Romanian national flagship report on public procurement is now released

Public procurement in Romania represents approximately 8% of the GDP and plays a critical role in public investment. However, the procurement system faces challenges, including corruption, lack of transparency, weak administrative capacity, and legal instability.

One of the solutions in order to improve integrity in public procurement is implementing the Integrity Pact (IP) model, aligned with global standards developed by Transparency International.

The Romanian National Flagship Report on public procurement is part of a broader effort to promote transparency, accountability and efficiency in public contracting, ultimately contributing to

Romania’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).

We present some conclusions and recommendations resulting from the report below:

Despite efforts to strengthen governance, several critical issues persist in Romania’s procurement system:

• corruption and integrity risks related to high perception of corruption, favoritism and clientelism in public contracting processes;
• decentralization and lack of capacity, due to the existence of over 10,000 contracting authorities operating independently; this is leading to inconsistent practices and vulnerabilities;
• legal and procedural instability, with frequent amendments to procurement laws create uncertainty and inefficiency.
• limited use of open data and digital tools leading to weak public oversight mechanisms.

To institutionalize the Integrity Pact model in Romania, the report proposes recommendations such as:

• Stronger legislative integration, making IPs a standard requirement in high-value contracts.
• Expanded monitoring mechanisms, with real-time audits and improved access to procurement data.
• Stronger commitments from bidders, including anti-corruption compliance programs.
• Enhanced use of digital tools, such as Open Contracting Data Standards (OCDS) to improve procurement transparency.
• Capacity building for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to act as independent monitors.

The Romanian National Flagship Report on public procurement is part of the project „Bolstering Integrity in Public Contracting: A Reinvigorated Approach supported by Siemens Integrity Initiative”. The project aims to support the successful implementation of Integrity Pacts (IP) by national governments and to contribute, in this way, to improve competition and fairness in public contracting.