Brussels, 29/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 28 October 2010, the European Commission moved to the next stage in a series of infringement proceedings against several member states for failure to respect EU rules on public procurement and the free circulation of goods.
Public procurement. The Commission has decided to take the Czech Republic to the European Court of Justice for breach of EU rules on public contracts by failing to open up to European competition the award of a €132 million contract for four tactical military transport CASA-295M planes. The Commission has asked Germany to provide information about measures taken to comply with a Court of Justice ruling in Case C-17/09 concerning a waste treatment contract signed by Bonn with Müllverwertungsanlage Bonn GmbH. The Court of Justice ruled that Germany had failed in its duties in respect of EU public tender rules by signing a contract for the removal of biodegradable waste without issuing a European call for tender. The Commission is sending reasoned opinions to Greece and Sweden, asking Greece to respect EU public tender rules when issuing IT services contracts, believing that Greece is infringing EU rules by directly awarding a public contract for the development of an IT system in “citizens' network services centres” (KEP) set up by the Greek civil service. The Commission is asking Sweden to ensure that EU public tender rules are respected when awarding local authority waste management contracts, believing that Sweden is breaking EU rules by allowing local authorities to award waste management contracts without calls for tender. If Greece and Sweden do not answer the Commission's demands within two months in a satisfactory manner, then the Commission may take them to the European Court of Justice.
Free movement of goods. The Commission has decided to take Finland to the European Court of Justice for failure to transpose into Finnish law EU Directive 2008/43/EC on the introduction of an identification and traceability system for explosives for civilian use. The deadline for transposing the directive into national law ran out on 5 April 2009 and the measures in question are supposed to come into force on 5 April 2012, to enable the identification of explosives and monitor their transport from the production site to the end user. Belgium is also being taken to the Court of Justice because of its rules governing the registration of second-hand cars imported from a different member state which require a certificate of conformity for imported vehicles but do not recognise the validity of maintenance checks carried out in other member states. Under EU Directive 1999/37/EC on vehicle registration documents, the registration of a second-hand vehicle should be possible upon presentation of a harmonised registration certificate that is still within the period of validity issued by another member state. The Commission is therefore taking Belgium to court for breaching its obligations under EU law and creating unjustified obstacles to the free movement of second-hand cars within the EU single market. The Commission is sending Italy a reasoned opinion instructing it to change its regulations on radio receivers to ensure that it fully complies with EU rules on the free movement of goods. Italian legislation currently bans the use and sale of radio receivers that can detect frequencies not covered by Italian legislation and requires radio receiver manuals to include a statement that they comply with Italian legislation. The Commission believes that these measures unduly restrict the use and sale of radio receivers legally manufactured or sold elsewhere in the European Union by creating obstacles to their export to Italy. (O.L./trans fl)