Traila, ANRMAP: Electronic auctions don't lead to savings for the budget

Conducting public procurement via the SEAP (Electronic Public Procurement System) does not translate in any savings to the budget. The advantage of the system resides in its transparency, but no savings are made, says Cristina Traila, chairperson of the National Public Procurement Regulation and Monitoring Authority (ANRMAP).
Both Premier Emil Boc and President Traian Basescu have repeatedly said that electronic auctions generated significant budget savings, and Communications Minister Gabriel Sandu came up with a figure in March: last year 1.1 billion euros were said to have been saved, while this year savings should amount to 2.2 billion euros. Yet institutions do not have separate accounts to show the potential savings made by using the electronic auction system at the end the year. So where are the savings? Cristina Traila says that usually the cost indicators used in auction ads are the same as the amounts of money the contracting authorities have available.