A Chinese proverb says that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. What steps did we take in 2024?

On January 30th, another Procurement Think Tank took place, with the focus this time being on amending procurement contracts.

What contracting authority has not at some point wondered whether and how it is possible to amend a procurement contract considering regulatory constraints? Absolutely all of them! Therefore, there are often more questions than answers, and it's good to be able to discuss them together. We discussed recent court decisions and practices regarding amending procurement contracts from the perspective of the participating institutions.

In November 2023, I attended the Estonian Public Procurement Conference and presented an overview of the European Court of Justice and General Court decisions in the field of public procurement from the previous year. The annual conference is a good opportunity to see familiar faces, meet new ones, and stay informed about developments in the field.

While the European Court interprets procurement directives mainly through preliminary rulings (usually recognizable by the letter "C" in the decision), it is also worth keeping an eye on General Court decisions (starting with the letter "T"). Although the General Court resolves procurement disputes involving EU agencies under the financial regulation, the court has found that when the regulation is the same as in the directive, the Court of Justice's decisions on interpreting the directive are taken into account and vice versa.

Here are some key takeaways from this year's decisions made before November 1, 2023:

In October, the first Public Procurement Think Tank was held, targeting clients from the office of procurers, with the following central themes:

• Relying on indicators of another person;
• Integrity of procurement documents - what is actually needed, and how much of the work done by the procurer is useless or duplicative, as the law already ensures it;
• Selection of compliance conditions in the Public Procurement Register.

Model tender documents have been prepared in accordance with the principles of legal design

From the Supreme Court's website, you can now read about the pillars of fair trial in the paradigm of administrative court procedure.

In October, the first Public Procurement Think Tank aimed at our office clients took place, focusing on the following topics:

• Relying on indicators from another person;
• Completeness of tender documents - what is actually needed and how much of the procurer's work is redundant or duplicative because the law already ensures it;
• Selection of compliance conditions in the Public Procurement Register.

On November 9, 2023, at the Public Procurement Conference, I was able to provide an overview of this year's European Court and General Court rulings in the field of public procurement. The annual conference is a great opportunity to see familiar and new faces and to stay updated on developments in the field.

On October 13, 2023, I chaired a panel on fair trial issues in administrative court proceedings at the Judicial Procedure Conference led by the Supreme Court. Our panel delved into the pillars of fair trial and procedural transparency. Participating in the panel were Supreme Court justices Nele Siitam and Julia Laffranque, a judge from the Tallinn Circuit Court and professor of administrative procedure at the University of Tartu, Villem Lapimaa, and Triin Kaurov, partner at the law firm TGS.

Rail Baltica is a project being developed in cooperation between three Baltic countries, and it is important for Estonian entrepreneurs to know which laws will come into force in Latvian public procurement law in 2023 and to learn from the typical mistakes that bidders make in tenders

In the organization of public procurement, there are structural problems that are surmountable but require broader discussion and awareness among all Estonian procurers. Violations of public procurement law are also a reason why structural funds often have to be repaid to the European Union, writes Kadri Matteus in a piece together with Marit Piirisaar.

The European Commission will start scrutinizing bidders in public procurement procedures who have received support from third countries. It is questionable whether the high expected value of the procurement contract required for the regulation to apply is still reasonable, writes Kadri Matteus.

Äripäev writes that Tallinn's plan to find a suitor for the Linnahall is of symbolic importance because it determines whether the area around the future conference center in the city center will be opened up to the sea or if Tallinn's coastline from Paljassaare to Reidi Road will be surrounded by a wall of luxury apartments and hotels.

Construction companies and other businesses that have entered into contracts with the state are often in a situation today where fulfilling contracts made before or even during the crisis has proven difficult. There are problems with both the availability of materials and raw materials, as well as fluctuating prices, which eat away at the planned profits of the entrepreneur. In extreme cases, the entrepreneur may even face bankruptcy if an agreement on changes with the contracting authority cannot be reached.