Public Procurement in Sweden – introduction and tips to Lithuanian tenderers

1. Public Procurement in Sweden – introduction and tips to Lithuanian tenderers Natalie Svensson, Partner at Magnusson Malmö, Sweden

2. Public Procurement in Sweden • Public procurement in Sweden amountstoapproximately90 000 MEuro/year • Public procurement in the EU amountstoapproximately1 000 000 MEuro/year • Knowledgeabout public procurement generates competionadvantages and money

3. Short introduction • Public procurement is governed by the Swedish Public Procurement Act (2007:1091 – LOU), which is largely based on the EU Directive 2004/18/EC concerning public procurement • By complying with the Swedish procurement provisions, contracting authorities meet the obligations prescribed by EU law • A separate law with slightly more flexible rules applies to procurement within the utilities sectors – Act on Procurement within the Water, Energy, Transport and Postal Services Sectors 2007:1092 – LUF)

4. The procurement process can be illustrated as follows: Planning Procurement process Fulfillmentof contract Needsanalysis Contract document Award of contract (evaluationof tenders) Standstill Period Qualification ofsuppliers Exclusionof suppliers Followup Publication ofcontract notice Award decision Signingof contract

5. Short introduction Fundamental principles for all public procurements 1. The principle of non-discrimination 2. The principle of equal treatment 3. The principle of transparency 4.The principle ofproportionality 5. The principle of mutual recognition

6. Generellyabout Swedish procurements Considerationof tenders The consideration phase involves various steps: • checking any grounds for excluding a supplier • checking the suitability of a supplier (qualification) • awardingcontracts (evaluating tenders) An application or a tender that is received too late may not be included for further checks and evaluation, even if it is not the supplier that has caused the delay.

7. Principles for evaluationof a tender A contracting authority shall state which evaluation principle it is going to use. It may make a selection by stating that it will either accept • the tender that is the most economically advantageous for the authority, or • the tender that has the lowest price

8. Foreign tenderers - challenges • The main rule is that both requests to participate and tenders must be submitted in writing. Required language – Swedish • Swedish contracting authorities generally lacks experience of foreign tenderers • Swedish high standards and special requirements (e.g. employmentlaw) and insurance solutions and othersecuritiessuch as bank guarantees • The projectmanagement must be fluent in Swedish • Abilityto show non-discrimination and gender equalityclauseswithin a company • Highworkenvironmentstandards • Requirement for environmental management systems

9. Tips toovercome the difficulties • Cooperate with Swedish companies • Create a cash-flowplan • Makesure thatallthe qualificationsand requirements of the procurementaremet • Send the tender on time and in the exactwaythat is stipulated in the contractdocuments(request for proposals) – the tender must correspondto the contractdocuments – no more or less information • Designate a local partner/consultanttosolve the languageand national procurementlawboundaries

10. Tips to tenderers Referring to the ability of another party A candidate or tenderer that cannot personally meet the requirements for financial, technical and professional ability imposed by the contracting authority as a requirement can show that it has access to the resources of another undertaking, thereby achieving the ability in question Joint tenders Groups of suppliers are entitled to apply to be allowed to submit a tender and to submit a tender Subcontractor Cooperationwith primarybidders

11. Tips to tenderers Information at the request of a supplier If a candidate or a tenderer requests information about the reasons for the rejection of its application or the rejection of the tender, the contracting authority shall provide this information The contracting authority shall also, at the request of the tenderer that submitted an acceptable tender, provide information about the formulation of the tender selected and the relative advantages of this tender as well as the name of the tenderer that was either awarded the contract or was appointed as party toa frameworkagreement

12. Final notes Noticeable is that competing for quality is getting more important • We recently assisted a French company to win a 500 MSEK contract in a Swedish municipality. Price was only a minor factor • We continuously help foreign companies to get in touch with Swedish companies in the same industry/business • Nota bene: suppliers may now be excluded from participating in a procurement if the suppliershave been guilty of professional misconduct and the contracting authoritycanprovethis

13. THANK YOU! Natalie Svensson, Partner natalie.svensson@magnussonlaw.com + 46 (0) 70 458 65 44