Macedonia is one of the leaders in the field of public procurements, not only in the region, but also worldwide. Our system of e-public procurements is one of the most sophisticated ones, whereas latest amendments to the Law on Public Procurements puts Macedonia among a few countries with 100-percent e-public procurements, said Vice Premier for Economic Affairs Vladimir Pesevski at the intermission of Thursday's closing conference within EU-funded project "Capacity Building Support to the State Appeals Commission".

Key objective of the project is to support the further strengthening of the capacity of the State Appeals Commission in providing legal remedies to all interested parties in the public procurement contract award procedures. An efficient remedy system improves accountability and transparency of the public procurement system in general and have positive influence on the trust the general public for the management of public funds.

According to Vice Premier Pesevski, the State Appeals Commission is one of the crucial elements in the public procurement system, thus requiring further capacity building.

"Development of regulations requires higher moral norms in parallel, since every system has its shortcomings. Therefore, it is best if based on high ethics among stakeholders and employees in state bodies, who should be aware that funds used in procurements are someone else's and belong to the citizens. That is why proceedings must be fully transparent", added Pesevski.

According to him, the process of developing regulations, but also staffing of institutions and training of state bodies in implementation of public procurements, is continual.

State Appeals Commission chair Maja Malahova stressed the project has had a positive effect on the Commission's capacity building and the entire public procurements system.

"The project included meetings with economic operators, contracting authorities, NGOs, the Public Procurement Bureau and judges in the Basic and Higher Administrative courts. The project has also produced proposals for amendments, which represent a step forward in European terms. We will not proceed only upon public procurement appeals, but also on concessions through public-private partnership", said Malahova.

She added that the system of e-public procurements has improved transparency, enabling the uprooting of crime.

"The efficient system of legal protection is expected to additionally improve accountability and transparency within the public procurement system, having a positive effect on the public confidence in the budget management system", underlined Malahova.