Openbare aanbesteding: de Commissie zet inbreukprocedures door betreffende tenuitvoerlegging van de beroepsprocedurerichtlijnen in België, Frankrijk en Ierland (en)
The European Commission has decided to refer France and Ireland to the European Court of Justice over their respective national rules implementing the Remedies Directive in the field of public procurement. The Commission has also decided to send an additional reasoned opinion to Belgium concerning its national legislation in the same field.
The French and Belgian national rules contain an exception to the standstill period after the notification of an award decision, which in the Commission's view is too wide and not sufficiently specific. Therefore, the national legislation in question does not sufficiently ensure that unsuccessful tenderers can find effective legal protection against the award of a public contract at a stage where infringements can still be rectified, i.e. before the conclusion of the contract. This obligation flows from the Remedies Directives 89/665/EEC and 92/13/EEC, as interpreted by the European Court of Justice in its Alcatel judgement (C-81/98).
The Irish and Belgian national rules do not ensure that unsuccessful tenderers are informed in time by contracting authorities or entities of the motivation of the award of the contract, in order to be able to take a well reasoned decision on whether to make an application for interim measures. It is thus not guaranteed that an unsuccessful tenderer has, under all circumstances, the possibility to make a 'meaningful' application for interim measures against the award of public contracts. Therefore the Irish and Belgian rules do not ensure complete legal protection against award decisions at a stage where infringements can still be rectified.
The Commission considers that the relevant provisions of the national rules of Belgium, France and Ireland do not implement correctly the Remedies Directives and are, consequently, contrary to Community law.
The latest information on infringement proceedings concerning all Member States can be found at: