Public Procurement Law adopted

The Serbian parliament adopted the Public Procurement Law on Saturday, which should curb corruption in that domain and enable spending cuts amounting to EUR 600 million - 1 billion, Tanjug news agency reports.

The total of 138 MPs voted for and 34 were against the law, which should help centralize public procurement and ensure a transparent procedure.

The main goal of this law is the efficient use of public funds, through the establishment of clear procedures for granting public contracts and mechanisms for preventing corruption and securing competition.

The law envisages the centralization of public procurement, so the Administration for Joint Services will be in charge of procurement for state bodies, and the way of publishing calls for offers and procedure for granting the contract have been harmonized with the EU directives.

The new law introduces the civil supervisor, an expert in the field of public procurement or association that should deal with that field and prevent corruption.

The law encourages the implementation of electronic procurement, and in some cases even introduces mandatory electronic procurement, thus aiming at reducing spending and increasing transparency at the same time.