Ignitis Group

Regulation of electricity and gas activities. It is proposed to clarify the scope of Directive 2014/25/EU by providing that it does not apply to the relevant sectors of activities directly exposed to competition.

Tenders comprising products originating in third countries. It is proposed to unify the regulation of the Directives and also to introduce in the Directive 2014/24/EU the regulation of the tenders comprising products originating in third countries. The possibility to restrict products originating in third countries is limited to Directive 2014/25/EU.

Framework agreements. It is proposed to abolish buyers' reporting for contracts concluded on the basis of framework agreements. The Directives provide that procurement procedures end at the conclusion of the framework contracts, but also provide that the procedure reports on procedures for the award of contracts are to be submitted not only on the conclusion of the framework contract, but also on the contracts…

Modification of contracts during their term. It is proposed to clarify and supplement the regulation set out in the Directives. It is proposed to simplify the requirements and grounds for modifying the contracts set out in the Directives: 1. remove the limits set for the amendment values; 2. increase the thresholds for minor (de minimis) variations set by the Directives (e.g.

Contracts awarded to an affiliated undertaking. It is proposed to unify the regulation of the procurement of affiliated undertakings and to provide for the possibility of entering into affiliated undertaking transactions in the Directive 2014/24/EU as well.

Qualification systems. It is proposed to unify the regulation of procurements through a qualification system and to provide for the possibility to apply a qualification system in Directive 2014/24/EU as well. Given that the contracting authorities also have a need to apply a qualification system, as it saves time in procedures, verifies suppliers' qualifications in advance and maintain its validity at all times, we…

Contracts awarded for purposes of resale or lease to third parties. It is proposed to align the regulation and to also provide for the possibility of excluding the contracts for the purpose of resale or leasing to third parties from the Directive 2014/24/EU.

The minimum time limit for receipt of tenders in the dynamic purchasing system and setting or extending deadlines for providing additional information to suppliers. The Directives stipulate that, in the case of a dynamic purchasing system, the minimum period for the receipt of tenders shall be at least 10 days from the date of dispatch of the invitation to tender.

Threshold amounts. It is proposed to align and increase the threshold amounts set out in the Directives. Contracting authorities and contracting entities usually purchase identical items (goods or services) at a price that depends on the market and its participants, i.e.

Grounds for exclusion or rejection of tenders. It is proposed to allow Member States to provide for additional grounds for exclusion and/or rejection of tenders, e.g. related to the requirements of compliance with national security interests in the Member State concerned, as well as related to the situation of mobilisation, war or state of emergency in different Member States.

Issues relating to the declaration of an oath or the solemn declaration in Member States or countries where there are no provisions on the declaration of an oath. In many cases, contracting authorities and contracting entities are faced with the problem of not being able to check the regulations and practices applied in different Member States (which declarations are used in the different Member States), and the…

Negotiated procedure without prior publication. Elimination of differences between the conditions for the use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication laid down in the Directives. The use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication is limited to exceptional and detailed cases, and it is not efficient or proportionate to restrict subjects in one sector (classical contracting authorities) more…

An exclusion for purchases through public platforms, auctions, exchanges (e.g. Nordpool, etc.) and for joining such public platforms. The preambles to the Directives provide that a procurement procedure is not useful where supplies are purchased directly on a commodity market, including trading platforms for commodities such as agricultural products, raw materials and energy exchanges, where the regulated and…

Specific exclusions for contracts. Additional exclusions from the Directives are proposed. Given the nature and specificity of the services/goods or the relationship between the parties, it is proposed to provide for additional exclusions for (i) bank deposit procurements, (ii) association contracts (procurements of association membership services), (iii) procurements for guarantees of origin for green electricity…

Procedure with negotiation. Article 26 of Directive 2014/24/EU sets out an exhaustive list of conditions under which procedure with negotiation may be carried out. The negotiated procedure is in line with the principles of public procurement and, in practice, facilitates the achievement of the objective of the procurement - the award of a contract through the rational use of the funds allocated to the procurement.

Candidate. It is proposed to abolish the obligation for the buyer to inform the candidates of the outcome of the procurement. The Directives provide that a candidate is an economic operator that has sought an invitation or has been invited to take part in a restricted procedure, in a competitive procedure with negotiation, in a negotiated procedure without prior publication, in a competitive dialogue or in an…

The request to participate. We propose to retain the possibility for Member States to opt out the separate stage for submitting the requests to participate, but to provide for a single requests to participate + tender phase. The submission of the requests to participate as a separate stage of the procurement could be an optional rather than a mandatory stage of the procurement.

The minimum time limits to submit the requests to participate. We propose to shorten the minimum time limit for submitting the requests to participate to 15 days or to leave it to Member States to set the mandatory minimum time limits.