14/12/2006
Commission takes action against Austria, Germany, Greece and Poland
Greece - tendering procedure for railway project in Thriasio
The Commission has decided to refer Greece to the European Court of Justice over the tendering procedure for the award of a public service contract launched by ERGA OSE concerning the railway project “Phase A studies for building and electromechanical works and facilities for the Thriasio Field Station Complex”.
The Commission considers that the call for tenders for the award of the contract in question is incompatible with Directive 93/38/EEC ("special sectors"). Furthermore, the call for tenders in question breached the principle of equal treatment of participants, the principle of mutual recognition of formal qualifications, as well as articles 12 (discrimination based on the grounds of nationality) and 49 (freedom to provide services) or the EC Treaty.
Greece - award procedure for construction of a thermoelectric plant in Atherinolakkos, Crete
The Commission has decided to refer Greece to the European Court of Justice over the procedure launched by the Public Power Corporation (DEI) for the design, commissioning, transportation, installation and operation of two similar steam electric stations and their ancillary equipment for the steam electric station in Atherinolakkos, Crete.
The Commission considers that, by tendering the project in question without a prior call for competition and not informing the complainant promptly about the reasons for the rejection of his offer, the contracting entity infringed Directive 93/38/EEC ("special sectors").
Austria - supply and maintenance of software
The Commission has decided to send a reasoned opinion to Austria concerning the award of a contract for the supply, adaptation and maintenance of a software application. The contracting authority, a social security institution, concluded the contract in question with a private software company without conducting a transparent and competitive procedure, breaching EU rules on the award of public contracts.
Germany - rescue transport services
The Commission has decided to send a reasoned opinion to Germany concerning the practice of German local authorities to award contracts and concessions for the provision of rescue transport services directly without following transparent award procedures. The German Government argued that the services in some German States fall under the public activity of the State and thus should not be qualified as public service contracts. However, in the view of the Commission, the concerned services are not connected with the exercise of official authority, which would be the only acceptable exclusion from EU law. The contracting authorities were therefore obliged to award rescue transport services in compliance with EU law, ensuring fair and effective competition between rescue transport service providers in the Internal Market.
Poland - procurement of automated radar coastal surveillance equipment
The Commission has decided to send a reasoned opinion to Poland concerning the the Polish Border Guard's award of a public contract for a radar coastal surveillance system without any form of publication and without following the competitive procedures set out in the relevant EU Directive. The Polish authorities argued that the contract in question was exempted from the application of the Directive since its execution had to be accompanied by special security measures and since the state's essential security interest required such an exemption.
However, the Commission considers that the Polish authorities have not proven that the exemption actually applies. Therefore, as the conditions for the exemption claimed by the Polish authorities were not met, the contract should have been advertised and awarded in conformity with the Directive, and failure to have done so constitutes an infringement of EU public procurement law.
Source: European Commission
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