March 17, 2021 | 9:00AM to 10:30AM EDT
Presentation
Commentary
Moderation
Joerg Forbrig, Director for Central and Eastern Europe, German Marshall Fund of the United States
Corruption remains one of the principal challenges for Eastern Europe. It has hampered the reform process towards democracy and market economy, undercut citizen confidence in state institutions and business entities, and incurred a massive waste of scarce financial resources. One central conduit for large-scale corruption has long been state procurement the purchase of goods and services by governments.
Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine have, over the last years, made considerable headway in revamping state procurement and in establishing more transparent and cost-efficient systems. While each state has followed a unique path in implementing new procurement mechanisms, they share a common philosophy and principles. Most importantly, all three countries seized the opportunities brought by digital technologies.