EIPA Press Releases

EIPA expert witness in European Parliament hearings

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

EIPA PPP Expert Michael Burnett spoke as an expert witness on the Concessions Directive to the European Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee on Wednesday 21 March.

UK PFI review addresses issues in EIPA PPP study

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Questions posed in the UK Finance Ministry review of PFI policy launched last month echo issues raised in EIPA’s book on PPP in September 2007 (“PPP – A decision maker’s guide” by Michael Burnett).

EPSA 2011 – The Winners Are ...

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

During a well-attended and entertaining award ceremony which took place this morning at the Provincial Government House in Maastricht, EIPA handed over the European Public Sector Award 2011 to the three winning projects: “Political Management based on Economic Stringency and Strategic Budgets”, submitted by the Bilbao City Council in Spain; “Civil Society Involvement in the Welcoming and Integration of Immigrants – The Case of Portugal”, submitted by the Portuguese High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue; “ÖkoKauf Wien – EcoBuy Vienna”, submitted by the Department for Environment Protection, Vienna.

EPSA 2011: Public Sector Excellence Awarded in November in Maastricht

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

On 15-17 November 2011, the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) will be proud to honour the most innovative performers in European public administration with the prestigious European Public Sector Award 2011. This is an award for the best and most innovative public sector performers in the fields of: Smart Public Service Delivery in a Cold Economic Climate; Opening up the Public Sector through Collaborative Governance; and Going Green: Concrete Solutions from the Public Sector. The highlights of this international event will take place at three different venues in Maastricht: the Town Hall of Maastricht, the European Institute of Public Administration headquarters and the Provincial Government Buildings on the Meuse.

Maastricht podium voor uitreiking EPSA 2011 Award

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Op 15, 16 en 17 november aanstaande zal EIPA (European Institute of Public Administration) met trots de prestigieuze 'European Public Sector Award 2011’ uitreiken aan de meest innovatieve Europese overheidsorganisaties. Het internationale evenement dat rondom deze prijsuitreiking in Maastricht georganiseerd wordt, vindt plaats op drie bekende Maastrichtse locaties: het Stadhuis, het Limburgse Provinciehuis en EIPA’s hoofdkantoor aan het Onze Lieve Vrouweplein. Vertegenwoordigers van lokale, regionale en nationale overheden uit 18 Europese landen en diverse hoogwaardigheidsbekleders zullen aanwezig zijn.

The European Commission’s Communication on Judicial Training of 13 September 2011

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Prof. Dr Marga Pröhl, Director-General of the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), and Peter Goldschmidt, Director of EIPA’s European Centre for Judges and Lawyers, express their support to the European Commission’s Communication on Judicial Training, adopted on 13 September 2011.

EPSA - From 274 applications to 15 Nominees

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The EPSA 2011 Team is pleased to announce that the high-level EPSA 2011 Jury last met on 5 September at EIPA Maastricht to reach the final selection of the 15 nominees (5 per theme) from among the 21 applications that had been visited on-site during June and July. The 15 nominated projects come from nine countries; 9 have been submitted by the local level of government, five by the regional level and one by the national level. These best applications span sectors such as education, health, agriculture, climate change, environment, child care and immigration.

EPSA 2011: The run-up to the Final Event and Ceremony has started with 58 applications being awarded a Best Practice Certificate

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The EPSA 2011 Team at EIPA is pleased to announce that, following the three evaluation steps out of four completed so far, 58 applications from among the 274 submitted have been chosen to receive a Best Practice Certificate. These 58 applications were submitted by 18 countries in total, across the three EPSA 2011 themes.

A rich harvest for EPSA 2011 – Many innovative and green initiatives from the European Public Sector!

Fri, 06 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The EPSA 2011 award contest was officially launched on 17 January 2011 when the call for applications was also opened. The deadline for applications closed on the 13th of April.

The EPSA 2011 Team is pleased to announce that a substantial number of applications were submitted to the 2011 edition. In total, 274 applications from 32 European countries and European institutions were received and are also eligible for the evaluation phase. Top country submitters in the 2011 edition were Spain, Romania, Austria, Italy, Poland and Germany. Out of the 274 applications, 116 came from the local government level, 66 from the regional level, 85 from the national level, and 7 from European institutions.

New report backs conclusions of EIPA PPP study

Fri, 06 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

A report published on PFI/PPP last week by the UK’s National Audit Office highlights several issues raised in EIPA’s book on PPP in September 2007 (“PPP – A decision maker’s guide” by Michael Burnett).

EPSA 2011 - deadline for applications is extended until 13 April!

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Due to the high demand and interest, EIPA is offering public administrations across Europe more time to submit applications for the European Public Sector Award 2011. The deadline is now extended until 13 April 2011 (24.00hrs CEST)!

European Public Sector Award 2011 - the call for applications is now open!

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

On 17 January EIPA officially launched the European Public Sector Award 2011 (EPSA 2011) at the European Commission in Brussels. With an audience of approx. 100 stakeholders from European public administrations, the launch event was opened with a word of welcome by Maroš Šefcovic (SK), Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Inter-Institutional Relations and Administration in Brussels.

Making a difference to PPP in Europe

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EIPA’s impact on the procurement of major PPP infrastructure projects through Competitive Dialogue has been praised in an influential European PPP journal.

Official Launch of the European Public Sector Award 2011

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT

On Monday 17 January 2011 the Vice-President of the European Commission, Mr Maroš Šefcovic, and EIPA’s Director-General, Professor Dr Marga Pröhl will launch EPSA 2011.

Boost for EIPA’s work on PPP

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EIPA’s impact on the European PPP agenda has been recognised in major study, “A guide to guidance – Sourcebook for PPPs”, carried out by Frontier Economics for DG MOVE, the Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency and the European PPP Expertise Centre.

Press coverage for Marco Lopriore, Senior Lecturer at EIPA, in The Irish Independent

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A succesfull seminar on Supporting SME and Enterprise Development through EU Programmes and Policies in Shannon, Ireland, resulted in press coverage in The Irish Independent and on the website of the Shannon Chamber of Commerce.
For the full article in The Irish Independent, click here.

The Lisbon Treaty stipulations on Development Cooperation and the Council Decision of 25 March 2010 (Draft) establishing the organisation and functioning of the European External Action Service

Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Contrary to the emerging legal advice on the potential role of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and development cooperation under the Lisbon Treaty, this legal brief argues that the stipulations concerning this area contained in the proposal for a Council decision of 25 March 2010 on the EEAS, are entirely consonant with the Treaty. In particular this brief argues that development cooperation is a shared competence and not, as is often argued, an exclusive competence. It is also noted that the Treaty places the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) on an equal footing with other EU external relations policies and brings an end to the default setting of, for instance, EU policy in development cooperation. The legally binding obligation for the Union to ensure consistency between the different areas of external action and between these and its other policies again provides the overarching rationale. Finally, it is observed that the elevation of the eradication of poverty to an objective of the Union in its external action offers far greater leverage for a development perspective in EU external actions, rather than any alleged illegal politicisation of development cooperation.

Authors: Dr Simon Duke (European Institute of Public Administration) and Dr Steven Blockmans (T.M.C. Asser Institute)

For the full-text version click here or visit our publications portal.

Building Europe’s infrastructure – time to use Competitive Dialogue more effectively?

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Competitive Dialogue was created by the 2004 Public Procurement Directives as a new and more flexible solution for public authorities wanting to award contracts for complex infrastructure projects”. But, says Michael Burnett, PPP expert at the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), “not all methods of using it have proved to be equally effective in promoting value for money for the public sector”. And, he continues, “objective advice for public sector decision makers on when and how to use Competitive Dialogue effectively is hard to find”.

To meet these challenges EIPA has just published a new book ““Competitive Dialogue – A practical guide” written by Michael Burnett in collaboration with Martin Oder.

Creation of MEDPAN

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Euro-Mediterranean Association of Schools of Public Administration (MEDPAN) created in Brussels on 30 November 2009.

EPSA 2009 Award winners announced

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

During a spectacular event last night in Maastricht, the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) presented the European Public Sector Award 2009! This prestigious award recognises the best and most innovative performers in European public administration. After a long process of assessment, the four prize winners were finally announced.

EPSA Facts & Figures

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

300 applications

28 countries

40 Best Practice certificate holders

20 nominees

4 winners

Highlights of the European Public Sector Award 2009

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

On 4-6 November 2009, the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) will be proud to honour the most innovative performers in European public administration with the prestigious European Public Sector Award 2009. This is an award for the best and most innovative public sector performers in the fields of: Performance Improvement in Public Service Delivery; Citizen Involvement; New Forms of Partnership Working; and Leadership & Management for Change. The highlights of this international event will take place at three well-known locations in Maastricht: the Town Hall of Maastricht, the Provincial Government House and the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

EPSA 2009 Award Nominees

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) proudly presents the European Public Sector Award nominees 2009!

The award for the best and most innovative performers in European public administration will be presented during an international symposium and ceremony which will take place from 4-6 November 2009 in Maastricht, the Netherlands. Five nominees in each EPSA theme – Performance Improvement in Public Service Delivery; Citizen Involvement; New Forms of Partnership Working; Leadership & Management for Change – are still in the running to win the EPSA 2009 trophy.