Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 22 May 2012 —
Evropaïki Dynamiki v Commission
(Case T‑17/09)
Public service contracts — Tender procedure — Provision of informatics services for an electronic exchange of social security information project (EESSI project) in the field of the coordination of social security for persons mobile in Europe — Rejection of bid submitted by a tenderer — Award of the contract — Duty to state reasons — Transparency — Equal treatment — Manifest error of assessment — No interest in bringing proceedings — Non-contractual liability
1. EU public contracts — Conclusion of a contract following a call for tenders — Discretion of the institutions — Judicial review — Limits (see para. 37)
2. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision, under the procedure for the award of a public service contract, to reject a tender — Account taken, by way of reasoning, of the replies of an institution to the requests of a discarded tenderer — Condition (Art. 253 EC; Council Regulation No 1605/2002, Art. 100(2); Commission Regulation No 2342/2002, Art. 149(3)) (see paras 38-45, 56, 73)
3. EU public contracts — Procedure for award of public contracts —Obligation to comply with the principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination against tenderers — Scope (Council Regulation No 1605/2002; Commission Regulation No 2342/2002) (see paras 65-68)
4. Actions for annulment — Interest in bringing proceedings — Natural or legal persons — Action capable of securing a benefit for the applicant — Concept — Action by a tenderer, discarded before the stage preceding the decision to award a public contract, against the decision to award the contract to another tenderer — Not included — Inadmissibility (Art. 230, fourth para., EC) (see paras 114, 117-120)
5. Non-contractual liability — Conditions — Unlawfulness — Damage — Causal link — Actual and certain damage — Damage arising through loss of earnings — Future and hypothetical damage — Inadmissibility (Art. 288, second para., EC) (see paras 122-123)
6. Procedure — Costs — Order against the successful party to bear its own costs and pay those of the applicants — Condition (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 87(3)) (see paras 130-132)
Re:
APPLICATION, first, for annulment of the Commission’s decision rejecting the tender submitted by the applicant in respect of the call for tenders VT/2008/019 EMPL EESSI for the provision of informatics products and services for the EESSI project (OJ 2008/S 111-148 213) and of the decision to award the contract to another tenderer and, secondly, for damages.
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Dismisses the action;
2.
Orders Evropaïki Dynamiki — Proigmena Systimata Tilepikoinonion Pliroforikis kai Tilematikis AE to pay the costs.
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy