Stretching the Proportionality Principle:How Dutch Law Facilitates the Participation of SMEs in Public Procurement

One of the objectives of Directive 2014/24/EU is to facilitate the participation of SMEs in public procurement. Although the realisation of this objective very much depends on the decisions taken by contracting authorities when designing their procurement procedures, the provisions of the Directive offer them little guidance in that regard. This article explains how the Dutch legislator has tried to fill that gap by means of a Proportionality Guide based on the Dutch Public Procurement Act. The Guide provides contracting authorities with best practices and rules explaining how to act in a prop... Mehr ...