The Council took note of a progress report on this dossier. It welcomed the progress which had been achieved so far and confirmed its intention to continue to give high priority to this file with a view to reaching an agreement within the timeframe set by the European Council.
During its discussions so far, the Council has focused more on the proposal on the co-ordination of procedures for the award of public supply contracts, public service contracts and public works contracts (see COD/2000/0115) but the results of those discussions have helped to achieve progress with the proposal for a Utilities Directive. The discussions during the Swedish Presidency have touched upon most questions, but particular attention has been paid to the rules on electronic procurement and the so-called competitive dialogue that would be used in connection with particularly complex contracts.�