UVO: Ambulance Tender Prepared in Contravention of EU Regulations

Bratislava, 7 August (TASR) - The Public Procurement Office (UVO) has stated that the Health Ministry prepared the ambulance service tender in contravention of EU regulations, UVO spokesman Michal Dzurjanin has informed TASR. The office noted that the existence of the contradiction was declared by the European Union back in 2020 in response to a previous tender. According to UVO, the ministry has since been unable to amend health-care laws so that they match EU legislation. According to UVO chairman Peter Kubovic, the current situation related to the selection of the operator of 344 ground stations and seven air ambulance units is a consequence of long-standing unresolved imperfections of Slovak legislation. "Over the past five years, the health-care sector hasn't been able to prepare the necessary amendments to health laws so that they are in line with EU regulations in the field of public procurement," he said. Kubovic recalled that in 2020, the Union emphasised that the EU's public procurement rules are binding for state-run health-insurance company VsZP and potentially for private health-insurers when providing emergency ambulance services. "This means that contracts for emergency ambulance services can only be concluded if they have been preceded by a competition," Kubovic explained. Kubovic said that intensive communication on this matter was initiated by the then UVO chairman Miroslav Hlivak with former health minister Marek Krajci ('Slovakia' party, For the People, Christian Union/KU). Subsequently, an expert group was formed to prepare new wording of the regulations and a schedule for the legislative procedure. At the same time, UVO, based on several motions, began to inspect the tender after the contract was concluded. In September 2020, Hlivak appealed to minister Krajci to ensure greater cooperation between the ministry's experts, as the expert group hadn't met for several months. The meeting took place a month later. At the same time, the ministry informed the European Commission at that time that the bill would be drafted by the end of 2021 and would then be submitted for inter-departmental procedures and submitted to Parliament after being approved by the government, with expected effect as of 1 January 2023. After Krajci's departure and the appointment of former minister Vladimir Lengvarsky, the expert group didn't meet even once, despite calls to do so. The new expert group didn't meet until June 2022. ko/df