ECIC

Objectives and Activities


The ECIC is the FEACO Working Group on issues related to EU Public Procurement


The ECIC was set up in 1995 with the objective of improving the working environment for consultancies involved in carrying out projects within the framework of the Phare programme. This has been extended to cover all external assistance programmes.

The ECIC operates with the help of a consultant and active involvement of the FEACO secretariat, as well as considerable support and efforts from its members. 

The ECIC does not engage in commercial activities.

Recent activities of the ECIC have evolved around 4 issues:

 

  • 1. The implementation of the new rules and structures for external aid projects.
  • 2. Adaptation of the Financial Regulation, which applies to all EU budgetary expenditure (EU procurement), and the resulting changes to the implementing rules and the PRAG (Practical Guide for procurement for EU External Aid)
  • 3. The promotion of more transparency in budget support to development countries through the introduction of controls, evaluation and technical assistance with the European Commission and the OECD.
  • 4. The organisation of a seminar on the Quality, Role and Financial Management of Development Assistance (30 October 2008)



External aid:
Linked to the reform of the external aid procedures and structures the ECIC has organised since 1997 a number of conferences to discuss, between consultants and Commission officials, the effect of these new rules and structure of external aid and to raise awareness of problems which could occur and give ideas for further improvement of the system. In 2002 FEACO submitted a Position Paper on the subject.

These conferences, of which the last one took place on 30 October 2008, form the basis of a continuous dialogue between the Commission and the ECIC aimed at ensuring a workable system for both, the consultants and the authorities involved.

External Aid procurement rules, which are laid down in the Practical Guide for EU External Aid projects, form, as a result of their specific character, an exception to the standard rules for budgetary spending, which are laid down in the Financial Regulation.

The ECIC supported the Commission initiative to bring the rules for European Development spending in line with the External Aid rules. European Development is funded by the European Development Fund which is constituted of direct contributions from the EU Member States. The Financial Regulation does not apply to projects funded through the Development Fund, as the Fund is not part of the Community budget.

Although the new Financial Regulation considerably improved the system for EU procurement and the transparency thereof, the implementation, which for a large part has been laid down in Implementing Rules, still needs further harmonisation and fine-tuning. The ECIC has therefore decided to extend its discussions to other parts of the Commission, such as the Directorate General for budget (DG BUDGET), responsible for the implementation of the budget.


The ECIC has continuous discussions with all the players who can contribute to the improvement of the working framework for European Management Consultants. Recently the ECIC has extended its activities to the OECD Development Committee, as this is the forum where international financial institutions, such as the European Commission, the World Banks and the Asian Development bank etc... discuss harmonisation of their policies and procedures.

A representative of the ECIC attended the Bimilaci meeting between the consulting industry and International Financial Institutions as the World Bank in Washington in 2005 and the Civil Society Organisations (CSO) and High Level Forum on the Efficiency of External Aid in Accra in 2008. The Management Consulting Industry, as a major provider of External Assistance, has an important stake in future developments in Aid provision.