On 21 June 2007 the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament reached agreement on a review of the Remedies Directives in the area of public procurement. A new Directive will be adopted later this year, amending the existing ones. Transposition into national law of the new Directive is foreseen for the end of 2009.

Responding to recent European Court case-law highlighting the weaknesses in the effectiveness of remedies available until now, the Directive introduces new procedures for challenging public contracts not awarded according to Directives 2004/18/EC and 2004/17/EC.

The Directive introduces a minimum ‘standstill’ period preventing public authorities and utilities actually signing contracts awarded under the most frequently-used procurement procedures and allowing unsuccessful bidders time to initiate pre-contractual suspensory proceedings.

The Directive also seeks to combat the illegal direct award of public contracts. Member States will have to ensure that contracts awarded unlawfully without any publicity and competitive tendering at all either are rendered "ineffective" (and re-tendered correctly) or that exceptionally alternative penalties are imposed on the contracting authority (such as fines).

Nicolaas Bel from DG MARKT’s Public Procurement Policy Unit has kindly agreed to describe the ‘map’ of new remedies Member States will need to implement to improve compliance with EU public procurement laws.

• Proposal for a Directive amending Council Directives 89/665 and 92/13 with regard to improving the effectiveness of review procedures concerning the award of public contracts

• European Parliament draft Report "Review procedures concerning the award of public contracts"