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	  <title>FSFE responds to EC consultation on procurement</title>
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	<h1>FSFE responds to EC consultation on procurement </h1>

	<p>Free Software Foundation Europe has
	provided the European Commission with <a href="https://download.fsfe.org/policy/procurement/20110418.ProcurementConsultation.FSFE.response.pdf">input on modernising the
	way</a> in which public bodies buy software and related
	services.</p>

	<p>"Across Europe, the public sector has a huge role in the
	software market," says Karsten Gerloff, FSFE's President. "As
	the European Commission is revising the rules of procurement,
	we want to make sure that the new regulations and practices
	will be much fairer to Free Software than the current ones."
	</p>
	
	<p>
In its response to the Commission's 
<a href="http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/modernising_rules/consultations/index_en.htm">consultation</a>,
FSFE emphasises the following points:
<ul>

  <li>When a public body contracts out software development, it should
  have the right to use, study, share and improve the resulting
  software. This is best achieved through a Free Software
  license.</li>

  <li>Public bodies should require new solutions to be based
  on <a href="/freesoftware/standards/def.en.html">Open
  Standards</a>.</li>

  <li>Competitive bidding should be the rule. Negotiated procedures
  (direct negotiations between a public body and a seller) should
  remain limited to exceptional cases.</li>

  <li>The rules should make clear that major software upgrades should
  be treated in the same way as new purchases, and re-tendered in a
  competitive process.</li>

  <li>Public bodies should figure future exit costs into the total
  cost of any new solution.</li>
</ul>


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    <tag key="procurement"/>
    <tag key="policy"/>
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