Examining year-end spending spikes in the European Economic Area: a comparative study of procurement contracts

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifford P. McCue ◽  
Eric Prier ◽  
Ryan J. Lofaro
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Fourth Quarter ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
Content Type ◽  
European Economic ◽  
Economic Area ◽  
Contract Type ◽  
Procurement Contracts

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyze year-end spending practices in the European Economic Area (EEA) to baseline the pervasiveness of year-end spending spikes across countries in Europe.Design/methodology/approachThe Tenders Electronic Daily dataset is used to descriptively analyze above-threshold procurement contracts by country, year and contract type from 2009 to 2018. Proportional distributions are employed to compare percentages of spend across quarters. Analyses are run within each country on the number of years displaying a fourth quarter spike, as well as within each country and contract type.FindingsThe results show that while spending spikes for above-threshold contracts in the final fiscal quarter are not consistent across all countries, patterns emerge when the data are disaggregated by country. The most populous nations in the EEA are more likely to have years with the highest proportion of fiscal spend occurring in the fourth quarter. Further, the type of contract makes a difference – services and supplies contracts are more likely to display fourth quarter spikes than works contracts.Originality/valueThis article provides the first analysis of the year-end spending spike across countries in Europe using procurement data, as well as the first to disaggregate by year and contract type. Findings support the literature on the presence of year-end spikes; such spikes exist even for above-threshold public procurement contracts.

European Union Public Procurement Remedies Regimes

2012 ◽  
pp. 162-184
Author(s):  
Kai Krüger
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
European Economic ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Economic Area ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Eu

The chapter explores the Nordic statutory EU-based remedy regimes. Due to the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement, the EU commitments do not vary between EU member states, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden and (non-members) Norway and Iceland. The legislation on procurement remedies is assumed to be EU/EEA compliant. There are however material differences in the set up for handling disputes and complaints—also subsequent to the 2010-2012 Nordic adaptation of EU Directive 2007/66/EC on enhanced procurement remedies. The pending issue is whether the EU “sufficiently serious breach” principle on treaty infringements applies on liability for procurement flaws. Loss of contract damage has been awarded in all Nordic countries, whereas cases on negative interest (costs in preparing futile tender bids) seem more favorable to plaintiffs. Per mid-2012, there are no Nordic rulings on the effect of the recent somewhat ambiguous EU Court of Justice Strabag and Spijkers 2010 rulings.

scholarly journals Measuring procurement performance in Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Flynn
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Performance Measurement System ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Significant Performance ◽  
Communist Countries

Purpose The European Commission has begun to measure procurement performance in countries belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA). Performance is understood in terms of practices designed to maximize value for money. The purpose of this paper is to report on the performance measurement system currently in use and what the European Commission’s own data tell us about contemporary procurement practices in EEA countries. Design/methodology/approach Secondary data released by the European Commission is used to examine procurement performance across 30 EEA countries. Findings The best performing countries are from Scandinavia and the Benelux, along with Ireland, UK and Malta. Average performing countries include France and Germany. Below average performers include Italy, Spain and the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Originality/value The paper highlights significant performance gaps in public procurement between EEA countries.

Polish government will seek to close pro-opposition TV

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
Foreign Investors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
European Economic ◽  
Economic Area ◽  
Lower Chamber ◽  
Law And Justice ◽  
The Government ◽  
Polish Government

Significance Law and Justice (PiS) has passed legislation through the Sejm, parliament’s lower chamber, which restricts the stakes companies outside the European Economic Area (EEA) may hold in Polish broadcasters. It is widely understood as aimed at private news channel TVN24, which is traditionally pro-Civic Platform (PO) and takes a stance largely critical of the current government. Impacts The bill’s passage will weaken further Poland’s rule of law and discourage foreign investors from operating there. The bill will sour Polish-US relations, but the government does not consider this to be crucial. If PiS manages to close the most important private media, its next step will be to attack news and analysis published by independent NGOs.

Joint Tendering in the European Economic Area

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 201-219
Author(s):  
Michal Petr
Keyword(s):  
Public Procurement ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Case Law ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
European Economic ◽  
Current State ◽  
Economic Area ◽  
Future Practice ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Do So

SummaryThe EU regulation of public procurement strives to create a set of rules that would enable the contracting authority to choose the best bid. In order to do so, it also tries to widen the circle of potential bidders by enabling their horizontal (consortia) as well as vertical (subcontracting) cooperation. Such cooperation may enable the participation of undertakings that would not be otherwise in position to bid on their own, thus increasing the number of bidders and promoting competition among them. At the same time, such arrangements may be contrary to competition law which prohibits coordination of competitors. Joint tendering is ubiquitous within the European Economic Area, and yet the case-law on its compliance with competition law is strikingly divergent. This article provides an overview of the current state of play and some suggestions for future practice.

EU and UK nationals face uncertainty after Brexit

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
Content Type ◽  
European Economic ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Economic Area ◽  
Article 50 ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Movement Rules ◽  
Future Status

Significance There are over 3 million nationals of other European Economic Area (EEA) member states resident in the United Kingdom and approximately 1 million UK nationals living elsewhere in the EEA. Current EU free-movement rules mean their rights are very similar (although not identical) to those of citizens. However, their status after Brexit is unclear. Impacts This will be the first topic on the agenda for the Article 50 negotiations when they begin after the UK general election on June 8. Uncertainty about future status is already reducing the United Kingdom’s attractiveness to migrants from elsewhere in the EEA. This affects particularly the most highly skilled and mobile individuals. Securing agreement will require both sides to compromise; this will be an early test of the UK government’s willingness to make concessions.

scholarly journals Protectionist vs liberalised maritime cabotage policies: a review

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 210-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Cristina Paixão Casaca ◽  
Dimitrios V. Lyridis
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Free Trade Area ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
European Economic ◽  
Economic Area

Purpose The development of the current European economic area maritime cabotage market occurred when, at a policy level, the European Union forced the opening of its member-states cabotage markets to Community shipowners and extended this openness, in 1997, to the european free trade area countries. A two-tier cabotage market emerged, where a European economic area legislative framework co-exists with the legislative acts of each member-state. With such a unique background, this paper aims to investigate both the European economic area member-states and the rest of the world cabotage regimes and identify a list of reasons and policy measures used to implement cabotage policies. Design/methodology/approach By means of a desk research methodological approach, this paper analyses, from a geographical perspective, different countries’ cabotage policies and classifies them, and identifies in a systematically way a set of reasons and policy instruments that support each of chosen policies approach. Findings The outcome indicates that only a few countries promote free liberalised cabotage services and that most countries favour protectionist cabotage policies, whose governments can control the number of foreign vessels participating in these trades. Cabotage regimes have been categorised and the reasons behind both policies and respective policy instruments have been identified. Originality/value Quite often, researchers only focus on the cabotage policies of the European economic area countries, the USA, Australia, Japan and South Korea. This paper value rests on its ability to incorporate cabotage policies from other African, Asian and Latin American countries and to update existing information on the subject. Overall, this paper paves the way to broaden the cabotage knowledge.

Liability for negligently issued anti-mafia certificates

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 210-217
Author(s):  
Paola Monaco
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Administrative Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Black Letter ◽  
Procurement Contracts

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the different forms of liability that might apply under Italian private law to anti-mafia advisors who negligently perform their duties, with particular regards to auditors concerning the drafting of mandatory anti-mafia certificates as bidding documents for public procurement contracts. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on the comparative law methodology of dissociation of “legal formants”, that is, on the study of separate contributions by each element of the legal system – from black-letter provisions to judicial dicta, from scholars’ arguments to administrative practices – to the making of legal rules in a given setting. Findings Neither case law nor academic writing is abundant on this topic. Yet, it can be fairly assumed that an advisor who negligently drafts anti-mafia certificates might incur both contractual and tortious liability. Originality/value The paper investigates an area, which has so far been largely unexplored, and, thus, contributes to paving the way for a better understanding of the legal framework applicable to the cases under examination.

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