One issue which met with considerable stakeholder interest was the Competitive Dialogue, a new award procedure specifically designed for complex public contracts, introduced by Directive 2004/18/EC. Few stakeholders contested the importance of this procedure. Many respondents to the consultation asked for full protection of intellectual property and for limiting resources bidders have to invest in this procedure.
The Commission is confident that practical experience with this procedure, not yet implemented in most of the Member States6, will dissipate these concerns. As requested by a number of stakeholders, clarification of the provisions governing the Competitive Dialogue will be provided by means of an explanatory document which will be made accessible on the Commission's website.7
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6 Member States need to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive no later than 31 January 2006.
7 http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/publicprocurement/index_en.htm