The EU Competition Authority is joining a cross-border project led by the OECD to combat collusive practices in public tenders. The two-year initiative, starting in September 2024, aims to improve prevention and detection mechanisms for anti-competitive behaviors in public procurement.

The project, funded by the European Union through the Technical Support Instrument, involves competition authorities from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania. It focuses on raising awareness of the risks of collusive practices, enhancing compliance with competition laws, and promoting competition in public tenders.

Key actions of the project include capacity-building through training for public and private sector entities, sharing best practices to combat relevant behaviors, educational programs to boost compliance with competition rules in public contracts, and proposals for cooperation between competition authorities and contracting entities or other public bodies.

The official launch event of the project will take place on September 23, 2024, at the Competition Authority of Croatia's headquarters and online. The first training seminar, scheduled for January 2025 in Greece, will focus on educating representatives on detecting and preventing collusive practices in procurement processes.

This initiative is part of the EU Competition Authority's broader strategy to combat collusive practices in public tenders. The Authority has already published a Guide for Contracting Authorities on detecting and preventing collusive practices in procurement and operates a specialized Anonymous Whistleblowing System for Contracting Authorities.

The EU Competition Authority anticipates positive outcomes from its collaboration in this project, expecting it to have a beneficial impact on promoting competition in public contracts.