Author(s) Marcos António Mendes de Almeida Barreto
Advisor(s) Isabel Celeste M. Fonseca
Year 2017

Synopsis In the European Union, about one-fifth of GDP is spent annually by public authorities and public- sector entities in achieving their goals, with public procurement being an essential element of national economies, which in itself derives from the financial flows generated, constitute an area subject to corruption practices, as a result of the close interaction between the private and public sectors. And if the stage is set, the conditions of corruption in public procurement are privileged, all the principles that will be addressed in the first part, will be muted, causing an adulteration to competition, which translates into a market access, and more and more demanded – curiously, by the companies themselves (economic operators) – greater equity in public procurement procedures. Thus, when we look at public procurement, we will be faced with a bittersweet figure: if, on the one hand, in the front row we witnessed a beautiful concert of a “formidable instrument of resource allocation”, touched by contracting authorities, with the obligation to play notes like ” the obligation to exercise their purchasing power in an ethically, socially and environmentally responsible manner “; On the other hand, in the backstage, disharmonious sounds are heard, which impose “the reinforcement of mechanisms to prevent waste and corruption”, because in order to attend an open-air concert, it is necessary for musicians to act a form consonant with “the realization of the common good, requiring clear and adequate legislation, professional and responsible public decision-makers, effective regulation and control mechanisms. Therefore, in the second part will reflect the need for an even more inclusive action to combat and prevent corrupt practices in public procurement, that we will find the figure that we propose to study: the integrity pacts. Its context, necessity or unnecessary, given that the inherent receptivity to any idea that emerges as innovative in the fight against corruption, will always lack a true disintegration, so that one can see if, indeed, this remedy has a role to play, or if it will be a simple placebo, provided a palliative. In the third chapter, we will look at good practices internationally, using the OECD Compendium and the European Union Anti-Corruption Report and traveling “for our land”, we will look at national challenges. Finally, in the last chapter we will answer this question: “And if the legal precepts have been insufficient weapons, needing to be reinforced, what shall we think of a mechanism, such as the Integrity Pacts, which has a fragile legal density? ”

See more here.

December 31st, 2017

Author(s) Marcos António Mendes de Almeida Barreto
Advisor(s) Isabel Celeste M. Fonseca
Year 2017

Synopsis In the European Union, about one-fifth of GDP is spent annually by public authorities and public- sector entities in achieving their goals, with public procurement being an essential element of national economies, which in itself derives from the financial flows generated, constitute an area subject to corruption practices, as a result of the close interaction between the private and public sectors. And if the stage is set, the conditions of corruption in public procurement are privileged, all the principles that will be addressed in the first part, will be muted, causing an adulteration to competition, which translates into a market access, and more and more demanded – curiously, by the companies themselves (economic operators) – greater equity in public procurement procedures. Thus, when we look at public procurement, we will be faced with a bittersweet figure: if, on the one hand, in the front row we witnessed a beautiful concert of a “formidable instrument of resource allocation”, touched by contracting authorities, with the obligation to play notes like ” the obligation to exercise their purchasing power in an ethically, socially and environmentally responsible manner “; On the other hand, in the backstage, disharmonious sounds are heard, which impose “the reinforcement of mechanisms to prevent waste and corruption”, because in order to attend an open-air concert, it is necessary for musicians to act a form consonant with “the realization of the common good, requiring clear and adequate legislation, professional and responsible public decision-makers, effective regulation and control mechanisms. Therefore, in the second part will reflect the need for an even more inclusive action to combat and prevent corrupt practices in public procurement, that we will find the figure that we propose to study: the integrity pacts. Its context, necessity or unnecessary, given that the inherent receptivity to any idea that emerges as innovative in the fight against corruption, will always lack a true disintegration, so that one can see if, indeed, this remedy has a role to play, or if it will be a simple placebo, provided a palliative. In the third chapter, we will look at good practices internationally, using the OECD Compendium and the European Union Anti-Corruption Report and traveling “for our land”, we will look at national challenges. Finally, in the last chapter we will answer this question: “And if the legal precepts have been insufficient weapons, needing to be reinforced, what shall we think of a mechanism, such as the Integrity Pacts, which has a fragile legal density? ”

See more here.

December 31st, 2017