Preliminary draft of New Public Procurement Act approved by Council of Ministers

On 24 September 2015, the Council of Ministers approved a preliminary draft of a law designed to transpose two European directives on public procurement contracts into Belgian law (i.e. Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement in the classic sectors, and Directive 2014/25/EU on public procurement in special sectors).

These Directives are intended to make the existing award procedures simpler and more flexible and to ensure broader access for SME´s. They also facilitate the use of ecological and social award criteria and introduce the “innovation partnership” as a new award procedure (for an overview of the most important changes, also see our newsflash of 24 January 2014). 

The new European Directives entered into force on 18 April 2014 and, in principle, they have to be implemented into Belgian law by 18 April 2016 at the latest. Approval of the preliminary draft is a first step in this implementation.     

For the moment, the text of the draft has yet to be made public: it is first being presented to the Federal Commission for Public Procurement Contracts. It will also be submitted to the Legislation department of the Council of State for advice.

For more information on this particular topic, you can consult Kris Lemmens (head of department) and Barbara Bastiaensen (author).