EC pushes e-procurement – EUbusiness Week newsletter 571 – EUbusiness.com

EUbusiness Week 571 top stories: EU chief, Monti caution on calls for growth; EU suspends most sanctions against Myanmar; EU to resume talks on Hungary cash aid; EU sees no need for restrictions over US mad cow case; Brussels dissatisfied with nuclear stress test report; Switzerland sets quotas for East European workers

This Week’s Top Stories

1. EU chief, Monti caution on calls for growth
2. EU suspends most sanctions against Myanmar
3. EU to resume talks on Hungary cash aid
4. EU sees no need for restrictions over US mad cow case
5. Brussels dissatisfied with nuclear stress test report
6. Switzerland sets quotas for East European workers

Publisher’s Note

E-procurement should be the standard procurement method in the EU by mid-2016, said the Commission when it unveiled a strategy to make it the rule rather than the exception.

EU public procurement is worth around EUR 2 trillion a year. Tendering public works electronically simplifies the way procurement is conducted, reduces waste and delivers better outcomes in terms of lower prices and better quality.

Benefits for the contracting authorities include speed and cost; for small businesses, e-procurement reduces the cost of taking part in public tenders, and stimulates greater competition across the Single Market. An estimated EUR 100bn of savings a year or more is also no bad thing.
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Regards,

Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness

PUBLIC TENDER – MACEDONIA

Granting of agricultural land in state ownership – Public Notice, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy in Macedonia
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1. EU chief, Monti caution on calls for growth

EU president Herman Van Rompuy said Thursday that there was no simple answer to getting the eurozone back to growth, with the prospect of more stimulus spending unrealistic.
More …
ECB chief surprises with call for euro ‘growth compact’

2. EU suspends most sanctions against Myanmar

The European Union on Monday rewarded Myanmar’s “historic changes” by suspending a wide range of trade, economic and individual sanctions, but left intact an arms embargo.
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EU agrees new sanctions on Syria

3. EU to resume talks on Hungary cash aid

The EU says it is ready to resume negotiations on financial assistance to Hungary, after Budapest bowed to pressure to maintain the independence of its central bank.
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4. EU sees no need for restrictions over US mad cow case

The Union says it has no plans to impose restrictions on US beef imports despite the discovery of the first mad cow outbreak in the United States in six years.
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5. Brussels dissatisfied with nuclear stress test report

The Commission’s energy chief Thursday deemed an almost year-long study on nuclear plant safety in Europe as short on detail and numbers and demanded further work before publication of the critical report.
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6. Switzerland sets quotas for East European workers

Switzerland says it will grant just 2,180 long-term work permits this year to citizens of eight Eastern European countries under a reinstated quota system.
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EUROPEAN LAW

UK: the Commission has given Britain an ultimatum to respect the freedom of movement of EU citizens, threatening court action should it fail to abide by EU laws within two months.
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EU ‘deeply preoccupied’ by Tymoshenko situation
Latest Court of Justice judgements
EU Law Firms
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Inside the EU Institutions

Council Watch

French elections: France demanded the right to stop illegal migration by restoring border controls across the visa-free Schengen area as its election campaign erupted at talks on Europe’s open borders.
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France’s Hollande says EU pact renegotiation possible
Merkel rules out reopening EU fiscal pact
Council …

Commission Watch

Budget: negotiations over the EU’s budget turned ugly as a drive to ramp up 2013 funding ran into a push by national governments to impose a decade of austerity on Brussels.
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Barnier calls for euro growth agenda
EU returns ambassadors to Belarus
Commission …

Euro-Parliament Watch

Repsol: Parliament has condemned Argentina’s nationalisation of the YPF unit of Spanish oil giant Repsol and urged the EU to consider retaliatory measures.
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Euro-MPs visit alleged CIA ‘black site’ in Lithuania
In committee this week, rapporteur David Martin recommended Parliament reject the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) because it is not clear enough to protect citizens’ rights; and MEPs called for non-EU seasonal workers to enjoy basic working and living conditions such as a minimum wage and decent accommodation.
Parliament …

EU diary

2 May, Economic & Financial Affairs Council
7-9 May, eHealth week 2012
9-10 May, European Parliament Plenary Session
10-11 May, Education, Youth, Culture & Sport Council
11 May, Spring 2012 economic forecast
14-15 May, Agriculture and Fisheries Council
The Week Ahead
Long-term diary