European Union

The European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) together with the Public Construction Commission (PCC), and with the support of the European Chamber of Commerce Taipei (ECCT)), held the 2011 EU-Taiwan Seminar on Best Practices in Public Procurement in Taipei today (8 December 2011).

Frederic Laplanche, Head of the EETO noted the good cooperation between the EU and Taiwan on public procurement issues, encouraged Taiwan to embrace the opportunities offered by Taiwan's membership in the Government Procurement Agreement by creating an even more favourable environment for public procurement and construction projects in Taiwan. At times when public expenditure are under particular stress in all regions of the world, it becomes even more important for all governments to ensure that money spent on collective investment projects is used in the most efficient way. More participation of global market leaders in public projects in Taiwan would benefit the public and administration in Taiwan, providing world-class solutions and competitive costs. He also touched upon the conditions under which the smart inclusion of private investors in public infrastructure projects could enable Taiwan to maintain its competitive economic advantage in the region and globally.

During the seminar the speakers emphasised the importance of performance review and financial accountability in public construction projects to ensure best value for money for taxpayers. Concrete examples were highlighted through the experience of the Control Yuan as well as through performance review methods used in concrete projects such as wind farms and tunnel construction. Another presentation examined the EU's legal framework on public procurement selection and exclusion requirements. There were presentations on public-private partnership with examples of PPP projects in France and how these could serve to enhance public construction, as well as on ways to finance public infrastructure. Questions and answers sessions were also arranged for the nearly two hundred participants to allow ample discussions on the matter.

In his closing remarks Minister without Portfolio and Chairman of the PCC Lee Hong Yuan underlined the useful information and experiences provided by the seminar. Minister Lee went on to say that the PCC is currently undertaking a performance review of more than 200,000 public procurement cases, in the hope that a better public procurement model could be developed.  

The seminar speakers included Ger Yeong-Kuang, Member of the Control Yuan, Raphaël Apelbaum, Avocat à la Cour, Earth Avocats, Roland Stein Ramon Terrones, Regional Director - Asia Pacific & Oceania Gamesa Singapore Pte. Ltd, Mario Nigrinis Ospina, Principal Economist, Cross Country Emerging Markets Analysis, BBVA, and Friedrich Blindow, Blindow Consult.

Back to Past Seminars and Workshops Organised by the EETO