Brussels, 25/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission decided on Wednesday 24 November to ratchet up the series of infringement procedures already opened in the areas of the free movement of goods, free movement of capital and public procurement.
Free movement of goods. The Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Lithuania calling on it to eliminate obstacles to the registration of right-hand drive vehicles. Lithuanian legislation requires that the steering wheel is on the left-hand side of the vehicle. New cars, as well as used cars, with right-hand drive cannot currently be registered in Lithuania. The Commission considers that these registration restrictions constitute a disproportionate barrier to the import of right hand drive vehicles into Lithuania from other EU member states. A reasoned opinion was also sent to Spain requesting that it amend its legislation on the registration and labelling of ammunition so as to ensure its compliance with EU rules on the free movement of goods. Spain currently requires the national registration and labelling of ammunition before it can be sold on the Spanish market. The Commission considers that this legislation is neither proportional nor necessary since it duplicates other obligatory controls and that the same results could be achieved by strictly applying international and European rules on ammunition. If Lithuania and Spain do not, within two months, inform the Commission of measures taken to ensure full compliance with their obligations under EU law, the Commission may decide to refer them to the Court of Justice (procedure adopted for failure to respect a reasoned opinion).
Free movement of capital. The European Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Portugal asking it for information on measures taken to comply with a July 2010 Court of Justice ruling ( C-171/08) that the Portuguese state's special rights in Portugal Telecom were in breach of EU rules on free movement of capital. The Court found that Portugal's “golden” shares were an unjustified restriction on the free movement of capital and that by maintaining them in force, Portugal had failed to fulfil its Treaty obligations. Portugal now has two months to inform the Commission of measures taken to apply the ruling. If it fails to do so, the Commission may refer the case for the second time to the Court and ask it to impose a lump sum and/or penalty payment on Portugal.
Public procurement. The European Commission referred Greece back to the EU Court of Justice because of its failure to apply EU rules on public procurement as regards contracts for supplies of medical equipment to hospitals. In the Commission's view, Greece continues to infringe EU law and has not complied with a Court judgment of 19 March 2009 (Case C-489/06). The Court ruled that Greece had failed to fulfil its obligations under EU rules on common safety standards for products as well as on public procurement by rejecting offers from suppliers of medical equipment bearing the CE marking. As Greece has still not complied with the Court judgment, the Commission has now decided to refer the case back to the Court again and will ask the Court to impose financial penalties on Greece of €7,173.6 per day from the date of the original Court ruling until Greece finally complies with EU rules or until the second Court ruling whichever comes first, and €43,724.8 per day from the date of the second Court ruling until Greece finally complies with EU rules. Greece also received a reasoned opinion calling on it to ensure full compliance with EU public procurement rules in relation to the award of a contract for submarine battery kits. The Commission is concerned that Greece has breached EU public procurement rules by including discriminatory requirements in the call for tenders, which would favour Greek products over similar products produced elsewhere in the EU. The Commission considered the Greek authorities' claim that the discriminatory requirements were necessary on national security grounds were unjustified. By means of a reasoned opinion, the European Commission has also asked Portugal to amend its rules on public contracts worth more than €25 million so as to ensure full compliance with EU rules on fair and transparent public procurement. The Commission considers that Portuguese law is currently discriminatory and in breach of EU public procurement rules because of a standing requirement that all public contracts worth more than €25 million be accompanied by a research and development (R&D) project. Lastly, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Belgium for infringing EU rules on public procurement in the case of a public works contract for the design, refurbishment, new construction, financing and maintenance of educational institutions located in Eupen. The Commission considers that Belgium breached EU public procurement rules by awarding this contract through the unjustified use of a negotiated procedure, which is permissible only in exceptional circumstances. (O.L./transl.rt)