Brussels, 18/07/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to act in several cases against infringement concerning bids for public procurement contracts. The Commission has decided to refer Ireland, Italy and Germany to the Court of Justice and has also sent formal requests to change their practices to Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. The Commission has also closed a case against Belgium, as the Walloon region has rescinded its former requirement that stone used in works contracts should be of Belgian origin.
Ireland: - The Commission has decided to refer Ireland to the European Court of Justice over the extension, without competition, of the contractual arrangements with An Post (the national Post Office) for the provision of social welfare payment services.
Italy: the case involves action against Italy involving the Italian body responsible for the surveillance of woodland (Corpo forestale dello Stato), which is authorised to purchase the most suitable aircraft for its purposes by means of a direct agreement procedure outside the competition rules for fighting fires. According to the Commission, there are no such circumstances (like emergencies) in the present case, which justify such derogations.
Germany: the case refers to a waste disposal contract awarded by the district of Friesland without the required Europe-wide tendering procedure.. Germany admitted argued that an early termination of the contract was impossible without claims for damages and that the contract would not be extended beyond 2004. However, the Commission says that this is still an infringement and similar cases continue to occur in Germany.
Greece: a reasoned opinion was addressed to Greece involving a contract for the supply of 14 weather stations attributed by military aviation, without publication of the contract notice in the EU Official Journal. The Commission considers that the exemptions foreseen for defence do not apply because the weather stations are not intended mainly for military usage, but for the Olympic Games of 2004 and for civil aviation. It also considers that neither was an exception made due to the urgent nature of the contract.
Italy: Italy receives reasoned opinion concerning modalities for attributing and achieving management of the Valtrompia motorway as well as the Pedemontana Veneta Ovest motorway. According to the Commission, the rules on advertising and opening to competition of the public procurement directive are clearly applied to these contracts.
Netherlands: The Netherlands has received a reasoned opinion for the provision of household waste containers granted without a call for tenders by the municipality of Assen. The Commission notes that the threshold of the public procurement directive for the advertising obligation does not apply. Nonetheless, in the name of equal treatment, the contract should have been attributed after opening to competition.
Sweden: Reasoned opinion concerns attribution by the municipality of Eskilstuna of a framework contract on work of an overall value of at least EUR 19.6 million, without call for tender procedures.