Brussels, 28/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Commission has criticised five member states in the area of public procurement. It has also closed several infringement proceedings.
Germany. 1) The European Commission has decided to refer Germany to the European Court of Justice over the practice of local authorities and municipal enterprises to award contracts for group pension services without conducting competitive tendering procedures. 2) Similarly, the Commission has decided to refer Germany to the European Court of Justice over the practice followed by some local and regional authorities of awarding contracts for rescue transport services without applying transparent contract award procedures, 3) over contracts awarded by public broadcasting organisations, and 4) over the construction of a new trade fair hall in Cologne. 5) The Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to the German authorities over a software supply contract between two public-law bodies. 6) It has closed the infringement proceedings over the granting of licences to operate bus routes in North Rhine-Westphalia. Spain. 1) The Commission has referred Spain to the Court over its laws on land-and-town planning that apply to the Valencia Community (see EUROPE 9170). 2) Spain will be sent a further reasoned opinion (procedure under Article 228) because of its failure to comply with the Court of justice ruling of 2005 (case C-158/03) on contracts for health services relating to home respiratory treatments. 3) Similarly, a reasoned opinion will be sent for the submission of incomplete information of measures transposing directive 2005/51/EC. France. 1) The Commission has sent three reasoned opinions to France calling on it to amend its national rules on the so-called definition contracts procedure; delegated supervision of works under the terms of the law on the control of public works (the “MOP” law); municipal services provided to public establishments for cooperation between local authorities (EPCI) and joint local authority associations (“syndicates mixtes”). 2) It has closed infringement proceedings against France over the award of development contracts without prior advertising or competitive tendering, but it intends of open a new case to deal with the non-conformities detected in the French “Code d'urbanisme. Italy. Italy will receive three reasoned opinions over the award of contracts which ought, the Commission says, to have been made through competitive tendering procedures: the procurement of computer services and management consulting services in Puglia; the construction of state prisons; and waste treatment services in Contigliano. 2) A reasoned opinion has been sent to Italy over a national decree which reserves the supply of accounting services and debt recovery to specific bodies. 3) The Commission has closed procedures on waste management in the Province of Trapani, water management in the Basilicata region, hydro-electric concessions in the Trentino-Alto Adige region. Ireland. The Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to Ireland calling on it to amend the procedure used by the Ministry of Agriculture to award advertising contracts: among other things, qualitative selection criteria related to the past experience of tenderers should not have been used. In conclusion, the Commission closed proceedings against Finland and Slovenia for failure to transpose public procurement directives of 2004. (mb)