Misplaced Pages

#855144

157-570: According to a 2011 study prepared for the European Commission by PwC , London Economics and Ecorys , the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Poland and Italy were together responsible for about 75% of all public procurement in the EU and European Economic Area , both in terms of the number of contracts awarded through EU-regulated procedures and in value. The UK awarded the most contracts in value terms and France had

314-436: A public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to statewide government monopolies . Public utilities are meant to supply goods and services that are considered essential; water , gas , electricity , telephone , waste disposal , and other communication systems represent much of

471-584: A European ship, prompted the commission to look into legislation against toxic waste. at that time did not even have a crime against shipping toxic waste; this led the Commissioners Franco Frattini and Stavros Dimas to put forward the idea of "ecological crimes". Their right to propose criminal law was challenged in the European Court of Justice but upheld. As of 2007, the only other criminal law proposals which have been brought forward are on

628-428: A broader pool of suppliers. The competition effect represents the improvement, as a result of increased competition, in the efficiency and performance of previously sheltered national firms, and manifests as price convergence . Finally, the restructuring effect represents the long-term structural adjustment of the industries servicing the public sector in reaction to the trade and competition effects. To effect this,

785-497: A challenge to a contract awarded without a suitable competitive process is called a Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency Notice or VEAT Notice. Whilst it is lawful for a public authority to abandon or recommence a procurement procedure, Article 55 of the 2014 Directive (Article 41 of the 2004 Directive) requires notification of the reasons for such a decision to be notified to candidates and tenderers as soon as possible. The UK case of APCOA Parking v City of Westminster (2010), to which

942-522: A commissioner. A commissioner's portfolio can be supported by numerous DGs; they prepare proposals for them and if approved by a majority of commissioners proposals go forward to the Parliament and Council for consideration. The Commission's civil service is headed by a Secretary General . The position is currently held by Ilze Juhansone . The rules of procedure of the European Commission set out

1099-418: A competition inviting only the partners to the framework agreement to submit specific commercial proposals. These are not in themselves procurement contracts, but they set out the terms of such contract with suppliers in advance over a set time. The 2004 Public Sector Directive codified rules for the procurement of goods and services through framework agreements, and the 2014 Directive amended these rules. Under

1256-548: A completely electronic procedure. DPS systems differ from framework agreements in that suitable new suppliers can join a DPS at any time, A survey of public sector organisations reported by the UK's Local Government Association in May 2017 identified the benefits attributable to use of a DPS as flexibility, cost savings, the ability to stimulate markets and scope to improve access to contracts for "harder-to-reach suppliers". European Commission The European Commission ( EC )

1413-612: A decision, and the European Commission routinely acts to police infringements. The European Commission issued a recommendation in October 2017 directed towards the "long-term professionalisation" of Member States' public procurement, so that they could "attract, develop and retain " staff in public purchasing roles, focus on performance and "make the most of the available tools and techniques". The Commission anticipated that Member States would implement their own professionalisation strategies but chose not to prescribe any specific model because

1570-565: A decrease in the efficiency of monopolistic companies. To protect the interests of consumers from unjustified overpricing and substandard service, there are special regulatory bodies whose powers are regulated by the Law "On Natural Monopolies" and other regulatory acts. Main functions: Interaction at different levels: It is important to note that the powers to regulate the activities of natural monopolies are distributed between federal and local authorities.  Effective coordination of their actions

1727-529: A dedicated Directorate-General . The European Parliament can dissolve the College of Commissioners as a whole following a vote of no-confidence , which requires a two-thirds vote. Only the President can request the resignation of an individual Commissioner. However, individual Commissioners, by request of the council or Commission, can be compelled to retire on account of a breach of obligation(s) and if so ruled by

SECTION 10

#1733085016856

1884-491: A degree of alignment between them. The aim was to make the legal framework more homogeneous, but the changes to the Works Directive included significant clarification and a special, mitigated régime for the award of concession contracts. In 2004, procurement legislation was consolidated following the principles of simplification and modernisation. The new legal framework was based on a clear-cut dichotomy between utilities and

2041-668: A duty to ensure the treaties and law are upheld, potentially by taking member states or other institutions to the Court of Justice in a dispute. In this role it is known informally as the "Guardian of the Treaties". Finally, the Commission provides some external representation for the Union, alongside the member states and the Common Foreign and Security Policy , representing the Union in bodies such as

2198-526: A governmental body may attempt to improve its image or attract investment. Traditionally, public services have been provided by public legal entities, which operate much like corporations, but differ in that profit is not necessary for a functional business. A significant factor in government ownership has been to reduce the risk that an activity, if left to private initiative, may be considered not sufficiently profitable and neglected. Many utilities are essential for human life, national defense, or commerce, and

2355-400: A greater degree of politicisation within the Commission . The commission is divided into departments known as Directorates-General (DGs) that can be likened to departments or ministries . Each covers a specific policy area such as agriculture or justice and citizens' rights or internal services such as human resources and translation and is headed by a director-general who is responsible to

2512-614: A likely candidate (in general, the elected candidate is determined, according to the results of the European election , as winner of the internal election into the dominant European party known as " spitzenkandidat "). While the European People's Party had won the European Parliament election, they had performed worse than expected and therefore nominated von der Leyen instead of Manfred Weber , their original candidate. On 9 September,

2669-594: A majority (17,664) of staff being based in the country. Communication with the press is handled by the Directorate-General Communication . The commission's chief spokesperson is Eric Mamer who holds the midday press briefings, commonly known as the "Midday Presser". It takes place every weekday in the commission's press room at the Berlaymont where journalists may ask questions to the Commission officials on any topic and legitimately expect to get an "on

2826-615: A national public procurement web-site or a well-known public procurement web-site where contracts "have a potential for cross-border interest". UK national guidance implementing the EU's advice notes that an assessment of no cross-border interest could be justified, for example, by reference to the subject matter of the procurement, the value of a proposed contract, the geographical location of its proposed performance or specific market information meaning that there would be no such interest. The de minimis principle also provides an incentive for authorities to divide contracts into separate lots for

2983-591: A number of Vice-presidents from among the commissioners. Vice-presidents manage policy areas involving multiple Commissioners. One of these includes the High Representative , who is automatically one of the Vice-presidents ex officio rather than by appointment and confirmation. Commonly referred to as the 'HR/VP' position, the High Representative also coordinates commissioners' activities involving

3140-611: A positive impression upon third countries when it made its international debut at the Kennedy Round of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations. Hallstein notably began the consolidation of European law and started to have a notable impact on national legislation. Little heed was taken of his administration at first but, with help from the European Court of Justice , his Commission stamped its authority solidly enough to allow future Commissions to be taken more seriously. In 1965, however, accumulating differences between

3297-532: A power and utilities industry outlook report by Deloitte identified a number of trends for the utilities industry: Issues faced by public utilities include: Alternative pricing methods include: Utility stocks are considered stable investments because they typically provide regular dividends to shareholders and have more stable demand. Even in periods of economic downturns characterized by low interest rates , such stocks are attractive because dividend yields are usually greater than those of other stocks, so

SECTION 20

#1733085016856

3454-421: A power plant will only disadvantage the consumer as prices could be increased. If the infrastructure already exists in a given area, minimal benefit is gained through competing. In other words, these industries are characterized by economies of scale in production. Though it can be mentioned that these natural monopolies are handled or watched by a public utilities commission, or an institution that represents

3611-484: A public utility is a question that was being discussed with the rise of internet usage. This is a question that was being asked due to the telephone service being considered a public utility. Since arguably broadband internet access has taken over telephone service, perhaps it should be a public utility. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States in 2015 made their stance on this issue clear. Due to

3768-512: A requirement for "adequate advertising" and "the fixing of objective criteria for participation"; these, however, did not replace national tendering procedures and practices with a set of common rules. The European Commission 's 1985 White Paper for the Completion of the Internal Market identified Member States' public procurement policy and practice as a significant non-tariff barrier to

3925-578: A result. In 2008, Paul van Buitenen (the former auditor known from the Santer Commission scandal) accused the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) of a lack of independence and effectiveness. Barroso's first Commission term expired on 31 October 2009. Under the Treaty of Nice, the first Commission to be appointed after the number of member states reached 27 would have to be reduced to "less than

4082-549: A slow return of capital ; last, technical difficulties can occur in the management of plurality of networks, example in the city subsoil . Public pressure for renewable energy as a replacement for legacy fossil fuel power has steadily increased since the 1980s. As the technology needed to source the necessary amount of energy from renewable sources is still under study, public energy policy has been focused on short term alternatives such as natural gas (which still produces substantial carbon dioxide ) or nuclear power . In 2021

4239-468: A source of competition between areas of the Commission and Commissioners themselves. This also leads to an unusually high number of press releases, and is seen as a unique product of the EU's political set-up. There is a larger press corps in Brussels than Washington, D.C.; in 2020, media outlets in every Union member-state had a Brussels correspondent . Although there has been a worldwide cut in journalists,

4396-461: A state of urgency duly substantiated by the contracting authority renders [the ordinary timescale] impracticable. The facility to use an accelerated open procedure was introduced in the 2014 directive: under the 2004 directive this facility was only available in conjunction with the restricted and negotiated procedures. The EU refers to third party communication systems with functionality which can submit notifications to OJEU as "TED eSenders". In 2007,

4553-520: A system with an administrative nature of relations, where the authorities have the authority to issue mandatory instructions for these companies. Proponents of such a system emphasize that it allows the authorities to directly influence the commercial activities of public utilities, ensuring their compliance with state interests. This can be expressed in: However, such a system has its drawbacks. Excessive government intervention can lead to: Resource efficiency: Despite these limitations, utilities within

4710-633: A team are then subject to a vote of approval by the European Parliament. The current Commission is the Von der Leyen Commission , which took office in December 2019, following the European Parliament elections in May of the same year . The European Commission derives from one of the five key institutions created in the supranational European Community system, following the proposal of Robert Schuman , French Foreign Minister, on 9 May 1950. Originating in 1951 as

4867-519: A three-year agreement with the aim of working together to modernize the country's infrastructure. As part of this agreement, the EBRD will allocate funds for the implementation of a number of important projects aimed at: In addition to these two key areas, the EBRD will continue to support other initiatives aimed at improving the well-being of citizens of Kazakhstan. In the United Kingdom and Ireland ,

Government procurement in the European Union - Misplaced Pages Continue

5024-476: A whole. If the European Parliament submits a negative opinion of a candidate, the President must either reshuffle them or request a new candidate from the member state to avoid the college's outright rejection by the European Parliament. Once the college is approved by parliament, it is formally appointed following a QMV vote by the European Council . Following the college's appointment, the President appoints

5181-679: Is achieved through the publication, in the Official Journal , of three types of notices: The European Court of Justice (ECJ) stated in 2004 that the principle of transparency "flows from" the principle of equal treatment which is stated in the [directives], and both require that "the subject matter of each contract and the criteria governing its award ... be clearly defined". Transparency should enhance price competition among suppliers, resulting in lower purchase prices, because publication makes more suppliers aware of business opportunities, and they also know that their competitors will also have seen

5338-626: Is considered de minimis , are not required to be awarded under the Directives' procedures, although the basic rules of the European Union Treaties, such as non-discrimination, still apply. The European Commission published updated thresholds on 18 December 2017 and these apply to any procurement advertised or otherwise initiated on or after 1 January 2018: The de minimis principle allows authorities to avoid an expensive and lengthy tendering and award procedure for low-value contracts, where

5495-467: Is made in article 34 of the 2014 Directive for contracting authorities to use a dynamic purchasing system (DPS) for the purchase of commonly used items which are "generally available on the market" and which can meet their needs. As defined within this article, a single dynamic system used by a contracting authority could operate across a range of goods, works and services, divided into appropriate and objectively defined categories. A system must be operated as

5652-456: Is necessary to ensure coordinated work and achieve common goals. As a result, the activities of the regulatory authorities of natural monopolies are aimed at ensuring a balance between the interests of consumers, utility companies and the state. 2017 was marked by a new round of cooperation between Kazakhstan and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The parties signed

5809-495: Is not binding. The commission's powers in proposing law have usually centred on economic regulation. It has put forward a large number of regulations based on a " precautionary principle ". This means that pre-emptive regulation takes place if there is a credible hazard to the environment or human health: for example on tackling climate change and restricting genetically modified organisms . The European Commission has committed EU member states to carbon neutrality by 2050. This

5966-593: Is not such a mirror in creating a European civil society . The Treaty of Lisbon may go some way to resolving the perceived deficit in creating greater democratic controls on the commission, including enshrining the procedure of linking elections to the selection of the Commission president. Historically, the commission had indeed been seen as a technocratic expert body which, akin with institutions such as independent central banks , deals with technical areas of policy and therefore ought to be removed from party politics. From this viewpoint, electoral pressures would undermine

6123-648: Is opposed to weighting regulations for their effect on the economy. Thus, the Commission often proposes stricter legislation than other countries. Owing to the size of the European market, this has made EU legislation an important influence in the global market. On February 23, 2022, the European Commission published the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive which establishes a framework of due diligence for companies to identify actual or potential risks and harm to human rights and

6280-455: Is the primary executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government , with a number of members of the Commission ( directorial system , informally known as "Commissioners") corresponding to two thirds of the number of Member States, unless the European Council , acting unanimously, decides to alter this number. The current number of Commissioners is 27, including

6437-792: The Council of the European Union declared a list of candidate-commissioners, which are sent to Brussels by the governments of each member state and which had to be officially approved by the parliament. In September 2024, Von der Leyen revealed her new team of European Commissioners, marking a shift to a "leaner" and more interconnected structure. The lineup featured six executive vice-presidents (EVPs) from France, Finland, Estonia, Italy, Romania, and Spain. These EVPs, including Teresa Ribera and Stéphane Séjourné , were tasked with overseeing various clusters of Commissioners and steering key policy areas such as prosperity, security, and democracy. Raffaele Fitto

Government procurement in the European Union - Misplaced Pages Continue

6594-613: The Eastern Interconnection , the Texas Interconnection , which is a single ISO, and the Western Interconnection . U.S. utilities historically operated with a high degree of financial leverage and low interest coverage ratios compared to industrial companies. Investors accepted these credit characteristics because of the regulation of the industry and the belief that there was minimal bankruptcy risk because of

6751-454: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) notes that additional investments are needed to improve the efficiency and reliability of these systems. The analysis conducted by the EBRD revealed a number of problems faced by heating, water supply and sewerage systems in Kazakhstan. The report also provides examples of cities where networks are being upgraded with the support of

6908-604: The High Representative by the European Council, each Commissioner is proposed by their member state (except for those states who provided the President and High Representative) in consultation with the Commission President and the Council of the European Union , who formally adopts the list of candidates. The President's proposed College of Commissioners is then subject to hearings at the European Parliament which will question them and then vote on their suitability as

7065-655: The Treaties of Rome had established two new communities alongside the ECSC: the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). However, their executives were called "Commissions" rather than "High Authorities". The reason for the change in name was the new relationship between the executives and the Council . Some states, such as France, expressed reservations over

7222-740: The Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations. The first Utilities Directive, which included a requirement for national transposition by 1 July 1992, generally followed the approach of the Supply and Works directives, but provided for the exemption of several sectors such as broadcasting, or for utilities operating under competitive conditions. Moreover, with the first Remedies Directives, 89/665/EEC (relating to public works and supply contracts) and 92/13/EEC (relating to public utilities), Member States were required to ensure rapid and effective review of decisions made by contracting authorities. The directives also introduced

7379-685: The Water Industry Commission for Scotland and the Utility Regulator in the United Kingdom, and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities and the Commission for Communications Regulation in the Republic of Ireland. Disabled community transport services may occasionally be included within the definition. They were mostly privatised in the UK during the 1980s. The first public utility in

7536-598: The World Trade Organization . It is also usual for the President to attend meetings of the G7 . The commission is composed of a "College of Commissioners " of 27 members, including the President and vice-presidents. Even though each member is nominated on the basis of the suggestions made by the national governments, one per state, they do not represent their state in the commission. In practice, however, they do occasionally press for their national interest. Once proposed,

7693-401: The environment as well as establishing processes and standards to diminish these risks. The Directive is expected to be officially adopted in 2024 and then be incorporated into domestic laws within two years by all of the European Union member states. Recently the commission has moved into creating European criminal law . In 2006, a toxic waste spill off the coast of Côte d'Ivoire , from

7850-468: The intellectual property rights directive , and on an amendment to the 2002 counter-terrorism framework decision, outlawing terrorism‑related incitement, recruitment (especially via the internet) and training. Once legislation is passed by the Council and Parliament, it is the commission's responsibility to ensure it is implemented. It does this through the member states or through its agencies . In adopting

8007-425: The "attestation procedure" as a way for contracting authorities to certify the compliance of their purchase procedures and practices with procurement law. Following the official completion of the single market project in 1992, the attention of the European institutions shifted towards the service sector , in view of its ever-increasing macroeconomic importance. The Services Directive, 92/50, attempted to contribute to

SECTION 50

#1733085016856

8164-498: The 2004 Directive applied, identified several ECJ rulings where the right to abandon a procurement exercise had been considered. Sue Arrowsmith notes that contracting authority errors would justify an abandonment, as would a recognition that a new procedure would be likely to secure a better outcome for the authority. In part because of the above-mentioned problem, the Directives apply only to contracts whose value (excluding VAT ) exceeds certain thresholds. Other contracts, whose value

8321-399: The 2004 Directive, either one economic operator or more than three were to be party to a framework agreement, but the 2014 Directive also allowed a framework agreement to operate with just two economic operators. The term of a framework agreement may not usually exceed 4 years, "save in exceptional cases duly justified, in particular by the subject-matter of the framework agreement". Provision

8478-538: The Commission of their transposition of one or more of the three new directives into their national law by the due date. The commission's letter of formal notice was sent to Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Finland, Spain and Sweden. The European Commission estimates that

8635-471: The Commission's Interpretative Communication of 2006 confirmed that the principles of equal treatment, non-discrimination, mutual recognition, proportionality and transparency remain applicable to contracting where there is expected to be cross-border interest. The Commission's advice in relation to expenditure funded from the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIFs) is to advertise using OJEU,

8792-656: The Community law applicable to contract awards not or not fully subject to the provisions of the Public Procurement Directives , published in August 2006, it was explained that certain other principles, equal treatment, non-discrimination, mutual recognition , proportionality and transparency, were derived from the Treaty principles and apply to all government procurement within the EU, and should be applied to all purchasing, taking account of proportionality, regardless of

8949-450: The Council decided otherwise. Membership would rotate equally and no member state would have more than one Commissioner. However, the treaty was rejected by voters in Ireland in 2008 with one main concern being the loss of their Commissioner. Hence a guarantee given for a rerun of the vote was that the council would use its power to amend the number of Commissioners upwards. However, according to

9106-550: The EBRD. These projects demonstrate how the introduction of modern technologies can improve the efficiency, reliability and environmental friendliness of heating, water supply and sewerage systems. Upgrading infrastructure is not just a matter of convenience. It is of vital importance for public health, environmental protection and ensuring the sustainable development of the economy of Kazakhstan. In most cases, public utilities in Kazakhstan are state-owned, which means that their activities are directly regulated by akimats. This creates

9263-454: The EC and into the dispirited Brussels Commission. In his first term, from 1985 to 1988, he rallied Europe to the call of the single market, and when appointed to a second term he began urging Europeans toward the far more ambitious goals of economic, monetary, and political union". The successor to Delors was Jacques Santer . As a result of a fraud and corruption scandal, the entire Santer Commission

9420-416: The EC until its amendment by Directive 80/767 following Community approval of the 1979 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Agreement on Government Procurement . Similar principles of transparency and non-discrimination were applied to the awarding of public works contracts with Directive 71/305, taking the form of the "prohibition of technical specifications that have a discriminatory effect",

9577-691: The EEC presidency, despite his otherwise being viewed as the most 'dynamic' leader until Jacques Delors . The three bodies, collectively named the European Executives , co-existed until 1 July 1967 when, under the Merger Treaty , they were combined into a single administration under President Jean Rey . Owing to the merger, the Rey Commission saw a temporary increase to 14 members—although subsequent Commissions were reduced back to nine, following

SECTION 60

#1733085016856

9734-416: The EU (the European Council also holds individual national executive powers). However, it is the Commission that currently holds most of the executive power over the European Union . The Commission differs from the other institutions in that it alone has legislative initiative in the EU. Only the commission can make formal proposals for legislation: they cannot originate in the legislative branches. Under

9891-405: The EU, the legitimacy of the commission is mainly drawn from the vote of approval that is required from the European Parliament, along with its power to dismiss the body. Eurosceptics have therefore raised the concern of the relatively low turnout (often less than 50%) in elections for the European Parliament since 1999 . While that figure may be higher than that of some national elections, including

10048-498: The European Commission issued an instruction intended to ensure that links to intermediaries' websites within published contract notices led directly to the relevant tender documents and not to a promotional website or one which requires registration. The buyer can advertise the contract more widely, but cannot do so before it has dispatched a notice for publication in the OJEU, and is forbidden from including information not also included in

10205-413: The European Commission put forward an Anti-Racism Action Plan to tackle the structural racism in the European Union, including measures to address the lack of racial diversity among the European decision makers in Brussels, as denounced by the #BrusselsSoWhite movement. Public utilities A public utility company (usually just utility ) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for

10362-590: The European Commission. Juncker appointed his previous campaign director and head of the transition team, Martin Selmayr , as his chief of cabinet. During the Juncker presidency Selmayr has been described as "the most powerful EU chief of staff ever." In 2019, Ursula von der Leyen was appointed as President of the European Commission. She submitted the guidelines of her policy to the European Parliament on 16 July 2019, following her confirmation. She had not been considered

10519-569: The European Court of Justice (Art. 245 and 247, Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). The Barroso Commission took office in late 2004 after being delayed by objections from the Parliament, which forced a reshuffle. In 2007 the Commission increased from 25 to 27 members with the accession of Romania and Bulgaria who each appointed their own Commissioners. With the increasing size of

10676-499: The European Parliament and European Council on electronic invoicing in public procurement (16 April 2014) applies to electronic invoices issued as a result of the performance of contracts to which Directive 2009/81/EC, Directive 2014/23/EU, Directive 2014/24/EU or Directive 2014/25/EU applies. This directive aims to secure the development and implementation of a European standard on electronic invoicing. There are several different procedures available for public authorities. These include

10833-592: The European Union, which represents governments, the European Parliament, which represents citizens , the Economic and Social Committee , which represents organised civil society, and the Committee of the Regions , which represents local and regional authorities. Through Article 17 of the Treaty on European Union the commission has several responsibilities: to develop medium-term strategies; to draft legislation and arbitrate in

10990-593: The French government of Charles de Gaulle and the other member states on various subjects (British entry, direct elections to Parliament, the Fouchet Plan and the budget) triggered the "empty chair" crisis , ostensibly over proposals for the Common Agricultural Policy . Although the institutional crisis was solved the following year, it cost Étienne Hirsch his presidency of Euratom and later Walter Hallstein

11147-682: The High Authority in the European Coal and Steel Community , the commission has undergone numerous changes in power and composition under various presidents, involving three Communities. The first Commission originated in 1951 as the nine-member " High Authority " under President Jean Monnet (see Monnet Authority ). The High Authority was the supranational administrative executive of the new European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). It took office first on 10 August 1952 in Luxembourg City. In 1958,

11304-499: The Member States are "at different stages of their journey". A "Toolbox of Good Practices" was published at the same time. Public contracting authorities may enter into framework agreements with one or more businesses, which prescribe the terms and conditions which would apply to any subsequent contract and make provision for selection and appointment of a contractor by reference directly to the agreed terms and conditions or by holding

11461-405: The OJEU publication. After the prescribed date, the bids are opened and assessed, and either the "lowest cost" or "most economically advantageous tender" is chosen. The contract award must also be reported in the OJEU and be published electronically on Tenders Electronic Daily ('TED'). The system is under constant revision to avoid misuse. Rejected bidders are granted up to ten days to challenge

11618-487: The Open, Restricted, Negotiated and Competitive Dialogue procedures. Each of these procedures sets its own limitations on the procuring authority, which must be considered when choosing the appropriate procedure. Contracting authorities have "a degree of choice" as to which procedure they follow for each procurement exercise, but "once they have issued an invitation to tender under one particular procedure, they are required to observe

11775-525: The Parliament once again asserted itself in objecting to the proposed membership of the Barroso Commission. Owing to this opposition, Barroso was forced to reshuffle his College before taking office. The Barroso Commission was also the first full Commission since the enlargement in 2004 to 25 members; hence, the number of Commissioners at the end of the Prodi Commission had reached 30. As a result of

11932-564: The President delegates portfolios among each of the members. The power of a Commissioner largely depends upon their portfolio, and can vary over time. For example, the Education Commissioner has been growing in importance, in line with the rise in the importance of education and culture in European policy-making. Another example is the Competition Commissioner , who holds a highly visible position with global reach. Before

12089-403: The President of the European Commission, and although they are still proposed by the European Council; the European Parliament " elects " candidates to the office, rather than " approves " them as under the Treaty of Nice. The Barroso Commission is, in reaction to Euroscepticism , said to have toned down enforcement to increase integration. In 2014, Jean-Claude Juncker became President of

12246-421: The President of the European Commission. It has been noted by one researcher that the press releases issued by the commission are uniquely political. A release often goes through several stages of drafting which emphasises the role of the commission and is used "for justifying the EU and the Commission" increasing their length and complexity. Where there are multiple departments involved a press release can also be

12403-410: The President. It includes an administrative body of about 32,000 European civil servants. The commission is divided into departments known as Directorates-General (DGs) that can be likened to departments or ministries each headed by a Director-General who is responsible to a Commissioner. Currently, there is one member per member state , but members are bound by their oath of office to represent

12560-600: The Public Procurement Directives seek to base procurement on principles "derived from" the European Union Treaty. Within the EU Treaty itself, freedom of movement of goods, freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services are specified; these freedoms, along with free movement of capital, are the "four freedoms" which underpin the European Single Market . In the commission's Interpretative Communication on

12717-423: The Treaty of Lisbon, no legislative act is allowed in the field of the Common Foreign and Security Policy . In the other fields, the Council and Parliament can request legislation; in most cases the Commission initiates on the basis of these proposals. This monopoly is designed to ensure coordinated and coherent drafting of EU law . This monopoly has been challenged by some who claim the Parliament should also have

12874-543: The UK, the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 implementing the 2014 Directive on Procurement came into force on 26 February 2015. The Irish Office of Government Procurement undertook a public consultation process between 31 October and 12 December 2014 with a view to transposing the new Directives into Irish law by 17 April 2016. The 2014 Public Procurement Directive introduced an obligation to take into account accessibility criteria for disabled persons in

13031-520: The United States was a grist mill erected on Mother Brook in Dedham, Massachusetts , in 1640. In the U.S., public utilities provide services at the consumer level, be it residential, commercial, or industrial consumer. Utilities, merchant power producers and very large consumers buy and sell bulk electricity at the wholesale level through a network of regional transmission organizations (RTO) and independent system operators (ISO) within one of three grids,

13188-418: The capacities of one or more other entities, for example if it intends to sub-contract part of the delivery in an area where it lacks sufficient skills and resources. The 2014 Directive and its predecessor note the following points in relation to reliance on other entities: A provision was added into the 2014 Directive stating that for works contracts, service contracts and siting or installation operations in

13345-904: The commercial activities related to associated electric, natural gas , telecommunications, water, railroad, rail transit, and/or passenger transportation companies. For example, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Public Utility Commission of Texas regulate the utility companies in California and Texas, respectively, on behalf of their citizens and ratepayers (customers). These public utility commissions (PUCs) are typically composed of commissioners, who are appointed by their respective governors, and dedicated staff that implement and enforce rules and regulations, approve or deny rate increases, and monitor/report on relevant activities. Ratemaking practice in

13502-581: The commission (66%) and concerning lack of transparency (36%). In 2010 the commission was sued for blocking access to documents on EU biofuel policy. This happened after media accused the Commission of blocking scientific evidence against biofuel subsidies. Lack of transparency, unclear lobbyist relations, conflicts of interests and excessive spending of the commission was highlighted in a number of reports by internal and independent auditing organisations. It has also been criticised on IT-related issues, particularly with regard to Microsoft . In September 2020,

13659-511: The commission can assume office, the college as a whole must be approved by the Parliament. Commissioners are supported by their personal cabinet who give them political guidance, while the Civil Service (the DGs, see below) deal with technical preparation. The President of the Commission is first proposed by the European Council , following a Qualified Majority Vote (QMV), taking into account

13816-420: The commission's lack of power over areas like foreign policy  – that power is held by the Council of the European Union and the European Council, which some analysts have described as another executive. Considering that under the Treaty of Lisbon, the European Council has become a formal institution with the power of appointing the commission, it could be said that the two bodies hold the executive power of

13973-514: The commission's operation and organisation. There has been criticism from a number of people that the highly fragmented DG structure wastes a considerable amount of time in turf wars as the different departments and Commissioners compete with each other. Furthermore, the DGs can exercise considerable control over a Commissioner with the Commissioner having little time to learn to assert control over their staff. According to figures published by

14130-510: The commission's role as an independent regulator. Defenders of the Commission point out that legislation must be approved by the Council in all areas (the ministers of member states) and the European Parliament in most areas before it can be adopted, thus the amount of legislation which is adopted in any one country without the approval of its government is limited. In 2009 the European ombudsman published statistics of citizens' complaints against EU institutions, with most of them filed against

14287-541: The commission, 23,803 persons were employed by the commission as officials and temporary agents in September 2012. In addition to these, 9230 "external staff" (e.g. Contractual agents, detached national experts, young experts, trainees etc.) were employed. The single largest DG is the Directorate-General for Translation , with a 2309-strong staff, while the largest group by nationality is Belgian (18.7%), probably due to

14444-517: The commission, Barroso adopted a more presidential style of control over the college, which earned him some criticism. However, under Barroso, the commission began to lose ground to the larger member states as countries such as France, the UK and Germany sought to sideline its role. This has increased with the creation of the President of the European Council under the Treaty of Lisbon . There has also been

14601-492: The company must offer higher yields to attract bond investors , driving up the utility's interest expenses. If the company's debt load and interest expense becomes too large, its credit rating will deteriorate, further increasing the cost of capital and potentially limiting access to the capital markets. Public utilities in Kazakhstan include heating, water supply, sewerage, electricity and communications systems. A report by

14758-412: The considerable press releases and operations such as Europe by Satellite and EuroparlTV leads many news organisations to believe they can cover the EU from these source and news agencies . The Commission shut down Presseurop on 20 December 2013, though the decision was criticised. As the commission is the executive branch, candidates are chosen individually by the 27 national governments. Within

14915-477: The context of a "supply-and-fit" contract, a contracting authority may require that certain critical tasks be performed directly by the tenderer itself or, where the tender is submitted by a group of economic operators ... by a participant in that group". Article 73 requires public authorities to include terms in public contracts which allow the contract to be terminated if its award or subsequent variation should not have taken place for reasons directly connected with

15072-690: The cost of adding another customer is small, and duplication of facilities would be wasteful. As a result, utilities were either government monopolies, or if investor-owned, regulated by a public utilities commission . In the electric utility industry, the monopoly approach began to change in the 1990s. In 1996, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued its Order No. 888 , which mandated that electric utilities open access to their transmission systems to enhance competition and "functionally unbundle" their transmission service from their other operations. The order also promoted

15229-406: The costs of the procedure could exceed the public welfare benefits of the increased transparency and competition associated with the procedure. A 1995 Commission study shows that this "sub-dimensional" public purchasing, which remains unaffected by the procedural disciplines of the Directives, appears to be at least three times the size of "dimensional" (i.e., above-threshold) purchasing. Nevertheless,

15386-402: The effectiveness of review procedures concerning the award of public contracts. New Directives on Public Procurement, Utilities Procurement and Concessions were adopted by the European Council on 24 February 2014. The Member States were allowed until 18 April 2016 to transpose the new rules into their national laws (except with regard to e-procurement, where the deadline was September 2018). In

15543-403: The elimination of trade barriers resulting from discriminatory and preferential procurement practices may bring about savings to the European economy of about 0.5% of EU GDP, which would be about US$ 92 billion in 2008. These savings are thought to be the result of three effects: The trade effect represents the actual and potential savings as a result of lower purchase prices than can be had from

15700-418: The entire city. Cooperative utilities are owned by the customers they serve. They are usually found in rural areas. Publicly owned utilities are non-profit. Private utilities, also called investor-owned utilities , are owned by investors , and operate for profit, often referred to as a rate of return . A public utilities commission is a governmental agency in a particular jurisdiction that regulates

15857-416: The essential services they provide. In recent decades several high-profile utility company bankruptcies have challenged this perception. Public utilities were historically regarded as natural monopolies because the infrastructure required to produce and deliver a product such as electricity or water is very expensive to build and maintain. Once assets such as power plants or transmission lines are in place,

16014-600: The euro. In response to the scandal, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) was created. Following Santer, Romano Prodi took office. The Amsterdam Treaty had increased the commission's powers and Prodi was dubbed by the press as something akin to a Prime Minister. Powers were strengthened again; the Treaty of Nice , signed in 2001, gave the Presidents more power over the composition of the College of Commissioners. José Manuel Barroso became president in 2004:

16171-444: The executive power of the EU was held by the council: it conferred on the Commission such powers for it to exercise. However, the council was allowed to withdraw these powers, exercise them directly, or impose conditions on their use. This aspect has been changed by the Treaty of Lisbon, after which the Commission exercises its powers just by virtue of the treaties. Powers are more restricted than most national executives, in part due to

16328-470: The existing law, introduce a new procurement procedure, the competitive dialogue , and allow the procurement of framework agreements . They were required to be transposed into national law by 31 January 2006. In 2007, the Remedies Directives were also updated by Directive 2007/66/EC, also called "the new remedies directive", which amended Directives 89/665/EEC and 92/13/EEC with regard to improving

16485-410: The external relations and defence cooperation of the European Union. The von der Leyen Commission also created the position of more senior Executive Vice-presidents , appointed from the three largest political groups in the European Parliament. Unlike the other vice-presidents, their mission is to manage the incumbent Commission's top priority policy areas, for which they receive additional support from

16642-452: The facts and circumstances in a comprehensive manner by actively collaborating with the investigating authorities" and taken appropriate steps relating to their organisation, policies, procedures and personnel to address the cause of previous failings. An entity wishing to tender or to demonstrate that it meets the selection criteria (economic and financial standing, and technical and professional ability) for being invited to tender may rely on

16799-501: The first enlargement to the north in 1973. With that enlargement, the College of Commissioners membership increased to thirteen under the Ortoli Commission (the United Kingdom as a large member was granted two Commissioners), which dealt with the enlarged community during economic and international instability at that time. The external representation of the Community took a step forward when President Roy Jenkins , recruited to

16956-435: The formula of one member for small states and two for larger states. The Rey Commission completed the Community's customs union in 1968 and campaigned for a more powerful, elected, European Parliament . Despite Rey being the first President of the combined communities, Hallstein is seen as the first President of the modern Commission. The Malfatti and Mansholt Commissions followed with work on monetary co-operation and

17113-517: The framework of this system can demonstrate high efficiency in the use of labor resources and management costs. Residents of Kazakhstan receive water, sewerage and heating from companies recognized by the state as natural monopolies. This means that there is no competition in these areas, and tariffs are set by a special state body – the Committee for Regulation of Natural Monopolies, Competition and Consumer Protection (CRNM and CP). In order to ensure

17270-545: The free circulation of goods and provision of services in Europe because it tended to favour national providers, thereby sheltering markets from competition and distorting trade patterns. The paper and the Single European Act of 1986 which it led to are the conceptual foundation of current EU procurement law. On this basis, Directive 88/295/EEC amended all previous public supplies directives. Open tendering procedures were now

17427-404: The general interest of the EU as a whole rather than their home state. The Commission President (currently Ursula von der Leyen ) is proposed by the European Council (the 27 heads of state/governments) and elected by the European Parliament . The Council of the European Union then nominates the other members of the Commission in agreement with the nominated President, and the 27 members as

17584-507: The government. There are many different types of public utilities. Some, especially large companies , offer multiple products, such as electricity and natural gas. Other companies specialize in one specific product, such as water. Modern public utilities may also be partially (or completely) sourced from clean and renewable energy in order to produce sustainable electricity. Of these, wind turbines and solar panels are those used most frequently. Whether broadband internet access should be

17741-456: The highest number of contracts. Although the United Kingdom left the EU on 31 January 2020, the existing regulations continued to apply until 31 December 2020 in accordance with the Brexit withdrawal agreement . The basis of European procurement regulation lies in the provisions of the European Union treaties which prohibit barriers to intra-Union trade, provide the freedom to provide services and

17898-468: The increase in the number of states, the Amsterdam Treaty triggered a reduction in the number of Commissioners to one per state, rather than two for the larger states. Allegations of fraud and corruption were again raised in 2004 by former chief auditor Jules Muis. A Commission officer, Guido Strack , reported alleged fraud and abuses in his department in the years 2002–2004 to OLAF, and was fired as

18055-424: The information is available immediately on the web from Tenders Electronic Daily ('TED'). Regulated minimum timescales apply, which vary according to the procedure chosen; if "a state of urgency duly substantiated by the contracting authority" makes it impracticable to comply with the relevant time limit, then an "accelerated procedure" may be followed, typically allowing a time limit of not less than 15 days "where

18212-445: The infrastructure, e.g. power plants, telephone lines and water treatment facilities. However, over the past several decades, traditional public utilities' monopoly position has eroded. For instance, wholesale electricity generation markets, electric transmission networks, electricity retailing and customer choice, telecommunications , some types of public transit and postal services have become competitive in some countries and

18369-400: The latest parliamentary elections (any person from the largest party can be picked ); that candidate then faces a formal election in the European Parliament . Thus this serves as a form of indirect election . If the European Parliament fails to elect the candidate, the European Council shall propose another within one month. Following the selection of the President, and the appointment of

18526-404: The legislative process; to represent the EU in trade negotiations; to make rules and regulations, for example in competition policy; to draw up the budget of the European Union ; and to scrutinise the implementation of the treaties and legislation. The rules of procedure of the European Commission set out the commission's operation and organisation. Before the Treaty of Lisbon came into force,

18683-469: The level of expenditure. The European Commission states that public procurement should be used in a "strategic manner", in order to secure value for money and also to contribute to innovation and sustainable, inclusive and competitive economic development; for example, the 2016 Pact of Amsterdam identified public procurement as one of the means of dealing with the urban challenges facing many European cities. Transparency in European government procurement

18840-528: The liberalisation of public sector services by introducing a régime similar to that governing the procurement of goods, works and by public utilities. It also introduced a new award procedure, the Design Contest. But its scope excluded several specific services, as well as service concessions, which may have been due to certain national constitutional restrictions against the outsourcing of public services. It also distinguished between "priority" services, to which

18997-453: The necessary technical measures, the commission is assisted by committees made up of representatives of member states and of the public and private lobbies (a process known in jargon as " comitology "). Furthermore, the commission is responsible for the implementation of the EU budget , ensuring, along with the Court of Auditors , that EU funds are correctly spent. In particular the commission has

19154-429: The norm and negotiated contracts agreed with suppliers chosen by the authority concerned were allowed only in exceptional circumstances. Purchasing authorities now had to publish advance notices of their annual procurement programmes as well as details of each award decision. National technical standards now had to be mutually recognised, and the exempted sectors were more clearly defined. Directive 89/440 likewise amended

19311-518: The number of Member States". The exact number of Commissioners was to be decided by a unanimous vote of the European Council , and membership would rotate equally between member states. Following the accession of Romania and Bulgaria in January 2007, this clause took effect for the next Commission. The Treaty of Lisbon, which came into force on 1 December 2009, mandated a reduction of the number of commissioners to two-thirds of member-states from 2014 unless

19468-584: The off-year elections of the United States Congress , the fact that there are no direct elections for the position of Commission President calls the position's legitimacy into question in the eyes of some Eurosceptics. The fact that the commission can directly decide (albeit with oversight from specially formed 'comitology committees' ) on the shape and character of implementing legislation further raises concerns about democratic legitimacy. Even though democratic structures and methods are changing there

19625-408: The opportunity. CANs also send important price signals to the market. However, the increased competition may drive down prices down to a level where poor quality or predatory pricing become concerns. It also wastes effort on the part of the many unsuccessful tenderers and of the authority who has to evaluate many tenders. A document issued for transparency purposes and in order to prevent or mitigate

19782-560: The performance of a public contract which led to early termination of that contract. Regulation 57(13)-(17) recognises that businesses may have addressed the reasons why they may have previously committed excludable offences and demonstrated that they should now be considered a reliable and suitable business for performance of a public contract. The provision of evidence to this effect is known as 'self-cleaning'. To take advantage of this provision, businesses must demonstrate that they have paid fines or provided compensation for damages, "clarified

19939-502: The posts of European Commissioner for External Relations with the council's High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy . This post, also a Vice-president of the Commission , would chair the Council of the European Union's foreign affairs meetings as well as the commission's external relations duties. The treaty further provides that the most recent European elections should be " taken into account " when appointing

20096-450: The power of the High Authority and wished to limit it by giving more power to the Council rather than the new executives. Louis Armand led the first Commission of Euratom . Walter Hallstein led the first Commission of the EEC , holding the first formal meeting on 16 January 1958 at the Château of Val-Duchesse . It achieved agreement on a contentious cereal price accord, as well as making

20253-469: The presidency in January 1977 from his role as Home Secretary of the United Kingdom's Labour government, became the first President to attend a G8 summit on behalf of the Community. Following the Jenkins Commission , Gaston Thorn 's Commission oversaw the Community's enlargement to the south, in addition to beginning work on the Single European Act . The Commission headed by Jacques Delors

20410-485: The previous public works directives. Their scope of application was widened, now also covering concession contracts and certain state-subsidized works, and consortial participation in contracts was allowed. The most important change was the adoption of the first Utilities Directive, Directive 90/531 , on 17 September 1990. Public utilities – the energy, telecommunications, transport and water sectors – had so far escaped European procurement law harmonisation because of

20567-414: The procurement laws of Member States appeared to be needed. The European Communities (EC) Council of Ministers adopted General Programmes in 1962 which envisaged the abolition of national quotas and restrictions in public procurement. Directive 66/683/EEC prohibited rules requiring the use of national products or prohibiting the use of foreign products in public procurement, and Directive 70/32 applied

20724-485: The procurement regulations. These terms should deal with the mechanism for, and consequences of, termination. In the absence of such a term, a power for the contracting authority to terminate the contract on reasonable notice will be implied . Regulation 22 of the 2015 Regulations came into effect on 18 October 2018, requiring that all communication and information with bidders, including tender submissions, should be performed using electronic means. Directive 2014/55/EU of

20881-416: The public utility market. The transmission lines used in the transportation of electricity , or natural gas pipelines , have natural monopoly characteristics. A monopoly can occur when it finds the best way to minimize its costs through economies of scale to the point where other companies cannot compete with it. For example, if many companies are already offering electricity, the additional installation of

21038-568: The purpose of avoiding bothersome procedures. Although the Directives prohibit doing this, such avoidance of procurement law is difficult to detect and enforce (as of 2007 no case relating to it had ever been before the ECJ, and it is thought to be mainly responsible for the observed low percentage of all public contracts that are published in the Official Journal. Regulation 57 provides for companies who have committed certain offences to be excluded from

21195-607: The record" answer for live TV. Such a situation is unique in the world. As an integral part of the Directorate-General for Communication, the Spokesperson's Service, in coordination with the Executive Communication Adviser in the President's Cabinet, supports the President and Commissioners so that they can communicate effectively. On political communication matters, the chief spokesperson reports directly to

21352-623: The rest of the public sector. While the procurement of the former remains governed by a new Utilities Directive, Directive 2004/17 "coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors", the other three directives were amalgamated into a single "Public Sector Directive", Directive 2004/18 "on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts", which now governs procurement by public authorities other than utilities. The 2004 directives, apart from simplifying and clarifying

21509-441: The right to establishment (three of the " Four Freedoms "), prohibit discrimination on the basis of national origin and regulate public undertakings and public monopolies. But these rules, being prohibitive in character, proved insufficient to eliminate the protection afforded by the Member States to domestic enterprises by preferential procurement practices. For this, positive regulation through secondary legislation which harmonized

21666-503: The right, with most national parliaments holding the right in some respects. However, the Council and Parliament may request the commission to draft legislation, though the Commission does have the power to refuse to do so as it did in 2008 over transnational collective conventions. Under the Lisbon Treaty, EU citizens are also able to request the commission to legislate in an area via a petition carrying one million signatures , but this

21823-502: The risk of public harm with mismanagement is considerably greater than with other goods. The principle of universality of utilities maintains that these services are best owned by, and operating for, the public. The government and the society itself would like to see these services being economically accessible to all or most of the population. Furthermore, other economic reasons based the idea: public services need huge investments in infrastructures , crucial for competitiveness but with

21980-417: The role of an independent system operator to manage power flow on the electric grid. Later, FERC Order No. 889 established an electronic information system called OASIS (open access same-time information system) which would give new users of transmission lines access to the same information available to the owner of the network. The result of these and other regulatory rulings was the eventual restructuring of

22137-548: The rules applicable to it until the contract has been finally awarded". The procedure is intended to be fully transparent with the intention of creating a free and competitive Europe-wide market. The rules state that for projects above a certain financial threshold (about €100K) a contract notice must be published in Supplement S of the Official Journal of the European Union OJEU previously known as [OJEC S-Series]. Nowadays

22294-450: The same rule to public supply contracts. The procedures for awarding public supply contracts were co-ordinated with Directive 77/62/EEC, which introduced three fundamental principles: contracts had to be advertised community-wide, discriminatory technical specifications were prohibited, and tendering and award procedures had to be based on objective criteria. However, it did not apply to public utilities , or to products originating outside

22451-411: The smooth operation of public utilities, the state also controls the investment programs of monopolistic companies. This is handled by the Committee on Construction and Housing and Communal Services. Such a system allows you to regulate prices for utilities and direct investments to infrastructure development. However, this system also has its disadvantages. For example, the lack of competition can lead to

22608-485: The specification for any works, goods or services intended for use by the general public or by staff of the contracting authority, unless there was justification for not doing so, and allowed for consideration of third party labels as proof that goods and services met required social and environmental characteristics "linked to the subject-matter of the contract". On 26 May 2016 the European Commission issued letters of formal notice to 21 member states who had failed to notify

22765-668: The state, private firms, and charities ran the traditional public utilities. For instance, the Sanitary Districts were established in England and Wales in 1875 and in Ireland in 1878. The term can refer to the set of services provided by various organizations that are used in everyday life by the public, such as: electricity generation , electricity retailing , electricity supplies, natural gas supplies, water supplies, sewage works , sewage systems and broadband internet services. They are regulated by Ofgem , Ofwat , Ofcom ,

22922-437: The strongly divergent national legal regimes governing them, and possibly also because their large purchasing volume constituted an instrument of national industrial policy that governments were reluctant to give up. The removal of market access barriers in this sector was largely enabled by the concurrent liberalisation of the European telecommunications industry and by the envisaged global liberalisation of public procurement in

23079-637: The supplier appraisal process and their tenders rejected. Mandatory exclusion applies in relation to offences relating to corruption , bribery , money laundering , taxation offences, people trafficking and drug trafficking . The same regulation also allows contracting authorities to exclude businesses from the supplier appraisal process and reject their tenders where they have committed offences or undertaken activities relating to misrepresentation , undue influence on procurement procedures, grave professional misconduct , agreements to distort competition or demonstrated significant or persistent deficiencies in

23236-520: The telephone service having been considered a public utility, the FCC made broadband internet access a public utility in the United States. Public utilities have historically been considered to be a natural monopoly . This school of thought holds that the most cost-efficient way of doing business is through a single firm because these are capital-intensive businesses with unusually large economies of scale and high fixed costs associated with building and operating

23393-518: The traditional monopoly-regulated regime to one in which all bulk power sellers could compete. A further step in industry restructuring, "customer choice", followed in some 19 states, giving retail electric customers the option to be served by non-utility retail power marketers. Public utilities can be privately owned or publicly owned . Publicly owned utilities include cooperative and municipal utilities. Municipal utilities may actually include territories outside of city limits or may not even serve

23550-479: The treaties it still has to be fewer than the total number of members, thus it was proposed that the member state that does not get a Commissioner would get the post of High Representative – the so-called 26+1 formula. This guarantee (which may find its way into the next treaty amendment, probably in an accession treaty) contributed to the Irish approving the treaty in a second referendum in 2009. Lisbon also combined

23707-557: The trend towards liberalization , deregulation and privatization of public utilities is growing. However, the infrastructure used to distribute most utility products and services has remained largely monopolistic. Key players in the public utility sector include: Public utilities must pursue the following objective given the social responsibility their services attribute to them: The management of public utilities continues to be important for local and general governments . By creating, expanding, and improving upon public utilities,

23864-443: The utility sector is often part of a long-term buy-and-hold strategy. Utilities require expensive critical infrastructure which needs regular maintenance and replacement. Consequently, the industry is capital intensive , requiring regular access to the capital markets for external financing. A utility's capital structure may have a significant debt component, which exposes the company to interest rate risk . Should rates rise,

24021-403: The whole range of procurement disciplines applied, and "non-priority" services, whose procurement was subject only to basic non-discrimination and publicity rules. On 14 June 1993, the older supplies and works directives and the directive on procurement in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors were re-adopted as Directives 93/36/EEC, 93/37/EEC and 93/38/EEC respectively, with

24178-462: Was appointed despite criticism from European socialists over his hard-right affiliations. Other notable appointments included Kaja Kallas as EVP for Foreign and Security Policy, and Henna Virkkunen as EVP for Tech Sovereignty and Digital Technologies. The Commission also introduced new roles like the Commissioner for Defence and Security and the Commissioner for the Mediterranean. The commission

24335-399: Was forced by the Parliament to resign in 1999; a central role was played by Édith Cresson . These frauds were revealed by an internal auditor, Paul van Buitenen . That was the first time a College of Commissioners had been forced to resign en masse , and represented a shift of power towards the Parliament. However, the Santer Commission did carry out work on the Treaty of Amsterdam and

24492-521: Was seen as giving the Community a sense of direction and dynamism. Delors and his College are also considered as the " founding fathers of the euro ". The International Herald Tribune noted the work of Delors at the end of his second term in 1992: "Mr. Delors rescued the European Community from the doldrums. He arrived when Europessimism was at its worst. Although he was a little-known former French finance minister, he breathed life and hope into

24649-407: Was set up from the start to act as an independent supranational authority separate from governments; it has been described as "the only body paid to think European". The members are proposed by their member state governments, one from each. However, they are bound to act independently – free from other influences such as those governments which appointed them. This is in contrast to the Council of

#855144