On 13 June 2013, at the National conference titled “AN EFFICIENT PUBLIC PROCUREMENT SYSTEM – A MAJOR OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPRESSING CORRUPTION“, within the Project “Enhancing the Public Procurement System in Montenegro“, the participants were addressed by the directors of the Procurement Authorities of Austria, Slovenia and Montenegro –  Mr. Wolfgang Pointner, Mr. Sašo Matas, Mr. Mersad Mujević, as well as the Head of the EU Delegation to Montenegro H.E. Mitja Drobnič.

The Conference was attended by representatives of the public, civil and private sectors.

Director of the Public Procurement Administration, PhD Mersad Mujević opened the event and welcomed the guests – H.E. Ambassador Mitja Drobnič, Head of the EU Delegation to Montenegro, the ambassadors and international experts from Slovenia, Austria and Bulgaria.

PhD Mersad Mujević, apart from the presentation he had held, had also the role of stirring up the expert discussion, which took place during the Conference and it was dedicated to “good governance“ in public procurement field. He also emphasized that the sphere of public procurement is one of the most significant areas in the overall process of European integrations. Public procurement is not only one of the foundations for the EU internal market, but also the foundation for the system of integrity and accountability which is necessary for consolidation of the rule of law and functioning of democracy This is one of the most challenging areas in the process of membership negotiations.

Public procurement is an mportant component of each modern economy. The public procurement system is based upon principles of transparency, equal treatment, freedom of market competition and non-discrimination.

During this unique event, organized and conducted by the Public Procurement Administration of Montenegro, with the support from the EU Delegation to Montenegro, the issues of corruption in the process of spending the taxpayers’ money were discussed in a public, open and intensive manner.

The main topics of discussion at the National Conference were the following:

Accountability and transparency: two approaches to governance as the support to good public procurement, prevention of the risks of corruption and the most frequent violations in the procurement cycle, challenges in keeping the public procurement system free of corruption and conducting efficient public procurement procedures, saving all resources – financial, human and time, tools for achieving transparent and efficient procurement contracts in the process of centralized and hybrid procurement, with reference to innovations and participation of small and medium enterprises.

The perspective of Monteengro and the efforts on improvement of governance in public procurement field in Montenegro are the final conclusions and observations which were heard at the event. The Conference   “AN EFFICIENT PUBLIC PROCUREMENT SYSTEM – A MAJOR OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPRESSING CORRUPTION” was a national event which made another contribution at Montenegro’s path towards the European Union.

Montenegro has made important steps in implementation of the principles of the Treaty on Functioning of the European Union into the public procurement system by adoption of the new Public Procurement Law and implementing regulations.

Montenegro plans to, in accordance with recommendations of the European Commission and strategic documents for development of the public procurement in Montenegro for the period defined by the Action Plan for 2011-2015, undertake a wide range of activities aimed at achieving complete and satisfactory harmonization with the European Union acquis.

By their active participation in the Conference’s work, a great contribution was provided by the Moderators: PhD Igor Šoltes – Public procurement expert for the area of monitoring, Ms. Eva Radeva – Public procurement expert and Ms. Sanja Poleksić  – Senior Adviser in the Public Procurement Administration.

ANNEXES:

Introductory speech –Assoc. Ph. D. Mersad Z MUJEVIĆ
Agenda
Guidance on Framework Agreements
Assoc. Ph. D. Mersad Z MUJEVIĆ – Good governance – efficient public procurement
PhD Igor Šoltes – Accountability and transparency: two governance approaches as support to good public procurement
Eva Radeva – Basic components of the Public Procurement Manual
Sašo Matas – Challenges to keeping the public procurement system clean of corruption and conducting efficient procurement procedures
Wolfgang Pointner –  Tools for achieving transparent and efficient procurement contracts in the process of centralized and hybrid procurement
Framework agreement – two contracting stages: Stage one – Procedure for selection of contractor for framework agreement Stage two – Mini tenders