Policy dialogue

The EBRD’s Project Procurement Department (PPD) conducts procurement policy dialogue with the Bank’s countries of operation. This is carried out in close cooperation with the Bank’s Legal Transition Team.

Examples include technical assistance for commercial law reform in central and eastern Europe, central Asia and Mongolia, provided under the EBRD-UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) Public Procurement Initiative.

The Bank has also initiated a series of regional and country-specific technical projects and provides ongoing assistance to countries of operation preparing for accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement.

Find out more about the EBRD’s collaborations with UNCITRAL and the WTO.

The Bank has signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) outlining closer cooperation in the area of public procurement with some of its countries of operation. Please refer to the MoUs in the dropdown box below for more information.

Over the past two decades, the heads of procurement (HoP) of the MDBs have held annual meetings and regular informal discussions to address issues such as the challenges they face in their operations, procurement reforms and capacity building, as well as lessons learned and environmental and sustainability considerations in public procurement.

HoP meetings have resulted in solid achievements in harmonising procurement policies and practices among MDBs, as detailed in the MDB Heads of Procurement Joint Communication 2024.

The HoPs have collaboratively developed a comprehensive and user-friendly tool to assess the electronic government procurement (e-GP) systems of partner countries. The tool is specifically designed to consider the procurement through e-GP systems of goods, works and services contracts financed by MDBs. By introducing a structured and standardised approach, it aims to determine whether national e-GP systems meet MDBs’ minimum requirements.

The tool also conducts a thorough review of procurement policies, procedures and practices to ensure compliance. It enables MDBs to evaluate whether an e-GP system fulfils all necessary criteria or whether additional requirements and restrictions are warranted. For broader reform initiatives, this tool is ideally complemented by the Methodology for Assessing Procurement Systems’ e-GP supplementary module.

Effective use of e-GP systems is critical for enhancing transparency, credibility and efficiency in the procurement process, but also elevates the procurement function to a strategic level. By consolidating procurement-related data and offering comprehensive insights, e-GP systems empower decision-makers in project preparation and delivery.

PPD continues to play an active and often leading role within HoP meetings. Further information can be found in PPD's Annual Procurement Reviews.

PPD has a longstanding and successful partnership with the OECD Anti-Corruption Network (ACN). PPD staff have participated as public procurement experts during the peer review programme under the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan, which supports anti-corruption reforms in ACN countries through country reviews and continuous monitoring of implementation of recommendations. PPD experts also contributed to drafting of the benchmarks for the procurement performance area for the pilot and the fifth round of monitoring (ending in 2026).