Brussels, 14/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 13 December, the European Commission decided to close a series of infringement proceedings on public procurement issues. The affairs that have now been closed concerned Italy (appeal proceedings relating to the awarding of public procurement markets and the Frioul-Venetia-Julienne regional law on public works), Germany (failure to transpose into national law the EU directive on public procurement, and the direct attribution of urban planning contracts in the town of Waren) and Austria (partnerships in the public and private sectors for waste elimination) and the Czech Republic (calls for tenders for the purchase of armoured personnel carriers for the Czech armed forces). (ol)