Abstract:

Corruption in the field of public procurement is of particular importance because currently approximately 20% of the European Union’s gross domestic product (GDP) is spent each year by public authorities for the acquisition of works, products and services.

Fight gainst corruption is a priority for all governments, this being necessary for achieving the political objectives by spending public funds as efficiently as possible.

The research examines the specialized literature that addresses the phenomenon of corruption in the United States of America and European Union and presents the results of a survey conducted on a target group of Romanian purchasers.

The survey analyzes the main characteristics of the phenomenon of corruption in public procurement in Romania, as well as the causes, consequences and main measures to combat corruption.

Also, the survey examines a number of specific topics about the phenomenon of corruption in public procurement, such as: the correctness of winning contracts by economic operators, the degree of supervision of the award of contracts by the state authorities, the efficiency of the use of public procurement funds, financing of political parties in exchange for winning public contracts, the most exposed contracting authorities to the risks of corruption, the procurement procedures most prone to corruption, winning public contracts by using bribery and connections, the most favourable cause of corruption, the pressures of the political factor on the public procurement system, the most effective anti-corruption measure, etc.