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The deputies of the specialty have today approved modifications to the public procurement regime, with the maximum limit of 750 thousand euros in contracts for which there is no need for tender, that is, in projects financed or co-financed with European funds.
The legislation approved today – in almost four hours of voting – occurs within the scope of the Government’s proposal that establishes special public procurement measures and alters the Public Contract Code to which the parliamentary groups of PS, PSD, PCP, BE and CDS – PP made proposals for changes.
In June, when he presented the bill, the executive said the goal was to simplify and reduce bureaucracy in public procurement, increasing the efficiency of public spending. However, the proposed changes created controversy and, according to press reports, the opinion of the Court of Auditors to parliament even warned of the risks of “illegal practices of collusion, cartelization and even corruption”.
Earlier this month, after learning that the then president of the Court of Accounts, Vítor Caldeira, would not serve a second term, the Prime Minister rejected any “suspicious” relationship between the non-renewal and criticism of the public procurement proposal.
“Portugal needs a regime that provides legal security to all in the prevention of corruption and the misuse of public funds, but also guarantees the necessary efficiency for all. Nobody wants to waste the opportunity to use public resources well, complying with the law and the deadlines. It is this balance that must exist without any type of drama, ”said António Costa.
These episodes marked the legislative process, in which the PS held talks with the PSD on the laws in question to reach a consensus.
Today’s legislation approved by the parliamentary economy commission is part of the executive’s proposal and changes mainly to PS and PSD.
In the special public procurement measures, the proposal to modify the PSD was approved (votes in favor of PS and PSD and against PCP, BE and CDS-PP), which provides for “simplified prior consultation procedures, with an invitation to the minus five entities ”, When the value of the contract is simultaneously lower than the thresholds established by law and still lower than 750 thousand euros (initially the Social Democrats’ proposal was one million euros but today it has been changed to 750 a thousand euros).
In other words, public entities may initiate a contracting process without a call for bids, inviting five entities to choose one later, if the total value of the contract does not exceed 750 thousand euros.
The executive’s proposal allowed for simplified procedures for contracts of up to 5.3 million euros, well above the current limit of 150 thousand euros provided by law, which generated much controversy.
Regarding the application of special public procurement measures, the PS proposal was approved (which slightly alters that of the Government), which directs them to “projects financed or co-financed by European funds, housing and decentralization, information technologies and the knowledge, health and social support, execution of the Economic and Social Stabilization Program and the Recovery and Resilience Plan, fuel management within the scope of the Integrated Rural Fire Management System (SGIFR) and, also, agri-food goods ”. He had votes in favor of the PS and PSD, against BE and PCP and abstention from the CDS-PP.
The deputies also approved the PSD’s proposal to create an independent commission to monitor special public procurement measures (made up of four appointed by parliament and one by the government).
PSD’s proposal has already failed, indicating that, in the case of contracting by invitation, contracts not subject to prior visa must be presented to the Court of Auditors within 30 days after the conclusion (votes in favor of PSD and CDS and in against PS, BE and PCP).
The proposal to modify the PS was also approved, which provides that “in case of urgency” contracts of up to 5.2 million euros may be made for the lease or purchase of movable property, services and financed public works contracts. or co-financed by European funds and promotion of public housing or with controlled costs.
Initially, in today’s vote in the parliamentary committee, this proposal was rejected because it only had votes in favor of the PS and against the other parties. However, at the end of the work, the deputies voted again, and then the PSD abstained, thus making the socialist proposal viable.
Speaking to Lusa, the PSD deputy, Jorge Mendes, said that the PSD changed the vote since the article was for exceptional situations and referred to works financed and co-financed by European funds, which are more scrutinized, but added that banking will be analyzed and you can call that article again so that it can be voted in full.
According to Jorge Mendes, the legislation approved today is “more coherent and with much more transparency” than the Government’s proposal and also “safeguards competition rights”, considering that the “red lines” defined by the PSD have not been exceeded.
Through the PS, in the parliamentary commission, Carlos Pereira considered that it was possible to reach a broader understanding in parliament in the face of the “extraordinary challenge of the recovery process” that Portugal faces, “without questioning transparency, scrutiny and all the mechanisms to combat corruption ”.
The PCP deputy Bruno Dias said that his party “does not agree with the creation of an exceptional and provisional public contracting regime”, with different degrees of demand compared to the general regime, considering that the demand for simplification, in the interest of safeguarding The public and effective implementation of the structuring projects is planned for the future and not just for a year and a half.
For BE, Isabel Pires considered that the warnings left by various entities during the public discussion “have no effect” neither on the Government’s proposals nor on the proposals for modifying the PS and PSD.
“The changes [à lei] transparency and rigor worsen. Despite saying that the objective was not that, it was only to reduce bureaucracy, to simplify to respond to a specific context, it does not seem to us that what is being done is justified, “said the blocker.
Finally, for the CDS-PP, João Gonçalves Pereira considered that the current review “is justified because what may or may not be the proper use of community funds is at stake.” However, he said, there were critical points in the initial proposal (high value in simplified contracting, distortion of competition, market limitation) and with “risk in terms of transparency and precautionary measures to avoid correction.”
The final vote on this diploma will take place in Plenary this Friday or the 23rd.
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