Among the prerequisites for receiving the next tranche of the Recovery Fund, the Commission defined the change in the public contracts framework, as, after complaints, it identifies faults and demands improvements.
At the same time, at the top of the list of milestones that must be implemented immediately is the fight against corruption in public administration. Greece must implement 28 difficult prerequisites in order to smoothly receive the next tranche of the Recovery and Resilience Fund. Its amount is €3.6 billion, of which €1.3 billion are grants and €2.3 billion are loans. However, the list of interventions that the government will have to implement by October, in order to be able to submit the application and receive acceptance, looks like an “Ordeal” and if the Commission does not show flexibility, it will be difficult to disburse the funds.
When it comes to public procurement, Brussels is clearly calling for changes and improvements to the process. It should be recalled that, according to the data released by “N”, there is a particular preference among contracting authorities for direct assignments. During the first quarter of 2024, of the 67,804 contracts signed, 49,135, or 72%, were processed through direct assignments, continuing the “transfer” of recent years. The total value of direct assignments in the first quarter of 2024 amounted to €797 million. It should be noted that the framework for public procurement and in particular direct assignments has been improved with its latest report by the Court of Auditors.
Community intervention
The European Commission has intervened and, using the funds from the Recovery Fund as leverage, is calling on the government to improve the framework for public procurement tasks. Specifically, with two of the 28 milestones for the 5th tranche of the Recovery Fund, it is calling on the government to: Modernise public administration, among other things, by accelerating the implementation of public investments, improving the framework for public procurement management, taking capacity-building and anti-corruption measures – a new reward system. In the “professionalisation” of the public procurement sector. Changing the national strategy for public procurement.
The remaining commitments
In addition to public procurement, the list of milestones also includes time-honored issues such as the acceleration of the delivery of justice, urban planning, waste management, the creation of a new water and wastewater regulator, anti-corrosion and anti-flooding measures, the digital transformation of tax audits, etc. This is a difficult list, which does not exclude the possibility that the submission of the application and the disbursement of the 5th tranche will be postponed beyond October.
In more detail, the remaining milestones that Greece must implement by October are as follows:
1. ΔEDΔHE network upgrades to enhance resilience and protect the environment – contracts 1, 2 and 3.
2. Energy renovation of residential buildings.
3. Preparation of urban plans in application of urban reform – assignment of urban plans.
4. Electrokinesis. Electric vehicle charging points – confirmation of installation points.
5. Produc-E Green Milestone Industrial Units – company selection.
6. Waste management legislation to implement sustainable landfilling and recycling. Establishment and operation of the waste management regulatory authority.
7. Creation of a new regulatory authority for water and wastewater – Creation and operation of the regulatory authority for water management.
8. National reforestation plan, restoration and prevention program (“antiNERO”), anti-erosion and anti-flooding measures.
9. Urban sewage and sewage sludge management infrastructures – Announcement of award of a contract for sewage works.