project | In Principle

Poland did not manage to implement the EU’s new procurement directives on schedule, but contracting authorities are required to conduct proceedings in full compliance with EU law.

The proposed amendment to the Public Procurement Law would introduce grounds for excluding contractors not previously recognised under Polish law, but would also expressly depart from the existing restrictive approach to exclusion of contractors. The “self-cleaning” procedure and the optional nature of certain grounds are new solutions.

The proposed amendment of the Public Procurement Law, despite introducing certain changes in the rules for participation by third parties in performance of public contracts, does not resolve all doubts concerning the existing practice. For some of them, it would be helpful to consult the guidelines from a recent judgment of the Court of Justice.

The development of information technology has changed the public procurement system. An amendment will finally be adopted requiring electronic communication between contracting authorities and potential contractors.

One of the most important changes in the Public Procurement Law is introduction of the European Single Procurement Document, which should make it much simpler for bidders to apply for public contracts.

Following Directive 2014/24/EU, the bill to amend the Public Procurement Law seeks to promote innovation in public contracts.

The concept of “in-house procurement,” i.e. a contract awarded by one public entity to another public entity, is already recognised under Polish law, but the amendment to the Public Procurement Law proposes major changes in this area.

The planned amendment to the Public Procurement Law only seems to revise the rules for modification of public contracts. The decisive role will still be played by the rules outlined in the case law of the Court of Justice and codified in Directive 2014/24/EU.

A proposed Act on Wind Power Plant Projects presented in February 2016 is intended to specify the rules for siting of wind farms. But the current version of the proposal generates a huge risk for further growth of the wind power sector and for wind farms already in operation and even for persons interested in building housing near existing wind projects.

New regulations governing trading in agricultural real estate proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development may have a huge impact not only on the possibility of selling property, but also on share transactions.

The obligation to conduct energy efficiency audits was supposed to be implemented into Polish law in 2015, but it hasn’t happened yet.

The proposed amendment to Poland’s environmental impact assessment regulations contains not just procedural changes. It also goes directly to the nature of environmental impact assessments and the contents of EIA reports.