

2. Article 3 par. 5, fourth sentence and par. 8 of Law 3051/2002 shall also apply to the members of the Authority, subject to the provisions of Article 2 of Law 3833/2010 and the third article of Law 3845/2010.

3. The Authority’s budget shall be appended to the General State Budget. The issues of financial management shall be regulated by a special financial management regulation drafted by the Authority and approved by presidential decree issued at the proposal of the Minister for Finance. Until said presidential decree is issued, the Authority’s personnel payroll and the operating costs shall be covered by the funds of the Ministry of Development, Competitiveness, Infrastructure, Transport and Networks. Following its issue and until the end of year 2013, the Authority will be supported by the economic and administrative services of the General Secretariat of Commerce of the Ministry of Development, Competitiveness, Infrastructure, Transport and Networks.
During the fiscal years 2013 and 2014, in order to meet its requirement, the Authority may be subsidized by the funds of the Ministry of Development, Competitiveness, Infrastructure, Transport and Networks. In order to participate in the Public Investment Programme or European or co-financed programmes, such as the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) 2007-2013, the Authority may be funded under a collective project decision by the Ministry of Development, Competitiveness, Infrastructure, Transport and Networks.

In order to meet the Authority’s operational needs, contracts over 1.000 euros (VTA excluded) subject to this law, notwithstanding of their source of funding, which are concluded after the entry into force of the present law, shall be subject to duty of 0.07%, estimated on the value of each payment, net of VAT or other duties, of the initial or any additional or amended contract. The said duties shall fully cover the Authority’s operational needs. The duty shall be withheld by the contracting authority in the name and on behalf of the Authority and deposited in a special bank account held by the Authority in accordance with the provisions of the special financial management regulation. Matters pertaining to the time, manner and procedure for withholding the above duty as well as any other necessary detail for the application of the duty may be regulated by decision of the Minister for Finance, at the Authority’s proposal. Revenue gained as such during the year 2011 may be transferred and regarded as revenue of the year 2012 by joint decision of the Minister for Development, Competitiveness, Infrastructure, Transport and Networks and the Minister for Finance.

If the Authority’s financial management leads to a positive net operating result at the end of each fiscal year, a percentage of this outturn, up to 80 %, shall be allocated to the General State Budget, by joint decision of the Minister for Development, Competitiveness, Infrastructure, Transport and Networks and the Minister for Finance. The above provision will be in force from the fiscal year of 2015 onwards.

4. The structure and remit of the Authority’s services and any other matters pertaining to its organization shall be stipulated and new staff positions may be established by presidential decree issued at the proposal of the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Development, Competitiveness and Shipping and the Minister for Administrative Reform and e-Governance, following an opinion from the Authority.

5. The Authority appears on its own in in all legal proceedings pertaining to its acts or omissions. The Ministers referred to in Article 3 par.1 may appeal against enforcement acts issued by the Authority.

6. The President, the ordinary members and the deputy members of the Authority shall submit per year the statement of financial situation of Law 3213/2003 (A’ 309).

Article 5 Meetings of and decisions by the Authority

1. The members of the Authority shall convene in ordinary meetings at least twice a month and in extraordinary meetings when required, at the President’s invitation, in which the time and venue of the meeting shall be specified. The invitation shall include the items of the agenda. The President of the Authority must convene an extraordinary meeting on the request of four (4) members.

2. Meetings of the Authority shall have a quorum if at least four (4) members are present. Decisions shall be taken by absolute majority of the present members and, in case of a tied vote, the President or his deputy shall have the casting vote. The Authority’s legal advisor may be invited to attend the Authority meetings without voting rights following the invitation of the President. The President may also invite members of the Authority’s staff or third persons, government delegates or delegates of foreign authorities, public or private bodies and professional organisations or experts to attend discussions on specific issues. Secretarial duties shall be carried out by a member of the Authority’s administrative staff appointed by a decision of the President.

3. Any other matter pertaining to the operation of the Authority shall be regulated under the rules of procedure referred to in Article 7 and, additionally, by the provisions of Articles 13 to 15 of the Code of Administrative Procedure.

4. Article 30 par. 9 of Law 2324/1995 is applied mutatis mutandis to the ordinary and deputy members of the Authority as well as its personnel.

5. The ordinary and deputy members of the Authority as well as its personnel shall not be prosecuted and sued for any opinion formulated during the performance of their duties, unless they have acted fraudulently or with gross negligence or violated the confidentiality of information and data, which has come to their knowledge in the course of the performance of their duties or violated the duty of confidentiality referred to in Article 26 of Law. 3528/2007 [Code of Conduct of Civil Administrative Servants and legal entities of Public law].

Article 6 Organisation of the Authority

1. The Authority shall be responsible for the attainment of its object and, without prejudice to the powers vested in its President under Article 8, shall rule on any matter within its remit and on issues pertaining to its internal operation. In particular, it shall:

a) formulate an opinion on the rules of Procedure referred to in Article 7;

b) draft the financial management regulation referred to in Article 4 par. 3;

c) submit proposals on staff positions and the organization of its departments in accordance with Article 4 par. 4;

d) be responsible for recruiting its personnel of any kind and its legal advisor in accordance with Articles 9 and 10 par. 1 respectively and

e) execute public contracts with third parties in accordance with current EU and national law and the requirements of the special financial management regulation referred to in Article 4 par. 3 for its own needs.

2. For the assistance of its work, the Authority may, in particular:

a) appoint public or private bodies, natural or legal persons and associations of persons with relevant expertise, in accordance with the current EU and national legislation and the requirements of the special financial management regulation referred to in Article 4 par. 3, to formulate preliminary draft provisions, standard tender documents and guidelines to improve public procurement laws and to collect, process and publish information and data for the National Public Procurement Database and any individual project which may help to attain its object;

b) open to public consultation on the Internet plans, proposals and questions relating to the consolidation, reform and completion of public procurement laws;

c) promote cooperation so that contracting authorities, economic operators and experts can exchange views and formulate opinions on public procurement issues.

Article 7 - Authority’s Rules of Procedure

1. The Authority’s Rules of Procedure shall be approved by presidential decree issued at the proposal of the Minister for Development, Competitiveness and Shipping, following an opinion from the Authority.

2. The Rules of Procedure shall regulate in detail matters pertaining to the operation of the Authority, specify its powers referred to in Article 2 herein and stipulate the bodies responsible for exercising its powers and the manner in which and procedure by which they do so, the data that will be collected, processed and published in the National Public Procurement Database referred to in Article 2(2)(j)(bb) and related obligations of the contracting authorities and the relevant public and private bodies involved to cooperate with it.

Article 8 - Powers of the President of the Authority

1. The President of the Authority shall be responsible for operating the Authority in accordance with the current provisions and shall exercise all powers for that purpose. In particular, the President shall:

a) represent the Authority in and out of court and before any other public authority or third party. The President of the Authority may, where appropriate, delegate such representation to another member of the Authority, to the Authority’s legal advisor or to a member of its special scientific personnel;

b) head the Authority’s departments directly linked to the President and coordinate and direct the departments belonging to the Authority’s General Directorate of Public Procurement;

c) exercise disciplinary authority over the staff of Authority;

d) set the items on the agenda;

e) ensure that its decisions are executed;

2. The President may decide to authorize other members or bodies of the Authority to sign ‘by order of the President’ documents or other acts within his powers.

Article 9 Authority staff

1. Fifteen (15) positions for special scientific personnel within the meaning of Article 2 of Presidential Decree 50/2001 (Government Gazette 39A) under private law contracts of employment are hereby established at the Authority, eight (8) of which shall be filled by jurists, three (3) by qualified engineers, one (1) by a chemist, two (2) by computer scientists and one (1) position by an economist. The positions for jurists may be filled by lawyers. The employment of a special scientist by the Authority is incompatible with and shall result in suspension of the relevant freelance profession or function. Breach of this obligation shall constitute good cause for termination of their employment relationship by the Authority.

2. The positions referred to in the previous paragraph shall be occupied by scientists with at least a three-year experience in the field of public procurement, in accordance with the provisions of Law 2190/1994 (Government Gazette 28A), as amended, following publication of a notice by the Authority specifying the formal and material qualifications required in accordance with the provisions of Article 2 of Presidential Decree 50/2001. In order to satisfy the immediate needs of the Authority in terms of specialist staff, these positions, may be filled, as a matter of priority, by the staff of Community Support Framework Management S.A. (Law 2372/1996, Government Gazette 29A) with the same formal and material qualifications on a three-year secondment, which may be renewed once. These positions may be filled, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the first subparagraph, by transferring or seconding on a three-year secondment, renewed once, personnel of any grade or brunch or with any employment relationship from the state agencies or the agencies referred to in Article 1 par. 6 of Law. 1256/1982 (Α` 65) or in the third Article of Law. 2372/1996 (Α` 29). The said staff shall be seconded or transferred notwithstanding any general or specific provisions to the contrary, by only decision of the Minister for Development, Competitiveness, Infrastructures, Transports and Networks without required the procedure referred to article 68(1) of Law 4002/2011 (Α`180).

3. For the administrative support of the Authority, seven (7) permanent staff positions of PE grade (university level) administration/finance are hereby established, to which staff shall be recruited in accordance with the provisions of Law 2190/1994 (Government Gazette 28A), as in force, following publication of a notice by the Authority specifying the required formal and material qualifications. The positions of administrative staff of any grade or specialization, may be filled by transferring or seconding on a three-year secondement, renewed once, personnel, which serves with any employment relationship at government agencies or agencies referred to in Article 1 par. 6 of Law. 1256/1982. Said staff shall be seconded or transferred by way of derogation from any general or specific provisions to the contrary, by only by decision of the Minister for Finance and Development without following the procedure referred to in article 68 par. 1of Law. 4002/2011 (Α` 180). The said staff shall be paid remuneration provided for under current legislation. The staff transferred shall maintain the same employment relationship and shall continue to be insured by the same main and auxiliary insurance agencies.

4. For the secretarial support to the President and Vice-President of the Authority, two (2) secretarial positions are hereby established, to be filled by seconding staff for a three year secondment, renewed once, from agencies in the broader public sector as defined in Article 14(1) of Law 2190/1994, as in force. Said staff shall be seconded, by way of derogation from any general or specific provisions to the contrary, only by decision of the Minister for Finance and Development at the proposal of the President or Vice-President, respectively. This staff shall automatically return to their position on the departure, of the said member of the Authority, for any reason whatsoever, without any further procedure. Similarly, said staff shall return to their position at any time by decision of the Minister for Development, Competitiveness and Shipping, at the proposal of the President or Vice-President, as applicable.

5. Article 4 para. 2, 3, 5 and 6 of Law 3051/2002, as amended, shall also apply to the Authority’s staff. The seconded staff, holding special scientific and administrative personnel positions, shall receive remuneration of their grade and salary scale according to the current legislation. In any case, their total remunerations shall be not lower than those received from the agency from which they were seconded and their salaries shall burden the budget of the Authority, and their payment shall be also made by the Authority. The total period of service in their agency of origin of the staff transferred and time recognized as previous service shall be construed as actual service at the Authority for the purpose of promotion and pay rises and for all other purposes.

6. a)The position of General Director of the Authority is established. The General Director shall:

aa) head the departments under the General Directorate of Public Procurement and ensures that the necessary actions are taken, in accordance with the decisions of the Authority and directions of its President,

bb) act as the administrative head of staff,

cc) exercise the President’s responsibilities, which are entrusted to him by the President’s decision. Until the appointment of the General Director or if he is not present, the powers of subpar. aa) and bb) are exercised by the Authority’s President,

dd) have the powers of the General Manager of the Department of Finance, as they are each time described by the provisions on public accounting.

b) The General Director must have three years of experience in the area of financial management or managerial control and administrative experience in the public or private sector, while any experience in a module related to the Authority’s objectives shall be also taken into account. Additional formal and material qualifications may be defined in the invitation for the fulfillment of the position issued by the Authority and published in at least two daily newspapers.

c) The General Director shall be employed on a full-time and exclusive basis and is appointed for a three-year term, which can be renewed once, with an Authority’s decision. The General Director’s term of office may be terminated prior to its expiry on grounds related to inability or defective execution of his duties, by an act of the President, issued following a specifically reasoned opinion of the Authority.

d) Candidates for the position of the General Director may be civil servants, public officials or employees of the public sector, as defined in par. 1 of Article 1B of Law 2362/1995(A’ 247). The General Director is chosen by the Authority and is appointed by decision of the President, by way of derogation from the provisions of Ministerial Cabinet Act 33/2006, as in force each time. A three-member committee, established by the Authority and consisting of its President, one of its members and a member of ASEP, gives to the Authority its proposal on the choice.

e) If the General Director comes from an agency of the public sector, after the expiry or the non-renewal of its term, by joint decision of the Ministers for Administrative Reform and eGovernment, Finance, Development, Competitiveness and Shipping and the competent Minister in each case, shall return, after submitting a relevant application, to the agency of origin and shall occupy a vacant position corresponding to the position he held in the same agency, or, failing any such position, occupy a personal position with the same employment relationship, of the same category, grade and brunch or specialty, established by the same decision. His service at the position of the General Director of the Authority constitutes real public service for all consequences and is taken into account for his further career and salary promotion as previous experience in the position of the head of General Director. f) The remunerations of General Director shall be stipulated by joint decision of the Ministers for Finance and Development, Competitiveness and Shipping.

7. The remuneration of employees seconded from the Authority to another agency shall be paid by the service in which they are placed, by any exception of general or special provision.

8. In order to assist the President in the exercise of his duties, , in addition to the positions referred to in the Regulation of the Authority, three (3) positions with private-law fixed-term employment contract, in which article 5 par. 6 of Law. 3297/2004 (Α` 259) and the chapter Β` of Law. 4354/2015 (Α` 176), concerning the remunerations, apply mutatis mutandis.
In case of secondment to fill the positions of the previous sentence, the provision of the fourth sentence of par. 2 of the present article shall apply.

Article 10 Legal Advisor

1. One (1) position of Legal Advisor on a retainer is hereby established, to be filled by a lawyer admitted to the Supreme Court with at least a ten-year experience and specialisation in public procurement law, in accordance with the provisions of Article 11 par. 1, second sentence, of Law 1649/1986 (Government Gazette 149A), following an invitation for expression of interest, in which the additional qualifications required and the means of proving them for the purpose of recruitment to that position shall be specified. Article 3 para. 7 and 8 of Law 3051/2002 shall also apply to the Authority’s legal advisor, subject to Article 2 of Law 3833/2010 and the third article of Law 3845/2010.

2. The Authority’s Legal Advisor shall be vested, in particular, with the following powers:

a) to represent the Authority in court and

b) to provide legal support for the Authority’s actions and decisions with legal advice and expertise.

3. The Legal Advisor shall not, while providing legal services to the Authority, provide such services on matters of public procurement law to natural or legal persons under any privity of contract. Breach of this obligation shall constitute good cause for termination of his retainer by the Authority.

4. The Authority may decide to use the services of outside lawyers on the recommendation of its Legal Advisor. The fees paid for the services of outside lawyers shall be stipulated by decision of the Authority.