EKIP– Expert Club for Economics and Politics A Different Opinion
EKIP prepared the first of its kind in Bulgaria, a public comparative legal analysis and impact assessment in relation to the transposition of Directive 2014/24 on public procurement in relation to private healthcare institutions in Bulgaria and the EC's criminal procedure against Bulgaria on this occasion.
Here are some of the conclusions of the analysis:
- Private hospitals do not fall within the scope of Directive 2014/24 on public procurement because they do not meet the criteria established therein.
- Bulgarian courts have recognized the need for further interpretation by the Court of Justice of the EU, for which there is currently a pending case, the decision of which is expected in early 2025.
- Comparative legal analysis shows that in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, private hospitals are excluded from the scope of local public procurement legislation.
- The EC's criminal procedure against Bulgaria has been in its administrative phase for over 4 years now and has an unclear end.
- In the event of a possible proceeding before the Court of Justice of the EU, Bulgaria would have a good chance of success because (i) the nature of private medical institutions, their role in the Bulgarian economy, and the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU justify the way in which Directive 2014/24 has been implemented in Bulgarian legislation and (ii) the EC has committed serious procedural violations in its criminal proceedings, which are contrary to the principles of EU law.
- The EITI is awaiting a final response from the EC on its request for access to documents related to the criminal procedure. From the correspondence with the EC so far, it has been concluded that the EC has not carried out a legal or economic analysis to justify the criminal procedure initiated against Bulgaria.
The TEAM's report will be provided to all interested Bulgarian and European institutions in view of the ongoing criminal procedure.
