Last week, the BNA responded to the European Commission’s open consultation evaluating the current effectiveness of the EU public procurement directives.

The topic of public procurement has always been of high priority for the BNA and Dutch architects. While EU legislation on procurement may be well-intentioned in its aim of ensuring open and fair opportunities for all, reality paints a different picture: difficult procedures, restrictive criteria, poor remuneration and insufficient professionalisation in tender drafting and evaluation, all of which result in very low participation for public tenders and ultimately an uneven level playing field.

There is an urgent need for a legislative revision to ensure greater participation and a better recognition of quality-orientated procurement procedures under the architectural profession.

In its contribution to the consultation, BNA highlighted the main challenges experienced by Dutch architecture firms during the tendering process, and put forward recommendations to be considered during the revision of the EU Public Procurement Directives, which would lead to a healthier, more open and competitive procurement process at European and national levels.