IP/08/1796
Brussels, 27 November 2008
Public procurement: Commission asks Spain for information on compliance with Court judgement on public contract review procedures
The European Commission has decided, under Article 228 of the EC Treaty, to send a letter of formal notice asking Spain for full information on its compliance with a 2008 judgment of the European Court of Justice concerning remedies in the field of public procurement.
On the 3rd of April 2008 the European Court of Justice ruled on case C-444/06 Commission v. Spain. The judgement stated that Spain had failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 2(1)(a) and (b) of Council Directive 89/665/EEC, by failing to lay down a mandatory period for the contracting authority to notify the decision on the award of the contract to all the tenderers and by failing to provide for a mandatory waiting period between the award of the contract and its conclusion.
According to the Spanish authorities, the new Spanish system of remedies in the field of public procurement, as governed by the Law on Contracts of the Public Sector (Law 30/2007) since 1 May 2008, fully complies with the requirements of Directive 89/668/EEC as interpreted by the ECJ in C-444/06.
The Commission still holds some doubts as to the whether this new system of remedies actually guarantees the existence of a period between award and conclusion of the contract, providing all rejected bidders with the necessary elements which would allow them to effectively institute review proceedings.
The latest information on infringement proceedings concerning all Member States can be found at:
