EU Infringement Cases
| Public procurement: infringement proceedings against Spain 27 November 2008 The European Commission has decided to send a formal request to Spain concerning its rules on modification of contracts after their award, as contained in the new Spanish public procurement law (Ley 30/2007 de contratos del sector público, LCSP). This formal request by the Commission takes the form of a 'reasoned opinion', the second stage of infringement proceedings under Article 226 of the EC Treaty. If there is no satisfactory response within two months, the Commission may refer the matter to the European Court of Justice. In this instance, the Commission considers that the regime of modifications of contracts after award, as governed in LCSP, is not in line with the principles of equal treatment, non discrimination and transparency as derived from article 2 of Directive 2008/14/EC on public procurement and from Articles 12, 43 and 49 of the Treaty of the European Community. The LCSP gives contracting authorities a wide power to modify essential terms of public contracts after award, without the conditions for modification having been provided for in the contract documents in a clear, precise and unequivocal manner. The Commission also considers that the LCSP makes it possible for the contracting authority to resort to the use of negotiated procedures without publication, outside the circumstances foreseen in article 31 of Directive 2004/18/EC. The latest information on infringement proceedings concerning all Member States can be found at: |
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