Krisztina Nagy, spokeswoman for EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, said that the Croatian Foreign Affairs Ministry had announced that it would send complete documentation to the Commission after relevant ministries stated their position on the matter.
Nagy said that observing regulations on public procurement was the best way of protecting tax payers' interests and that inviting bids in case of major investments was one of the ways to accomplish it.
She recalled that under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Croatia and the EU, Croatia was bound to enable European companies registered in Croatia to have equal access to public tenders as Croatian companies, during a transitional period of three years. After the expiry of the transitional period on 1 February 2008, this rule will apply to all European companies, regardless of whether they are registered in Croatia or not.
The Croatian government last week presented a bill aimed at simplifying the process of construction of facilities needed for the world men's handball championships in 2009 in Croatia.
For the purpose of the event, ten sports halls will have to be built in six cities that will host the championships (Osijek, Porec, Split, Varazdin, Zadar and Zagreb), with the total capacity of some 55,000 seats, and with the supporting communal infrastructure and accommodation facilities. The facilities are to be built by 30 June 2008 at the latest.
Considering the time limit, the government proposed simplifying the procedure of issuing construction permits and the procedure of public procurement. Under the bill, the obligation of public bidding for the procurement of equipment and construction works would be bypassed, and the main criterion for selecting the best bidder would be the lowest offered price. The bill also foresees shortening the time envisaged for complaints, as well as the exclusion of a commission for public procurement.
Croatian PM Sanader on Sunday announced that the government could withdraw its bill if criticisms of it continued.