The public procurement reform in Portugal is in perfect harmony with the European Commission's new strategy to modernize and simplify public contracts throughout the EU. The Minister for Administrative Modernization and Public Sector Reform stated that the Brussels proposal converges on several dimensions with the revision of the Public Contracts Code approved by the Portuguese government in June.
The minister highlighted that simplifying does not mean controlling less, but rather replacing bureaucracy and formalism with better decisions, greater accountability, more transparency, and public procurement capable of generating investment, innovation and growth.
The European Commission initiative aims to make procedures simpler, more flexible and more effective in a strategic market that represents approximately 15% of the European Union's GDP. Among the priorities shared by the reforms in Lisbon and Brussels are the simplification of procedures, greater flexibility for public buyers, reduction of administrative burden, focus on quality and strong strengthening of digitalization.
Furthermore, the European proposal provides for the consolidation of the current legislative framework into a single directly applicable regulation for all Member States, accelerating the digital transition in the sector to ensure more agile execution of funds and public investments.
