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		Letter to the Editor Derby Evening Telegraph - Monday 15th November 2004 Dear Sir, Some months ago the Bombardier business in Derby was under threat, partly as a result of the habit of major continental countries ordering rolling-stock from their own domestic suppliers, while a number of UK operators bought abroad. It seemed to me, and to others, that the rules of open tender in the EU's Single Market on major public procurement projects were skewed against British industry. Accordingly, I wrote to the Department of Trade calling for an enquiry into public procurement in the EU. I was pleased that the government agreed to the request, although I had some concern that the man appointed to chair the enquiry was Alan Wood, chairman of Siemens in the UK, a Bombardier competitor. Now Mr. Wood has reported, and he has come up with a robust report which confirms what many of us felt we knew already -- that public procurement in the EU is indeed biased against the UK. As an MEP, I frequently have companies complain to me that "We in the UK keep the rules, while other EU countries flout them". This is yet another example. It damages British businesses and costs British jobs. Mr. Wood's report is a good first step. But we now need to sort the problem out. Gordon Brown has declared that he will put pressure on other member states to play the game by the rules. We shall be watching to see if they deliver. Yours faithfully, Roger Helmer MEP