AGCM

PRESS RELEASE

Memorandum of agreement between Anac and Agcm to combat corruption signed by Cantone and Pitruzzella: new criteria for the legality rating of businesses

Raffaele Cantone and Giovanni Pitruzzella (in the photo), presidents of the national Anti-corruption Authority (Anac) and the Competition and Market Guarantor Authority (Agcm) respectively, have signed on this date a Memorandum of Agreement on the activities to combat corruption in public contracts and on the new criteria for allocating a legality rating to businesses. The document, which includes eight articles, was illustrated by the two presidents at a press conference held in Rome, at the foreign Press office, in the presence of several Italian and foreign journalists.

Based on the respective investigation laws, the cooperation between the two Authorities will be carried out in various forms and with different instruments. Agcm will first of all report to Anac “any alleged phenomena of tampering with the tender rules and procedures” which might emerge in the course of its investigation processes. Anas, in turn, will report to Agcm “any alleged phenomena of collusion news of which might emerge in the course of conducting its activity or pursuant to specific reports” from contract businesses or stations. The Antitrust will then forward to the Anti-corruption Authority the “motivated opinion sent to the contract station, in the event of bid documents which might entail a breach of the norms for the protection of competition and the market”.

In order to increase reports on possible phenomena of collusion between businesses, Anac binds itself to publish on its own Internet site the Handbook (headed “Identification of critical competition areas in the sector of public tenders”) adopted by Agcm on 18 September 2013, by jointly promoting it at the contract stations and by inviting them to follow up on their reports.

The Memorandum of Agreement signed by Cantone and Pitruzzella envisages that the Competition and Market Guarantor Authority might access the information set out in the national database of the public contracts. The two Authorities are additionally going to collaborate so as to “identify further informative data pertaining to participation by businesses in public tenders”, and they will set up a work team in order to facilitate the mutual exchange of information and rationalize the utilization thereof.

The cooperation between Anac and Agcm will also concern the process of allocating a legality rating, according to the Rules adopted by the Antitrust on 14 November 2012 as subsequently amended, by reaching consensus on the best implementation methods so as to simplify the collaboration relationships, whence the commitment to carry out joint communications, such as press conferences, conventions and seminars for in-depth analysis, in addition to common projects in respect of participation in European announcements on issues of interest to the two Authorities.

In the course of the press conference, Cantone cited the legality rating introduced by Agcm as a tool of “incentivizing healthy businesses”, adding also that this kind of “blue sticker” not only corresponds to an ethical choice but might also translate into concrete benefits. “Apart from punishing the corrupt – Anac’s president said –, we must also begin to reward the honest.”

Pitruzzella explained that the rating envisages the allocation of a score between one to three stars, on the basis of a few organizational and behavioural parameters, thereby facilitating access by the virtuous businesses to credit and public financing when awarding contracts and tenders. The assessment, as specified by the Antitrust’s president, would be made by a commission consisting of five members, which will include representatives from each of Agcm and Anac themselves, from Confindustria, from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and from the Ministry of Justice.

Rome, 11 December 2014