Public Procurement in Times of Emergency: Transparency, Accountability, and Anticorruption Goals to the Test

Abstract

In times of emergency, rules, principles, and even fundamental rights could be questioned feeding protection and reaction mechanisms.

The Covid crisis that hit Europe in early 2020 followed by economic and social consequences and the Ukrainian conflict to the East later have triggered reactions in different Member States and fueled debates about the proper reactions required to deal with these exceptional circumstances and their compatibility with the internal market. Emergency issues to be faced posing new grounds to be debated and new tensions to be managed.

This paper places attention on the effects of the emergency on the public procurement sector. It highlights the increased use of discretionary power by contracting authorities and some reduced level of transparency in the procedures adopted during the period and the related potential risk of corruption. Italy in managing the pandemic and dealing with the discretionary power in general is a landmark case that deserves attention.

How do countries balance the need for rush and flexibility with transparency, accountability, and anticorruption goals? Which remedies are to be implemented to reduce the risk of corruption and organized crime phenomena infiltrations in the public procurement sector?

It is worth investigating the possible distortive effects that the introduction of derogations aimed at speeding up may affect. The aim is not to fight the more flexibility and discretion required in public procurement procedures even in non-emergency times, but to understand the best way to manage the potential for discretion, and the consequent potential reduction in transparency.

Keywords: Accountability; Competition; Corruption; Covid-19; Discretion; Emergency; Flexibility; Organized Crime; Pandemic; Public Procurement; Transparency

JEL Classification: K00