Target group
This seminar is intended for procurement officials and policy-makers from the EU Member States, candidate countries, and European bodies and organisations, who wish to familiarise themselves with the EU strategy on electronic procurement and the experiences of Member States in the development and application of electronic procurement systems. The seminar could also be of interest to private sector economic operators, service providers and other persons working in this field.

Description
The new procurement directives (Directive 2014/24/EU and Directive 2014/25/EU) and the Directive on the award of concession contracts (Directive 2014/23/EU) had to be transposed by the Member States by 18 April 2016. Member States have the possibility to postpone the provision on mandatory electronic submission of tenders until October 2018 and for Central Purchasing Bodies the deadline is April 2017.

This seminar will briefly cover the new procurement directive, the rules on electronic procurement, electronic invoicing in procurement and the wider EU strategy on eprocurement. The main part of the seminar will be devoted to practical cases and experiences in the transition towards eprocurement and einvoicing. European projects and tools aiming at facilitating cross-border procurement, interoperability and standardisation will be presented. For example, the eSENS pilot project implements the necessary technical solutions for secure cross-border tender submission, authentication and transport of documents for etendering, the Virtual Company Dossier and einvoicing. Experiences of some Member States in eprocurement will be discussed: the practice of eprocurement and einvoicing in the Netherlands; mandatory electronic procurement in Portugal and the creation of a single portal for collecting information and for transparency. The strategic approach towards developing eprocurement systems and electronic platforms with examples from Finland, Estonia and other Member States will be addressed.

Learning methodology
This seminar will be based on a mixture of presentations and discussions. Participants will be encouraged to interact and exchange views.

Objectives
Member States need to provide for electronic submission of tenders by October 2018 at the latest and need to prepare for electronic invoicing in procurement by November 2019. Through this seminar participants should receive an insight into the key challenges relating to the transition towards electronic procurement systems. 

The objective of this seminar is to provide examples and best practices in electronic procurement in some Member States and to discuss the wider EU strategy in the facilitation of eprocurement and einvoicing. This seminar will provide a unique platform for exchanging views on broader electronic procurement issues and its practical implications.

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