European PPP Expertise Centre
European PPP Expertise Centre (EPEC) is a collaboration between the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Commission, and member states and candidate countries of the European Union.[1] Its primary mission is to strengthen the organizational capacity of the public sector to engage in public-private partnership (PPP) transactions, by allowing PPP taskforces in EU member and candidate countries to share experience and expertise, analysis and best practice relating to PPP transactions. This experience is then disseminated in terms of practical and operational guidance. Membership in EPEC is exclusively for the public sector. EPEC was founded in 2011.
Key areas of activity
EPEC carries out three main types of activity [2]
- Collaborative work, which offers a structured approach to identifying good practice in issues of common concern to members who implement PPP policies and programmes, drawing extensively on the experience and expertise of its membership;
- Helpdesk, which members can email or phone with queries;
- Policy and Programme Support for members, which covers a wide range of non-project specific support for PPP development. Reports produced by EPEC for individual members may be disseminated more widely if these raise issues of a general nature that could be shared across the network. EPEC does not however provide consultancy services to support the procurement or negotiation of individual PPP transactions.
Membership eligibility
Membership in EPEC is strictly limited to public authorities whose role includes policy responsibility and the promotion of PPP projects or programmes at national or regional level. EPEC currently has 35 Members from 30 countries, who all have policy responsibility for PPP in their jurisdictions. The private sector is ineligible for membership, although EPEC maintains a strong link with the private sector PPP community. Membership is restricted to member states of the European Union, EU Candidate Countries and countries associated with the Seventh Framework Programme run by European Commission Directorate General Research (FP7).
Members of EPEC
There are currently 35 members in EPEC (July 2011). Apart from the European Investment Bank and European Commission, who are EPEC's primary sponsors, there are 33 members from 30 countries. These are:
- Austria - Federal Ministry of Finance
- Belgium - Vlaams Kenniscentrum PPS (Flemish PPP Unit) and Cellule d'Informations Financières (Wallonian PPP Unit)
- Bulgaria - Ministry of Finance
- Croatia - Croatian PPP Centre
- Cyprus - Planning Bureau of the Republic of Cyprus
- Czech Republic - Ministry of Finance
- Denmark - Danish Competition and Consumer Authority
- Finland - Ministry of Finance
- France - Ministry of Economy, Industry and Employment
- Germany - Federal Ministry of Transport and Finanzministerium des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (regional ministry of finance for North Rhine Westphalia)
- Greece - Ministry of Finance
- Hungary - Ministry of National Development
- Ireland - Ministry of Department
- Israel - Ministry of Finance
- Italy - L'Unità Tecnica Finanza di Progetto (UTFP) - President of the Council of Ministers of Italy
- Latvia - Ministry of Economics
- Lithuania - Ministry of Finance
- Malta - Malta Investment Management Company Limited (MIMCOL)
- Montenegro - Government of Montenegro
- Netherlands - Ministry of Finance
- Poland - Ministry of Economy
- Portugal - Parpública S.A.
- Romania - Ministry of Public Finance, PPP Central Unit
- Slovakia - Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic
- Slovenia - Ministry of Finance
- Spain - Dirección General de Presupuestos y Análisis Económico de la Comunidad de Madrid (Directorate General of Budget and Economic Analysis of the Community of Madrid - a regional finance ministry) and Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure
- Turkey - Prime Ministry Undersecretariat of Treasury
- United Kingdom - Her Majesty's Treasury
- Scotland - Scottish Futures Trust
- Wales - Welsh Assembly Government