Reflecting on 18 years of competitive dialogue

Abstract

This paper reflects on Steen Treumer's as well as my own work on competitive dialogue over the last two decades, focusing on key legal issues identified in both Directive 2004/18/EC and Directive 2014/24/EU. The discussion focuses in particular on the grounds for use, confidentiality and cherry picking, organisation of the dialogue stage and the scope for discussions post-dialogue.

It is not a paper to break new ground as competitive dialogue is a known entity by today, but it includes some key reflections on the usage, the progressive reduction on doctrinal interest in the procedure as well as the misunderstanding behind the procedure's usefulness.

Keywords: Competitive Dialogue, Public Procurement, EU, Directive 2004/18/EC, Directive 2014/2/4 EU

JEL Classification: F13, H57, K23, K42, P45, K00, K10, K21