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Document 62014TJ0700

Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 26 January 2017.
TV1 GmbH v European Commission.
Public service contracts — Tendering procedure — Supply of integrated audiovisual production, dissemination and archiving services — Rejection of the tender of one tenderer — Contract awarded to another tenderer — Offer abnormally low — Obligation to request further clarification — Obligation to state reasons — Transparency — Equal treatment and non-discrimination — Manifest error of assessment.
Case T-700/14.

Court reports – general – 'Information on unpublished decisions' section

Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 26 January 2017 —
TV1 v Commission

(Case T‑700/14)

(Public service contracts — Tendering procedure — Supply of integrated audiovisual production, dissemination and archiving services — Rejection of the tender of one tenderer — Contract awarded to another tenderer — Offer abnormally low — Obligation to request further clarification — Obligation to state reasons — Transparency — Equal treatment and non-discrimination — Manifest error of assessment)

1. 

European Union public contracts — Conclusion of a contract following a call for tenders — Abnormally low offer — Obligation of the contracting authority to hear from the tenderer — Examination by the awarding authority of the abnormally low character of the tender — Elements to be taken into consideration

(Commission Regulation No 1268/2012, Arts 139(2), and 158(4))

(see paras 37, 38, 40, 41, 54, 58, 59)

2. 

European Union public contracts — Tender procedure — Award of contracts — Award criteria — Method of assessment — Discretion of the awarding authority — Judicial review — Limits

(see paras 44, 98-100)

3. 

Actions for annulment — Review of legality — Criteria — Account taken only of elements of fact and law existing at the date on which the contested measure was adopted

(Art. 263 TFEU)

(see para. 70)

4. 

Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Assessment of the duty to state reasons by reference to the circumstances of the case

(Arts 263 TFEU and 296 TFEU)

(see paras 79, 80)

5. 

European Union public contracts — Tender procedure — Duty to comply with the principles of equal treatment of tenderers and transparency — Scope — Obligation to formulate clearly, precisely and unequivocally the conditions and procedures for awarding the contract

(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012, Art. 102(1))

(see paras 94-96)

6. 

European Union public contracts — Tender procedure — Submission of tenders and requests to participate — Submission of variants — Distinct from the use of differentials to improve a tender

(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012, Art. 111)

(see para. 156)

7. 

European Union public contracts — Tender procedure — Award of contracts — Most economically advantageous tender — Award criteria — Observance of the principle of equal treatment of tenderers and of the principle of transparency — No obligation to establish a weighting for the sub-criteria of award criteria provided for in the tender specifications or contract notice

(Commission Regulation No 1268/2012, Art. 149(3))

(see paras 162, 166, 211, 214)

8. 

Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision, in the procedure for the award of a public service contract, not to accept a tender — Obligation to communicate, following a written request, the characteristics and relative advantages of the tender accepted and the name of the tenderer — No obligation on the awarding authority to provide a detailed comparative analysis of the tender accepted and the tender of the unsuccessful tenderer

(Art. 296 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012, Art. 113(2); Commission Regulation No 1268/2012, Art. 161(2) and (3))

(see paras 203, 238, 333, 334, 343)

9. 

European Union public contracts — Tender procedure — Award of contracts — Award criteria — No obligation expressly to state, in the call for tenders, factors relevant for assessing tenders in relation to a quality criterion, but obvious to a diligent tenderer

(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012, Art. 110)

(see para. 217)

10. 

European Union public contracts — Tender procedure — Award of contracts — Award criteria — Criterion relating to the existence of an on-call and assistance service established at a given place in a Member State — Lawfulness — No infringement of the principle of non-discrimination on the ground of nationality

(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012, Art. 110)

(see paras 223, 225-227)

11. 

European Union public contracts — Tender procedure — Award of contracts — Most economically advantageous tender — Award criteria — Choice of the contracting authorities — Criteria not exclusively quantitative — Lawfulness — Criterion attaching importance to the presentation of the tenders — Lawfulness

(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012, Art. 110; Commission Regulation No 1268/2012, Art. 149(2))

(see paras 258, 259)

12. 

Actions for annulment — Grounds — Misuse of powers — Concept

(Art. 263 TFEU)

(see para. 323)

Re:

APPLICATION based on Article 263 TFEU and seeking annulment of the Commission’s decision rejecting the tender submitted by the applicant for Lot No. 4, entitled ‘streaming, compression, hosting and content delivery’ in the call for tenders bearing reference PO/2014 — 03/A4 and concerning ‘[i]ntegrated audiovisual production, dissemination and archiving services’, of the decision by which the Commission awarded that lot to the successful tenderer and of the contract for the supply of services concluded between the Commission and the successful tenderer.

Operative part

The Court:

1. 

Dismisses the action;

2. 

Orders TV1 GmbH to pay the costs.

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