Founding Roundtable of the Partnership Platform for Chapter 5 – Public Procurement, 16 January 2024

On January 16, 2024, the Founding Roundtable for Chapter 5 – Public Procurement was convened within the framework of the Partnership Platform for European Integration and the National Convention for European Integration by EMA in collaboration with the Public Procurement Agency (PPA). This meeting marked the formal establishment of the PPEI Roundtable for Chapter 5, in which two strategic documents were presented respectively, the Draft National Public Procurement Strategy 2024-2030 and its Action Plan 2024-2027, as well as the National Plan for European Integration 2024-2026 for Chapter 5. The presentation took place in the presence of roundtable members, who represent civil society sector, private business sector, academia and the media, selected based on the public call for roundtable membership.

Gledis Gjipali, Executive Director of EMA and, simultaneously, the moderator of this roundtable, in his opening remarks, greeted the roundtable members and participants, following with the presentation of each of them and their respective organisations or institutions, and their roles in the ongoing progress of this process. Gjipali emphasized the importance of establishing and advancing these roundtables within the Partnership Platform for European Integration. Among other things, he mentioned that more interest and involvement in these roundtables for each chapter —where suggestions and excellent contributions are much appreciated—would be beneficial for the integration process.

Reida Kashta, General Director of the Public Procurement Agency, highlighted in her speech that while the discussion on Chapter 5 issues is still ongoing, we must take into account the inherent sensitivity of this process. This procedure aims to create a transparent and long-lasting procurement system. Within this transition, two parallel processes of drafting legal acts are underway. The first is the drafting of the first National Public Procurement Strategy along with secondary acts that will reflect legal changes and the remarks from contracting entities. Additionally, Kashta emphasized that priorities in the field of Public Procurement were set clear regarding the Albanian context and the screening process, and that these defined objectives should be reflected in future action-plans by including anticipated measures.

Daniela Laze, Head of the Strategic Policy Implementation and Statistics Sector at the Public Procurement Agency, presented the Draft National Strategy for Public Procurement 2024-2030 and its Action Plan 2024-2027. She emphasized that a monitoring report for 2023 will be developed concurrently with the drafting of this strategy, which is the first one created in accordance with Prime Minister’s Order No. 77, dated June 27, 2023. The creation of an effective and long-lasting public procurement system, strengthening the legal foundation for concessions and PPPs, restructuring defense and security procurement, centralizing purchasing, and enhancing the complaint review and control system are the five primary goals of this draft strategy. Laze also underlined the vision of drafting this strategy, which is to advance and promote a contemporary approach grounded in the four core principles of public procurement, in accordance with global best practices. In terms of “Performance Indicators,” the strategy’s five indicators are critical to boosting transparency: fostering competition; encouraging participation in procurement processes by small and medium-sized enterprises (SME); enhancing the quality of labor, goods, and services; expanding the application of environmental and social criteria; and enhancing the effectiveness of the complaint system by expediting the decision-making process. In conclusion, she mentioned that the development of an effective and efficient public procurement process, a sustainable, environmentally, socially, and innovative procurement system, and the integrity and legality of public procurement are the three main policies with defined operational objectives. She emphasized in her closing remarks that this is a significant and continuous work that would call for commitment, openness, and an internal ideological renewal.

Geri Pilaca, Head of the Integration and External Relations Sector at the Public Procurement Agency, presented the National Plan for European Integration 2024-2026 for Chapter 5. This plan is being prepared in implementation of Article 70 of the Stabilization and Association Agreement and includes the envisaged legal acts to be approved by Albanian institutions for a 3-year period, aligning with EU directives and regulations, as well as the best European and international standards. Pilaca informed that the National Programme for Accession to the European Union (NPAEU) was announced in 2023, another document aiming the harmonisation of local regulatory provisions with the EU acquis, including the necessary political, legal, and investment measures for its effective implementation. It serves as a key programming instrument in the negotiation process for Albania’s accession to the European Union. The responsible institutions have given particular consideration to the commitments made during the final screening process and to every recommendation made by the Commission in the screening project report and the most recent report from the European Commission when drafting the National Plan for European Integration 2024–2026. Pilaca claimed that a number of state institutions have worked together to establish the Inter-institutional Working Group on European Integration (IWGEI) for Chapter 5, which is headed by the Public Procurement Agency. Their focus is to complete the scheduled measures within the four-month timeframes. Pilaca emphasized in his closing remarks that all parties involved—state and non-state actors alike—should commit to seeing this plan through to completion, given its three-year duration and the numerous objectives it needs to accomplish.

Members of the roundtable engaged by expressing suggestions and discussing about concessions, public and private procurement, civil society involvement, inclusive event development, integrity plans, compilation of legal acts to improve process transparency, as well as development of useful and productive databases. The discussion among the roundtable members also encompassed topics such as digitalization and the application of artificial intelligence in public procurement, the oversight and management of the Chapter 5 legislative framework, the combat of corruption, and the collaboration of various sectors towards enhancing performance and effectively implementing these strategic documents.