Public procurement rules must also ensure speed - Hoofdinhoud

The Portuguese Minister for Infrastructure and Housing said that “there is no doubt that public contracts can play a relevant part in achieving the sustainability goals”.

This was how Pedro Nuno Santos opened the High-Level Conference on Public Procurement, co-organised by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union and by the European Commission, where he spoke too of the challenges faced by the state at such a crucial time, “in order to stimulate the recovery of the economy” through the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan. “Therefore, public procurement rules must ensure the protection of public procurement, but also speed”.

Speaking mainly of the situation in Portugal, the Minister argued that “speedier public procurement is an obligation of all. Contrary to common belief, red tape facilitates corruption. We must have rapid, transparent processes that are easy to understand”.

In his closing speech, the Portuguese Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Jorge Delgado, made it clear that “the challenge we are faced with is to use public procurement in the sense of moving towards a fairer, greener, healthier and more competitive society”. And he guaranteed that “Portugal is definitely committed to moving in that direction”.