EN
E-002314/2021
Answer given by Mr Hahn
on behalf of the European Commission (16.8.2021)
The expertise needed in the different policy areas of the Commission may be provided through in-house expertise or external providers. The use of external experts depends on the nature of the tasks to be performed. For temporary tasks or for tasks that require particular ad hoc expert knowledge, e.g. IT development, using external service providers is more cost-effective than recruiting statutory staff on a permanent basis.
Public procurement is the main, fully transparent, tool used to acquire private expertise. It should be underlined that the chosen provider collects information and/or provides knowledge-based consultancy or other services to the Commission under the close supervision of Commission staff, but that the final policy choices and decisions (concerning for instance justice, the labour market, the police and health) on the basis of the external service providers’ input are made exclusively by the Commission.
Following the European Ombudsman recommendation, the Commission is currently reflecting on the necessity to propose to the co-legislators amendments to the Financial Regulation in the current context (such as the obligation for tenderers to disclose conflicting interests). This will be addressed in the public consultation on the targeted revision of the Financial Regulation.
© European Union, 2021 – EP
Source: Answer to a written question – Commission’s use of private consultancy firms – E-002314/2021(ASW)