Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 10 April 2014 — Evropaïki Dynamiki v Commission

(Case T‑340/09)

‛Public service contracts — Call for tenders by the Publications Office — Assistance in the provision of publishing and communication services in connection with the CORDIS website — Rejection of a tenderer’s offers and decision to award the contracts to other tenderers — Classification of the tenderer’s offer — Obligation to state reasons — Article 148(1) and (3) of the Implementing Rules — Manifest error of assessment — Non-contractual liability’

1. Judicial proceedings — Application initiating proceedings — Formal requirements — Identification of the subject matter of the dispute — Summary statement of pleas (Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 21, first para., and 53, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 44(1)(c)) (see para. 43)

2. EU public contracts — Conclusion of a contract following a call for tenders — Discretion of the institutions — Judicial review — Limits (see paras 50, 216)

3. 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 — Assessment having regard to information available to the applicant at the time the action brought (Art. 296 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1605/2002, Art. 100(2); Commission Regulation No 2342/2002, Art. 149(3)) (see paras 51-55, 104, 115)

4. EU public contracts — Conclusion of a contract following a call for tenders — Obligation on an institution to exercise its option to make contact with a tenderer after the opening of tenders — Condition — Exercise in compliance with the principles of sound administration, equal treatment, proportionality and legal certainty (Commission Regulation No 2342/2002, Art. 148(3)) (see paras 168-172)

5. Judicial proceedings — Examination of the substance before examination of admissibility — Lawfulness (see para. 190)

6. EU public contracts — Tender procedure — Duty to comply with the principle of equal treatment of tenderers — Scope (see para. 195)

7. Non-contractual liability — Conditions — Unlawfulness — Damage — Causal link — Cumulative conditions — One of the conditions not satisfied — Action dismissed in its entirety (Art. 340, second para., TFEU) (see para. 286)

8. Non-contractual liability — Conditions — Causal link — Concept — Burden of proof (Art. 340, second para., TFEU) (see para. 287)

9. Judicial proceedings — Costs — Burden — Exceptional circumstances — Applicant incited by the defendant to bring the action by reason of insufficient statement of reasons for the contested decision (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 87(2) and (3)) (see paras 301, 302)

Re:

APPLICATION, first, for annulment of the decision of the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, notified to the applicant by letter of 9 June 2009, not to select its tenders submitted in response to call for tender No 10017 (CORDIS) in relation to Lot B, entitled ‘Editorial and publishing services’, and Lot C, entitled ‘Provision of New Digital Information Services’, respectively, and to place its tender, submitted in response to that call for tenders in third position for Lot E, entitled ‘Development and Maintenance of Core Services’, and, second, for damages.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders Evropaïki Dynamiki — Proigmena Systimata Tilepikoinonion Pliroforikis kai Tilematikis AE to bear 90% of its own costs and 90% of the costs incurred by the European Commission and orders the Commission to bear 10% of its own costs and 10% of the costs incurred by Evropaïki Dynamiki — Proigmena Systimata Tilepikoinonion Pliroforikis kai Tilematikis.

Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 10 April 2014 — Evropaïki Dynamiki v Commission

(Case T‑340/09)

‛Public service contracts — Call for tenders by the Publications Office — Assistance in the provision of publishing and communication services in connection with the CORDIS website — Rejection of a tenderer’s offers and decision to award the contracts to other tenderers — Classification of the tenderer’s offer — Obligation to state reasons — Article 148(1) and (3) of the Implementing Rules — Manifest error of assessment — Non-contractual liability’

1. Judicial proceedings — Application initiating proceedings — Formal requirements — Identification of the subject matter of the dispute — Summary statement of pleas (Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 21, first para., and 53, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 44(1)(c)) (see para. 43)

2. EU public contracts — Conclusion of a contract following a call for tenders — Discretion of the institutions — Judicial review — Limits (see paras 50, 216)

3. 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 — Assessment having regard to information available to the applicant at the time the action brought (Art. 296 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1605/2002, Art. 100(2); Commission Regulation No 2342/2002, Art. 149(3)) (see paras 51-55, 104, 115)

4. EU public contracts — Conclusion of a contract following a call for tenders — Obligation on an institution to exercise its option to make contact with a tenderer after the opening of tenders — Condition — Exercise in compliance with the principles of sound administration, equal treatment, proportionality and legal certainty (Commission Regulation No 2342/2002, Art. 148(3)) (see paras 168-172)

5. Judicial proceedings — Examination of the substance before examination of admissibility — Lawfulness (see para. 190)

6. EU public contracts — Tender procedure — Duty to comply with the principle of equal treatment of tenderers — Scope (see para. 195)

7. Non-contractual liability — Conditions — Unlawfulness — Damage — Causal link — Cumulative conditions — One of the conditions not satisfied — Action dismissed in its entirety (Art. 340, second para., TFEU) (see para. 286)

8. Non-contractual liability — Conditions — Causal link — Concept — Burden of proof (Art. 340, second para., TFEU) (see para. 287)

9. Judicial proceedings — Costs — Burden — Exceptional circumstances — Applicant incited by the defendant to bring the action by reason of insufficient statement of reasons for the contested decision (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 87(2) and (3)) (see paras 301, 302)

Re:

APPLICATION, first, for annulment of the decision of the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, notified to the applicant by letter of 9 June 2009, not to select its tenders submitted in response to call for tender No 10017 (CORDIS) in relation to Lot B, entitled ‘Editorial and publishing services’, and Lot C, entitled ‘Provision of New Digital Information Services’, respectively, and to place its tender, submitted in response to that call for tenders in third position for Lot E, entitled ‘Development and Maintenance of Core Services’, and, second, for damages.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;