This document discusses SME access to public procurement markets in Eastern Partnership countries based on assessments from 2019. It covers the regulatory framework, e-procurement developments, contracting authorities, supply markets, and challenges in each country. The main points are: - Regulatory frameworks are aligning with EU standards but gaps remain, especially regarding SME provisions. Institutional capacity is often weak. - E-procurement systems are expanding but potential to support SMEs is developing slowly due to restrictive specifications and qualifications. - Contracting authority knowledge and skills are limited regarding SME support and practices need improvement. Supply markets lack skills/resources for participation and rely too much on official relations over quality. - Countries face

1. © OECD
3rd regional conference on public
procurement for ENP East countries
Access to procurement for small and
medium sized enterprises in the ENP East
region – an overview
Daniel Ivarsson, SIGMA expert
Tbilisi, 6-7 November 2019

2. SME Policy Index 2020
• Outcome of Small Business Act for Europe
assessments in EaP countries during 2019
• Part of EU4Business: From Policies to Action
• Benchmarking tool to monitor and evaluate
progress in SME support policies
• Identifies strengths and weaknesses, allows
comparisons, gives evidence base for reforms
• Covers responsive government, access to
finance, access to markets, entrepreneurship,
productivity, and business environment
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3. Pillar D: Access to markets –
section on public procurement
• Regional trends and developments
since 2016; country chapters
• Regulatory and institutional framework
• E-procurement
• Contracting authorities
• Supply markets / economic operators
• Challenges and recommendations
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4. Regulatory and institutional
framework
• On-going alignement with EU standards
in Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, recent
developments also in Armenia and
Azerbaijan; still gaps in SME provisions
• Institutional capacity still often weak
and developing slowly; provision of
training and guidance improving, but
from a low level; monitoring remains
ineffective
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5. E-procurement
•Expanding use of e-procurement, with
systems in place or (AZ) being
introduced
•Potential of e-procurement to support
SME participation developing only
slowly; restrictive or biased specifications
and qualification requirements a
disincentive
•Award criteria mostly limited to price;
sequence of steps not optimal
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6. Contracting authorities
•Knowledge, skills and experience of
contracting authorities and their staff often
limited, especially with regard to support for
SME participation, but improving
•Practices improving but only slowly;
tendencies remain to circumvent or avoid
procedures; selection and award criteria
sometimes badly defined and applied;
frequent shortcomings in planning,
preparation and contract management
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7. Supply markets /
economic operators
•Disillusions after initial enthusiasm about e-
procurement; low trust in the system
•Lack of skills and resources for participation
•Competitive behaviour too often based on
relations with officials rather than on quality,
price, conditions
•Market structure issues remain: too many or
too few, too strong or too weak competitors
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8. Main developments: Armenia
New public procurement law adopted late
2016
•Alignment with EU Directives, incl. regarding
SMEs
•New government, new policies since mid-
2018
On-going development of e-procurement
•Revised system in place since 2018
•Increasing availability of information and
training
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9. Challenges: Armenia
•Encourage use of other award criteria than
price, make selection criteria proportionate
•More competitive procurement: open up e-
procurement, reduce use of direct
agreement
•Improve data quality, access, and analysis
•Improve the independence of the review
body
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10. Main developments: Azerbaijan
Public procurement law amended late 2018
•Extensive e-procurement provisions
introduced
•Measures to raise transparency and
improve integrity
On-going development of e-procurement
•System development is being carried out
•Strong time pressure, little transparency
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11. Challenges: Azerbaijan
•Make SME related policies and practices
more realistic and useful
•Reduce the share of procurement not
following PPL principles and procedures
•Improve data quality, access, and analysis
•Ensure the success of e-procurement
development
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12. Main developments: Belarus
Amendments to the public procurement law
•Explicit provisions for division into lots for
favouring SME participation, for items on a list
•Shorter time limits for submission
•Shorter time limits for complaints
Increased penetration of e-procurement
•Comprehensive publication of plans, notices
•Two e-auction sites up and running
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13. Challenges: Belarus
•Widen the range of measures in favour of
SMEs, e.g. requiring timely payments
•Review the suitability of the new time limits
•Simplify and clarify procedures, make
procedures, requirements and criteria more
proportionate to SME capabilities
•Enhance data quality and analysis to allow
evidence based improvements of
regulations and practices
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14. Main developments: Georgia
Revisions to the public procurement law
•Successive alignment with EU Directives,
including regarding SMEs
•Attention to the review of complaints
On-going development of e-procurement
•Widening range of procedures available
•Increasing availability of information and
training
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15. Challenges: Georgia
•Reduce procurement falling outside the PPL,
raise participation levels
•Simplify and harmonise e-procurement
procedures
•Raise skills and integrity of contracting
authorities and improve their practices
•Improve monitoring and review, raise the
effectiveness of enforcement
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16. Main developments: Moldova
New public procurement law since 1 May 2016
•Division into lots for favouring SME
participation
•Provisions on preliminary market consultations
•New complaints review body
On-going development of e-procurement
•New MTender site
•Comprehensive e-procurement pilot (small
contracts)
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17. Challenges: Moldova
•Align e-procurement policies and systems
with EU Directives and public procurement
law
•Simplify and update forms and procedures
•Raise skills of contracting authorities
•Raise the effective level of transparency
•Enhance data quality and analysis
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18. Main developments: Ukraine
New public procurement law effective in 2020
•Improved alignment with the EU directives
•Widened range of award criteria
•Procedures for low value contracts
•Rules for market consultations
•Guidance on the negotiated procedure
•More specific rules on selection criteria
On-going development of e-procurement
Review body overload
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19. Challenges: Ukraine
• Ensure proper application of requirements for
proportionality and for adequate (but not
excessive) qualifications
• Promote the use of wider and more specific
award criteria than price only
• Strengthen and focus the monitoring and review
functions, and render them more effective and
efficient
• Raise the knowledge and skills of contracting
authorities, including aspects relevant for SMEs
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20. Thank you for your attention
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