Working Group for Chapter 5 – Public Procurement – Main issues and involvement of civil society actors, 7 December 2023

On December 7, the roundtable for Chapter 5 – Public Procurement titled “Main issues and involvement of civil society actors” in the framework of the establishment of the Discussion and Consultation Roundtables under the Partnership Platform for European Integration was held in Tirana jointly convened by the European Movement in Albania, and the Agency for Public Procurement, as the central body responsible for the well-going of the public procurement system in Albania. The purpose of this roundtable was to present the public procurement as the regime that can provide for transparency, equal treatment, free competition and non-discrimination in its general principles, to highlight the alignment process of the Albanian legal framework vis-à-vis the EU acquis, and to introduce the public call for membership into the Chapter 5 Roundtable within PPEI as well. The roundtable brought together representatives of various institutions, civil society organizations, academic and media actors, privately entrepreneurship whose interests are closely related to the European Integration process.

Xhoana Ristani, Director of the Directory for the Implementation of the Strategic and Integration Policies at Public Procurement Agency, pointed out in her opening remarks the function of the public procurement system as a mechanism intended to promote efficient use of public funds. She stressed the need not only to merely understand this process by which the state authorities assign private corporations the responsibility of carrying out activities provided to citizens but also to comprehend the harmonizing policies enforced by the Stabilization-Association Agreement, precisely Article 70. Meanwhile, Article 74 of the Stabilization-Association Agreement on “Public Contracts” specifies the duty to equal and non-discriminatory treatment of the economic operators. She underlined that the policies on this sector must be implemented first and foremost, and that they must be better aligned with the EU legislative framework. Following the opening statements, she continued to present the content of Chapter 5 – Public Procurement, which includes classical procurement paradigms such as public necessities; utility sector such as water, energy, transport and postal services; concessions and public-private partnership; defence and security procurement and administrative review. Ristani also drew attention to a number of 2014 EU public procurement directives for the award of classical, utilities and concessionary agreements. Furthermore, she presented the legal and institutional framework in Albania. She pointed out that the current legislation in the field of public procurement consists of Law no. 16/2020, dated 23.12.2020, “On public procurement”, amended. She also mentioned the National Strategy on Public Procurement 2020-2023 and its action plan as great tools to highlight the objectives which are needed to be carried out by the Albanian institutions during this timeframe. Ristani also explained the institutional framework of  Chapter 5 by providing a presentation for the responsible institutions dealing with public procurement in Albania. In this regard, the Public Procurement Commission, an independent institution, is the highest administrative body for the review of complaints in the field of procurement; and Concessions Handling Agency mainly provides assistance for contracting authorities in concession projects and public-private partnerships. The Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Interior are the main institutions dealing with the defence and security procurement projects. In the end, she emphasized some priorities of Chapter 5 such as the continuous improvement of complaint handling system, professionalization of public procurement function, and the implementation of the new National Strategy on Public Procurement in Albania.

Gledis Gjipali, Executive Director of the European Movement in Albania, provided further details on the  Partnership Platform for European Integration as the main tool to enhance better comprehension of the European Integration process, to inform the ordinary citizens and other target groups related to the current stages of the process, and to provide inclusion for all the public and private actors involved in this pathway. He clarified the structure of PPEI, namely the Board of Directors and 33 Discussion and Consultation Roundtables, which are created in line with the chapters of the EU acquis. He further explained that the Board of Directors is led by the Prime Minister and the State Minister of Foreign Affairs and Europe and consists of 15 members. He outlined that this Board is not yet operational because 10 of its members are representatives from the Discussion and Consultation Roundtables, and not all of the roundtables have been established. He noted that other roundtables, like the Public Procurement Roundtable, have taken a considerable amount of time to be established. In the meantime, certain roundtables overseen by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance and Economy have been effective mostly because of the larger public interest in some chapters. Moreover, he underlined how important it is for non-state actors to actively participate in these roundtables because they may offer excellent expertise based on successful practices. The fact that each group has two members on the Board of Directors amply illustrates the significance of these active groups. In conclusion, he further highlighted that the active involvement of these groups entails not only learning in-depth information about the EU Integration process but also making tangible contributions by offering suggestions to make this pathway easier.

Nirvana Deliu, Policy Researcher at European Movement Albania, presented practical suggestions during the application process for the Discussion and Consultation Roundtables. She underlined that a public call to membership for a particular chapter is published by each accountable institution or ministry for one or more chapters. In our instance, the primary supervisor of the applications received for Chapter 5 – Public Procurement is the Public Procurement Agency. Interest groups can apply electronically by sending a cover letter and resume that clearly states their peculiar intended contribution to the roundtable, along with their area of expertise. Deliu gave advice on how to properly structure the resume and cover letter considering they both need to be addressed congruously. She further emphasized that a candidate, either as an individual or on behalf of an organization, may submit separate applications to apply for membership in more than one chapter. After evaluating the submissions, the Inter-Institutional Working Groups provide remarks on your application. She concluded by summarizing the main objective of the monthly roundtable sessions within PPEI, which is to provide specific recommendations for the relevant authorities about the process of European Integration.

*This roundtable is organised with regards to the “ Building Partnership on Fundamentals: Empowered CSOs in the EU Accession Process” project financed by the European Union – IPA Civil Society Facility 2021, implemented by the European Movement in Albania in cooperation with Academy of European Integration and Negotiation (AIEN), Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA) and Centre for Transparency and Free Information (CTFI).