S.I. No. 343/2002 - European Communities (Public Contract Notices) (Standard Forms) Regulations 2002

I, Charlie McCreevy, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving effect to Commission Directive No. 2001/78/EC of 13 September 2001¹ , hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Public Contract Notices) (Standard Forms) Regulations 2002.

2. Regulation 2 of the European Communities (Award of Public Works Contracts) (Amendment) Regulations 1998 ( S.I. No. 380 of 1998 is amended by substituting for paragraph (1) the following paragraph:

“(1) In these Regulations “Council Directive” means Council Directive No. 93/37/EEC of 14 June 1993² , as amended by Commission Directive No. 2001/78/EC of 13 September 2001¹ ”.

3. Regulation 2 of the European Communities (Award of Public Supply Contracts) (Amendment) Regulations 1998 ( S.I. No. 379 of 1998 ) is amended by substituting for paragraph (1) the following paragraph:

“(1) In these Regulations “Council Directive” means Council Directive No. 93/36/EEC of 14 June 1993³ , as amended by Commission Directive No. 2001/78/EC of 13 September 2001¹ .”

4. Regulation 2 of the European Communities (Award of Public Service Contracts) Regulations 1998 ( S.I. No. 378 of 1998 ) is amended by substituting for paragraph (1) the following paragraph:

“(1) In these Regulations “Council Directive” means Council Directive No. 92/50/EEC of 18 June 1992⁴ , as amended by European Parliament and Council Directive No. 97/52/EC of 13 October 1997⁵ and Commission Directive No. 2001/78/EC of 13 September 2001¹ .”

5. Regulation 2 of the European Communities (Award of Contracts by Entities Operating in the Water, Energy, Transport, and Telecommunications Sectors) Regulations 1999 ( S.I. No. 31 of 1999 ) is amended by substituting for paragraph (1) the following paragraph:

“(1) In these Regulations “Council Directive” means Council Directive No. 93/38/EEC of 14 June 1993⁶ , as amended by European Parliament and Council Directive No. 98/4/EC of 16 February 1998⁷ and Commission Directive No. 2001/78/EC of 13 September 2001¹ .”

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

19 June 2002.

________________________

Charlie McCreevy

Minister for Finance

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)

These Regulations are designed to give effect to European Commission Directive 2001/78/EC of 13 September 2001 which introduces new standard forms for mandatory use in publishing notices on public contracts in the Official Journal of the European Communities. The Directive amends the model notices for publication annexed to the existing procurement Directives [Directives 92/50/EEC for public service contracts 93/36/EEC for public supply contracts and 93/37/EEC for public works contracts, as amended by 97/52/EC, and Directive 93/38/EEC for contracts in the utilities sector, as amended by 98/04/EC]. The new standard forms are attached as Annexes to the Commission Directive published in Official Journal No. L285 of 29 October 2001 and are available on the EU Commission's public procurement website ‘http://simap.eu.int’.

The new forms adapt the model notices to take account of technical progress. The principal objective is to facilitate the use of electronic means in sending notices for publication in the Official Journal and to encourage the development of electronic means of procurement.