Greek Law On Ppp: Protecting Eu Economic Operatorsí Participation

A law outlining the institutional framework for Public-Private Partnerships has been recently passed in Greece. One of the focal points during the negotiations for passing the PPP law in Greek Parliament was the attempt to align the Greek law with recent EU directives on the coordination of procedures for the award of public contracts. These directives aim at offering the basic framework for protecting the interests of businesses based in EU Member States wishing to cooperate with contracting authorities based in another member state. The main objective of these directives is to avert the risks for EU investors being preferred in PPP contracts, as well as ruling out the possibility of consignment authorities selecting private partners based on non-financial criteria. However, the EU directive disposals cannot be enforced in all PPP contracts. In addition, the disposals primarily concern the stage before the award of the contract, and the arrangement of the remaining issues that arise after the selection of the private partner are left to the public authority option. It is generally accepted that although the procedures of this stage are not arranged by EU law, they are protected by the principles of non-discrimination, transparency and equal treatment that arise out of the Treaty. It is widely acknowledged that despite the weaknesses inherent in the EU legal framework concerning public contracts, it is a context for a modicum of protection and a means for safeguarding the interests of PPP partners based in EU Member States. This is why it is extremely important to examine the degree to which the new law is aligned with the directive provisions on the coordination of procedures for the award of public contracts. The aim of this paper is: * To examine the degree to which the Greek law on PPPs is aligned with EU directives on the coordination of procedures for the award of public contracts; * To underline the protection mechanisms of investment candidates from other EU Member States, as defined by the PPP law. // The paper expects: * To ascertain whether the Greek PPP law responds to the expectations for bringing Greek legislation in line with the EU legal framework for public contracts; * To draw conclusions regarding the safeguarding of the interests of EU partner entreprises which wish to invest in Greece via the PPP procedure.