Therefore it is necessary to set up mechanisms for preventing the outflow of public funds into private pockets, members of the anti-corruption council said at their meeting in Zagreb on Tuesday.
According to a report on the implementation of anti-corruption measures in the economy ministry's department for public procurement system, last year HRK 20 billion were turned over through procurement procedures.
The anti-corruption council chairman, Zeljko Jovanovic, said that the fact that appeals were submitted for cases covering 12 billion kuna out of those HRK 20 billion was a reason for concern.
Council member Ana Lovrin said that appeals could by submitted by everybody but that real indicators would be the outcome of the procedure following the appeals.
Economy Ministry State Secretary Robert Markt said that the new bill on public procurement, which was now a subject of public debate, would introduce the possibility of the most favourable offer in the economic terms, while so far it had been the lowest price which as the only criterion for the selection of bidders.