The new report by the Initiative for Progress (INPO), titled “Integrity and legality in the tendering cycle,” examines the moments and ways in which integrity and compliance with the law may be compromised during public procurement procedures.

The document was presented at a roundtable discussion attended by representatives of public institutions, procurement officials and professionals, as well as other relevant stakeholders. The discussion focused on the problems identified during the tendering process and on measures that could improve the practical implementation of the rules.

During the first six months of 2026, INPO monitored seven public procurement activities that concluded with the signing of contracts. These involved projects in education, healthcare, infrastructure and security, while their total estimated value exceeds €98 million.

According to the report’s findings, the risks are not limited to a single stage. They may arise as early as the definition of competition requirements, continue during the evaluation and review of bids, and affect the procedural deadlines and the handling of complaints and reassessments.

The report points out that different criteria have been used even in similar projects for staff experience, the number of employees, licenses, certifications and technical capacities. INPO clarifies that this difference does not automatically demonstrate a violation, but requires the criteria to be clearly, objectively and proportionately justified in line with the nature and complexity of the contract.

Another concern relates to the fact that significant deficiencies in bidders’ documentation have been identified only after requests for reconsideration or complaints were submitted to the Procurement Review Body. For INPO, this indicates the need for bids to be reviewed more carefully from the initial stage and for contracting authorities’ decisions to be based on complete verifications and verifiable reasoning.

Delays in procedures are also a problem identified through the monitoring. In some cases, the evaluation process has taken significantly longer, postponing the completion of procedures and, under certain circumstances, affecting competition and the continuity of public services. The report warns that early weaknesses may produce consequences in subsequent stages of procurement as well.

Participants in the roundtable stressed that these problems are not merely theoretical findings, as they also appear in the daily implementation of procedures. For this reason, they emphasized the need to increase the accountability of contracting authorities, strengthen control mechanisms and ensure the consistent application of the rules at every stage of tendering.

INPO assesses that transparency and the publication of documents are necessary steps, but are not sufficient to ensure the integrity of the process. According to the organization, stronger controls are required at the early stages, along with justified and proportionate criteria, more rigorous examination of documentation and more efficient administration of procedures.

The main recommendations include documenting the reason for establishing specific criteria, fully verifying documents before the initial decision, respecting the legal deadlines for evaluation and clarifying the conditions of the tender dossier before publication. These measures aim to prevent ambiguities, delays and chain effects in subsequent stages.

Through this report, INPO seeks to broaden the discussion on public procurement beyond formal transparency and the moment of contract signing. The focus is also placed on how competition requirements are drafted, the review of bids, the reasoning behind decisions and the management of the entire tendering cycle.

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