"Joint Procurement Strengthens Contract Conditions": Sofia Åberg on Lessons for European Rail Tenders

Since 2015, Sweden’s National Agency for Public Procurement has been supporting contractors and suppliers in order to translate EU directives into practice. In this interview, Sofia Åberg, a legal adviser at the agency, explains how transparency, fair competition, and joint procurement are being strengthened — and what lessons could be relevant for tenders in other European countries. This includes the railway sector.

What key changes in procurement transparency have taken place in Sweden since the founding of Upphandlingsmyndigheten (the National Agency for Public Procurement) in 2015? 

The most significant changes in transparency are rooted in the EU Procurement Directives of 2014, which were transposed into Swedish law. These rules are designed to enhance openness, legal certainty, and competition across the EU’s internal market.

Since its establishment in 2015, the National Agency for Public Procurement has been tasked with supporting the correct application of these rules. The agency develops guidance, templates, and digital tools that make it easier for contracting authorities and suppliers to understand and comply with the legislation. While the legal framework itself is EU-wide, the agency’s role has been to facilitate implementation and thereby strengthen transparency in practice.

As our magazine focuses on the railway sector, have there been any notable improvements in transparency or accountability in Sweden’s railway procurement since your agency was established? 

The National Agency for Public Procurement does not have a specific mandate regarding procurement in the transport or railway sectors and therefore has no particular insight into these procurements. We suggest you contact the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) regarding these questions.

What transparency standards or requirements must procuring organisations meet when publishing tenders or awarding contracts? 

Swedish contracting authorities must follow EU-based principles of transparency, equal treatment, non-discrimination, and proportionality. Above EU thresholds, notices are published to TED and electronic databases. Award decisions must be reasoned and are subject to a standstill and court review timelines.

How does your agency ensure that tenders are fair and accessible to all suppliers, including new entrants to the market? 

The National Agency for Public Procurement provides open guidance (for example, SME-friendly practices), while laws require open competition on equal terms.

In light of EU regulations, the Czech Republic has seen a growing number of public tenders that are now mandatory for regions and cities when ordering public transport services. However, some tenders appear to be written in ways that favour specific suppliers. What oversight mechanisms exist in Sweden to detect or prevent such favouritism, corruption, or manipulation in tenders? 

Suppliers can challenge procedures and awards within strict deadlines; courts can order re-tendering or remedies. The Swedish Competition Authority (Konkurrensverket) investigates, publishes decisions, and can impose procurement fines.

Your website states that procuring organizations may contact companies and experts within a specific market to help formulate requirements for a purchase. Do you consider preliminary market consultations an important part of this process? Are they commonly used in Sweden? 

The EU directives allow and encourage preliminary market consultations, and the National Agency for Public Procurement considers them a valuable tool.

The agency does not collect statistics on their use in specific sectors, but in general, they are increasingly applied in Sweden, especially in complex or innovation-driven procurements.

What mechanisms or incentives exist in Sweden to encourage cities and regions to collaborate on joint public tenders, particularly in sectors like public transport or rail services? How do procuring organisations share knowledge about best — or problematic — practices in individual tenders? 

Sweden uses central purchasing bodies: Statens inköpscentral (Kammarkollegiet) for the central government (mandatory use in many categories) and Adda Inköpscentral for municipalities/regions, offering framework agreements and DPS that local authorities can join.

What are the experiences of supporting public procurement when the state and municipalities or regions decide to jointly procure public services, for example, in public passenger transport? 

The agency does not evaluate or monitor specific joint procurements in transport or other sectors. However, in general, experience shows that joint procurement can be beneficial, leading to stronger purchasing power and better contract conditions.

The National Agency supports authorities with general tools and examples, but responsibility for implementation lies with the contracting organisations themselves.

If a country aims to improve transparency in passenger rail tenders, what would you suggest as a concrete first step? 

The National Agency does not advise on sector-specific tenders such as rail, but a general first step to improve transparency would be to ensure that all tenders above EU thresholds are published openly on TED or a national procurement portal, in line with the EU directives.

In addition, training for both contracting authorities and suppliers on objective requirements and transparent evaluation methods, along with the use of standardised templates, can help reduce risks of favouritism or unclear tender documents.