MKB-Nederland and VNO-NCW are pleased that State Secretary Keijzer of Economic Affairs is taking additional measures to improve the legal protection of entrepreneurs in tenders. Legal protection is a precondition in the relationship between entrepreneurs and governments in tenders.
The State Secretary registers a letter to the House of Representatives to come up with additional measures to better protect entrepreneurs in tendering disputes. “We are pleased that the State Secretary has listened carefully to us and is taking the concerns of entrepreneurs seriously,” says chairman Jacco Vonhof of MKB-Nederland. "The Secretary of State is now addressing the issue we have raised about the lack of a stick behind the door in complaint handling."
Entrepreneurs wrote in September that they are nothing but the measures that the State Secretary announced at the time to increase the chances of SMEs in public procurement, as long as complaints about the procedure are not independently assessed. Entrepreneurs do not even dare to file a complaint now. The business organizations are therefore pleased that the State Secretary has listened to this.
More attention to taking time
Keijzer wants to position the Committee of Procurement Experts (CvAE) for this. More attention is now also being paid to taking time for complaint handling and follow-up. In her letter she emphasizes once again that contracting authorities must adopt CvAE advice on the basis of 'comply or explain'.
MKB-Nederland and VNO-NCW are therefore keen to take legal protection to a higher level, together with the members and contracting authorities, as the State Secretary also proposes in her plans.
Of course, the effectiveness of legal protection depends on implementation in practice; the organizations are therefore in favor of annual monitoring. It is now up to the authorities to show that they want to seriously professionalise tendering - with an annual volume of 74 billion euros.
Extra attention
In practice, with a view to implementation, special attention will be paid to SMEs in the Netherlands and VNO-NCW to safeguarding legal protection in the regulations, the application of comply or explain, and the role of the CvAE in relation to the suspensive effect. .
