Finland among first to join European Public Procurement Data Space

The Ministry of Finance and European Commission have signed a Memorandum of Understanding according to which the Finnish contract notice materials will be entered into the Public Procurement Data Space of the European Union. The aim is to make it easier to utilise data concerning public procurements both nationally and, more widely, in the EU.

The Public Procurement Data Space (PPDS) brings together procurement data from the Member States that have joined it. A data space is an entity intended for the sharing and exchange of data in a certain sector or between sectors. The Public Procurement Data Space is the first data space introduced under the European strategy for data. It will improve the quality, availability and completeness of data. 

At the moment, most of the calls for tenders are spread at the national or regional level, which means that it is difficult to compare the data. By means of the data offered by the Data Space, public buyers could formulate better and more attractive calls for tenders and thus obtain a larger number of bids of a higher quality for their public tenders. Effective competition between bidders promotes cost-effective procurements and the conditions for economic growth. 

“Finland is among the first countries to join the Data Space, which makes us one of the leading players in the development of the Data Space and practices related to procurements in Europe. It is important that we are active participants in developing the functioning of the Single Market of the European Union,” says Minister Anna-Kaisa Ikonen, who signed the Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the Ministry of Finance.

Public procurements account for significant part of EU’s GDP

Every year the EU Member States spend around EUR 2 trillion on the purchase of services, works and supplies. This is almost 14% of the EU’s GDP. Public procurements have a direct impact on economic growth, employment and investments as they constitute a major part of the purchases of several key sectors, including the energy, transport and defence sectors, and of the procurements related to infrastructure, education and construction. 

EU aims at more effective collection and utilisation of data

In recent years the EU has set even broader and more detailed reporting obligations for the Member States, which also requires more effective and extensive data collection. In spring 2023 the Commission published a Communication on harnessing the full power of data related to public procurements across borders. 

The material of the Data Space consists of data in the procurement notice service administered by the Publications Office of the European Union and on the public procurement websites of the Member States. Finland submits procurement notice data from the hankintailmoitukset.fi service owned by the Ministry of Finance concerning public procurements exceeding the EU thresholds and procurements exceeding the national thresholds. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Finance of Finland and the European Commission. The Ministry of Finance has the statutory duty to maintain the hankintailmoitukset.fi service.

Wider knowledge base boosts development of procurement processes

The aim is that in future procurement data from other EU Member States will also be included in the Public Procurement Data Space. The decision on the data and when it would be submitted rests with the Member States. In the coming years the Commission will focus in particular on developing tools for data analytics and planning ways to make use of artificial intelligence. The aim is also to combine data on procurements with other data, such as data on businesses and ownership. The Data Space should cover the whole procurement process from the preparation of the call for tenders to bringing the process to full completion. 

This joint European development work concerning procurement data is being done and monitored as part of the Procurement Finland programme. 

Inquiries
Susan Hindström, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 530 076, susan.hindstrom(at)gov.fi
Olli-Juhani Piri, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 295 530 770, olli-juhani.piri(at)gov.fi (from 7 October)
Tero Meltti, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Head of Unit, tel. +358 295 530 770, tero.meltti(at)gov.fi