EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1.CONTEXT OF THE DELEGATED ACT
Article 17 of Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and repealing Directive 2004/17/EC, empowers the Commission, to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 290 TFEU, for the revision of the thresholds. That Article also provides, in case of time constraints, for the use of the urgency procedure, in accordance with Article 104 of that Directive.
According to Article 17(1) of Directive 2014/25/EU, the calculation of the thresholds is made on the basis of the average daily value of the euro in terms of the special drawing rights (SDRs), over a period of 24 months terminating on 31 August preceding the revision, with effect from 1 January. Consequently, the calculation of the thresholds cannot start earlier than 1st of September due to data availability. Furthermore, according to Article 17(3) of that Directive, the revised thresholds (in EURO) and their corresponding values in other European Union (EU) national currencies shall be published by the Commission in the Official Journal of the EU at the beginning of November.
In view of the above, and in order to meet the above mentioned deadline, the Commission makes recourse to the urgency procedure for adopting this regulation.
2.CONSULTATIONS PRIOR TO THE ADOPTION OF THE ACT
The Experts Group for Public Procurement was consulted on this Regulation and the accompanying Communication.
3.LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE DELEGATED ACT
The calculation of the thresholds of the public procurement Directives is a purely mathematical operation and therefore the revision of the threshold as such is merely a technical exercise. It must be carried out every 2 years in accordance with the terms of the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). The purpose of the adjustments is to correct for any currency movements between the signatories which would affect the extent of their procurement markets which are open to competition from companies in other signatory countries.
The GPA has a mechanism for recalculating the equivalent value of its thresholds, which are fixed in SDRs, in the currencies of its parties every two years. This mechanism is given legal effect through Article 17 of Directive 2014/25/EU. For reasons of coherence, it is appropriate to align also those thresholds in 2014/25/EU which are not covered by the Agreement.
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/...
of 18.12.2017
amending Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council in respect of the application thresholds for the procedures for the award of contracts
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and repealing Directive 2004/17/EC 1 , and in particular the second subparagraph of Article 17(4) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)By Decision 2014/115/EU 2 , the Council approved the Protocol amending the Agreement on Government Procurement (‘the Agreement’) 3 concluded in the framework of the World Trade Organization. The Agreement is a plurilateral instrument and its purpose is to mutually open government procurement markets among its parties. It applies to any procurement contract with a value that reaches or exceeds the amounts ('thresholds') set in it and expressed as special drawing rights.