Billions of euros lost every year because of inability to halt waste in public procurement

Unable to put a lid on public expenses, the state would not hesitate to raise taxes, though it does not state this publicly. However, under the eyes of the state billions of euros are melting in inflated invoices, in acquisitions whose price doubles in the period between the signing of the auction contract and project delivery. The cost of losses along this line would account, in the opinion of people familiar with the phenomenon, for 20-40% in the total value of acquisition contracts, that is between 2.4 and 4.8bn euros in 2009 when public procurement contracts worth around 51bn RON (21.4bn euros) were sealed. "At least 30-40% of the overall cost of a state-funded project could be saved if the legislation removed the possibility for a contract awarded at a price to be subsequently made more expensive through those 'additional contracts' that in some cases double, if not triple, the initial price," says Cezar Coraci, chairman of the General Union of Romania's Industrialists-UGIR 1903.