“We will invite the Bulgarian Construction Chamber in December to discuss standards in public procurement.” That was stated by Eleonora Nikolova, Acting Director of the Center for Prevention and Counteraction of Corruption and Organized Crime (BORKOR) during the sixth final two-day seminar of the series “Problems in the absorption of EU funds and ways to solve them”. It was held in Interhotel “Veliko Tarnovo”. The forum was organized by the Bulgarian Construction Chamber in partnership with the Ministries of Regional Development and Public Works, Environment and Water, State Fund “Agriculture” and the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria and was directed to municipalities and builders of the North Central Region of planning. The seminar was opened by the Executive Director of BCC Eng. Ivan Boykov, the Mayor of Veliko Tarnovo Daniel Panov, the Regional Governor Prof. Pencho Penchev and Stoyan Stoyanov, Chairman of the BCC Regional Office – Veliko Tarnovo. The participants were welcomed by Nadya Dankinova, Executive Director of FLAG Fund. “An analysis of the tenders in our country found that bureaucracy favors corruption. The improper company is ready to give a bribe. It does not care about risk; its chance is to motivate by illegal way the contracting authority to choose exactly it. When there is real competition, corruption cannot exist. Our goal is to typify the entire process, so that this will not happen anymore,” said Eleonora Nikolova. In her words, by mid-December will be ready a set of measures in the field of public procurement, which the Center will offer. “This inevitably suggests our awareness of the construction business. We always stay close to BCC and greatly admire their community and desire to solve problems and have common vision for the absorption of EU funds. Builders have the greatest empirical experience in tender procedures – good and bad practices. This makes them absolutely essential partner of the Center, so we trace all their events and actively participate in them,” said Nikolova adding that in times of crisis when Bulgarian economy is bent, and fresh money comes from European funds, it is spent through public procurement. The European Commission set itself the ambitious task of synchronizing the legislation of all countries – members of EU, on tenders. What is evident everywhere is that bureaucracy creates serious obstacles to business. Releasing from them within the EU will save EUR 40 billion per year and in our country – BGN 1 billion, she said. Nikolova pointed out that the Center is the first structure that follows the recommendations of the EC for development of new standards for public procurement.