Audits and Remedies in EU Funded Public Procurement

  • Soós Gábor
doi: 10.32575/ppb.2022.4.1

Abstract

In general, the legality of actions carried out during public procurement is decided by review bodies appointed at the national level. When the procurement involves EU funds, monitoring the legality of such procedures also involves a system of audits and other controls as part of the management and control of funds, involving specialised institutions. The interaction between the two systems is not regulated at the EU level and regulation by Member States is also incomplete in certain cases, leading to friction between the decisions of review bodies and auditors. This article explores in detail institutional competences in EU-funded public procurement and examines how the system of audits and other controls interacts with traditional review procedures at the EU and national level. These are presented both from the EU perspective and from the national perspective, using the Hungarian institutional system as an example. The article analyses the issues arising from overlapping institutional competences and proposes certain possible solutions to deal with these issues.

Keywords:

Public procurement EU funds cohesion policy EU audits remedies

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Case law

Ministre de l’Intérieur, de l’Outre-mer, des Collectivités territoriales et de l’Immigration v Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de l’Indre (C-465/10). ECLI:EU:C:2011:867

Wrocław — Miasto na prawach powiatu v Minister Infrastruktury i Rozwoju (C-406/14). ECLI:EU:C:2016:562

Judeţul Neamţ and Judeţul Bacău v Ministerul Dezvoltării Regionale şi Administraţiei Publice (C-260/14 and C-261/14). ECLI:EU:C:2016:360

Kingdom of Spain v European Commission (T-384/10). ECLI:EU:T:2013:277

PPAB Decision No. D.453/9/2019

Legislation

Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy

Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012

Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006

Council Directive 92/13/EEC of 25 February 1992 coordinating the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the application of Community rules on the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors

Council Directive 89/ 665/EEC of 21 December 1989 on the coordination of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the application of review procedures to the award of public supply and public works contracts

Act CXLIII of 2015 on Public Procurement (Hungary)

Government Decree 256/2021 (V. 18.) on the Rules of the Use of Funds from Certain European Union Funds in the 2021–2027 Programming Period (Hungary)

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