New Authority to Oversee Public Procurement in Bulgaria

Bulgaria's Minister for EU Funds, Tomislav Donchev, announced the idea for one authority to oversee public procurement has been approved by the EC. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria will have a central authority to execute preliminary control of the public procurement process, according to amendments in the Public Procurement Act.

The information was reported Monday by the Minister for EU Funds, Tomislav Donchev, who said the authority will employ up to 20 experts and will be funded by the EU.

Currently, each of the 7 EU programs has such authority. The consolidation will help avoiding cases when one of them approves an order while the other finds violations, according to Donchev.

The changes will also lead to a speedier contracting process.

The Minister further announced the idea has been approved by the European Commission. The amendments are scheduled to be voted by the Parliament in May.

Two weeks ago, Bulgarian business demanded from Donchev increased preliminary control over public procurement tenders and the creation of the long-awaited "black list" of disloyal companies.