Since July 1, it has been obligatory for public procurement selection criteria in Croatia to be based on ‘most economically advantageous’ bids rather than lowest price. A practice commonly preferred across European nations. The State Commission for the Control of Public Procurement Procedures points out that since the new public procurement procedures came into effect, hundreds of appeals against public procurements have been made with 38% pertaining to tender documentation and 48% to bid selection decisions. And that when the lowest price criterion was in effect, it was easier to control procedures. But State Secretary for the Ministry of Economy says that the success of the new procedures is dependent on all stakeholders and should bring greater simplification to tender processes. The Ministry has also released tools and manuals to explain the new legal requirements. The full story is on Total Croatia News.