It will take years for local authorities to follow public procurement rules.

It also calls on the Commission to give priority to modernisation of public procurement rules.

Moreover, the fight against corruption, financial crime and breaches of public procurement rules must be stepped up.

Secondly, we consider that violations of Community law appear to be at issue, in particular environmental law and public procurement rules.

We recognise that current public procurement rules are really suited to the particular needs of the defence procurement.

On the fifth point, I fully agree that failures in applying public procurement rules are an important source of errors and fraud.

I welcome this resolution, which seeks to simplify public procurement rules, while simultaneously contributing to creating greater legal certainty.

I feel that it is necessary to simplify and reduce public procurement rules in order to reduce the overall incidence of errors.

In May 2000, the Commission adopted two proposed directives designed to simplify and modernise Community public procurement rules.

The College demonstrates a persistent lack of compliance with the Financial Regulation with regard to public procurement rules.

Will new consortia be subject to public procurement rules (such as open tender notices being published in the Official Journal of the EU)?

We ask developing countries to impose competition rules and public procurement rules, and then we continue to subsidise meat, rice and other exports.

This PPN outlines the strategy that is being followed to influence the European Commission's proposals for modernising the public procurement rules.

It is my hope that Parliament will approve of the proposals, so that we can see the new, improved, public procurement rules in the EU as soon as possible.

Therefore, you can count on my commitment to ensure that EU public procurement rules are respected, both in the letter and the practice, of whatever legislation is approved in the future.

I therefore reiterate this House's call to prioritise the modernisation of public procurement rules in such a way as to avoid its fragmentation and to encourage companies to choose this option.

Moreover, serious and repeated violations of public procurement rules were identified: five procurement procedures - worth a total of EUR 455 111 - failed to comply with the rules.

I presented this to Parliament, as you will remember, in a reference to the need to deepen those commitments in terms of more market friendly, more innovative public procurement rules in Europe.

May I end my reply to Parliament here and conclude by saying that there is now a real need to ensure that our public procurement rules remain relevant to increasingly sophisticated procurement requirements.

Clearly, the fundamental principles of public procurement rules will have to apply, but defence presents specific requirements in terms of security of supply, security of information or the need to have negotiated procedure.

That is why the Commission has launched a public consultation on the simplification and improvement of public procurement rules, and I hope this will lead to a much simpler and more efficient system.

I hope that Parliament will study our communication very seriously, together with its accompanying documents explaining how and when state aid rules apply to these services of general interest, and also how public procurement rules apply.

Our common task and aim is to modernise and simplify public procurement rules and in this respect I believe that the texts agreed upon in Council already strike a fair balance among the different interests at stake.

Her current work includes improvement of EU public procurement rules, reform of financial services regulation in particular tackling unfair bank charges and the promotion and inclusion of all EU citizens within the digital economy.

I am ready, as always, to debate further this interesting issue with Parliament through answers to questions, though in respect of the real aim of public procurement rules, as interpreted and confirmed by the European Court of Justice.