§ Mr. GaleTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will place in the Library a copy of the Government's response to the EU Commission communication dated 14 March 1998, relating to proposed changes in the rules and procedures for public procurement of IT equipment, software and services. [49447]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 7 July 1998]: The Commission's Communication 'Public Procurement in the European Union' set out the Commission's thoughts on the way forward in the light of responses to its 1996 Green Paper. The Communication went wider than the procurement of IT equipment, software, and services, in particular in encouraging the development of electronic procurement, and promised a number of specific proposals for clarifying the legal framework and bringing it up to date. The Government welcomed these developments and the United Kingdom Presidency was able to secure Community-wide support for them in the Internal Market Council on 18 May. In the circumstances, a written response was unnecessary and much will now depend on the detailed proposals which the Commission will make over the coming months.