Public Procurement in the View of Sweden and EU

According to conventional economic wisdom, deregulation and liberalization of private and public enterprises will enhance competition, which will lead to an expansion of production, trade, and general welfare. As more markets are deregulated and more services are being privatized, the public procurement market is expanding and more professionals will come in contact with public procurement either as a sales person, buyers, administrator or as a user. Even as a private person and as a taxpayer the public procurement will influence us. We are reminded through the media that it is our money that is being spent, and that we have the right to demand that our tax money is used in the best way and that public purchasers will search for the best values for the price. At the same time we are reminded that the purchasing procedure should be according to the established rules and regulations. The regulations are harmonized in the European Union through directives and therefore the area of the public procurement is of interest for many EU-citizens. Public procurement is part of the creation of the single market in the European Union. Besides, public procurement is an important category of European economic activity since the value of public purchasing amounted to 11% of the GDP in the member countries in the Europe Union. Already in 1996 was it known that larger companies were experienced in tendering for public contracts but the number of contracts won by small and medium sized enterprises had remained small. It was established that progress had been made in the public procurement area, but there where still areas that needed improvement. It was determined that SME (small and medium sized enterprises) should win a larger share of public contracts given their importance in the European economy. The basic objectives of an internal market in procurement could not be met unless SME can also secure genuine access to Europe's markets. In 2000, the importance of SME was recognized at the European Council meeting in Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal. The issue of employment, economic reforms, and social cohesion was discussed. The statement indicates that it is important that SME have a propitious market to work on. The public procurement can be an important part of that and one of the important factors in creating economic growth and promoting prosperity is to promote the value for the SME. ammanfattning av uppsatsen på maximalt 8000 tecken