Information from the Commission - Guide to the Community rules on open government procurement
Date: 1987-12-31
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: public contract, services contract, supplies contract, user guide, works contract













EUR-Lex - 31987Y1231(01) - EN






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31987Y1231(01)

Information from the Commission - Guide to the Community rules on open government procurement  


Official Journal C 358 , 31/12/1987 P. 0001 - 0082 





GUIDE TO THE COMMUNITY RULES ON OPEN GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT (Provisional edition pending adoption of the new Council Directives) (87/C 358/01)INTRODUCTION The EC governments meeting in the European Council have recognized that the opening up of government procurement is a key component of the internal market programme aimed at turning the Community into a single large market by 1992.The liberalization has rightly been accorded a high priority, for the economic and political case for throwing government contracts open to EC-wide competition is compelling. Yet this huge sector of the economy - estimated at an average of 9 % of national GDP if only contracts placed by central and local government are considered, and as much as 15 % of GDP if nationalized industries are included - has traditionally been dominated by 'buy-national' policies, sustained by short-term thinking and regional and social considerations.Despite the liberalization objectives laid down in the Treaties and later in the general programmes for the abolition of restrictions on the right of non-nationals to set up in business in another Member State and to provide cross-frontier services, governments have continued to use public purchasing as an instrument of their economic policies and have kept much of their procurement closed to foreign competition. The economic cost of nationalistic government procurement policies is enormous, being estimated on average at around half of the entire Community budget. In the current economic climate, the Community cannot afford the luxury of such waste and to deny itself any longer the many benefits that will accrue from a genuine liberalization of this sector throughout the EC.What are these benefits?- First, the introduction of EC-wide competitive tendering for government procurement and construction contracts will greatly increase the opportunities of industry - manufacturers and construction contractors - to expand both on the Community and the home market. Expansion will enable economies of scale to be realized, thus reducing costs, while the spur of competition will stimulate efficiency. A considerable part of the resultant savings is likely to be put back into developing the businesses concerned through modernization of plant and infrastructure and research and development, leading to the creation of new jobs.- Secondly, governments and the users of the services they provide will benefit from a wider choice of goods and services both in terms of quality and price. Substantial savings in government budgets will be possible and the general public's wants will be satisfield at lower cost.As well as the direct benefits of allowing supply and demand to operate in these markets, the liberalization of public procurement will also have a profound effect on the structure of EC industry. At present, much of our industry, both in manufacturing and services, is handicapped by the smallness of its markets, which prevents firms becoming truly competitive at world level and facing the challenges posed by our major trading partners. In very many cases, the more or less systematic preference given in government purchasing and contracting to particular domestic firms has not paid off and has not produced anything like the benefits of which a continental-scale market similar to those of our trading partners such as the US is capable.Another potential spin-off of the denationalization of procurement, besides the impetus it will give to the restructuring and modernization of our industry, is the leverage it will provide for pushing through Community policies on standards and mutual recognition of qualifications via the obligation on authorities to refer to European standards or harmonization documents in quoting their technical specifications.In this way, it will contribute to breaking down technical barriers to trade in industrial products, which is one of the main objectives of the internal market programme.In view of the importance of the liberalization of public procurement for achieving a genuine common market by 1992, the Commission, as promised in the internal market White Paper and recommended by the European Council, has looked into ways of radically improving the anachronistic situation in this sector, while at the same time contributing to other Community policies such as regional and social policy, the policy of encouraging small firms and promoting research and development, and competition policy.The specific action on procurement is likely to be assisted by the new possibilities for cooperation between Community firms in this sector brought about by the changes in company law and taxation foreshadowed in the White Paper.As far as the specific action on procurement is concerned, in late 1986 the Commission sent the Council proposals to amend the present legislation, the 1971 'Works' Directive on public-sector construction contracts and the 1977 'Supplies' Directive on government purchasing.These first Directives were intended to harmonize tendering and award procedures and to provide common rules on technical specifications and the advertising of contracts. Yet despite some progress they have not matched up to expectations, because of improper transposition into national law in some cases and widespread abuse of exception clauses.In the light of experience the Commission has therefore proposed amendments to the legislation which should greatly improve the level of compliance and enforcement and help ensure that government purchasing and the placing of government construction contracts is more open and affords equal opportunities to firms from other Member States.It has also decided to set up an Advisory Committee on the Opening-up of Public Procurement to serve as a medium of constant and close communication between itself and business interests involved in government contracts.In addition, the Commission has put forward a proposal to enable it to intervene directly in tendering or award procedures to prevent breaches of the Community rules and to afford suppliers and contractors rapid relief against illegal behaviour by authorities while the award procedure is still pending.Proposals are also being prepared to extend the legislation to the sectors hitherto excluded, namely public energy, water, transport and telecommunications services. This extension will have a significant economic impact because it is mainly in these sectors that public purchasing is on a sufficiently large scale for liberalization to give a major boost to the international competitiveness of suppliers.In telecommunications, the Community has since 1983 been pursuing a global policy, which has already seen the adoption by the Council of a Directive (86/361/EEC) on the mutual recognition by national type-approval authorities of the results of tests for conformity with common technical specifications for terminal equipment carried out by nationally approved testing laboratories, and of a Decision (87/95/EEC) requiring public authorities to refer to harmonized standards in their equipment tenders. In 1984 the Council also issued a recommendation providing for an experimental phase of opening up telecommunications procurement to suppliers in other countries. In a recent Green Paper on telecommunications the Commission has proposed pressing ahead with this liberalization process by gradually increasing the proportion of equipment purchases covered by the recommendation and if necessary converting the recommendation into a Directive. It has also proposed including in the 1986 Directive provision for mutual recognition of type-approval procedures for terminal equipment.Finally, moves are planned in the near future to open up public procurement of services to EC-wide competition to a greater extent than is provided for in the present 'Works' and 'Supplies' Directives.While this legislation is in the pipeline, it is important to make sure that the present Directives are correctly interpreted and properly applied. The Commission therefore intends to greatly tighten up its enforcement of the Community rules on open public-sector procurement. But to improve enforcement the Commission believes it is essential to increase public awareness: hence this Guide explaining the rules and how they are interpreted. The Guide will not answer every question or dispel every doubt that can arise in such a vast and complex subject as public purchasing and contracting. But it should be a useful aid to understanding the reasons behind the Community legislation and avoiding misinterpretation by national authorities.This first edition of the Guide will be regularly updated and improved to take account of new legislation and users' comments, which the Commission welcomes.TABLE OF CONTENTS PageSummary . 9PART I: GENERAL RULES OF THE TREATIES AS THEY APPLY TO GOVERN-MENT PROCUREMENT AND CONSTRUCTIONI. Prohibition of measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions in intra-Community trade1. In the EEC Treaty .  92. In the European Coal and Steel Community Treaty . 113. In the Euratom Treaty . 11II. Right of establishment1. In the EEC Treaty . 112. In the European Coal and Steel Community Treaty . 123. In the Euratom Treaty . 12III. Freedom to provide services1. In the EEC Treaty . 132. In the European Coal and Steel Community Treaty . 143. In the Euratom Treaty . 14PART II: SPECIFIC COMMUNITY LEGISLATION ON GOVERNMENT PROCURE-MENT AND CONSTRUCTIONI. Objectives and scope of the 'Supplies' and 'Works' Directives1. Objectives . 152. Legal effect of the Directives . 153. Arrangement of material . 16II. Government procurement: the 'Supplies' Directive 77/62/EEC, as amended by Directive 80/767/EEC1. Scope of the Directive: 'public supply contracts' . 16- Meaning of 'supplier' . 16- Meaning of 'contracting authority' . 16- Form of contracts . 16- Borderline with 'Works' contracts . 162. Exclusions . 17- Value threshold . 17- Calculation of contract value . 17- Public utilities . 18- Exclusions . 18- Defence procurement . 193. Advertising rules . 19- Layout of tender notices . 19- Content of tender notices . 19- National advertising of tenders . 20- Specification of time limits . 20- EC-wide advertising . 20- Other sources of information on tenders . 214. Rules on technical specifications . 215. Tendering procedures . 21- Exceptions . 22- Time limits . 22- Invitations to tender . 23- Transmission of applications and invitations to tender . 23Page6. Method of calculating time limits . 237. Criteria for disqualifying or eliminating applicants and bidders . 23- Grounds for disqualification . 24- Registration . 24- Evidence of financial and technical capacity . 24- Financial capacity . 24- Technical capacity . 25- Additional information . 258. Award criteria . 25- Abnormally low tenders . 26- Exception . 26III. Government construction contracts: the 'Works' Directive 71/305/EEC1. Scope of the Directive: 'public works contracts' . 26- Meaning of 'contractor' . 27- Meaning of 'authority awarding contracts' . 27- Form of contracts . 272. Exclusions . 27- Value threshold . 27- Calculation of contract value . 27- Public utilities . 28- Contracts awarded under international agreements or under the specific procedure of an international organization . 28- Contracts in which the consideration consists in a franchise to operate the completed works ('concession contracts') . 283. Advertising rules . 29- Content of tender notices . 29- Specification of time limits . 29- Layout of tender notices . 30- National advertising of tenders . 30- EC-wide advertising . 30- Other sources of information on tenders . 304. Rules on technical specifications . 31- Meaning of 'technical specifications' . 31- Prohibition of discriminatory specifications . 31- Standards . 31- Costing of tenders . 315. Tendering procedures . 31- Exceptions . 31- Time limits . 32- Invitations to tender . 33- Transmission of applications and invitations to tender . 336. Method of calculating time limits . 337. Criteria for disqualifying or eliminating applicants . 33- Grounds for disqualification . 33- Registration . 34- Evidence of financial and technical capacity . 34- Financial capacity . 34- Technical capacity . 35- Additional information . 35- Official lists of approved contractors . 35Page8. Award criteria . 36- Abnormally low tenders . 36- Exception . 37IV. Public works contracts in which the consideration consists in a franchise to operate the completed works ('concession contracts') and subcontracting under such contracts1. Principal contracts . 372. Subcontracts . 38V. Telecommunications1. General policy . 382. Council Directive 86/361/EEC . 393. Recommendation 84/550/EEC . 39PART III: SANCTIONS AND MEANS OF REDRESS IF THE COMMUNITY RULES ARE BROKEN . 40PART IV: COMPETITIVE TENDERING FOR EC-FUNDED PROJECTS . 41Annex III: Proposals for further liberalization of government procurement and construction by 1992 . 42Annex III: Tables I to XI . 44Annex III: The prohibition of 'measures having equivalent effect' to quantitative restrictions on trade in Article 30 of the EEC Treaty . 80SUMMARY This Guide is divided into four parts:- Part I summarizes Community law on the prohibition of measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions in intra-Community trade and of restrictions on the right of EC nationals to set up in business and to provide services in any Member State (the 'right of establishment' and 'freedom to provide services').These are general rules, and consequently they must be observed even in the award of public procurement and construction contracts not subject to the specific rules for EC-wide competitive tendering for such contracts introduced by the Directives.- Part II provides a detailed analysis of the 'Supplies' and 'Works' Directives and the special provisions for construction contracts involving the grant of a franchise to operate the completed works and for telecommunications procurement.- Part III outlines the sanctions the Commission can impose for breach of the Community competitive tendering rules in public-sector procurement and construction and gives advice about filing complains with the Commission and action in national courts.- In Part IV, finally, attention is drawn to the requirement for compliance with the competitive tendering rules by promoters of projects receiving EC funding.Annex I gives a preview of the further liberalization of public-sector procurement planned by 1992 and of the proposals the Commission is making to the Council for this purpose.Annex II contains the various lists referred to in the Guide.Annex III explains in more detail the prohibition of measures having equivalent effect to quantitative restrictions.PART I GENERAL RULES OF THE TREATIES AS THEY APPLY TO GOVERNMENTPROCUREMENT AND CONSTRUCTIONI.  Prohibition of measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions in intra-Community trade1.  In the EEC TreatyFree trade in goods is one of the cornerstones of the common market.A basic principle of free trade is the absence of quantitative restrictions (quotas) on imports or exports or of any measures having equivalent effect. In the EEC Treaty these are prohibited by Articles 30 et seq.Articles 30 et seq. apply both to goods originating in the Member States and to goods previously imported from non-EC countries.A measure having an effect (;) equivalent to a quantitative restriction means any measure, be it a law or regulation, an administrative practice, or an act of, or attributable to, a public authority, that is capable of hindering, directly or indirectly, actually or potentially, intra-Community trade.Such measures may discriminate between domestic and imported or exported products or they may apply to domestic and imported products alike.A requirement for import or export licences is an example of a measure falling within the first category. There are a number of statutory exceptions to the prohibition of measures in this category, however, which are listed in Article 36.(;) The concept of measures having equivalent effect to quantitative restrictions is explained more fully in Annex III to the Guide.This allows Member States to maintain in force or introduce prohibitions or restrictions on imports, exports or goods in transit justified on grounds of public morality, public policy or public security, the protection of health and life of humans, animals or plants, the protection of national treasures possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value, or the protection of industrial and commercial property, provided that the prohibitions or restrictions do not constitute a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade between Member States.The second category, measures that are equally applicable to domestic and imported products, mainly comprises regulations prescribing technical requirements, quality standards, or testing and type-approval procedures that have to be satisfied by any product, domestic or imported of a certain kind that is put on sale on the domestic market. The majority of such regulations are introduced for consumer protection, environmental or health and safety reasons. However, such regulations are contrary to Article 30 if their trade-restricting effect is disproportionate to the essential requirement of public interest which they are intended to safeguard. The general rule applicable to regulations on technical requirements is that of mutual recognition by Member States of each other's quality standards, composition rules, national testing and certification procedures, etc.In future Community harmonization will normally only relate to features affecting essential requirements, where these can be established.With the drive to create a unified market by 1992, it is important that no new barriers to trade in the Community should be introduced in the name of essential technical requirements.The new Article 100A inserted into the Treaty by the Single European Act should considerably facilitate this task. It provides for the Commission's proposals for harmonization of health and safety, environmental protection and consumer protection legislation to be based on high standards (so that it will only in exceptional circumstances be possible to restrict products meeting the Community standards on the grounds of essential technical requirements not met by the products) and lays down a more flexible, and hence faster, procedure for adopting such proposals.If, after the adoption of Community standards, a Member State wishes to insist on its own standards, on the grounds of major requirements covered by the Article 36 safeguard clause or relating to protection of the environment or working environment, it will have to justify such exceptional measures to the Commission or the European Court.The ban on measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions on trade in goods has a particularrelevance for government procurement. How the rule applies in this area was explained by the Commission in a Directive (70/32/EEC) of 17 December 1969 (;).It should be made clear that the Directive was issued to secure the abolition of such measures in the government procurement field that were in operation when the Treaty came into force. Since the end of the transitional period, the ban on such measures in public-sector purchasing has been directly applicable. For present purposes, therefore, the 1969 Directive only has the value of interpretative guidance.The Directive applies to products supplied to the State, regional or local authorities and any other body governed by public law. The products covered are stated to include those supplied for carrying out or completing construction works, whether pursuant to the contract for the construction works or separately. To this extent, the prohibition of measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions on trade is seen to cover also public-sector construction contracts.The Directive gives clear and practical guidance on the types of barriers in this sector that can be equivalent to quantitative restrictions.Two main categories of measures are identified at a general level:(a)  those which totally or partially preclude the supply of imported products or make their supply more difficult or costly than that of domestic products; in other words, measures which, for example, explicitly or implicitly prevent the supply of foreign products, limit the quantities or qualities of them used, or make their acceptance subject to quality or technical requirements not demanded of domestic products;(b)  those which favour the supply of domestic products by reserving all or part of a given order or market to products of domestic origin or grant domestic products or particular domestic suppliers preferential treatment, other than aid falling within Article 92 of the Treaty, subject to conditions or otherwise.The Directive also gives examples of provisions that can have an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions:- Provisions that discriminate against imported products in the requirements for the lodging of security or deposits or(;) OJ N° L 13, 19. 1. 1970, p. 1.require the suppliers of imported products only to open a postal or bank account. Such provisions make the supply of imported products more difficult or costly than that of domestic products.- Provisions making the supply of imported products conditional on the granting of reciprocity by the exporting Member State. These can include rules whereby imported products are only licensed for sale or granted the same favourable terms as domestic products if the importing Member State's products are accorded similar treatment in the exporting Member State.- Technical requirements which, though equally applicable to domestic and imported products, have restrictive effects on trade.Such requirements can relate to the quality, composition, mechanical, physical or chemical properties, or certification or testing of the products to be purchased by the procurement authority and may be based on general regulations or contract specifications. They come within the definition of measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions whenever they make the supply of imported products more difficult or costly than that of domestic products without this being justified by a legitimate requirement.2.  In the European Coal and Steel Community TreatyArticle 4 of the ECSC Treaty lists among the measures which the signatories recognize as incompatible with a common market for coal and steel and consequently undertake to abolish and prohibit in the Community 'quantitative restrictions on the movement of products'.The second paragraph of Article 86 provides that 'Member States undertake to refrain from any measures incompatible with the common market referred to in Articles 1 and 4'.Together, these provisions prohibit quantitative restrictions and measures having equivalent effect in trade in coal and steel products, in the same way as Articles 30 et seq. of the EEC Treaty.They apply both to products originating in the Community and products originating in non-member countries in free circulation in the Community, as defined in the Common Customs Tariff.3.  In the Euratom TreatyArticle 93 of the Euratom Treaty similarly prohibits quantitative restrictions in intra-Community trade in nuclear materials of the types listed in Lists A1 and A2 of Annex IV to the Treaty and of those listed in List B of Annex IV that are subject to a common customs tariff and accompanied by a certificate issued by the Commission stating that they are intended to be used for nuclear purposes.Like the corresponding provisions of the EEC Treaty, Article 93 is directly applicable.II.  Right of establishment1.  In the EEC TreatyThe economic and social integration of the Community requires not only free trade in goods but also free movement of persons. The Treaty therefore provides for the right of Community nationals to take up residence and employment and to set up in business in another Member State than their own, and to provide services in another Member State than their own without actually setting up there. The right of individuals and companies to set up in business in another Member State, the 'right of establishment', is regulated by Articles 52 et seq.Under these provisions, Member States are obliged to allow individuals and companies from other Member States to establish and carry on a business or self-employed activities in their territory under the conditions laid down for their own nationals, subject to the Treaty's provisions on capital movements (;). The principle of equality of treatment with the Member States' own nationals applies, with one exception, to all forms of business and self-employment, including those involving the setting up of agencies, branches or subsidiaries and the formation and management of companies or firms.The exception, in the first paragraph of Article 55, is for 'activities connected, even occasionally, with the exercise of official authority'. However, this exception is construed strictly. In Reyners v. Belgium the Court of Justice held that having regard to the fundamental character of freedom of establishment and the rule on national treatment in the system of the Treaty, the exceptions allowed by the first paragraph of Article 55 could not be given a scope that would exceed the objective for which this exemption clause was inserted. The purpose of Article 55 being to enable Member(;) In Chapter 4 of Part Two, Title III, of the Treaty.States to exclude non-nationals from taking up functions involving the exercise of official authority which were connected with one of the activities of self-employed persons provided for in Article 52, this need was fully satisfied when the exclusion of non-nationals was limited to those of the activities referred to in Article 52 which in themselves involved a direct and specific connection to the exercise of official authority (;).The right of establishment is enjoyed both by individuals and by companies or firms having their registered office, central administration or principal place of business within the Community. 'Companies or firms' are defined as 'companies or firms constituted under civil or commercial law, including cooperative societies, and other legal persons governed by public or private law, save for those which are non-profit-making.'The Treaty provided for the restrictions on establishment that were in operation when the Treaty came into force to be abolished during the transitional period and forbade the Member States to introduce new restrictions.The prohibition of such restrictions applies both to direct and indirect discrimination.Direct discrimination is involved where aliens have to comply with special rules or requirements not applicable to nationals. In 1962 the Council published a general programme for the abolition of restrictions on freedom of establishment that were in operation when the Treaty came into force, which gives a non-exhaustive list of such directly discriminatory provisions ($). This lists the following requirements or restrictions: official authorization, prior residence, special taxes or requirements for provision of security, restrictions on access to credit, exclusion from training or social security provision, prohibition from entering into or bidding for contracts, from being awarded official licences or franchises or from purchasing goods, borrowing, receiving State aid, suing or being sued, or joining trade or professional associations.'Indirect discrimination is disguised behind provisions applicable to nationals and aliens alike which nevertheless do not ensure equal treatment. The general programme defined such indirect discrimination as: 'any requirement imposed, pursuant to any provision laid down by law, regulation or administrative action or in consequence of any administrative practice, in respect of the taking up or pursuit of an activity as a self-employed person where, although applicable irrespective of nationality, their effect is exclusively or principally to hinder the taking up or pursuit of such activity by foreign nationals'.The inclusion of indirect discrimination in the prohibition was confirmed by the European Court of Justice in Thieffry(¹) Case 2/74 (1974) ECR 631-5 (paragraphs 43, 44 and 54).($) OJ No 2, 15. 1. 1962, p. 36/62 (English Special Edition, Second Series, January 1974, IX. Resolutions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Member States, p. 7).v. Conseil de l'ordre des avocats à la Cour de Paris. There the Court held that it was necessary to eliminate not only overt discrimination, but also any form of disguised discrimination, such as was found in requirements which, although applicable irrespective of nationality, had the effect of exclusively or principally hindering the taking up or pursuit of such activity by foreign nationals (=).The special treatment of aliens on grounds of public policy, public security or public health is excepted from the freedom of establishment rules, just as restrictions on trade may be.The Court of Justice has established that since the end of the transitional period the rule that Member States must accord national treatment to other Member States' nationals wishing to set up in business in their territory has been directly applicable. This means that Member States cannot maintain or introduce restrictions on establishment in a particular sector on the ground that there has not been any Community-wide harmonization of the relevant provisions.However, restrictions based on genuine differences in the qualifications the host Member State and the alien's Member State require for certain occupations do not infringe the principle of national treatment and are legitimate. To help remove such barriers, the Treaty provided for the issue of Directives for the mutual recognition of qualifications. It is usually also necessary to accompany mutual recognition Directives with Directives to coordinate national rules on access to and practice of the occupation.2.  In the European Coal and Steel Community TreatyThe ECSC Treaty has no provisions on the right of establishment. Articles 52 et seq. of the EEC Treaty are consequently applicable to the fields covered by the ECSC Treaty, as they do not conflict with provisions of that Treaty.3.  In the Euratom TreatyArticle 97 of the Euratom Treaty provides that no restrictions based on nationality may the applied to natural or legal persons, whether public or private, under the jurisdiction of a Member State, where they desire to participate in the construction of nuclear installations of a scientific of industrial nature in the Community.This provision guarantees inter alia the right to set up and carry on a business in connection with the construction of such installations and is directly applicable. In so far as Articles 52 et seq. of the EEC Treaty do not conflict with provisions of the Euratom Treaty, they too are applicable in the nuclear field.(=) Case 71/76 (1977) ECR 765 and 777 (paragraph 13).III.  Freedom to provide services1.  In the EEC TreatyThe EEC Treaty also guarantees the right of nationals of one Member State to provide services in another Member State without actually setting up in business there. The freedom of services enshrined in Articles 59 et seq.  is, like the right of establishment, governed by the principle of national treatment: 'The person providing a service may, in order to do so, temporarily pursue his activity in the State where the service is provided, under the same conditions as are imposed by that State on its own nationals' (;).As in the case of restrictions on establishment the Treaty required restrictions on freedom to provide services existing when the Treaty came into force to be abolished during the transitional period and forbade the introduction of new restrictions.The basic difference between the right of establishment and free provision of services is that the former involves a permanent business establishment in the host country, whilst the latter involves only temporary residence in the other Member State where the service is provided.The freedom to provide services covers the performance of services normally performed for gain in a Member State other than that of the provider of the services, where the services are not otherwise governed by the Treaty's provisions on freedom of movement for goods, capital and persons (in which case those special provisions are applicable). Services are stated to include activities of an industrial and commercial character and activities of craftsmen and the professions.Transport services are excluded from the general freedom of services and governed exclusively by the rules on transport ($). There is also a special rule for banking and insurance services. These are to be liberalized in step with the progressive liberalization of capital movements.The exceptions made in the establishment rules for activities connected with the exercise of official authority and for restrictions on grounds of public policy, public security and public health also apply to the provision of services.Under the principle of national treatment all laws, regulations, administrative provisions and practices capable of restricting or impeding access to or the practice of(;) Third paragraph of Article 60.($) Part Two, Title IV, of the Treaty.self-employed occupations in the services sector by other Member States' nationals or subjecting other Member States' nationals to different treatment from the Member State'sown nationals are prohibited. Differences of treatment need not be based on rules that overtly discriminate between nationals and aliens but on rules applicable to both.As in the case of restrictions on establishment, reference to the Council's general programme for the removal of restrictions on cross-frontier provision of services in effect when the Treaty came into force (=) is instructive. This gives the following examples of the types of restrictions prohibited:(a)  Rules or practices applicable or applied solely to aliens which directly restrict their ability to provide services, such as those which prohibit aliens from providing the service, require aliens wishing to provide the service to have a special permit or to fulfil additional requirements, increase the cost of the service provided by aliens by levying special taxes on them or requiring them to lodge a deposit or provide security in the host country, or restrict aliens' access to supplies or distribution channels or increase the cost of such supplies or the use of distribution channels to aliens.(b)  Rules or practices applicable or applied solely to aliens which indirectly restrict their ability to provide services by denying, restricting, or imposing special conditions on, rights normally exercised when services are provided, such as the capacity to enter into contracts such as contracts for work or service contracts, and to exercise the rights under such contracts, the right to bid for or participate as a main or subcontractor in contracts placed by government or other public authorities, the right to borrow or take up credit, eligibility for direct or indirect government aid, the right to sue or be sued and to obtain judicial or administrative review.(c)  Rules and practices which, though applicable irrespective of nationality, hinder particularly or exclusively aliens in providing services.As in the case of the right of establishment, restrictions on the provision of services by aliens may be justified by differences in the qualifications the host Member State and the alien's Member State require for the occupation. To remove such barriers, Directives have been or are being issued on the(=) OJ No 2, 15. 1. 1962, p. 32/62 (English Special Edition, Second Series, January 1974, IX. Resolutions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Member States, p. 3.).mutual recognition of qualifications. Where the differences in training in the Member States require, the Directives also harmonize national training standards.In 1971 the Council issued a Directive (71/304/EEC) specifically concerned with restrictions on freedom to provide services in connection with public-sector construction contracts and with the award of such contracts to contractors acting through agents or branches (;).As in the case of the Commission Directive (70/32/EEC) on the abolition of restrictions on government procurement of goods, however, the Directive only applied to restrictions in effect when the Treaty came into force. For present purposes, with Articles 59 and 60 being directly applicable ($), the Directive is only of value as a source of interpretative guidance and for its definition of public works in Article 2, which is referred to in the currently applicable legislation governing the award of public-sector construction contracts (Council Directive 71/305/EEC of 26 July 1971), which will be discussed below.The Directive required Member States to abolish restrictions of the types referred to in Title III of the Council's general programmes on the abolition of restrictions on establishment and provision of services which affected the right of non-nationals to bid for, have awarded to them, perform or participate in the performance of public works contracts on behalf of the State, regional or local authorities or other public bodies.The restrictions to be abolished may be imposed by the State itself or by any public authority, as with the Directive on the abolition of restrictions on government procurement of goods.The services covered by the Directive are those listed in Major Group 40 'Construction', of the nomenclature of industries in the European Communities (NICE), which is reproduced in an appendix to the Directive.A list of typical restrictions, prohibited by Articles 59 et seq.,on the right of non-nationals to provide services in connection with public-sector construction contracts is given(;) OJ N° L 185, 16. 8. 1971, p. 1 (English Special Edition, 1971 (II), p. 678).($) Case 33/74 Van Binsbergen v. Bestuur van de Bedrijfsvereniging voor de Metaalnijverheid (1974) ECR 1299.in Directive 71/304/EEC (=). Three broad categories are distinguished:(a)  Restrictions that prevent aliens from providing services under the same conditions and with the same rights as nationals, and in particular laws, regulations and administrative provisions or practices that impose or permit discriminatory treatment of aliens by natural or legal persons who have been awarded a contract for the execution or management of works or a franchise for the operation of public services when they in their turn award contracts in respect of such works or services.(b)  Restrictions based on administrative practices that result in discriminatory treatment of aliens by comparison with nationals.(c)  Restrictions based on provisions which, though applicable irrespective of nationality, nonetheless particularly or exclusively hinder nationals of other Member States in practising particular occupations; discriminatory technical specifications not warranted by the subject matter of the contract are specifically referred to.The Directive also refers to restrictions on credit, on government financial assistance or subsidies available for public works projects, and on supplies over which the State has control.2.  In the European Coal and Steel Community TreatyLike the right of establishment, freedom of services is not regulated by the ECSC Treaty. Consequently, Articles 59 et seq. of the EEC Treaty are also applicable to the coal and steel industries, as the articles do not conflict with specific provisions of the ECSC Treaty.3.  In the Euratom TreatyArticle 97 of the Euratom Treaty banning discrimination based on nationality in connection with the construction of nuclear installations also applies to the provision of services in connection with such projects. In addition, Articles 59 et seq. of the EEC Treaty are applicable, in so far as they do not conflict with specific provisions of the Euratom Treaty.(=) Article 3(1) of Directive 71/304/EEC.PART II SPECIFIC COMMUNITY LEGISLATION ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT AND CONSTRUCTION I.  Objectives and scope of the 'Supplies' and 'Works' Directives1.  ObjectivesThe creation of a common market for public-sector procurement and construction contracts was unlikely to come about entirely as a result of the obligations Member States had undertaken in the Treaties to remove restrictions on foreign goods, services and businesses, discussed above. It was still likely to be frustrated by differences in national regulations. Community legislation was necessary to make sure that government contracts were open to all nationalities on equal terms and to make tendering procedures more transparent so that compliance with the principles laid down in the Treaties could be monitored and enforced.Therefore, to back up the prohibition of import restrictions resulting from discriminatory public purchasing and to make it easier for resident and non-resident foreign firms to compete for public-sector construction contracts and associated contracts for services, the Council issued two Directives to coordinate government procurement procedures: Directive 77/62/EEC of 21 December 1976 (;) on procurement of supplies and equipment (the 'Supplies' Directive) and Directive 71/305/EEC ($) on public works contracts (the 'Works' Directive).The coordination was undertaken in separate pieces of legislation because of the different characteristics of the two types of contract. It is based on three main principles:- Community-wide advertising of contracts so that firms in all Member-States have an opportunity of bidding for them.- The banning of technical specifications liable to discriminate against potential foreign bidders.- Application of objective criteria in tendering and award procedures.The latter principle is ensured by the following requirements:- Contracts are to be put out to open (open to all potential suppliers or contractors) or restricted (open only to selected potential suppliers or contractors) tender, at the choice of the authority placing the contract. Authorities may dispense with tendering only in specified exceptional circumstances.(;) OJ N° L 13, 15. 1. 1977, p. 1.($) OJ N° L 185, 16. 8. 1971, p. 5.- Suppliers may only be excluded from bidding (in restricted tenders) or from final selection on certain specified qualitative criteria (=).- Contracts may be awarded only on economic or technical criteria, namely either the lowest price or the economically most advantageous tender overall.The Directives apply to all public-sector procurement and construction contracts subject to the EEC, ECSC and Euratom Treaties, except in certain excluded sectors.The 'Supplies' Directive (77/62/EEC) was amended in 1980 to take account of the international agreement on government procurement negotiated in the Tokyo Round of trade liberalization talks in GATT, which committed the Community to granting suppliers and products from non-EC signatories of the GATT Agreement somewhat better access to certain types of EC Government procurement (notably purchasing by central government agencies and some defence procurement) than EC suppliers had under the 1977 Directive.The amending Directive (80/767/EEC of 22 July 1980) (%) extended these terms to EC suppliers.The basic provisions on public-sector procurement are still contained in the 1977 Directive, however.2.  Legal effect of the DirectivesArticle 189 of the EEC Treaty provides that Directives are binding on Member States as to the result to be achieved, but leave to the national authorities the choice of forms and methods.Member States are obliged to transpose the provisions of Directives into their national laws.(=) See Article 1 (c) of each of the Directives.(%) OJ N° L 215, 18. 8. 1980, p. 1.However, failure to do so does not make the Directives inapplicable.According to the Court of Justice's case law on direct effect, once the time limit for transposing a Directive into national law has passed any provisions of the Directive that are capable of directly affecting the legal relationship between the Member State to which the Directive was addressed and private individuals can be enforced by such individuals in the courts of the Member State, and the Member State cannot avoid such enforcement on the ground that the formalities for incorporating the Directive into its national law have not been completed or that contrary provisions still exist in its national law.To determine whether provisions are capable of having direct effect in this way, the Court has ruled that in each particular case the nature, background and wording of the provisions must be considered.This is generally the case where the provision imposes a clear, precise and unconditional obligation not leaving the Member State any discretion.3.  Arrangement of materialAs noted above, the Community rules on public-sector procurement and construction contracts (the 'Supplies' and 'Works' Directives) are similar in content and in the interpretation to be given to their individual provisions. For the convenience of users, who might be interested only in one or the other type of business, however, the Guide will deal with the two directives in separate chapters. Each chapter will explain the provisions of the Directive and give other relevant information and interpretative guidance.The choice of this arrangement inevitable involves a certain amount of repetition in the two chapters.II.  Government procurement: the 'Supplies' Directive 77/62/EEC, as amended by Directive 80/767/EEC1.  Scope of the Directive: 'public supply contracts'The Directive is stated to apply to 'public supply contracts'. These are defined in Article 1 as contracts for pecuniary consideration concluded in writing between a supplier and a contracting authority (purchasing or procurement agency) for the supply of products. The contract may, in addition, cover siting and installation work.Meaning of 'supplier'Suppliers may be companies, firms or individuals or groups (consortia) of such. Groups may not be required to assumeany particular legal form in order to bid for a contract but may be required to do so by the contracting authority if they are awarded the contract and if a change to this form is necessary for satisfactory performance of the contract (;).Meaning of 'contracting authority'The 'contracting authorities' whose purchasing is covered by the Directive are the State, regional or local authorities and 'legal persons governed by public law or, in Member States where the latter are unknown, bodies corresponding thereto', listed in Annex I to the Directive($).Form of contractsThe Directive applies to any contract in writing on the supply of goods for pecuniary consideration to the contracting authority, including rental and leasing as well as sale.Open or standing contracts between a purchasing entity and a supplier in which the purchasing entity undertakes to obtain at least part of its requirements over a certain period of time from the supplier and which stipulate many of the terms and conditions of sale though not the actual quantities or prices, are similar to contracts for a specific purchase. Such contracts come within the provisions of the Directive, and thus must be advertised, if the total value of the purchases over the past year exceeded the threshold and this situation is not expected to change significantly (=).Borderline with 'Works' contractsSupply contracts, according to the definition quoted above, may include siting and installation work, i.e. services necessary to make the products supplied operational.A problem of distinguishing such contracts from public works contracts may arise in borderline cases, such as where construction materials are supplied for a construction project and the supplier is also responsible for installing or incorporating them on site.This question is decided, in line with the definition of(;) Article 18.($) See list in Table I of Annex II to the Guide.(=) This solution was adopted at the 12th meeting of the Advisory Committee for Public Contracts on 17/18 May 1978.procurement in the GATT code (Article 1(1)(a)) (;) by the relative values of the goods and services elements in the contract.If the value of the goods to be supplied exceeds that of the services to be performed, then it is a supply contract. If, on the other hand, the services included in the contract are construction or civil engineering works of the types listed in Directive 71/304/EEC ($) and their value exceeds that of the goods, it is a public works contract.2.  ExclusionsProcurement falling below certain value thresholds, by certain public utilities and in certain other specified circumstances is excluded from the scope of the legislation. In case of doubt as to whether or not a contract is covered, it is strongly recommended that advice be sought from the Commission.Value thresholdThe threshold value from which a procurement contract becomes subject to the legislation is, in general, 200 000 ECU (European currency units) before VAT. All procurement contracts with an estimated value before VAT of 200 000 ECU or over are subject to the provisions of Directive 77/62/EEC.Contracts awarded by the entities listed in Annex I to Directive 80/767/EEC (=) and, to the extent that rectifications, modifications or amendments have been made, their successor entities however, come within the scope of the legislation from a different threshold, which is determined by the GATT code and is adjusted each year in line with exchange rate variations. The special GATT threshold only applies to contracts for sale, and not to rental or leasing contracts (which are not covered by Directive 77/62/EEC).Also, the authorities listed in Annex I to the 1980 Directive that operate in the field of defence are only subject to it when they purchase the products listed in Annex II to Directive 80/767/EEC(%).(;) OJ N° L 71, 17. 3. 1980, p. 44.($) See List in Table V of Annex II to the Guide.(=) See List in Table II of Annex II to the Guide.(%) See List in Table III of Annex II to the Guide.The adjusted special threshold is published towards the end of each year in the 'C' (Information and Notices) series of the Official Journal of the European Communities (& ).The value thresholds in ECU for 1986 and 1987 are as follows (NB: all amounts before VAT):>TABLE>The national currency equivalents of the ECU thresholds are calculated at a fixed exchange rate, which is adjusted by the Commission at the end of October every two years to the average of the daily values of the currency against the ECU over the preceding 12 months and published in the 'C' (Information and Notices) series of the Official Journal of the European Communities in November, with effect from the following 1 January (6).The national currency equivalents of the thresholds applicable in 1987 are as follows:>TABLE>Calculation of contract valueThe way in which the value of procurement contracts is calculated may obviously affect whether or not they exceed the threshold. To ensure that identical calculation methods are used throughout the Community and to prevent evasion of the procurement rules by artificially low valuations, the Directive lays down the following rules:(5) For 1986 (OJ N° C 307, 28. 11. 1985, p. 2).For 1987 (OJ N° C 300, 25. 11. 1986, p. 2).(6) The 1986/87 rates were published in OJ N° C 307, 28. 11. 1985, p. 2.- Where contracts cover regular supplies or are renewed within a given period, the total value of the supplies over the 12 months following the first supply or over the term of the contract, if more than 12 months, is to be taken.- Where supplies of a certain type are purchased simultaneously in separate lots, the total estimated value of the lots is to be taken.- It is prohibited to split up a purchase with the intention of evading the rules of the Directive.In the case of rental and leasing contracts, the Commission has decided that the value over the following periods should be taken (1):(a)  In the case of fixed-term contracts, the total contract value during the year following its entry into force, or where its term exceeds 12 months, its total value.(b)  In the case of contracts concluded for an indefinite period, the monthly instalment under the contract multiplied by 48.(c)  If there is any doubt, the second basis of calculation is to be used, namely 48 months.Public utilitiesThe contracting authorities to which the Community provisions on public supplies contracts apply have already been examined.Directive 77/62/EEC excludes from its scope contracts awarded by 'bodies which administer transport services,  . . . production, distribution and transmission or transport services for water or energy and telecommunications services' (Article 2(2).The Commission emphasizes that, qua exceptions from the rules of the Directive, these exclusions must be construed strictly.In the transport sector the exception covers organizations actually undertaking the carriage of passengers or goods, but not, for example, those running ports or airports, which are covered by the Directive.In the water and energy sectors, only services whose specific function is the production, transport or distribution of water(1) This formula was approved by the Advisory Committee for Public Contracts at its 22nd meeting on 22 November 1982 and officially communicated to the Member States by letter on 19 January 1983.or energy are excepted. Thus, for example, a public hospital purchasing its own electricity generator or water-collection equipment would be covered by the Directive.As far as water services are concerned, the exception only applies to services undertaking the collection, supply and distribution of drinking water, i.e. generally water that has been purified, for residential or industrial use. River management, irrigation, drainage and sewerage services are covered by the Directive.Thus, it is the specific function of the service or organization that must be considered in determining whether the rules of the Directive apply.Where an organization provides several services at once, for example a local authority combining the functions of sewage treatment and drinking-water supply, only contracts relating to the latter services are excepted.In telecommunications, the Commission only regards as operators of telecommunications services excluded from the Directive those organizations whose main function is to provide a public telecommunication network (2). Hence, an organization setting up a telecommunications system to give early warning of earthquakes, volcanic activity, etc., would be covered by the Directive.Of course, the Directive only applies to organizations awarding such contracts if they fall within the Directive's definition of contracting authority.ExclusionsThe Directive does not apply to public contracts awarded subject to different procedural rules under an international agreement between a Member State and one or more non-member countries and concerning supplies for the implementation or exploitation of a joint project (3) or under an international agreement on the stationing of troops.(2) This interpretation was communicated to the Member States by letter of 30 June 1980 after the Advisory Committee for Public Contracts had been consulted on the matter at its 17th meeting of 22 May 1980.(3) All such agreements must be communicated to the Commission.Also excluded are contracts awarded under the particular mandatory procedure of an international organization (Article 3).Defence procurementThe Community rules on government procurement have often not been properly applied to procurement by defence agencies. The Commission would stress that most procurement by such agencies is subject to the rules.The only defence procurement contracts not subject to the rules are those concerning products for specifically military purposes, i.e. arms, munitions and war material, which are covered by Article 223 of the EEC Treaty. A list of these products was published in a Council Decision of 15 April 1958.Products which, though on this list, are not for specifically military purposes, and products not on the list are subject to the Community procurement rules in Directive 77/62/EEC, as amended by Directive 80/767/EEC.3.  Advertising rulesAll open and restricted tenders for contracts subject to the provisions of the Directives must be advertised in the Supplement ('S' series) to the Official Journal of the European Communities, so that firms in all the Member States know of the contracts and have the necessary information to judge whether the contracts interest them.However, tenders for contracts with a value ranging between the GATT threshold and the general 200 000 ECU threshold that are to be awarded by the entities listed in Annex I to Directive 80/767/EEC need not be advertised in the Official Journal if the GATT Agreement requires them to be advertised in another official (national) publication.Nevertheless, although not under any obligation to do so, most Member States advertise such tenders in the Official Journal.Layout of tender noticesIn the notices advertising tenders, certain specified items of information must be included and must be presented inaccordance with the models in Annex III to Directive 77/62/EEC (1). The standard content and layout saves time and ensures that all tenders give the same amount of information.Content of tender noticesThe information that is mandatory in tender notices is listed in Articles 13, 14, 15 (d) and 25 (2) of the Directive.In open tenders the notice must state at least the following:(a)the date on which the notice was sent for publication to the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities;(b)the tendering procedure;(c)the place of delivery, the nature and quantity of the goods to be supplied, and, if the contract is divided into several lots, whether suppliers may tender for some and/or all of the goods required;(d)any delivery date;(e)the address, telephone number and, where applicable, the telegraphic address and telex number of the authority placing the contract;(f)the address from which the tender documents may be obtained and the final date for requesting the documents; also the amount and terms of payment of any sum payable for the documents;(g)the closing date for receipt of tenders, the address to which they must be sent and the language or languages in which they must be submitted;(h)the persons authorized to be present at the opening of tenders and the date, time and place of opening;(i)information about deposits and any other guarantees, whatever their form, that may be required by the contracting authority;(j)the main terms of financing and payment and/or references to the legislation in which these are laid down;(k)the legal form which a consortium of suppliers may be required to take if awarded the contract;(l)the evidence and formalities required by the contracting authority to show that the supplier meets the minimum financial and technical standards (2);(1) See Table VIII in Annex II to the Guide.(2) Evidence of the absence of any of the grounds of disqualification, and financial and technical capacity, as specified in Articles 20, 22 and 23 of the Directive (see following Section 5).(m)the length of time during which tenders must remain open for acceptance;(n)the criteria, other than lowest price, on which the contract is to be awarded, if not stated in the tender documents.In restricted tenders, the notice must state at least the following:(a)the date on which the notice was sent for publication to the Office for Offical Publications of the European Communities;(b)the tendering procedure;(c)the place of delivery, the nature and quantity of the goods to be supplied, and, if the contract is divided into several lots, whether suppliers may tender for some and/or all of the goods required;(d)any delivery date;(e)the address, telephone number and, where applicable, the telegraphic address and telex number of the authority placing the contract;(f)the legal form which a consortium of suppliers may be required to take if awarded the contract;(g)the closing date for receipt of applications to tender, the address to which they must be sent and the language or languages in which they must be submitted;(h)the final date on which invitations to tender will be issued by the contracting authority;(i)the information required, in the form of verifiable statements, in the application to tender in order to disclose any grounds for disqualification, and the evidence and formalities required by the contracting authority to show that the supplier meets the minimum financial and technical standards (1);(j)the criteria on which the contract is to be awarded, if these are not to be stated in the invitation to tender.National advertising of tendersSo that suppliers throughout the Community can compete for tenders on equal terms, the Directive prescribes that the advertising of tenders in the official gazettes or press of the country of the procurement entity may not contain information other than that published in the Official Journal(1) As specified in Articles 20, 22 and 23 of the Directive (see also below).and that tenders may not be advertised nationally before the date of dispatch of the tender notice for EC-wide publication.It should be stressed that date of dispatch means what it says: the date on which the tender notice is actually sent to the Official Publications Office, and not the date shown on the documentation sent for publication, which may be much earlier. To ensure that this rule is observed, the Directive requires procurement authorities to be able to supply evidence of the date of dispatch.Specification of time limitsAnother point that needs emphasizing in connection with tender notices is the specification of closing dates and other time limits. These should be indicated clearly in the notice. It should not be made more difficult for suppliers from other countries to find out when the time limit is than for domestic suppliers.Thus, the Commission does not accept references to the date of publication of the notice in national or regional official gazettes, access to which is much more difficult for foreign firms.Time limits must be expressed either as a certain number of days from the date of publication of the notice in the Supplement to the Official Journal or as a specific date. The minimum time limits to be allowed in notices are given below (Section 5).EC-wide advertisingIn practice, the responsibility for EC-wide advertising of tenders is shared between the procurement authorities and the Official Publications Office. The procurement entity must supply a notice in the standard form and as far as possible using modern transmission methods to facilitate rapid publication. Notices should be sent to:Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Communities,Office for Offical Publications of the European Communities,2 rue Mercier,L-2985 Luxembourg.Tel. (352) 499 28 23 32.Telex 1324 PUBOF LU or 2731 PUBOF LU.Facsimile (352) 49 00 03 or (352) 49 57 19.The Publications Office has notices translated into the other EC languages and undertakes to publish them within the following periods:- nine days from dispatch of the notice for tenders subject to Directive 77/62/EEC,- 12 days from dispatch of the notice for tenders subject to Directive 80/767/EEC,- five days in accelerated procedures (restricted tenders only).The Supplement to the Official Journal is obtainable in all Member States from the addresses listed in Table VI (1).Other sources of information on tendersAll government tenders (procurement, construction and services) published in the Supplement to the Official Journal are also on the TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) computerized system, which is accessible through various host organizations.For further information, contact:Office for Official Publications of the European Comunities,Sales Department,L-2985 Luxembourg.Tel. (352) 49 92 82 563.Telex 1324 PUBOF LU.Facsimile (352) 49 00 03.Since October 1987 suppliers have also been able to obtain details of tenders from their local Euro-Info Centre, which stocks the Official Journal and is linked to the TED system (2). For further information contact:Commission of the European Communities,Smalls Firms Task Force,200 rue de la Loi,B-1049-Brussels.Tel. (02) 236 16 76.Telex 61655 BURAP B.Facsimile 236 12 41.4.  Rules on technical specificationsProcurement entities are required to state in the general documentation on the tender, such as the tender notice and tender documents, and in the actual contract documents the technical specifications to be met by the product or products concerned.Technical specifications are defined in Annex II to Directive 77/62/EEC as all the technical requirements, relating, for(1) See Annex II to the Guide.(2) See list of the Euro-Info Centres currently operating or planned in Table VII of Annex II to the Guide.example, to quality or performance, which objectively describe the product.They include all the relevant mechanical, physical and chemical properties, classifications and standards, and testing, inspection and acceptance requirements for the products required or their constituent parts or materials.The Directive's provisions on the standards that may be referred to as a means of defining technical specifications - i.e. in order of precedence, EC standards (in particular CEN and Cenelec, international standards, national standards and any other - must now be interpreted in the light of the European Court of Justice's case law on measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions. That is to say, if there are no EC standards, procurement authorities must consider products from other Member States manufactured to a different design but having equivalent performance on equal terms with products meeting national or other preferred standards.As a general rule, any technical specification that has the effect of favouring or eliminating particular firms or products is prohibited. It is up to the procurement authority to show that such discriminatory specifications are justified.When projects are put out to competitive tender or when bidders are invited to submit alternatives to the procurement authority's project, a supplier's tender may not be rejected solely on the ground that it has been prepared using different calculation methods from those normally used in the country of the procurement authority. However, tenderers must in that case include with their tenders all the evidence necessary for checking the project and supply the procurement authority with any clarifications it considers necessary.5.  Tendering proceduresPurchasing authorities have a choice between open tenders, whereby any interested supplier may immediately bid for the contract, or restricted tenders, whereby a selection is made from the suppliers who reply to the tender notice and the selected suppliers only are invited to bid.An accelerated form of restricted tender with shorter than normal time limits is permitted in cases of urgency when observance of the normal time limits is impracticable. Procurement entities must be able to prove the need for urgency.ExceptionsThe requirement for contracts to be put out to competitive tender is waived in, and only in, the circumstances specified in Article 6 of Directive 77/62/EEC. In those circumstances the purchaser can negotiate directly with a given supplier or suppliers without prior advertisement. It is up to the purchasing entity to prove that the circumstances obtain. They are:(a)where no suitable supplier was found in a previous open or restricted tender because no or only irregular bids were received or because the bids submitted were unacceptable under national provisions that are consistent with the Community rules on public-sector procurement, provided that the original terms for the contract - for example, as regards financing, delivery dates and in particular the technical specifications of the products - are not substantially altered (otherwise, the whole procedure must be recommenced with a re-advertisement of the tender);(b)where, for technical or artistic reasons or because of the existence of exclusive rights, there is only one supplier in the Community able to supply the product;(c)where the product is manufactured purely for the purposes of research, experiment, study or development;(d)in cases of extreme urgency resulting from unforeseen circumstances not attributable to the action of the procurement authority, where the time limits laid down in tendering procedures cannot be observed;(e)for additional deliveries by the original supplier required either as part replacement of regular supplies or equipment, or to extend existing supplies or equipment, where a change of supplier would compel the contracting authority to purchase equipment having different technical characteristics which would result in incompatibility or disproportionate technical difficulties of operation or maintenance;(f)for goods quoted and purchased on a commodity market in the Community (not applicable to purchases covered by Directive 80/767/EEC);(g)where supplies are classified as secret or where their delivery must be accompanied by special security measures under the law of the Member State of the purchasing authority, or where the protection of the basic interest of that State's security so requires.In the abovementioned exceptional circumstances, the award of contracts is exempt from the competitive tendering rules but is subject to the rules on technical specifications.Time limitsTo ensure that all potentially interested suppliers in the Community have a chance of bidding or applying to bid before the closing date, the two Directives prescribe minimum time limits for the receipt of bids and applications to tender and maximum time limits for procurement authorities to provide documentation and information. The time limits vary depending on whether the contract is covered by Directive 77/62/EEC or 80/767/EEC.Open tenders(a)  Closing date for receipt of tenders: at least:- Directive 77/62/EEC: 36 days,- Directive 80/767/EEC: 42 days,from dispatch of the tender notice for publication in the Official Journal;(b)  time limit for sending tender documents and supporting documentation (if requested within the time limit): no more than four working days from receipt of the request;(c)  time limit for sending additional information concerning the tender documents (if requested within the time limit): no more than six days before the closing date for receipt of tenders.Restricted tenders(a)  Closing date for receipt of applications to tender: at least:- Directive 77/62/EEC: 21 days (in accelerated procedures, 12 days),- Directive 80/767/EEC: 42 days (in accelerated procedures, 12 days),from dispatch of the tender notice for publication in the Official Journal;(b)  time limit for sending additional information concerning the tender documents (if requested within the time limit): no more than six days (in accelerated procedures, four days) before the closing date for receipt of tenders;(c)  closing date for receipt of tenders: at least:- Directive 77/62/EEC: 21 days (in accelerated procedures, 10 days),- Directive 80/767/EEC: 30 days (in accelerated procedures, 10 days),from the dispatch of the written invitations to tender.Both in open and restricted tenders, the closing date for receipt of tenders must be appropriately extended if tenderscan only be prepared after a visit to the site or after on-the-spot inspection of documentation supporting the tender documents.Invitations to tenderInvitations to tender issued to the suppliers selected from those who replied to a restricted tender notice must be sent to all the selected suppliers simultaneously and must be accompanied by the tender documents and any supporting documentation.Invitations to tender must contain at least the following:(a)the address from which other relevant documentation may be obtained and the closing date for requesting the documentation, also the amount and terms of payment of any sum payable for the documentation;(b)the closing date for receipt of tenders, the address to which they must be sent and the language or languages in which they must be submitted;(c)the persons authorized to be present at the opening of tenders and the date, time and place of opening;(d)information about deposits and any other guarantees, whatever their form, that may be required by the contracting authority;(e)the main terms of financing and payment and/or references to legislation in which these are laid down;(f)the length of time during which tenders must remain open for acceptance;(g)a reference to the tender notice published in the Official Journal;(h)any documents to be produced by the supplier to confirm the verifiable statements about his current standing and past record required under the terms of the tender notice in order to disclose any grounds for disqualification, or to supplement the evidence supplied under the terms of the tender notice that the supplier meets the minimum financial and technical standards;(i)the criteria on which the contract is to be awarded, if these were not stated in the tender notice.Transmission of applications and invitations to tenderApplications and invitations to tender under restricted tender subject to the ordinary time limits may be sent by letter,telegram, telex or facsimile. In the last three cases, however, they must be confirmed by letter.In restricted tenders subject to the accelerated procedure, applications and invitations to tender must be sent by the most rapid means; only applications to tender must be confirmed by letter.6.  Method of calculating time limitsAll time limits laid down in the Directives must be calculated by the method provided for in Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) N° 1182/71 of 3 June 1971 determining the rules applicable to periods, dates and time limits (1).Under these rules, periods expressed as a certain number of days from a certain event:(a)  run from the day following the day on which the event takes place;(b)  begin at 00h00 on the first day, as defined in (a), and end at 24h00 on the last day of the period;(c)  end, where the last day of the period falls on a public holiday, Saturday or Sunday and the period is not expressed in hours, at 24h00 on the following working day.Periods expressed as ending at a certain time on a certain date, which are common for certain acts to be performed by suppliers, end at the time and date stated.Periods include public holidays and weekends unless these are expressly excluded or the periods are expressed as a certain number of working days. Public holidays are all days designated as such in the Member State in which the relevant act has to be performed.For further details, reference should be made to the text of the Regulation.7.  Criteria for disqualifying or eliminating applicants and biddersIf procurement agencies could disqualify or eliminate applicants to bid or bidders on arbitrary grounds, this could defeat the purpose of opening up public-sector procurement to Community-wide competition.For this reason, the Directive specificies the only qualitative criteria on which applicants to bid or bidders may be(1) See text in Table XI of Annex II to the Guide.disqualified or eliminated and the evidence suppliers may be required to produce to show that they meet the criteria.Grounds for disqualificationArticle 20 of the Directive first lists all the circumstances relating to the suppliers which can be taken by the procurement authority as a ground for disqualifying the supplier from selection to bid or from consideration of his bid.Any supplier may be immediately disqualified who:(a)is bankrupt or being wound up, has ceased or suspended trading, or is operating under court protection pending a settlement with creditors, or is in an analogous situation arising from national proceedings of a similar nature;(b)is the subject of proceedings for bankruptcy, winding-up or court protection pending a settlement with creditors, or national proceedings of a similar nature;(c)has been convicted of an offence concerning his professional conduct by a judgment which has the force of res judicata;(d)can be shown by the contracting authority to have been guilty of grave professional misconduct;(e)has not fulfilled obligations relating to payment of social security contributions under the statutory provisions of his country of residence or of the country of the contracting authority;(f)has not fulfilled obligations relating to payment of taxes under the statutory provisions of his country of residence or the country of the contracting authority;(g)has been guilty of serious misrepresentation in supplying information about his current standing or past record or his financial or technical capacity.In cases (d) and (g) the burden of proof is on the procurement authority. In the other cases it is for the applicant or bidder, if asked to do so in the tender notice, to show that he is not in any of the specified situations.However, the evidence the procurement authority may require for this purpose is specified in the Article. It must accept as satisfactory evidence:- for cases (a), (b) and (c), the judicial record on the supplier or an equivalent document issued by a judicial or administrative authority in the supplier's country of origin or residence showing that none of these cases applies,- for cases (e) and (f), a certificate issued by the competent authority in the Member State concerned.If such documents or certificates are not issued by the country in question or if they do not cover all the cases referred to in (a), (b) and (c), the supplier may instead produce an affidavit sworn before a judicial or administrative authority, notary or any other competent authority in the Member State concerned.Instead of an affidavit, a solemn declaration may be provided.Affidavits and solemn declarations must be authenticated by the competent authority or notary.RegistrationTo prove their general commercial standing and fitness, suppliers may be required under Article 21 of the Directive to show that they are on an official register of business in their Member State of residence as required under that State's law. This of course means that a procurement authority may not make it a condition of acceptance of a supplier that he be on an official register in the authority's country.Evidence of financial and technical capacityUnder Article 17 of the Directive, suppliers not disqualified on any of the grounds of general unsuitability specified in Article 20 may only be eliminated from the suppliers from whom those invited to bid are selected or whose bids are considered on one of two sets of criteria, namely financial and technical capacity.Financial capacityUnder Article 22, evidence of the supplier's financial capacity may be provided, as a rule, by any of the following:(a)  appropriate statements from bankers;(b)  the company's balance sheets or extracts from them;(c)  a statement of the firm's total turnover, and its turnover from the products concerned by the tender, for the past three years.However, a purchasing entity may require evidence other than the three items mentioned above, if such other evidence is objectively necessary to show that the supplier has the requisite financial capacity to perform the contract.All evidence required of financial capacity must be stated in the tender notice under both open and restricted tenders and in the invitation to tender under restricted tenders.If, for any valid reason, the supplier is unable to provide the evidence required in the tender notice or invitation to tender, the purchasing authority must allow the supplier to prove his financial capacity by any other document the authority considers appropriate.Technical capacityArticle 23 contains an exhaustive list of the types of evidence that purchasing entities may require of supplier's technical capacity.Depending on the nature, quantity and purpose of the products required, they may ask for:(a)a list of the supplier's main deliveries of the products over the past three years, stating their value, date, and the purchaser, whether public or private, and providing confirmation of the purchase by the public or private purchaser concerned or, in the case of a private purchaser, alternatively a statement to that effect by the supplier;(b)a description of the supplier's technical plant, quality control procedures and research and design facilities;(c)particulars of the technical resources (staff and facilities) the supplier can call upon, particularly for quality control, whether or not they belong to the firm;(d)samples, descriptions and/or photographs of the products, which the procurement entity may require to be authenticated;(e)certificates issued by an officially-recognized quality control or certification body stating that a clearly-identified product conforms to certain specifications or standards;(f)where the products required are complex or are required for a special purpose, an inspection by the national authorities of the procurement entity, or by the competent official body of the supplier's country of residence if it agrees to carry out the inspection on their behalf, of the supplier's production and, if necessary, design and research facilities and his quality control procedures.The references required to prove technical capacities must appear in the contract notice both in the open and restricted procedures.On the other hand under the abovementioned Article 23 the extent of the information required by the contracting authorities 'must be confined to the subject of the contract', that is, this information may only be required to the extent that it is necessary to assess whether the technical capacities of the suppliers are appropriate for the desired supplies.Purchasing authorities must also take into account suppliers' legitimate interest in protecting their trade secrets.Additional informationSuppliers may be asked to amplify or elucidate the evidence of general suitability and financial and technical capacity they have submitted to the procurement authority. However, any further information requested must be strictly confined to the matters listed in Articles 20 to 23.8.  Award criteriaThe only criteria on which purchasing entities may award contracts are the lowest price and the economically most advantageous tender overall (Article 25 of the Directive).The lowest price criterion does not raise problems of interpretation, for the prices quoted in the bids are simply compared and the contract awarded to the lowest bidder.Some explanation is required of the second criterion, however. The question is what features of bids may be taken into consideration in determining which, on balance, is the best offer. The Directive states that purchasing entities may base themselves on 'various criteria according to the contract in question, e.g. price, delivery date, running costs, cost-effectiveness, quality, aesthetic and functional characteristics, technical merit, after-sales services and technical assistance'.The list is not exhaustive, but it is clear from the examples given that only objective criteria may be used which are strictly relevant to the particular procurement decision and uniformly applicable to all bidders. Variation in the criteria is permitted to take account of the inherent characteristics of the goods to be purchased and the use for which the purchaser requires them.All the criteria the purchasing authority intends to apply in determining the economically most advantageous offer must be stated in the tender notice or the tender documents. N° criterion not mentioned in the notice or tender documents may be used.The Directive also provides that where possible the criteria should be listed in descending order of importance. Suppliers should not be left in the dark about how bids are going to be assessed.Abnormally low tendersIf a bid appears to be abnormally low given the contract specifications, the procurement authority is entitled to check the costing of the bid before awarding the contract to the bidder. However, for this purpose it is obliged to give the bidder an opportunity of justifying the bid and if it considers any of his explanations unsatisfactory must tell him so. Otherwise, no bid may be rejected on this ground.The right of procurement agencies to reject the bidder's explanation of his bid as unsatisfactory does not entitle them to presume this and to reject the bid without asking for explanations. The object of the provision, namely to protect bidders against arbitrary rejection of their bids by procurement authorities, would be defeated if the need to seek explanations from the tenderer of a suspiciously low bid were left to the discretion of the procurement authority (1).(1) So held by the European Court of Justice in relation to the corresponding provision (Article 29(5) of the 'Works' Directive (Case 76/81 Transporoute v. Luxembourg Minister of Works (1982) ECR 417 at 428-9 (paragraph 17)).As the procedure for checking bids that appear to be abnormally low is an essential safeguard for bidders and is therefore mandatory, there must be some means of monitoring its use. Consequently, the Commission considers that the communications the procurement authority has with the supplier for this purpose should be in writing (i.e. by exchanges of correspondence) or, if oral, recorded in writing (i.e. by keeping minutes of telephone conversations, meetings, etc., with copies naturally sent to the supplier). Monitoring of compliance with the procedure is only possible if there are written records.It is also important to note that in evaluating whether or not a bid is abnormally low, purchasing entities must base themselves on the conditions in the bidder's country, having regard, of course, to any extra costs involved in supplying to another Community country. In particular, they may not discriminate against foreign bidders by referring only to conditions on their domestic market.At all events, it is not permitted to reject as abnormally low a bid that has been properly costed according to conditions on the market of the supplier's country and meets the contract specifications.ExceptionThe only exception from the rule that contracts must be awarded either to the lowest bidder or to the bid offering overall the economically most advantageous terms is where legislation in force when Directive 77/62/EEC was adopted provides for certain bidders to be given preference. However, this legislation must be compatible with the Treaty.Preferences introduced for regional policy reasons have long posed a problem for the Community government procurement rules. The Commission will shortly redefine its position on this question in the light of the Single European Act.III.  Government construction contracts: the 'Works' Directive 71/305/EEC1.  Scope of the Directive: 'public works contracts'The Directive is stated to apply to 'public works contracts'. These are defined in Article 1 as contracts for pecuniary consideration concluded in writing between a contractor and an authority awarding contracts and concerning one of theactivities in the construction sector listed in Major Group 40 of the 'nomenclature of industries in the European Communities', reproduced in the Annex to Directive 71/304/EEC (1).Meaning of 'contractor'Contractors may be companies, firms or individuals or groups (consortia) of such. Groups may not be required to assume any particular legal form in order to bid for a contract, but may be required to do so if they are awarded the contract.Meaning of 'authority awarding contracts'The 'authorities' whose construction contracts are covered by the Directive are the State, regional or local authorities and 'legal persons governed by public law (or, in Member States where this concept is unknown, equivalent bodies)' (2) listed in Annex I to the Directive (3).Form of contractsThe Directive requires merely that the contract be for pecuniary consideration and be drawn up in writing. Nothing is said as to its content.There being no express restriction on the terms of the contract, the Directive covers the widest possible range of contracts a public authority can make with a private contractor for construction works. Thus, it includes, for example, contracts covering the planning and/or financing of a project as well as its execution.How the project is financed is also irrelevant for the purposes of the Directive. It may be financed from the principal's own resources or borrowing by the principal, or the financing may be left to the contractor.(1) See list in Table IV of Annex II to the Guide. In 1970 the NICE classification was revised and incorporated into the broader NACE (general industrial classification of economic activities within the European Communities) classification. In the NACE classification, Major Group 40 'Construction' of the NICE classification became Class 50 'Building and civil engineering'.(2) Words in brackets inserted by the Treaty of Accession of Denmark, the United Kingdom and Ireland.(3) See list in Table V of Annex II to the Guide.2.  ExclusionsContracts falling below a certain value threshold, awarded by certain public utilities or in certain other specified circumstances, or involving certain specified forms of consideration, are excluded from the scope of the Directive.These are dealt with in detail below. In case of doubt as to whether or not a contract is covered, advice should always be sought from the CommissionValue thresholdThe threshold value from which a public works contract becomes subject to the Directive (78/669/EEC) of 2 August 1978 (1) amending the basic Directive to take account of the introduction of the European unit of account, which later became the ECU, is 1 000 000 ECU (European currency units) before VAT. All public works contracts with an estimated value of 1 000 000 ECU or over are subject to the provisions of the Directive, unless they fall within one of the excluded categories.The national currency equivalents of the ECU threshold are calculated at a fixed exchange rate, which is adjusted by the Commission at the end of October every two years to the average of the daily values of the currency against the ECU over the preceding 12 months and published in the 'C' (Information and Notices) series of the Official Journal  of the European Communtiesin November, with effect from the following 1 January. The national currency equivalents of the threshold applicable in 1986/87 (2) are as follows:>TABLE>Calculation of contract valueThe Directive lays down rules for calculating the value of contracts. First of all, the value taken must include, as well as(1) OJ N° L 225, 16. 8. 1978, p. 41.(2) The 1986/87 rates were published in OJ N° C 207, 28. 11. 1985, p. 2.the value of the work contracted for, also the value of the supplies needed to carry out the work even if these are provided to the contractor by the principal.The estimated value of work which the authority intends to have carried out later by the contractor awarded the current contract and which consist in a repetition of the work to be carried out under the current contract must also be included in the contract value (Article 9 (g)).It is prohibited to split up contracts with the intention of evading the rules of the Directive (Article 7).In practice, the Commission considers that no question of splitting to evade the rules can arise if the contract value is calculated to include all the work necessary to make the project operational, i.e. finished and ready for the use intended by the authority. This does not prevent award of the contract in lots, provided this is mentioned in the tender notice.Public utilitiesThe Directive excludes from its scope contracts awarded by 'bodies . . . governed by public law . . . which administer transport services' or by the 'production, distribution, transmission or transportation services for water and energy' (Article 3 (4) and (5).The Commission emphasizes that, qua exceptions, these provisions must be construed strictly.In the transport sector, the exception covers organizations actually undertaking the carriage of passengers or goods, i.e. common carriers. Authorities operating facilities such as ports or airports are subject to the Directive.In the water and energy sectors, only services whose specific function is the production, transport or distribution of water or energy are excepted. Thus, for example, an army barracks planning to build its own power plant or water pumping station would be covered. As far as water services are concerned, the exception only applies to services undertaking the collection, supply and distribution of drinking water, i.e. generally water that has been purified, for residential or industrial use. River management, irrigation, drainage and sewerage services are covered by the Directive. Thus, it is thespecific function of the service or organization that must be considered in determining whether the rules of the Directive apply.Where an organization provides several services at once, for example a local authority combining the functions of sewage treatment and drinking water supply, only contracts relating to the latter service are excepted.Of course, the Directive only applies to organizations awarding such contracts if they fall within the Directive's definition of 'authority awarding contracts'.Contracts awarded under international agreements or under the specific procedure of an international organizationThe Directive does not apply to contracts awarded by a Member State:(a)  under an international agreement with a non-EC country which contains different provisions for the award of contracts;(b)  to firms in non-EC countries under an international agreement which excludes EC firms;(c)  under the specific procedure of an international organization (Article 4).Contracts in which the consideration consists in a franchise to operate the completed works ('concession contracts')Nor do the provisions of the Directive apply to contracts which have all the features of a public works contract as described above but under which the consideration for the works consists in a franchise ('concession') to operate the completed works or in a franchise plus payment (1).The Directive, however, requires that it should be stipulated in the terms of such contracts that the organization awarded the franchise ('concessionaire') must not discriminate on grounds of nationality when it itself awards contracts to third parties.If the 'concessionaire' is itself a public authority covered by the Directive, the work it contracts out to third parties in connection with the project is subject to the full provisions of the Directive, with the exceptions noted above (Article 3 (1), (2) and (3)).(1) In 1971 a declaration on the procedures to be followed in relation to such contracts was adopted by representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council (OJ N° C 82, 16. 8. 1971, p. 13 - English Special Edition, Second Series, January 1974, IX. Resolutions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Member States, p. 55). Such contracts and subcontracting under them are dealt with in detail in Chapter IV.3.  Advertising rulesTo open up public-sector construction contracts to effective competition from firms in other Member States of the Community, authorities are required to advertise the contracts in the Supplement to the Official Journal giving the basic information contractors need to be able to bid for contracts concluded in the Community.Content of tender noticesIn the notices advertising tenders for construction contracts, certain specified items of information must be included. These mandatory items are listed in Articles 16, 17, 18 (d) and 29 (2) of the Directive.In open tenders (i.e. those whereby any interested contractor may immediately bid for the contract, as opposed to restricted tenders whereby a selection is made from the contractors who reply to the tender notice and the selected contractors only are invited to bid), the tender notice must state at least the following:(a)the date on which the tender notice was sent for publication to the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities;(b)the tendering procedure;(c)the site; the nature and extent of the work and the general nature of the project; if the contract is divided into several lots: the approximate size of the various lots and the possibility of tendering for one, for several, or for all of the lots; if the contract involves design as well as construction work, sufficient information about the project to enable contractors to understand the requirements and prepare a tender accordingly;(d)any time limit for the completion of the works;(e)the address of the body awarding the contract;(f)the address from which the tender documents and additional documentation may be obtained and the final date for requesting the documentation, also the amount and terms of payment of any sum payable for the documentation;(g)the closing date for receipt of tenders, the address to which they must be sent and the language or languages in which they must be submitted;(h)the persons authorized to be present at the opening of tenders and the date, time and place of opening;(i)information about deposits and any other guarantees, whatever their form, that may be required by the authorities awarding the contract;(j)the main terms of financing and payment and/or references to the legislation in which these are laid down;(k)the legal form which a consortium of contractors will be required to take if awarded the contract;(l)the minimum financial and technical standards which the authority awarding the contract requires contractors to meet; these requirements may not be other than those specified in Articles 25 and 26;(m)the length of time during which tenders must remain open for acceptance;(n)the criteria on which the contract is to be awarded, including criteria other than lowest price if not stated in the tender documents;In restricted tenders, the tender notice must state at least the following:(a)the date on which the notice was sent for publication to the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities;(b)the tendering procedure;(c)the site; the nature and extent of the work and the general nature of the project; if the contract is divided into several lots: the approximate size of the various lots and the possibility of tendering for one, for several, or for all of the lots; if the contract involves design as well as construction work, sufficient information about the project to enable contractors to understand the requirements and prepare a tender accordingly;(d)any time limit for the completion of the works;(e)the address of the body awarding the contract;(f)the legal form a consortium of contractors will be required to take if awarded the contract;(g)the closing date for receipt of applications to tender, the address to which they must be sent and the language or languages in which they must be submitted;(h)the final date on which invitations to tender will be issued by the authority awarding the contracts;(i)the information required, in the form of verifiable statements, in the application to tender in order to disclose any grounds for disqualification, and the minimum financial and technical standards which the authority awarding the contract requires of contractors;(j)the criteria on which the contract is to be awarded, if not to be stated in the invitation to tender.Specification of time limitsTime limits should be clearly specified in tender notices, so that it is not more difficult for contractors from other countries to determine when the closing dates for submitting tenders, requesting documentation, etc., are than for contractors from the awarding authority's country.Thus, the Commission does not accept references to the date of publication of the notice in national or regional official gazettes, access to which is much more difficult for foreign contractors. This would be contrary to the Member States' Treaty obligations not to impede firms from other Member States in providing services on their territory.Time limits must be expressed either as a certain number of days from the date of publication of the notice in the Supplement to the Official Journal or as a specific date. The minimum time limits to be allowed in notices are given herein (Section 5).Layout of tender noticesTender notices sent for publication in the Official Journal must be set out as shown in the model notices for open and restricted public works tenders given in Annex I to Council Directive 72/277/EEC of 26 July 1972 (1) (2). This layout is obligatory because it facilitates rapid publication and ensures that all contracts, wherever in the Community the project is situated, are advertised in the same manner and in the same amount of detail.Notices, while providing clear and complete information, should be concise. Directive 72/277/EEC limits them to a maximum length of one page of the Official Journal, or about 650 words.National advertising of tendersSo that contractors throughout the Community can compete for contracts on equal terms, Directive 71/305/EEC prescribes that the advertising of tenders in the official gazette or press of the country of the authority awarding the contract may not contain information other than that published in the Official Journal and that the tenders may not be advertised nationally before the date of dispatch of the tender notice for EC-wide publication.EC-wide advertisingIn practice, the responsibility for EC-wide advertising of tenders is shared between the authorities putting contracts out to tender and the Official Publications Office. The authority must supply a notice and must send it to the Publications Office by the most rapid means of transmission available so that publication is not delayed.(1) OJ N° L 176, 3. 8. 1972, p. 12 (English Special Edition 1972 (III), December 1972, p. 823).(2) The model notices are reproduced in Table IX of Annex II to the Guide.Notices should be sent to:Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Communities,Office for Official Publications of the European Communities,2 rue Mercier,L-2985 Luxembourg.Tel. (352) 499 28 23 32.Telex 1324 PUBOF LU or 2731 PUBOF LU.Facsimile (352) 49 00 03 or (352) 49 57 19.The Publications Office has notices translated into the other Community languages and undertakes to publish them within nine days from the date of dispatch for publication. (Five days for accelerated procedures - only in restricted tenders.)The Supplement to the Official Journal is obtainable in all Member States from the addresses listed in Table VI (3).Other sources of information on tendersAll government tenders (procurement, construction and services) published in the Supplement to the Official Journal are also on the TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) computerized system, which is accessible through various host organizations.For further information, contact:Office for Official Publications of the European Communities,Sales Department,L-2985 LUXEMBOURG.Tel. (352) 49 92 82 563.Telex 1324 PUBOF LU.Facsimile (352) 49 00 03.Since October 1987 contractors have also been able to obtain details of tenders from their local Euro-Info Centre, which stocks the Official Journal and is linked to the TED system (4). For further information contact:Commission of the European Communities,Small Firms Task Force,200 rue de la Loi,B-1049-Brussels.Tel. (02) 236 16 76.Telex 61655 BURAP B.Facsimile 236 12 41.(3) See Annex II to the Guide.(4) See list of Euro-Info Centres currently operating or planned in Table VII of Annex II to the Guide.4.  Rules on technical specificationsAuthorities are required to state in the general documentation on the tender and in the actual contract documents the technical specifications for the work and a description of the testing, inspection, acceptance and calculation methods to be used.Meaning of 'technical specifications'Technical specifications are defined in Annex II to Directive 71/305/EEC as all the technical requirements objectively describing a job, material, product or supply suitable for the purpose for which it is required by the authority awarding the contract.They include all the mechanical, physical and chemical properties, classifications and standards and testing, inspection and acceptance requirements for the works and the materials and parts used in their construction. They also include the methods or techniques of construction and any other technical requirements for the completed works or the materials and parts used in their construction that the authority awarding the contract may prescribe.Prohibition of discriminatory specificationsBecause of the importance of cross-frontier provision of services for unifying the common market, specifications that would have the effect of discriminating against contractors in other Member States are prohibited.Thus, the Directive forbids specifications that mention products of a specific make or source or a particular process and thereby favour or eliminate certain firms, unless the specifications are justified by the subject of the contract. In particular, it is not permitted to refer to trademarks, patents or types, or to specific origins or makes unless the authority awarding the contract is unable to describe the subject of the contract using specifications that are sufficiently precise and intelligible to all interested parties without such references, in which case the references must be accompanied by the words 'or equivalent'.It is up to the authority using such specifications to show that they are justified.StandardsThe Directive permits technical specifications to be defined by reference to national standards. However, this provision must now be read, as far as product specifications are concerned, in the light of the development of theCommission's policy and the European Court of Justice's case law on measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions. That is to say, if there are no EC standards, authorities must consider on equal terms with products meeting national or other preferred standards products from other Member States manufactured to a different design but having equivalent performance.Costing of tendersFinally, the Directive contains special provisions for cases where projects are put out to competitive tender or where bidders are invited to submit alternatives to the authority's project. In such cases a tender which meets the specifications set out in the tender documents may not be rejected solely on the ground that it has been prepared using different methods of costing work from those normally used in the country where the project is to be undertaken. However, tenderers must in that case include with their tenders all the evidence necessary for checking the project and supply the authority with any clarifications it considers necessary.5.  Tendering proceduresAuthorities placing public works contracts have a choice between open tenders, whereby any interested contractor may immediately bid for the contract, or restricted tenders, whereby a selection is made from the contractors who reply to the tender notice and the selected contractors only are invited to bid.An accelerated form of restricted tender with shorter than normal time limits is permitted in cases of urgency where observance of the normal time limits is impracticable. As this is an exception from the normal procedure which is likely to reduce the amount of competition for the contract, it should be construed strictly, i.e. reserved for cases where the authority awarding the contract can prove the objective need for urgency and the genuine impossibility of abiding by the normal time limits prescribed for this procedure.ExceptionsThe requirement for contracts to be put out to competitive tender is waived in, and only in, the circumstances specified in Article 9 of the Directive. In those circumstances the authority can negotiate directly with one or more contractors without prior advertisement.The award of contracts in such circumstances is, however, still subject to the rules on technical specifications. The circumstances listed in Article 9 are:(a)where no suitable contractor was found in a previous open or restricted tender because no or only irregular bids were received or because the bids submitted were unacceptable under national provisions that are consistent with the directive's rules, provided that the original terms for the contract, as set out in the invitation to tender and the tender documents, are not substantially altered (otherwise, the contract must be re-advertised);(b)where, for technical or artistic reasons or because of the existence of exclusive rights, there is only one contractor in the Community able to carry out the work;(c)for works carried out for purposes of research, experiment, study or development;(d)in cases of extreme urgency resulting from unforeseen circumstances not attributable to the action of the authority placing the contract, where the time limits laid down in tendering procedures cannot be observed;(e)where the works are classified as secret or where their execution must be accompanied by special security measures under the law of the Member State of the authority awarding the contract, or where the protection of the basic interests of that State's security so requires;(f)for additional work not included in an earlier project or in the contract awarded for that project which has become necessary as a result of unforeseen circumstances for completing the work described in the earlier contract, where the additional work is to be done by the contractor awarded the earlier contract, and:- the work cannot be separated technically or financially from the earlier project without great inconvenience to the authority, or- though separable from the execution of the earlier project, is strictly necessary for its later stages.The total value of the additional work may not, however, exceed 50 % of the value of the earlier contract;(g)for new work consisting in a repetition of work similar to that carried out under an earlier contract awarded to the same contractor by the same authority, provided that the work conforms to a basic project and the earlier contract for a similar project was awarded to the contractor after an open or restricted tender.The possibility that this procedure might be used must be announced when the first project is put out to tender and the estimated value of the later projects must be included in the contract value taken for the purposes of determining whether the contract exceeds the valuethreshold for application of the Directive. The procedure may only be applied during the three years following conclusion of the original contract;(h)in exceptional circumstances, where the nature of the works or the risks attaching to them make it impossible to estimate their total cost.The Court of Justice has ruled that these exceptions from the rules of the Directive, rules which are intended to guarantee the possibility of effectively exercising the EC-wide right of establishment and freedom to provide services in connection with public-sector construction contracts, must be construed strictly and it is up to the person invoking them to prove that the exceptional circumstances referred to really exist (1).Time limitsTo ensure that all potentially interested contractors in the Community have a chance of bidding or applying to bid before the closing date, the Directive prescribes minimum time limits for the receipt of bids and applications to bid (authorities are, of course, free to allow longer periods) and maximum time limits for authorities to provide documentation and information. The time limits are:Open tenders(a)  Closing date for receipt of tenders: at least 36 days from dispatch of the tender notice for publication in the Official Journal.(b)  Time limit for sending additional information concerning the tender documents (if requested in time): no more than six days before the closing date for receipt of tenders.Restricted tenders(a)  Closing date for receipt of applications to tender: at least 21 days (in accelerated procedures, 12 days) from dispatch of the tender notice for publication in the Official Journal.(b)  Time limit for sending additional information concerning the tender documents (if requested in time): no more than six days (in accelerated procedures, four days) before the closing date for receipt of tenders.(1) Case 199/85 Commission v. Italy (paragraph 14), judgment given on 10 March 1987, not yet reported.(c)  Closing date for receipt of tenders: at least 21 days (in accelerated procedures, 10 days) from dispatch of the written invitation to tender.Both in open and in non-accelerated restricted tenders, the closing date for receipt of tenders must be appropriately extended if tenders can only be prepared after a visit to the site or after inspection of documentation supporting the tender documents.Invitations to tenderInvitations to tender issued to the contractors selected from those who replied to a restricted tender notice must be sent to all the selected contractors simultaneously and must state at least the following:(a)the address from which the tender documents and any additional documentation may be obtained and the final date for requesting the documentation, also the amount and terms of payment of any sum payable for the documentation;(b)the closing date for receipt of tenders, the address to which they must be sent and the language or languages in which they must be submitted;(c)information about deposits and any other guarantees that may be required by the authority awarding the contract, whatever their form;(d)the main terms of financing and payment and/or references to legislation in which these are laid down;(e)a reference to the tender notice published in the Official Journal;(f)any documents to be produced by the contractor either to confirm the verifiable statements about his current standing and past record required under the terms of the tender notice in order to disclose any grounds for disqualification or to supplement the evidence supplied under the terms of the tender notice that the contractor meets the minimum financial and technical standards;(g)the criteria on which the contract is to be awarded, if these were not stated in the tender notice.Transmission of applications and invitations to tenderThe Directive allows applications and invitations to tender for contracts advertised under the accelerated procedure for restricted tenders to be sent by telegram, telex or telephone as well as by letter, because of the urgency. However, telegrams, telexes and telephone calls must be confirmed by letter.6.  Method of calculating time limitsThe closing dates for the receipt of bids and applications to bid must be calculated by the method provided for in Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) N° 1182/71 of 3 June 1971 defining the rules applicable to periods, dates and time limits (1).Under these rules, periods expressed as a certain number of days from a certain event:(a)  run from the day following the day on which the event takes place;(b)  begin at 00h00 on the first day, as defined in (a), and end at 24h00 on the last day of the period;(c)  end, if the last day of the period falls on a public holiday or a Saturday or Sunday, and the period is not expressed in hours, at 24h00 on the following working day.Periods expressed as ending at a certain time on a certain date, which are common for certain acts to be performed by contractors, end at the time and date stated.Periods include public holidays and weekends unless these are expressly excluded or the periods are expressed as a certain number of working days. Public holidays are all days designated as such in the Member State in which the relevant act has to be performed.For further details, reference is made to the text of the Regulation.7.  Criteria for disqualifying or eliminating applicants and biddersTo open up the EC public-sector construction market to competition, the coordinated tendering procedures had to include safeguards against the arbitrary selection of contractors on discriminatory criteria.For this reason, the Directive (Chapter 1 of Title IV) specifies the only qualitative criteria on which applicants to bid or bidders may be disqualified or eliminated and the evidence contractors may be required to produce to show that they meet the criteria. Contractors may be disqualified on certain grounds pertaining to their solvency, record and integrity and may be eliminated on the grounds of insufficient financial or technical capacity to undertake the work.Grounds for disqualificationArticle 23 of the Directive first lists all the circumstances relating to the solvency, record and integrity of contractors(1) See text in Table XI in Annex II to the Guide.which can be taken by the authority awarding the contract as a ground for disqualifying the contractor from selection to bid or from consideration of his bid. Any contractor may be immediately disqualified who:(a)is bankrupt or being wound up, has ceased trading, or is operating under court protection pending a settlement with creditors, or is in an analogous situation arising from national proceedings of a similar nature;(b)is the subject of proceedings for bankruptcy, winding-up or court protection pending a settlement with creditors, or national proceedings of a similar nature;(c)has been convicted of an offence concerning his professional conduct by a judgment which has the force of res judicata;(d)can be shown by the authority awarding the contract to have been guilty of grave professional misconduct;(e)has not fulfilled obligations relating to payment of social security contributions under the statutory provisions of his country of residence or of the country of the authority awarding the contract;(f)has not fulfilled obligations relating to payment of taxes under the statutory provisions of his country of residence or of the country of the authority awarding the contract;(g)has been guilty of serious misrepresentation in supplying information about his current standing or past record or his financial or technical capacity.In cases (d) and (g) the burden of proof is on the authority awarding the contract. In other cases it is for the contractor, if asked to do so in the tender notice, to show that he is not in any of the specified situations.However, the evidence an authority may require for this purpose is not left entirely to its discretion. The Article provides that it must accept as satisfactory evidence:- for cases (a), (b) and (c), the judicial record on the contractor or an equivalent document issued by a judicial or administrative authority in the contractor's country of origin or residence,- for cases (e) and (f), a certificate issued by the competent authority in the Member State concerned.If such documents or certificates are not issued by the country in question, the contractor may instead produce an affidavitsworn before a judicial or administrative authority, a notary or a competent professional body in his country of origin or residence, or, in Member States where there is no provision for declarations on oath, a solemn declaration (1).RegistrationTo prove their general commercial standing and fitness, contractors may be required under Article 24 of the Directive to show that they are on an official register of businesses in their Member State of residence as required under that State's law. Greek contractors may be asked to produce a statement sworn before a notary that they are public works contractors (2). Authorities may not require a contractor to be on the official register in their own country, as this would clearly impede freedom to provide cross-frontier services.Evidence of financial and technical capacityUnder Article 20 of the Directive, contractors not disqualified on any for the grounds of general unsuitability specified in Article 23 may only be eliminated from the contractors from whom those invited to bid are selected or whose bids are considered on one of two sets of criteria, namely financial or technical capacity. These criteria are listed in Articles 25 to 28 of the Directive.In the first place, it must be noted that the requirements of contracting authorities to determine the capacity of enterprises to carry out the intended works may only refer to the economic, financial and technical capacity of candidates or tenderers.Financial capacityPursuant to Article 25, evidence of the contractor's financial capacity may be provided, as a rule, by any of the following:(a)  appropriate statements from bankers;(b)  the company's balance sheets or extracts from them, where company law in the contractor's country of residence requires publication of balance sheets;(c)  a statement of the firm's total turnover, and its turnover from construction work, for the past three years.(1) Provision for solemn declarations instead of affidavits inserted in Article 23 by the Treaty of Accession of Denmark, the United Kingdom and Ireland.(2) Provision inserted by the Treaty of Accession of Greece.However, the authority may require evidence other than the three items mentioned above, if such other evidence is objectively necessary to show that the contractor has the requisite financial or technical capacity to undertake the work.All evidence required of financial capacity must be stated in the tender notice under both open and restricted tenders and in the invitation to tender under restricted tenders.If, for any valid reason, the contractor is unable to provide the evidence required in the tender notice or invitation to tender, the authority must allow the contractor to prove his financial capacity by any other document the authority considers appropriate.Technical capacityArticle 26 contains an exhaustive list of the types of evidence that authorities awarding contracts may require of contractors' technical capacity.They may ask for:(a)  the professional qualifications of the contractor and/or his senior employees, in particular those to be in charge of the works;(b)  a list of works carried out over the past five years supported by certificates of satisfactory completion of the most important works and stating the value, date and site of the works and whether they were carried out according to the rules of the trade and properly completed. Where appropriate, the certificates should be sent by the competent national authority to the authority awarding contracts direct;(c)  particulars of the tools, plant and equipment the contractor will have for carrying out the work;(d)  particulars of the firm's average annual workforce and the number of managerial staff for the past three years;(e)  particulars of the technical resources (staff and facilities) the contractor can call upon for carrying out the work, whether or not they belong to the firm.As in the case of financial capacity, authorities are required to state the evidence they require of contractors' technical capacity in the tender notice or the invitation to tender.Additional informationAuthorities may not later require evidence on other matters not mentioned in the tender notice or invitation to tender, because this could detract from the transparency of the selection process.Pursuant to Article 27, the may only require contractors to amplify or elucidate the evidence of general suitability and financial and technical capacity already submitted, within the limits set by Articles 23 to 26.Official lists of approved contractorsArticle 28 of the Directive contains special provisions on the official lists of approved contractors maintained in some Member States and on the value of listing as evidence of suitability vis-à-vis authorities awarding contracts in other Member States.Contractors on such lists in their Member State of residence may claim the listing as alternative evidence of fulfilment of certain of the qualitative criteria referred to in Articles 23 to 26.To do so, they must submit to the authority awarding the contract a certificate of registration on the approved list issued by the appropriate authority, indicating the particulars on which evidence was required in order to gain registration and their classification on the list.Under Article 28 (3), a certificate of registration must be accepted by authorities awarding contracts in other Member States as a presumption of the contractor's suitability for works covered by this classification in lieu of the evidence referred to in Articles 23 (a) to (d) and (g), 24, 25 (b) and (c) and 36 (b) and (d), but not in lieu of that referred to in Articles 25 (a) and 26 (a), (c) and (e).The Directive further provides that facts established by registration may not be questioned. However, with regard to payment of social security contributions, an additional certificate may be required each time the contractor bids for a contract.In other words, registration on an approved list is only conclusive of those objective facts on which evidence had to be submitted in order to gain registration.Except as regards those facts which may not be challenged, the contractor may, however, be required by the authority to provide further information on the matters for which a certificate of registration must be accepted in lieu of other evidence, in order to assess his suitability for particular work.Evidence on the other matters on which an authority is entitled to require evidence under the Directive and which are not covered by the presumption created by registration must be submitted by the contractor in the normal way.8.  Award criteriaThe only criteria on which authorities may award contracts are the lowest price and the economically most advantageous tender overall (Article 29 of the Directive).- The lowest price criterion does not raise problems of interpretation, for the prices quoted in the bids are simply compared and the contract awarded to the lowest bidder.- Some explanation is required of the second criterion, however. The question is what features of bids may be taken into consideration in determining which, on balance, is the best offer.The Directive states that authorities may base themselves on 'various criteria according to the contract: e.g. price, period for completion, running costs, profitability, technical merit'.The list is not exhaustive, but it is clear from the examples given that only objective criteria may be used which are strictly relevant to the particular project and uniformly applicable to all bidders. Variation in the criteria is permitted to take account of the inherent characteristics of different works and the purpose for which they are required.All the criteria the authority intends to apply in determining the economically most advantageous offer must be stated in the tender notice or the tender documents. N° criterion not mentioned in the notice or tender documents may be used.The Directive also provides that where possible the criteria should be listed in descending order of importance.While in some cases it may be difficult to rank the criteria in this way, in others one criterion will clearly be uppermost. For example, in a bridge construction project the ranking of the criteria might well be:1.  technical merit (stability, resistance to subsidence, elasticity, etc.);2.  cost;3.  aesthetic merit.If two tenders for this project were equal on technical merit, the cheaper of the two would be preferred. If they were equal on technical merit and cost, the choice would go to the more aesthetically pleasing design.Authorities should specify this ranking of criteria wherever possible so that contractors know on what basis their bids are to be assessed.The Directive's requirements for specifying the criteria on which contracts are to be awarded can be summarized as follows:- open tenders:(a)  lowest price: in tender notice;(b)  economically most advantageous tender and individual criteria to be used in determining it: in tender notice or tender documents;- restricted procedures:(a)  lowest price: in tender notice or invitation to tender;(b)  economically most advantageous tender: in tender notice or invitation to tender;(c)  individual criteria to be used in determining economically most advantageous tender: in tender notice or tender documents.Abnormally low tendersIf a bid appears to be abnormally low given the contract specifications, the authority awarding the contract is entitled to check the costing of the bid, before awarding the contract to the bidder. However, for this purpose it is obliged to give the bidder an opportunity of justifying the bid and, if it considers any of his explanations unsatisfactory, to tell him so. Otherwise, no bid may be rejected on this ground. The Court of Justice upheld this requirement in Transporoute v. Luxembourg Minister of Public Works, where it said that the right expressly given to the authorities awarding contracts by this provision (Article 29 (5)) to reject the bidder's explanations of his bid as unsatisfactory does not entitle them to presume this and to reject the bid without asking forexplanations. The object of the provision, namely to protect bidders against arbitrary rejection of their bids by authorities, would be defeated if the need to seek explanations from the tenderer of a suspiciously low bid were left to the authority's discretion (1).As the procedure for checking bids that appear to be abnormally low is an essential safeguad for bidders and is therefore mandatory, there must be some means of monitoring its use. Consequently, the Commission considers that the communications the authority placing the contract has with the contractor for this purpose should be in writing (i.e. by exchanges of correspondence) or, if oral, recorded in writing (i.e. by keeping minutes of telephone conversations, meetings, etc., with copies naturally sent to the supplier). Monitoring of compliance with the procedure is only possible if there are written records.It is also important to note that in evaluating whether or not a bid is abnormally low, authorities must base themselves on the conditions in the bidder's country, having regard of course to any extra costs involved in supplying to another Community country. In particular, they may not discriminate against foreign bidders by referring only to conditions on their domestic market.At all events, it is not permitted to reject as abnormally low a bid that has been properly costed according to conditions on the market of the contractor's country and meets the contract specifications.ExceptionThe only exception from the rule that contracts must be awarded either to the lowest bidder or to the bidder offering overall the economically most advantageous terms is where legislation provides for certain bidders to be given preference by way of aid. However, this legislation must be compatible with the Treaty, in particular the state aid rules of Articles 92 et seq.Preferences introduced for regional policy reasons have long posed a problem for the Community rules on public-sector construction contracts. The Commission will shortly redefine its position on this question in the light of the Single European Act.(1) Case 76/81 (1982) ECR 417 at 428-9 (paragraph 17).IV.  Public works contracts in which the consideration consists in a franchise to operate the completed works ('concession contracts') and subcontracting under such contractsPublic-sector construction contracts under which the contractor's consideration consists wholly or partly in a franchise ('concession') to operate the completed works are, as noted in Chapter III, excluded from the normal Community rules on the award of public works contracts by Article 3 of the 'Works' Directive 71/305/EEC. However, the work done under such contracts is not entirely outside the scope of the Directive: authorities are required to stipulate in their contract with the organization awarded the franchise ('concessionnaire') that it must not discriminate on grounds of nationality when it itself awards contracts to third parties. Also, if the 'concessionnaire' is itself a public authority covered by the Directive, the work it contracts out to third parties is subject to the full provisions of the Directive.Although 'concession contracts' are to this extent not subject to the formal Community rules on public-sector contracts laid down in the Directive, the Member States have agreed to abide voluntarily by certain tendering procedures for such contracts and related subcontracts. This voluntary code of practice was adopted in a declaration by representatives of the Member States meeting within the Council in 1971 (2).1.  Principal contractsThe declaration provides that authorities wishing to award a contract for works with an estimated total value exceeding 1 000 000 ECU in return for a franchise to operate the works afterwards are required to advertise the contract in the Official Journal.The tender notice must:(a)  describe the subject of the contract in sufficient detail to enable potentially interested contractors to make a valid assessment;(b)  list the personal, technical and financial conditions to be fulfilled by applicants;(c)  state the main criteria on which the contract is to be awarded; and(d)  give the closing date for submission of tenders.The closing date for submission of tenders may not be less than 35 days from the date of dispatch of the notice for publication in the Official Journal.(2) OJ N° C 82, 16. 8. 1971, p. 13 (English Special Edition, Second Series, January 1974, IX. Resolutions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Member States, p. 55).The notice will be published not later than 10 days after the date of dispatch.2.  SubcontractsThe declaration also provides that it should be stipulated in the principal contract that the contractor ('concessionnaire') must subcontract out a certain percentage of the work to third parties and must advertise such subcontracts.'Third parties', for this purpose, do not include members of the consortium to which the principal contract is awarded or 'associated or affiliated companies', which are defined as companies holding a controlling intrest in the company, or in one of the consortium of companies, to which the principal contract is awarded or companies a controlling interest in which is held by the company, or by one of the consortium of companies, to which the principal contract is awarded.Regarding the percentage of work that must be subcontracted out, the Declaration provides that the authority awarding the principal contract must:(a)  either require the concessionnaire(s) to subcontract to third parties at least 30 % of the total value of the work provided for by the principal contract, although allowing them to subcontract a higher percentage if they wish;(b)  or ask bidders to specify in their tenders the percentage they will subcontract out.In both cases the authority awarding the contract must take the percentage of subcontracting as a positive factor in the choice of concessionnaire.Regarding the advertising of subconstracts, the authority awarding the principal contract must stipulate the following:Tenders for subcontracts for work worth 1 000 000 ECU or over must be advertised in the Official Journal. The tender notice to be placed in the Official Journal must be sent to the Official Publications Office and must be set out according to the model appended as Annex II to Directive 72/277/EEC (1). It will be published within 10 days from the date of dispatch.The tender notice must include at least the following information:vii(i)  the date on which the tender notice was sent for publication to the Official Publications Office;(1) See Table X of Annex II to the Guide.vi(ii)  the place, nature and extent of the work and the general nature of the project;v(iii)  the time limit for completion of the work;ii(iv)  information about any financial guarantees that may be required;iii(v)  the closing date for receipt of tenders;ii(vi)  the address from which documents on the work required such as plans, quantities, tender documents, etc., may be obtained;i(vii)  the address to which the tenders must be sent;(viii)  the documents to be enclosed with the tender as evidence of the technical and financial qualifications of the contractor;ii(ix)  the criteria on which the contract is to be awarded.The closing date for the receipt of bids may not be less than 35 days from the date on which the tender notice was sent to the Publications Office.National advertising of tenders may not contain information other than that published in the Official Journal.The criteria on which contracts are awarded must be either:(a)  the lowest bidder; or(b)  the economically most advantageous tender on the basis of the criteria stated in the tender documentation.V.  Telecommunications1.  General policyThe European Community is progressively implementing a global policy in the field of telecommunications. One important aspect of this policy is the achievement of a Community-wide homogeneous market for telecommunications equipment and services.Since 1983, the Commission has been actively developing this policy by action on standardization and by specific measures to open up the market for procurement by network operators.The policy on standardization, which is being conducted with the assistance of a Working Party of Senior officials on Telecommunications and in collaboration with the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), is aiming at production of common technical specifications for telecommunications terminals. In this field the Council of Ministers has adopted:- Directive 86/361/EEC (1), which provides for mutual recognition of conformity test results, and- Decision 87/95/EEC (2), which among other things requires public authorities to refer to harmonized standards in equipment tenders.The specific measure on market opening agreed upon by the Council is:- Recommendation 84/550/EEC (3), which established a first experimental phase of opening up access to public telecommunications contracts.Directive 86/361/EEC and Recommendation 84/550/EEC are presented below in greater detail.2.  Council Directive 86/361/EECThe Directive provides for the mutual recognition, by designated national type-approval authorities, of the result of tests for conformity with common technical specifications for mass-produced terminal equipment for connection to public telecommunications networks. The tests are to be carried out by nationally approved testing laboratories, which have been accredited in accordance with an agreed scheme within the Community.Successful testing will result in a certificate of conformity (accompanied by the test results) being issued to the laboratory's client, which he may use in any type-approval application in other Community countries without the need for further testing.An annual programme of standardization work is to be agreed with CEPT and common conformity specifications (known as Normes Européennes de Télécommunications - NETs) produced. NETs are adopted in CEPT and published in the Official Journal.NETs must take account of essential requirements of the safety of users and network operators' employees, the protection of the public networks from harm, and in justified cases of the inter-operability of terminal equipment. It is recognized that in this task the historical features of existing national networks and the national provisions for the use of radio frequencies must be respected.Telecommunications administrators are required to use NETs in their procurement of terminals, unless the(1) OJ N° L 217, 5. 8. 1986, p. 21.(2) OJ N° L 36, 7. 2. 1987, p. 31 (this Decision also concerns information technologies).(3) OJ N° L 298, 16. 11. 1984, p. 51.equipment must conform to a pre-NET specification in order to replace existing equipment or serve in a transitional situation between two systems. If terminal equipment conforming to a NET is not economically available in a specific national situation, a temporary reduction in the requirements may be claimed.In the event of a Member State discovering that a NET fails to meet the essential requirements it is supposed to cover, or that there are shortcomings in this application, it may suspend recognition of the certificate of conformity.Detailed procedures which must be strictly adhered to are included for involving the Commission and other Member States when any country exercises the waiver, reduced requirement, and suspension rights mentioned above.Discussions with the Member States in the Working Party of Senior Officials on Telecommunications and the new CEPT Telecommunications Recommendations Applications Committee (TRAC) resulted in an urgent work programme being set up involving:(a)  NETs 1-3 applicable to all terminals requiring access to circuit-switched, packet-switched, and ISDN public networts (X21, X25, ISDN basic);(b)  a compendium of national requirements for PSTN access (with little harmonization - nominally NET 4);(c)  NETs 5-9 covering digital telephony, analogue modems, Group 3 facsimile, Telex and ISDN Terminal Adaptors;(d)  safety being covered by joint CEPT/Cenelec (European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization) activity targeted at a European standard.The Directive came into force on 24 July 1987. The work on the abovementioned NETs and on selection of accredited testing laboratories was geared to this date.3.  Recommendation 84/550/EECThe peculiarities of the telecommunications equipment sector led the Community to exclude telecommunications from the public procurement rules under Directive 77/62/EEC. Because of the importance of opening up the market in this field, a special measure has now been taken to promote liberalization of this market, namely Recommendation 84/550/EEC.In the recommendation, the Council calls on theGovernments of the Member States to ensure that their telecommunications administrations provide opportunities for suppliers in the other Community countries, followingtheir usual procedure and on a non-discriminatory basis, to tender for:1.  all new telematic terminals and all conventional terminals for which there are common type-approval specifications;2.  all other types of equipment (switching and transmission equipment and conventional terminal equipment for which there are no common type-approval specifications) for at least 10 % by value of their annual orders.The Member States' Governments report to the Commission at the end of each six-month period on the measures taken by telecommunications administrations to implement this policy and their practical effects. These data, and all matters relating to the application of the recommendation, are regularly discussed by the Working Party of Senior Officials on Telecommunications.As a result of the recommendation, network operators advertised 168 tenders for equipment in the Supplement to the Official Journal in 1986. The recommendation is having an increasing impact and it is planned to strengthen the measure as part of the process of removing the remaining internal barriers to trade in the EC by 1992.PART III SANCTIONS AND MEANS OF REDRESS IF THE COMMUNITY RULES ARE BROKENAnyone who believes that a Member State or public authority has breached its obligations under the Community rules on public-sector procurement and construction contracts discussed in Parts I and II of this Guide - or under other Community rules that may apply to public-sector procurement and construction - may complain to the Commission. The address for lodging complaints is:Commission of the European Communities,Directorate-General for the Internal Market and Industrial Affairs,200 rue de la Loi,B-1049 Brussels.Telex 21877 COMEU B.Facsimile 00 32 2 235 0126.Complaints may also be submitted to the nearest Euro-Info Centre, which will forward them to the Commission (;).There is no specific form in which complaints should be submitted, but it is essential to give the Commission full details of the complaint and all the evidence the complainant has (such as, for example, the precise references of legislation that is believed to violate the rules, the name of the authority alleged to have done so, details of the contract concerned and its value, the national advertising of the contract, the precise terms of the tender notice, tender documents or any other document or requirement considered to be in breach or other alleged infringement).Full specification and documentation of the allegations by the complainant is very important. The Commission can(;) See list of currently operating or planned Euro-Info Centres in Table VII of Annex II to the Guide.then investigate the case quickly without having to ask for further information from the national authorities, and if the complaint is sustained it can take action against the Member State in time for this to be of some practical use to the complainant.It is also vital that the complaint should be made as soon as the complainant becomes aware of the alleged breach. Speed is especially important where the award procedure is still in progress because the Commission might then be able to act before the contract is awarded.The Commission would underline that, if the complainant so wishes, it will keep his identity secret when it addresses the responsible national authorities.The action the Commission can and must take when it finds that a Member State or a public authority for which the State is responsible has breached EC rules is laid down in Article 169 of the EEC Treaty, Article 88 of the European Coal and Steel Community Treaty and Article 141 of the Euratom Treaty.The procedure under the EEC and Euratom Treaties, which is the same, is a three-stage process:- Once the Commission has evidence confirming that a Member State has infringed its obligations under the Treaty, it writes a formal letter to the Member State asking it to answer the charges of infringement by a certain date.- If by that date the Member State does not either take remedial action or refute the charges by showing that the action challenged by the Commission is in fact consistentwith Community law, the Commission serves a 'reasoned opinion' on it ordering it to take remedial action by a certain date.- If the Member State does not comply by that date, the Commission brings the case before the Court of Justice. In appropriate cases, the Commission can also apply to the Court for an injunction, for example to suspend award of the contract.Under the European Coal and Steel Community Treaty, the Commission's action against a Member State that it has found to be breaking Treaty rules has immediate and direct effects on the Member State which it does not have under the EEC and Euratom Treaties. Here, after giving the Member State an opportunity to answer the charges, the Commission takes a decision, which by virtue of the second paragraph of Article 14 of the ECSC Treaty is binding.The decision formally records the infringement and allows the Member State some time to comply. It is up to the Member State to appeal to the Court of Justice if it wishes.The fact that Community procedures exist to establish infringements does not, however, prevent those concerned from bringing proceedings themselves in national courts to defend their individual rights under Community law.Indeed there are three good reasons why they should do so. First, concurrent action at Community and national level can only improve the general level of enforcement and compliance.Secondly, as infringements of the competitive tendering rules tend to occur before contracts are awarded and the award process is quite short, action through national courts or national extra-judicial channels may serve the complainants' immediate purposes better because it is quicker and, unlike a complaint to the Commission, can be specifically directed at the authority awarding the contract.Also, damages can be awarded in some Member States' courts.PART IV COMPETITIVE TENDERING FOR EC-FUNDED PROJECTSClose attention is paid to compliance with the Community rules on EC-wide competitive tendering when projects are granted EC funding.Such funding - whether grants from the Regional or Social Funds, the Agricultural 'Guidance' Fund, the Transport Infrastructure Fund or under Integrated Mediterranean Programmes, or loans from Euratom or European Coal and Steel Community resources, from the New Community Instrument or from the European Investment Bank(;) - is conditional on the promoter's compliance with the EC competitive tendering rules under Directives 77/62/EEC and 71/305/EEC, where they are applicable, and with the general prohibitions of measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions in intra-Community trade and of restrictions on the EC-wide right of EC nationals to set up in business and provide services, on which the Directives are based.(;) As far as the EIB is concerned, its Board of Governors on 4 June 1984 endorsed a recommendation by its Board of Directors to follow this policy in EIB lending.It is emphasized that the promoter's obligations do not end with the advertising of tenders in the Official Journal. As shown in the detailed discussion of the Directives in Part II of the Guide, they extend right through to the selection of the successful bidder and the signing of contracts.Hence, the Commission will not restrict its scrutiny to examination of those applications for funding which it receives but will also monitor compliance with the tendering rules both when reviewing the progress reports on projects and programmes and when checking individual awards of contracts.In the sectors still excluded from the Directives, the Commission is at present trying to persuade Member States to open up more of their procurement to competition from firms in other EC countries. The European Investment Bank also recommends its clients to consider the benefits of international competitive tendering for projects in these sectors.ANNEX I PROPOSALS FOR FURTHER LIBERALIZATION OF GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT AND CONSTRUCTION BY 1992 In the 1985 White Paper setting out the Commission's programme for removing the remaining internal barriers within the common market by 1992, which was later endorsed by the Community Heads of State and Government, the Commission announced its intention of making proposals which would progressively throw open all public procurement and construction contracts to EC-wide competition. This liberalization was regarded as an essential part of the internal market integration programme.The Commission identified the following priorities in the White Paper:- improvement of the 'Supplies' and 'Works' Directives, the EC legislation on competitive tendering for public-sector procurement and construction contracts, to make tendering and award procedures more transparent and open contracts up to greater competition,- stricter policing of compliance with the legislation,- extension of the directives to the excluded sectors (energy, transport, water and - in the case of the 'Supplies' Directive - telecommunications, with appropriate allowance for the fact that these sectors are in mixed public and private ownership,- further liberalization of public procurement of services beyond that already provided for in the 'Supplies' and 'Works' Directives.Better access to public procurement for small firms is also one of the objectives of the action programme for small and medium-sized enterprises which the Council adopted on 3 November 1986.In 1986 and 1987 the Commission sent the Council proposals to amend the 'Supplies' and 'Works' Directives.The main amendments proposed to the 'Supplies' Directive are as follows:- The definition of the types of contracts covered is widened and the method of calculating the value of contracts for the purposes of applying the threshold clarified.- The definition of the excluded sectors is improved to avoid too wide an interpretation.- Open tenders, which offer the widest possible access to contracts, are now the rule, and the use of restricted tenders has to be justified.- The extent of the present exceptions from the competitive tendering rules is reduced. In some of the exceptional circumstances in which the advertising requirement was previously waived, a new procedure, called the negotiated procedure, is now required, in which the planned purchase is advertised and some of the suppliers who reply are selected, on the basis of the criteria laid down in the Directive, to negotiate with the procurement entity. In the other exceptional circumstances, negotation with a single supplier is still possible, though the conditions are tightened up.- Procurement authorities are deterred from discriminating against foreign suppliers in restricted, negotiated and single tender procedures by being required to produce a written report justifying use of the procedure and giving details of the outcome.- The transparency and competitiveness of procurement decisions is enhanced by inter alia:- introduction of advance advertising of authorities' annual procurement programmes and their timetable,- the obligations to publish a notice giving details of the outcome of the procurement decision.- The chances of suppliers who face extra difficulties because of distance are improved by a lengthening of the minimum time limits procurement authorities must allow for the submission of bids or applications to bid. These longer time limits will also apply to procurement covered by Directive 80/767/EEC.- The rules on technical specifications have been brought into line with the new policy on standards.The proposal to amend the 'Works' Directive required a more extensive revision of the Directive because of several complicating factors.For this reason only the main proposed innovations are listed here:- The present single value threshold from which contracts become subject to all the rules of the Directive is replaced by two thresholds. Contracts exceeding the higher threshold (which is higher than the present one) are subject to all the rules of the Directive including EC-wide advertising. Those above the lower threshold (lower than the present one) do not need to be advertised throughout the EC but are otherwise subject to the rules.A two-part threshold had become necessary for two reasons:(a)  The cost of construction works has increased since the Directive was issued and contractors, except those close to the border, are only interested in work in other Member States if the contract is big enough to make the logistics of the operation economic.(b)  On the other hand, firms in other Member States, especially small to medium-sized ones, may be interested in the smaller contracts, so their interests need to be safeguarded. The legal guarantees provided by the present Directive in relation to the smaller contracts are therefore maintained and even extended, but Community-wide advertising has been dropped as unneccessary because these firms have traditionally found out about such contracts through other channels.- The scope of the Directive is extended by:(a)  a wider definition of the entities awarding contracts that are subject to the Directive;(b)  inclusion of contracts awarded by entities not coming within the definition but financed from public funds;(c)  a restriction of the exemption for the water, energy and transport sectors to works requiring specialist contractors for technical reasons specific to the sector;(d)  the same restriction of the exceptional circumstances in which the competitive tendering rules are waived as in the 'Supplies' Directive.- The rules for restricted tenders are tightened up to counter abuses involving the use of a numerus clausus. Entities awarding contracts are obliged to invite tenders from a certain number of contractors within a prescribed range (e.g. between five and eight), to state this range in the tender notice and to select domestic and foreign contractors to bid in proportion to the number of domestic and foreign firms replying to the tender notice.- It is made easier for contractors to bid for contracts by:(a)  introduction of advance advertising of construction projects to be put out to tender;(b)  a lengthening of the minimum time limits authorities must allow for bids and applications to bid and a doubling of most of the extended time limits if the authority has not advertised the project in advance.- Entities awarding contracts are required to ask bidders to state what proportion of the work will be subcontracted, in order to increase transparency about the division of the work between principal contractors and small to medium-sized firms.- The transparency of tendering and award procedures is enhanced by provisions requiring authorities to:(a)  explain why they have rejected a contractor's bid or application if the contractor asks them to;(b)  make a report on each award decision and supply it to the Commission on request;(c)  publish a notice on the outcome of each award decision.- The rules on technical specifications have been brought into line with developments in European and international standardization practice.In July 1987 the Commission also sent the Council a proposal for a Directive to improve the means of redress available to firms injured by breaches of the Community rules on open public procurement and construction contracting.The rationale of the proposal are the facts:(a)  that violations of Community rules occur before a contract is awarded and that as the periods involved in the award process are very short, machinery must be made available to deal with violations promptly while their effects are still reversible;(b)  that the means of redress available vary in different Member States, leading to different standards of protection of injured parties;(c)  that the sanctions the Commission can impose for breaches of the public procurement and works Directives do not take effect immediately and in most cases would come too late to provide suitable relief.The proposed Directive would therefore provide machinery for stricter control of public procurement and contract award decisions both nationally and by the Commission.The proposals are that:- in all Member States suppliers and contractors be provided with effective means of relief through administrative channels and/or the courts against illegal behaviour by procurement or contracting authorities at all stages of the award process and be able to obtain damages for injury resulting from such breaches.For this purpose the administrative bodies and/or the courts would have to have the power to order award proceedings or execution of an award decision already taken to be suspended;- the Commission should be able to intervene in national administrative or court proceedings to assert the Community interest and enforce compliance with the Community rules immediately;- acting on a complaint or on its own initiative, the Commission should be able in urgent cases and where a clear infringement has been committed to order a procurement or contracting authority to suspend award proceedings for a limited period in order to prevent irreparable injury.ANNEX II TABLES I TO XI TABLE I LIST OF LEGAL PERSONS GOVERNED BY PUBLIC LAW AND BODIES CORRESPONDING THERETO REFERRED TO IN DIRECTIVE 77/62/EECIIVI.  In all Member States:associations governed by public law or bodies corresponding thereto formed by regional or local authorities, e.g. 'associations de communes', 'syndicats de communes', 'Gemeindeverbaende', etc.IVII.  In Germany:the 'bundesunmittelbaren Koerperschaften, Anstalten und Stiftungen des oeffentlichen Rechts'; the 'landesunmittelbaren Koerperschaften, Anstalten und Stiftungen des oeffentlichen Rechts' subject to State budgetary supervision.VIII.  In Belgium:- 'le Fonds des Routes 1955-1969' - 'het Wegenfonds',- 'la Régie des Voies Aériennes' - 'de Regie der luchtwegen',- public social assistance centres,- church councils,- 'l'Office Régulateur de la Navigation Intérieure' - 'de Dienst voor regeling van den binnenvaart',- 'la Régie des services frigorifiques de l'État belge' - 'de Regie der Belgische Rijkskoel- en Vriesdiensten'.IIIV.  In Denmark:'andre forvaltningssubjekter'.IIIV.  In France:- administrative public bodies at national, regional, departmental and local levels,- universities, public scientific and cultural bodies and other establishments as defined by the Law setting out guidelines for Higher Education N° 68-978 of 12 November 1968IIVI.  In Ireland:other public authorities whose public supply contracts are subject to control by the State.IVII.  In Italy:- State universities, State university institutes, consortia for university development works,- higher scientific and cultural institutes, astronomical, astrophysical, geophysical or vulcanological observatories,- the 'Enti di riforma fondiaria',- welfare and benevolent institutes of all kinds.VIII.  In Luxembourg:public bodies subject to control by the Government, by an association of municipal corporations or by a municipal corporation.IIIX.  In the Netherlands:- the 'Waterschappen',- the 'instellingen van wetenschappelijk onderwijs vermeld in Article 15 van de Wet op het Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs (1960)', the 'academische ziekenhuizen'.- the 'Nederlandse Centrale Organisatie voor toegepast natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek (TNO)', and its dependent organizations.IIIX.  In the United Kingdom:- Education Authorities,- Fire Authorities,- National Health Service Authorities,- Police Authorities,- Commission for the New Towns,- New Towns Corporations,- Scottish Special Housing Association,- Northern Ireland Housing Executive.IIXI.  In Greece:other legal persons governed by public law whose public supply contracts are subject to State control.IXII.  In Spain:other legal persons subject to public rules for the award of contracts.XIII.  In Portugal:legal persons governed by public law whose public supply contracts are subject to State control.TABLE II LIST OF ENTITIES TREATED AS CONTRACTING AUTHORITIES FOR THE PURPOSES OF DIRECTIVE 80/767/EEC AT THE TIME OF ADOPTION OF THIS DIRECTIVE BelgiumI. MINISTERIAL DEPARTMENTS 1. Services du premier ministreDiensten van de Eerste Minister 2. Ministère des affaires économiquesMinisterie van Economische Zaken 3. Ministère des affaires étrangères, du commerce extérieur et de la coopération au développementMinisterie van Buitenlandse Zaken, van Buitenlandse Handel en van Ontwikkelingssamenwerking 4. Ministère de l'agricultureMinisterie van Landbouw 5. Ministère des classes moyennesMinisterie van de Middenstand 6. Ministère des communicationsMinisterie van Verkeerswezen 7. Ministère de la défense nationaleMinisterie van Landsverdediging 8. Ministère de l'éducation nationale et de la cultureMinisterie van Nationale Opvoeding en Cultuur 9. Ministère de l'emploi et du travailMinisterie van Tewerkstelling en Arbeid10. Ministère des financesMinisterie van Financiën11. Ministère de l'intérieurMinisterie van Binnenlandse Zaken12. Ministère de la justiceMinisterie van Justitie13. Ministère de la prévoyance socialeMinisterie van Sociale Voorzorg14. Ministère de la santé publique et de l'environnementMinisterie van Volksgezondheid en Leefmilieu15. Ministère des travaux publics- Fonds des routes- Fonds des bâtimentsMinisterie van Openbare Werken- Wegenfonds- Gebouwenfonds16. Régie des postes (¹)Regie der Posterijen (¹)II. LIST OF MINISTRIES AND STATE DEPARTMENTS WHOSE PURCHASING IS EFFECTEDTHROUGH THE ENTITIES LISTED AT IPremier ministreEerste MinisterVice-premier ministre et ministre de la fonction publiqueVice-Eerste Minister en Minister van Openbaar AmbtVice-premier ministre et ministre de la défense nationaleVice-Eerste Minister en Minister van LandsverdedigingMinistre de la justiceMinister van JustitieMinistre des affaires étrangèresMinister van Buitenlandse ZakenMinistre des affaires économiquesMinister van Economische ZakenMinistre de la prévoyance sociale et secrétaire d'État aux affaires sociales, adjoint au ministre des affaires wallonnesMinister van Sociale Voorzorg en Staatssecretaris voor Sociale Zaken, toegevoegd aan de Minister voor Waalse AangelegenhedenMinistre des communicationsMinister van VerkeerswezenMinistre de l'éducation nationale (néerlandaise)Minister van Nationale Opvoeding (Nederlands)Ministre de l'agriculture et des classes moyennesMinister van Landbouw en MiddenstandMinistre de la culture néerlandaise et ministre des affaires flamandesMinister van de Nederlandse Cultuur en Minister voor Vlaamse AangelegenhedenMinistre de l'éducation nationale (française)Minister van Nationale Opvoeding (Frans)(¹) Postal business only.Ministre de la santé publique et de l'environnementMinister van Volksgezondheid en LeefmilieuMinistre des financesMinister van FinanciënMinistre du commerce extérieurMinister van Buitenlandse HandelMinistre de la coopération au développementMinister van OntwikkelingssamenwerkingMinistre des postes, télégraphes et téléphones et ministre des affaires bruxelloises (¹)Minister van Posterijen, Telegrafie en Telefonie en Minister voor Brusselse Aangelegenheden (¹)Ministre des pensionsMinister van PensioenenMinistre de l'emploi et du travailMinister van Tewerkstelling en ArbeidMinistre de l'intérieurMinister van Binnenlandse ZakenMinistre de la politique scientifiqueMinister van WetenschapsbeleidMinistre de la culture françaiseMinister van Franse CultuurMinistre des travaux publics et ministre des affaires wallonnesMinister van Openbare Werken en Minister voor Waalse AangelegenhedenSecrétaire d'État à l'économie régionale, adjoint au ministre des affaires wallonnesStaatssecretaris voor de regionale economie, toegevoegd aan de Minister voor Waalse AngelegenhedenSecrétaire d'État au budget, adjoint au premier ministre, et secrétaire d'État à l'économie régionale, adjoint au ministre des affaires flamandesStaatssecretaris voor de begroting, toegevoegd aan de Eerste Minister en Staatssecretaris voor de Regionale Economie, toegevoegd aan de Minister voor Vlaamse AangelegenhedenSecrétaire d'État à la réforme des institutions, adjoint au premier ministreStaatssecretaris voor Institutionele Hervormingen, toegevoegd aan de Erste MinisterSecrétaire d'État à la culture française, adjoint au ministre de la culture françaiseStaatssecretaris voor Franse Cultuur, toegevoegd aan de Minister voor Franse CultuurSecrétaire d'État aux affaires économiques, adjoint au ministre des affaires économiques, etStaatssecretaris voor Economische Zaken, toegevoegd aan de Minister voor Economische Zaken ensecrétaire d'État aux affaires sociales, adjoint au ministre des affaires flamandesStaatssecretaris voor Sociale Zaken, toegevoegd aan de Minister voor Vlaamse AangelegenhedenSecrétaire d'État à la réforme des institutions, adjoint au vice-premier ministreStaatssecretaris voor Institutionele Hervormingen, toegevoegd aan de Vice-Eerste MinisterSecrétaire d'État à la culture néerlandaise, adjoint au ministre de la culture néerlandaise, etStaatssecretaris voor Nederlandse Cultuur, toegevoegd aan de Minister voor Nederlandse Cultuur ensecrétaire d'État aux affaires sociales, adjoint au ministre des affaires bruxelloisesStaatssecretaris voor Sociale Zaken, toegevoegd aan de Minister voor Brusselse AangelegenhedenIII. GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS 1. Régie des services frigorifiques de l'État belgeRegie der Belgische Rijkskoel- en Vriesdiensten 2. Fonds général des bâtiments scolaires de l'ÉtatGebouwenfonds voor de Rijksscholen 3. Fonds de construction d'institutions hospitalières et médico-socialesFonds voor de bouw van ziekenhuizen en medisch-sociale inrichtingen 4. Institut national du logementNationaal Instituut voor de huisvesting 5. Société nationale terrienneNationale landmaatschappij 6. Office national de sécurité socialeRijksdienst voor sociale zekerheid 7. Institut national d'assurances sociales pour travailleurs indépendantsRijksinstituut voor de sociale verzekeringen der zelfstandigen 8. Institut national d'assurance maladie-invaliditéRijksinstitut voor ziekte- en invaliditeitsverzekering 9. Caisse nationale des pensions de retraite et de survieRijkskas voor de rust- en overlevingspensioenen(¹) Postal business only.10. Office national des pensions pour travailleurs salariésRijksdienst voor werknemerspensioenen11. Caisse auxiliaire d'assurance maladie-invaliditéHulpkas voor ziekte- en invaliditeitsverzekering12. Fonds des maladies professionellesFonds voor de beroepsziekten13. Caisse nationale de crédit professionnelNationale Kas voor beroepskrediet14. Caisse générale d'épargne et de retraiteAlgemene Spaar- en lijfrentekas15. Office national des débouchés agricoles et horticolesNationale Dienst voor afzet van land- en tuinbouwprodukten16. Office national du lait et de ses dérivésNationale Zuiveldienst17. Office national de l'emploiRijksdienst voor arbeidsvoorzieningDenmarkDANISH GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT ENTITIES 1. Statsministeriet 2. Arbejdsministeriet- fire direktorater og institutioner 3. Udenrigsministeriet- to departementer 4. Boligministeriet- ét direktorat 5. Finansministeriet(tre departementer)- Direktoratet for statens indkoeb- tre andre institutioner 6. Ministeriet for skatter og afgifter(to departementer)- frem direktorater og institutioner 7. Fiskeriministeriet- fire institutioner 8. Handels- og industriministeriet- Forsoegsstationen Risoe- 20 direktorater og institutioner 9. Indenrigsministeriet- Statens Seruminstitut- Civilforsvarsstyrelsen- tre andre direktorater og institutioner10. Justitsministeriet- Rigspolitichefen- tre andre direktorater og institutioner11. Kirkeministeriet12. Landbrugsministeriet- 19 direktorater og institutioner13. Ministeriet for forureningsbekaempelse- fem direktorater14. Ministeriet for Groenland- Den kgl. groenlandske Handel (¹)- Groenlands tekniske Organisation- to andre institutioner15. Ministeriet for kulturelle anliggender- to direktorater og adskillige statsejede museer og hoejere uddannelsesinstitutioner16. Socialministeriet- fem direktorater17. Undervisnigsministeriet- Rigshospitalet- seks direktorater- 11 universiteter og andre hoejere laereanstalter18. OEkonomiministeriet(3 departementer)19. Ministeriet for offentlige arbejder (²)- Statshavne og statslufthavne- fire direktorater og adskillige institutioner20. Forsvarsministeriet(¹) Products for resale or for use in the production of goods for sale are not included.(²) With the exception of Danish State Railways. Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, postal business only.FranceLIST OF ENTITIES(1) Main purchasing entitiesA. General budgetPremier ministreMinistre délégué auprès du premier ministre, chargé de la condition féminineMinistre de la justiceMinistre de la santé et de la familleMinistre de l'intérieurMinistre des affaires étrangèresMinistre de la défenseMinistre du travail et de la participationMinistre de la coopérationMinistre de l'économieMinistre du budgetMinistre de l'environnement et du cadre de vieMinistre de l'éducationMinistre des universitésMinistre de l'agricultureMinistre de l'industrieMinistre des transportMinistre du commerce et de l'artisanatMinistre du commerce extérieurMinistre de la jeunesse, des sports et des loisirsMinistre de la culture et de la communicationSecrétaire d'État aux postes et télécommunications (;)Secrétaire d'État aux anciens combattantsSecrétaire d'État auprès du premier ministreSecrétaire d'État auprès du premier ministre (relations avec de Parlement)Secrétaire d'État auprès du premier ministre (recherche)Secrétaire d'État auprès du garde des Sceaux, ministre de la justiceSecrétaire d'État auprès du ministre de la santé et de la familleSecrétaire d'État auprès du ministre de l'intérieur (départements et territoires d'outre-mer)Secrétaire d'État auprès du ministre de l'intérieur (collectivités locales)Secrétaire d'État auprès du ministre des affaires étrangèresSecrétaire d'État auprès du ministre du travail et de la participation (formation professionnelle)Secrétaire d'État auprès du ministre du travail et de la participation (travailleurs manuels et immigrés)Secrétaire d'État du ministre du travail et de la participation (emploi féminin)(¹) Postal business only.Secrétaire d'État auprès du ministre de l'environnement et du cadre de vie (logement)Secrétaire d'État auprès du ministre de l'environnement et du cadre de vie (environnement)Secrétaire d'État auprès du ministre de l'éducationSecrétaire d'État auprès du ministre de l'agricultureSecrétaire d'État auprès du ministre de l'industrie (petite et moyenne industrie)B. Budget AnnexIn particular:- Imprimerie nationaleC. Special Treasury accountsIn particular:- Fonds forestier national- Soutien financier de l'industrie cinématographique- Fonds spécial d'investissement routier- Fonds national d'aménagement foncier et d'urbanisme- Union des groupements d'achats publics (UGAP)(2) National administrative public bodiesAcadémie de France à RomeAcadémie de marineAcadémie des sciences d'outre-merAgence centrale des organismes de sécurité sociale (ACOSS)Agences financières de bassinsAgence nationale pour l'amélioration des conditions de travail (ANACT)Agence nationale pour l'amélioration de l'habitat (ANAH)Agence nationale pour l'emploi (ANPE)Agence nationale pour l'indemnisation des Français d'outre-mer (ANIFOM)Assemblée permanente des chambres d'agriculture (APCA)Bibliothèque nationaleBibliothèque nationale et universitaire de StrasbourgBureau d'études des postes et télécommunications d'outre-mer (BEPTOM)Caisse d'aide à l'équipement des collectivités locales (CAEC)Caisse autonome de la reconstructionCaisse des dépôts et consignationsCaisse nationale des allocations familiales (CNAF)Caisse nationale des autoroutes (CNA)Caisse nationale d'assurance-maladie des travailleurs salariés (CNAM)Caisse nationale d'assurance-vieillesse des travailleurs salariés (CNAVTS)Caisse nationale militaire de sécurité sociale (CNMSS)Caisse nationale des monuments historiques et des sitesCaisse nationale des télécommunications (;)Caisse du prèts aux organismes HLMCasa de Velasquez(¹) Postal business only.Centre d'enseignement zootechnique de RambouilletCentre d'études du milieu et de pédagogie appliquée du ministère de l'agricultureCentre d'études supérieurs de sécurité socialeCentres de formation professionnelle agricoleCentre national d'art et de culture Georges PompidouCentre national de la cinématographie françaiseCentre national d'études et de formation pour l'enfance inadaptéeCentre national d'études et d'experimentation du machinisme agricoleCentre national d'études et de formation pour l'adaptation scolaire et l'éducation spécialisée (CNEFASES)Centre national de formation et de perfectionnement des professeurs d'enseignement ménager et ménager agricoleCentre national des lettresCentre national de documentation pédagogiqueCentre national des oeuvres universitaires et scolaires (CNOUS)Centre national d'ophtalmologie des Quinze-VingtsCentre national de préparation au professorat de travaux manuels éducatifs et d'enseignement ménagerCentre national de la promotion rurale de MarmilhatCentre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)Centres pédagogiques régionauxCentres régionaux d'éducation populaireCentres régionaux d'éducation physique et sportive (CREPS)Centres régionaux des oeuvres universitaires (CROUS)Centres régionaux de la propriété forestièreCentre de sécurité sociale des travailleurs migrantsCentres universitairesChancelleries des universitésCollègesCollèges agricolesCommission des operations de BourseConseil supérieur de la pêcheConservatoire de l'espace littoral et des rivages lacustresConservatoire national des arts et métiersConservatoire national supérieur de musiqueConservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatiqueDomaine de PompadourÉcole centrale - LyonÉcole centrale des arts et manufacturesÉcole française d'archéologie d'AthènesÉcole française d'Extrême-OrientÉcole française de RomeÉcole des hautes études en sciences socialesÉcole nationale d'administrationÉcole nationale de l'aviation civile (ENAC)École nationale des ChartesÉcole nationale d'équitationÉcole nationale féminine d'agronomie de Marmilhat (Puy-de-Dôme)École nationale féminine d'agronomie de Toulouse (Hte-Garonne)École nationale du génie rural et des eaux et forêts (ENGREF)Écoles nationales de l'industrie laitièreÉcoles nationales d'ingénieursÉcole nationale d'ingénieurs des industries des techniques agricoles et alimentairesÉcoles nationales d'ingénieurs des travaux agricolesÉcole nationale des ingénieurs des travaux ruraux et techniques sanitairesÉcole nationale des ingénieurs des travaux des eaux et forêts (ENITEF)École nationale de la magistratureÉcoles nationales de la marine marchandeÉcole nationale de la santé publique (ENSP)École nationale de ski et d'alpinismeÉcole nationale supérieure agronomique - MontpellierÉcole nationale supérieure agronomique - RennesÉcole nationale supérieure des arts décoratifsÉcole nationale supérieure des arts et industries - StrasbourgÉcole nationale supérieure des arts et industries textiles - RoubaixÉcole nationale supérieure d'arts et métiersÉcole nationale supérieure des beaux-artsÉcole nationale supérieur des bibliothécairesÉcole nationale supérieure de céramique industrielle - SèvresÉcole nationale supérieure de l'électronique et de ses applications (ENSEA)École nationale supérieure d'horticultureÉcole nationale supérieure des industries agricoles alimentairesÉcole nationale supérieure du paysageÉcole nationale supérieure des sciences agronomiques appliquées (ENSSAA)Écoles nationales veterinairesÉcoles nationales de perfectionnementÉcoles nationales de premier degréÉcole nationale de voirieÉcoles normales d'instituteurs et d'institutricesÉcoles normales nationales d'apprentissageÉcole normales supérieuresÉcole polytechniqueÉcole de sylviculture - Crogny (Aube)École technique professionnelle agricole et forestière de Meymac (Corrèze)École de viticulture et d'oenologie de la Tour Blanche (Gironde)École de viticulture - Avize (Marne)Établissement national de convalescentes du Vésinet (ENCV)Établissement national de convalescents de Saint-MauriceÉtablissement national des invalides de la marine (ENIM)Établissement national de Koenigs WarterFondation CarnegieFondation Singer-PolignacFonds d'action sociale pour les travailleurs migrantsHôpital-hospice national Dufresne-SommeillerInstitut d'élevage et de médicine vétérinaires des pays tropicaux (IEMVPT)Institut français d'archéologie orientale du CaireInstitut géographique nationalInstitut industriel du NordInstitut international d'administration publique (IIAP)Institut national agronomique de Paris-GrignonInstitut national des appellations d'origine des vins et eaux-de-vie (INAOVEV)Institut national d'astronomie et de géophysique (INAG)Institut national de la consommation (INC)Institut national d'éducation populaire (INEP)Institut national d'études démographiques (INED)Institut national des jeunes aveugles - ParisInstitut national des jeunes sourdes - BordeauxInstitut national des jeunes sourds - ChambéryInstitut national des jeunes sourds - MetzInstitut national des jeunes sourds - ParisInstitut national de physique nucléaire et de physique des particules (I.N2.P3)Institut national de promotion supérieur agricoleInstitut national de la propriété industrielleInstitut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA)Institut national de recherche pédagogique (INRP)Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM)Institut national des sportsInstituts nationaux polytechniquesInstituts nationaux des sciences appliquéesInstitut national supérieur de chimie industrielle de RouenInstitut de recherches d'informatique et d'automatique (IRIA)Institut de recherche des transports (IRT)Instituts régionaux d'administrationInstitut scientifique et technique des pêches maritimes (ISTPM)Institut supérieur des matériaux et de la construction mécanique de Saint-OuenLycées agricolesLycées classiques et modernesLycées d'enseignement professionnelLycées techniquesMusée de l'arméeMusée Gustave MoreauMusée de la marineMusée national J. J. HennerMusée national de la légion d'honneurMusée postalMuséum national d'histoire naturelleMusée Auguste RodinObservatoire de ParisOffice de coopération et d'accueil universitaireOffice français de protection des réfugiés et rapariésOffice national des anciens combattantsOffice national de la chasseOffice national d'information sur les enseignements et les professions (ONISEP)Office national d'immigration (ONI)Office de la recherche scientifique et technique d'outre-mer (ORSTOM)Office universitaire et culturel français pour l'AlgériePalais de la découverteParcs nationauxRéunion des musées nationauxService national des examens du permis de conduireSyndicat des transport parisiensThermes nationaux - Aix-les-BainsUniversitésFederal Republic of GermanyLIST OF CENTRAL PURCHASING ENTITIES 1.  Auswaertiges Amt 2.  Bundesministerium fuer Arbeit und Sozialordnung 3.  Bundesministerium fuer Bildung und Wissenschaft 4.  Bundesministerium fuer Ernaehrung, Landwirtschaft und Forsten 5.  Bundesministerium der Finanzen 6.  Bundesministerium fuer Forschung und Technologie 7.  Bundesministerium fuer Innerdeutsche Beziehungen 8.  Bundesministerium des Inneren (nur Zivilgueter) 9.  Bundesministerium fuer Jugend, Familie und Gesundheit10.  Bundesministerium der Justiz11.  Bundesministerium fuer Raumordnung, Bauwesen und Staedtebau12.  Bundesministerium fuer das Post- und Fernmeldewesen (;)(¹) Postal business only.13.  Bundesministerium fuer Wirtschaft14.  Bundesministerium fuer wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit15.  Bundesministerium der VerteidigungNoteAccording to existing national obligations, the entities contained in this list shall, in conformity with special procedures, award contracts in certain regions which, as a consequence of the division of Germany, are confronted with economic disadvantages.The same applies to the awarding of contracts to remove the difficulties of certain groups caused by the last war.Ireland1. MAIN PURCHASING ENTITIES(a) Office of Public Works(b) Stationery Office2. OTHER DEPARTMENTSPresident's EstablishmentOffice of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Parliament)Department of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister)General Statistics OfficeDepartment of FinanceOffice of the Comptroller and Auditor-GeneralOffice of the Revenue CommissionersState LaboratoryOffice of the Attorney-GeneralOffice of the Director of Public ProsecutionsValuation OfficeOrdnance SurveyDepartment of the Public ServiceCivil Service CommissionDepartment of Economic Planning and DevelopmentDepartment of JusticeLand RegistryCharitable Donations and Bequests OfficeDepartment of the EnvironmentDepartment of EducationNational Gallery of IrelandDepartment of the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking areas)Department of AgricultureDepartment of Fisheries and ForestryDepartment of LabourDepartment of Industry, Commerce and EnergyDepartment of Tourism and TransportDepartment of Foreign AffairsDepartment of Social WelfareDepartment of HealthDepartment of DefenceDepartment of Posts and Telegraphs (;)ItalyPURCHASING ENTITIES 1.  Ministero del tesoro ($) 2.  Ministero delle finanze (=) 3.  Ministero di grazia e giustizia 4.  Ministero degli affari esteri 5.  Ministero della pubblica istruzione 6.  Ministero dell'interno 7.  Ministero dei lavori pubblici 8.  Ministero dell'agricoltura e delle foreste 9.  Ministero dell'industria, del commercio e dell'artigianato10.  Ministero del lavoro e della previdenza sociale11.  Ministero della sanità12.  Ministero per i beni culturali e ambientali13.  Ministero della difesa14.  Ministero del bilancio e della programmazione economica15.  Ministero delle partecipazioni statali16.  Ministero del turismo e dello spettacolo17.  Ministero del commercio con l'estero18.  Ministero delle poste e delle telecommunicazioni (;)LuxembourgLIST OF CENTRAL PURCHASING ENTITIES FALLING WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE DIRECTIVE 1.  Ministère d'État: service central des imprimés et des fournitures de l'État 2.  Ministère de l'agriculture: administration des services techniques de l'agriculture 3.  Ministère de l'éducation nationale: écoles d'enseignement secondaire, d'enseignement moyen, d'enseignement professionnel(¹) Postal business only.($) Acting as the general purchasing entity for most of the other Ministries or entities.(=) Not including purchases made by the tobacco and salt monopolies. 4.  Ministère de la famille et de la solidarite sociale: maisons de retraite 5.  Ministère de la force publique: armée - gendarmerie - police 6.  Ministère de la justice: établissements pénitentiaires 7.  Ministère de la santé publique: Mondorf-État, hôpital neuropsychiatrique 8.  Ministère des travaux publics: bâtiments publies - ponts et chaussées 9.  Ministère des finances: postes et télécommunications (;)10.  Ministère des transports et de l'énergie: centrales électriques de la haute et basse Sûre11.  Ministère de l'environnement: commissariat général à la protection des eauxNetherlandsLIST OF ENTITIESA. Ministries and central governmental bodies 1.  Ministerie van Algemene Zaken 2.  Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken 3.  Ministerie van Justitie 4.  Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken 5.  Ministerie van Defensie 6.  Ministerie van Financiën 7.  Ministerie van Economische Zaken 8.  Ministerie van Onderwijs en Wetenschap 9.  Ministerie van Volkshuisvesting en Ruimtelijke Ordening10.  Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat (;), met inbegrip van post, telefoon en telegrafie11.  Ministerie van Landbouw en Visserij12.  Ministerie van Sociale Zaken13.  Ministerie van Cultuur, Recratie en Maatschappelijk Werk14.  Ministerie van Volksgezondheid en Milieuhygiëne15.  Ministerie van Ontwikkelingssamenwerking16.  Ministerie van Wetenschapsbeleid17.  Kabinet van Nederlandse-Antilliaanse Zaken18.  Hoge Colleges van StaatB. Central procurement officesEntities listed above in A generally make their own specific purchases; other general purchases are effected through the entities listed below: 1.  Rijksinkoopbureau 2.  Directoraat-generaal voor de Waterstaat 3.  Dienst van de Kwartiermeester-generaal 4.  Directie Materieel Koninklijke Luchtmacht 5.  Hoofd afdeling Materieel Koninklijke Marine(¹) Postal business only. 6.  Staatsdrukkerij en Uitgeverijbedrijf 7.  Staatsbedrijf der Posterijen, Telegrafie en Telefonie, Centrale Afdeling Inkoop en Materieelcontrole (;) 8.  Rijksautomobielcentrale 9.  Rijkskantoormachinecentrale10.  Staatsbosbeheer11.  Rijksdienst IjsselmeerpoldersUnited KingdomLIST OF ENTITIESBoard of Inland RevenueBritish MuseumBritish Museum (Natural History)Cabinet OfficeCentral Office of InformationCharity CommissionCivil Service DepartmentAncient Monuments (Scotland) CommissionAncient Monuments (Wales) CommissionBoundary Commission for England and WalesBoundary Commission for Northern IrelandCentral Computer AgencyChessington Computer CentreCivil Service Catering OrganizationCivil Service CollegeCivil Service CommissionCivil Service Pay Research UnitHistorical Manuscripts CommissionHistorical Monuments (England) CommissionMedical Advisory ServiceMuseum and Galleries Standing CommissionOffice of the Parliamentary CounselReview Board for Government ContractsRoyal Commission on Criminal ProcedureRoyal Commission on Environmental PollutionRoyal Commission on GamblingRoyal Commission on Legal Services (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)Royal Commission on Legal Services (Scotland)Royal Fine Art Commission (England)Royal Fine Art Commission (Scotland)(¹) Postal business only.Crown Estate Office (Vote-borne, services only)Crown Office, ScotlandCustoms and Excise DepartmentDepartment for National SavingsDepartment of Agriculture and Fisheries for ScotlandArtifical Insemination ServiceCrofters CommissionRed Deer CommissionRoyal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh etc.Department of Education and ScienceUniversity Grants CommitteeDepartment of EmploymentDuchess of Gloucester HouseEmployment Appeal TribunalIndustrial TribunalsOffice of Manpower EconomicsRoyal Commission on the Distribution of Income and WealthDepartment of EnergyDepartment of Health and Social SecurityAttendance Allowance BoardCentral Council for Education and Training in Social WorkCouncil for the Education and Training of Health VisitorsDental Estimates BoardJoint Board of Clinical Nursing StudiesMedical and Dental Referee ServiceMedical Boards and Examining Medical Officers (War Pensions)National Health ServiceNational Health Service AuthoritiesNational Insurance CommissionersOccupational Pensions BoardPrescription Pricing AuthorityPublic Health Laboratory Service BoardSupplementary Benefits Appeal TribunalsSupplementary Benefits CommissionDepartment of IndustryComputer-Aided Design CentreLaboratory of the Government ChemistNational Engineering LaboratoryNational Maritime InstituteNational Physical LaboratoryWarren Spring LaboratoryDepartment of Prices and Consumer ProtectionDomestic Coal Consumers' CouncilElectricity Consultative Councils for England and WalesGas Consumers' CouncilsMetrication BoardMonopolies and Mergers CommissionDepartment of the EnvironmentBritish Urban Development Services UnitBuilding Research EstablishmentCommons Commissioners - (except payment of rates)Countryside CommissionDirectorate of Estate Management OverseasFire Research Station/Boreham WoodHydraulics Research StationLocal Valuation PanelsLocation of Offices BureauProperty Services AgencyRent Control Tribunals and Rent Assessment Panels and CommitteesDepartment of the Government ActuaryDepartment of the Registers of ScotlandDepartment of TradeCoastguard ServicesBritish Export Marketing Centre, TokyoMarket Entry Guarantee SchemePatent OfficeDepartment of TransportRoad Construction Units and Sub-UnitsTransport and Road Research LaboratoryTransport Tribunal - (except payment of rates)Transport Users Consultative Committees - (except payment of rates)Director of Public ProsecutionsExchequer and Audit DepartmentExchequer Office ScotlandExport Credits Guarantee DepartmentForeign and Commonwealth OfficeGovernment Communications HeadquartersMiddle East Centre for Arab StudiesWiston House Conference and European Discussion CentreHome OfficeGaming Board for Great BritainImmigration Appeals TribunalInspectors of ConstabularyParole Board and Local Review CommitteesHouse of CommonsHouse of LordsImperial War MuseumIntervention Board for Agricultural ProduceLegal Aid FundsLord Chancellor's DepartmentCouncil on TribunalsCounty CourtsCourts Martial Appeal CourtCrown CourtsJudge Advocate-General and Judge Advocate of the FleetLands TribunalLaw CommissionPensions Appeal TribunalsSupreme CourtMinistry of Agriculture, Fisheries and FoodAdvisory ServicesAgricultural Development and Advisory ServiceAgricultural Dwelling House Advisory CommitteesAgricultural Land TribunalsAgricultural Wages Board and CommitteesArtificial Insemination Research CentresCentral Council for Agricultural and Horticultural CooperationPlant Pathology LaboratoryPlant Variety Rights OfficeRoyal Botanic Gardens, KewMinistry of DefenceProcurement ExecutiveMeteorological OfficeMinistry of Overseas DevelopmentCentre of Overseas Pest ResearchDirectorate of Overseas SurveysLand Resources DivisionTropical Products InstituteNational Debt Office and Pensions Commutation BoardNational GalleryNational Galleries of ScotlandNational Library of ScotlandNational Maritime MuseumNational Museum of Antiquities of ScotlandNational Portrait GalleryNorthern Ireland Government Departments and Public AuthoritiesDepartment of the Civil ServiceDepartment of AgricultureDepartment of CommerceDepartment of EducationDepartment of the EnvironmentDepartment of FinanceDepartment of Health and Social ServicesDepartment of Manpower ServicesNothern Ireland Police AuthorityNorthern Ireland OfficeCoroners CourtsCounty CourtsCrown Solicitor's OfficeDepartment of the Director of Public ProsecutionsEnforcement of Judgements OfficeForensic Science ServiceMagistrates CourtsPensions Appeal TribunalsProbation ServiceRegistration of Electors and Conduct of ElectionsState Pathologist ServiceSupreme Court of Judicature and Court of Criminal Appeal of Northern IrelandOffice of Fair TradingOffice of Population Censuses and SurveysNational Health Service Central RegisterOffice of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration andHealth Service CommissionersPaymaster General's OfficePostal Business of the Post OfficePrivy Council OfficePublic Record OfficePublic Trustee OfficePublic Works Loan CommissionQueen's and Lord Treasurer's RemembrancerCrown OfficeDepartment of Procurators FiscalLords Advocate's DepartmentLands TribunalRegistrar-General's Office, ScotlandNational Health Service Central RegisterRegistry of Friendly SocietiesRoyal Commission, etc. (see references under Civil Service Department)Commission on the ConstitutionRoyal Commission on the National Health ServiceRoyal Commission on GamblingRoyal Hospital, ChelseaRoyal MintRoyal Scottish MuseumScience MuseumScottish Courts AdministrationCourt of SessionCourt of JusticiaryAccountant of Court's OfficeSheriff CourtsScottish Land CourtScottish Law CommissionPensions Appeal TribunalsScottish Development DepartmentLocal Government Reorganization Commissions etc.Rent Assessment Panel and Committees, etc.Scottish Economic Planning DepartmentScottish Electricity Consultative CouncilsScottish Education DepartmentRoyal Scottish MuseumScottish Home and Health DepartmentCommon Services AgencyCouncil for the Education and Training of Health VisitorsFire Service Training SchoolInspectors of ConstabularyLocal Health CouncilsMental Welfare Commission for ScotlandNational Health ServiceNational Health Service authoritiesParole Board for Scotland and Local Review CommitteesPlanning CouncilScottish Antibody Production UnitScottish Crime SquadScottish Criminal Record OfficeScottish Council for Post-Graduate Medical Education and TrainingScottish Police CollegeScottish Land CourtScottish OfficeScottish Record OfficeStationery OfficeTate GalleryTreasuryExchequer Office, ScotlandNational Economic Development CouncilRating of Government Property DepartmentTreasury Solicitor's DepartmentDepartment of the Director of Public ProsecutionsLaw Officer's DepartmentDepartment of the Procurator-General and Treasury SolicitorVictoria and Albert MuseumWallace CollectionWelsh OfficeCentral Council for Education and Training in Social WorkCommons CommissionersCouncil for the Education and Training of Health VisitorsDental Estimates BoardLocal Government Boundary CommissionLocal Valuation Panels and CourtsNational Health ServiceNational Health Service authoritiesPublic Health Laboratory Service BoardRent Control Tribunals and Rent Assessment Panels and CommitteesTABLE III LIST OF PRODUCTS PURCHASED BY CONTRACTING AUTHORITIES IN THE FIELD OF DEFENCE THAT ARE COVERED BY DIRECTIVE 80/767/EEC NB: This product classification is currently being reviewed to adapt it to the new combined nomenclature of goods enacted by Council Regulation (EEC) N° 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (OJ N° L 256, 7. 9. 1987), which enters into force on 1 January 1988.The revised list will have to be approved under the procedure provided in the GATT procurement code.The Directive will then be amended to introduce the revised list.Chapter 25:Salt; sulphur; earths and stone; plastering materials, lime and cementChapter 26:Metallic ores, slag and ashChapter 27:Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxesexcept:ex 27.10: special engine fuelsChapter 28:Inorganic chemicals; organic and inorganic compounds of precious metals, of rare-earth metals, of radio-active elements and of isotopesexcept:ex 28.09: explosivesex 28.13: explosivesex 28.14: tear gasex 28.28: explosivesex 28.32: explosivesex 28.39: explosivesex 28.50: toxic productsex 28.51: toxic productsex 28.54: explosivesChapter 29:Organic chemicalsexcept:ex 29.03: explosivesex 29.04: explosivesex 29.07: explosivesex 29.08: explosivesex 29.11: explosivesex 29.12: explosivesex 29.13: toxic productsex 29.14: toxic productsex 29.15: toxic productsex 29.21: toxic productsex 29.22: toxic productsex 29.23: toxic productsex 29.26: explosivesex 29.27: toxic productsex 29.29: explosivesChapter 30:Pharmaceutical productsChapter 31:FertilizersChapter 32:Tanning and dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, colours, paints and varnishes; putty, fillers and stoppings; inksChapter 33:Essential oils and resinoids; perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparationsChapter 34:Soap, organic surface-active agents, washing preparations, lubricating preparations, artificial waxes, prepared waxes, polishing and scouring preparations, candles and similar articles, modelling pastes and 'dental waxes'Chapter 35:Albuminoidal substances; glues; enzymesChapter 37:Photographic and cinematographic goodsChapter 38:Miscellaneous chemical productsexcept:ex 38.19: toxic productsChapter 39:Artificial resins and plastic materials, cellulose esters and ethers; articles thereofexcept:ex 39.03: explosivesChapter 40:Rubber, synthetic rubber, factice, and articles thereofexcept:ex 40.11: bullet-proof tyresChapter 41:Raw hides and skins (other than furskins) and leatherChapter 42:Articles of leather; saddlery and harness; travel goods, handbags and similar containers; articles of animal gut (other than silk-worm gut)Chapter 43:Furskins and artificial fur; manufactures thereofChapter 44:Wood and articles of wood; wood charcoalChapter 45:Cork and articles of corkChapter 46:Manufactures of straw of esparto and of other plaiting materials; basketware and wickerworkChapter 47:Paper-making materialChapter 48:Paper and paperboard; articles of paper pulp, of paper or of paperboardChapter 49:Printed books, newspapers, pictures and other products of the printing industry; manuscripts, typescripts and plansChapter 65:Headgear and parts thereofChapter 66:Umbrellas, sunshades, walking-sticks, whips, riding-crops and parts thereofChapter 67:Prepared feathers and down and articles made of feathers or of down; artificial flowers; articles of human hairChapter 68:Articles of stone, of plaster, of cement, of asbestos, of mica and of similar materialsChapter 69:Ceramic productsChapter 70:Glass and glasswareChapter 71:Pearls, precious and semi-precious stones, precious metals, rolled precious metals, and articles thereof; imitation jewelleryChapter 73:Iron and steel and articles thereofChapter 74:Copper and articles thereofChapter 75:Nickel and articles thereofChapter 76:Aluminium and articles thereofChapter 77:Magnesium and beryllium and articles thereofChapter 78:Lead and articles thereofChapter 79:Zinc and articles thereofChapter 80:Tin and articles thereofChapter 81:Other base metals employed in metallurgy and articles thereofChapter 82:Tools, implements, cutlery, spoons and forks, of base metal; parts thereofexcept:ex 82.05: toolsex 82.07: tools, partsChapter 83:Miscellaneous articles of base metalChapter 84:Boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereofexcept:ex 84.06: enginesex 84.08: other enginesex 84.45: machineryex 84.53: automatic data-processing machinesex 84.55: parts of machines under heading N° 84.53ex 84.59: nuclear reactorsChapter 85:Electrical machinery and equipment; parts thereofexcept:ex 85.13: telecommunication equipmentex 85.15: transmission apparatusChapter 86:Railway and tramway locomotives, rolling-stock and parts thereof; railway and tramway tracks fixtures and fittings; traffic signalling equipment of all kinds (not electrically powered)except:ex 86.02: armoured locomotives, electricex 86.03: other armoured locomotivesex 86.05: armoured wagonsex 86.06: repair wagonsex 86.07: wagonsChapter 87:Vehicles, other than railway or tramway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts thereofexcept:ex 87.08: tanks and other armoured vehiclesex 87.01: tractorsex 87.02: military vehiclesex 87.03: breakdown lorriesex 87.09: motorcyclesex 87.14: trailersChapter 89:Ships, boats and floating structuresexcept:ex 89.01 A: warshipsChapter 90:Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical and surgical instruments and apparatus; parts thereofexcept:ex 90.05: binocularsex 90.13: miscellaneous instruments, lasersex 90.14: telemetersex 90.28: electrical and electronic measuring instrumentsex 90.11: microscopesex 90.17: medical instrumentsex 90.18: mechano-therapy appliancesex 90.19: orthopaedic appliancesex 90.20: X-ray apparatusChapter 91:Clocks and watches and parts thereofChapter 92:Musical instruments; sound recorders or reproducers; television image and sound recorders or reproducers; parts and acccessories of such articlesChapter 94:Furniture and parts thereof; bedding, mattresses, mattress supports, cushions and similar stuffed furnishingsexcept:ex 94.01 A: aircraft seatsChapter 95:Articles and manufactures of carving or moulding materialChapter 96:Brooms, brushes, powder-puffs and sievesChapter 98:Miscellaneous manufactured articlesTABLE IV LIST OF ACTIVITIES THAT MAY FORM THE SUBJECT OF PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACTS WITHIN THE MEANING OF DIRECTIVE 71/304/EECas set out in the nomenclature of industries in the European Communities(NICE)MajorGroupGroup40CONSTRUCTION400Construction (non-specialised); demolition400.1Non-specialised construction400.2DemolitionMajorGroupGroup40(cont'd)401Construction of buildings (dwellings or other)401.1General building work401.2Roofing401.3Construction of chimneys and furnaces401.4Weatherproofing401.5Re-dressing and maintenance of facades401.6Scaffolding401.7Other building activities (including structural work)402Civil engineering; building of roads, bridges, railways, etc.402.1General civil engineering402.2Earth-moving work above ground402.3Building of engineering structures on land (above or below ground)402.4Building of inland waterway and maritime engineering structures402.5Highway construction (including airport and runway construction)402.6Specialist activities in other fields of civil engineering (including installation of roads signs and signals and seamarks, installation of mains and pipelines for gas, water and hydrocarbons, and installation of electric power transmission and telecommunication lines)403Installation work403.1General installation403.2Services (gas, water and sanitary equipment installation)403.3Heating and ventilation installation (installation of central-heating, air-conditioning, and ventilation plant)403.4Heat, sound and vibration insulation403.5Installation of electricity403.6Installation of aerials, lightning conductors, telephones, etc.404Decorating and finishing404.1General decorating and finishing404.2Plastering404.3Woodwork, with particular reference to installation of wooden fittings (including laying of wooden floors)404.4Painting and glazing, wallpapering404.5Application of facings and coverings for floors and walls (fixing of tiles, other floor coverings and adhesive finishings)404.6Miscellaneous finishing work (including installation of stoves and fireplaces, etc.)>TABLE>TABLE V LIST OF CORPORATE BODIES GOVERNED BY PUBLIC LAW OR EQUIVALENT ENTITIES TREATED AS AUTHORITIES FOR THE PURPOSES OF DIRECTIVE 71/305/EECXIII.In all Member States:Associations governed by public law formed by regional or local authorities, e.g., associations de communes, syndicats de communes, Gemeindeverbaende etc.XIII.In Belgium:- le Fonds des routes,- het Wegenfonds,- la Régie des voies aériennes,- de Regie der luchtwegen,- public assistance commissions,- structures of the Church,- l'Office régulateur de la navigationintérieure,- de Dienst voor regeling van de binnenvaart,- la Régie des services frigorifiques del'État belge,- de Regie der Belgische Rijkskoel- en vries-diensten.XIII.In Germany:the bundesunmittelbare Koerperschaften, Anstalten und Stiftungen des oeffentlichen Rechts.IIIV.In France:- other administrative public bodies at national, departmental and local levels.IIIV.In Italy:- state universities, state university institutes, consortia for university development works,- higher scientific and cultural institutes, astronomical, astrophysical, geophysical and vulcanological observatories,- the Enti di riforma fondiaria,- relief and charity organisations.IIVI.In Luxembourg:- social insurance offices,- other public administrative bodies.IVII.In the Netherlands:- the Waterschappen,- the Rijskuniversiteiten, the Academische Ziekenhuizen, the Gemeentelijke Universiteit van Amsterdam, the Rooms-Katholieke Universiteit von Nijmegen, the Vrije Universiteit van Amsterdam, the Technische Hogescholen,- the Nederlandse Centrale Organisatie voor toegepast natuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek (TNO) and its dependent organisations.VIII.In the United Kingdom:- local authorities,- new towns' cooperations,- Commission for the New Towns,- Scottish Special Housing Association,- Nothern Ireland Housing Executive.IIIX.In Denmark:- andre forvaltningssubjekter.IIIX.In Ireland:- other public authorities whose public works contracts are subject to control by the State.IIXI.In Greece:other legal persons governed by public law whose public works contracts are subject to control by the State.IXII.In Spain:other corporate bodies subject to public rules for the award of contracts.XIII.In Portugal:other corporate bodies governed by public law subject to a procedure for the award of contracts.TABLE VI ADDRESSES FROM WHICH THE SUPPLEMENT TO THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL IS OBTAINABLE Venta y suscripciones - Salg og abonnement - Verkauf und Abonnement - ÐùëÞóaaéò êáé óõíaeñïìÝò - Sales and subscriptions - Vente et abonnements - Vendita e abbonamenti - Verkoop en abonnementen - Venda e assinaturasBELGIQUE/BELGIËMoniteur belge/Belgisch StaatsbladRue de Louvain 40-42/Leuvensestraat 40-421000 Bruxelles/1000 BrusselTél. 5 12 00 26CCP/Postrekening 000-2005502-27Sous-dépôts/Agentschappen:Librairie européenne/Europese BoekhandelRue de la Loi 244/Wetstraat 2441040 Bruxelles/1040 BrusselCREDOCRue de la Montagne 34/Bergstraat 34Bte 11/Bus 111000 Bruxelles/1000 BrusselDANMARKSchultz EF-publikationerMoentergade 191116 Koebenhavn KTlf: (01) 14 11 95Telecopier (01) 32 75 11BR DEUTSCHLANDBundesanzeiger VerlagBreite StrassePostfach 10 80 065000 Koeln 1Tel. (02 21) 20 29-0Fernschreiber ANZEIGER BONN 8 882 595Telecopierer: 20 29 278GREECEG. C. Eleftheroudakis SAInternational Bookstore4 Nikis Street105 63 AthensTel. 322 22 55Telex 2 194 10 ELEFSub-agent for Northern Greece:Molho's BookstoreThe Business Bookshop10 Tsimiski StreetThessalonikiTel. 275 271Telex 4 12885 LIMOESPAÑABoletin Oficial del EstadoTrafalgar 2728010 MadridTel. (91) 446 60 00Mundi-Prensa Libros, SACastelló 3728001 MadridTel. (91) 431 33 99 (Libros)431 32 22 (Suscripciones)435 36 37 (Dirección)Télex 49370-MPLI-EFRANCEJournal officielService des publications des Communautés européennes26, rue Desaix75727 Paris Cedex 15Tél. (1) 45 78 61 39IRELANDGovernment Publications Sales OfficeSun Alliance HouseMolesworth StreetDublin 2Tel. 71 03 09or by postGovernment Stationery OfficePublications Section6th floorBishop StreetDublin 8Tel. 78 16 66ITALIALicosa SpaVia Lamarmora, 45Casella postale 55250 121 FirenzeTel. 57 97 51Telex 570466 LICOSA ICCP 343 509Subagenti:Libreria scientifica Lucio de Biasio - AEIOUVia Meravigli, 1620 123 MilanoTel. 80 76 79Libreria TassiVia A. Farnese, 2800 192 RomaTel. 31 05 90Libreria giuridicaVia 12 Ottobre, 172/R16 121 GenovaTel. 59 56 93GRAND-DUCHÉ DE LUXEMBOURG et autres pays/and other countriesOffice des publications officielles des Communautés européennes2, rue MercierL-2985 LuxembourgTél. 49 92 81Télex PUBOF LU 1324 bCCP 19190-81CC bancaire BIL 8-109/6003/200Abonnements/SubscriptionsMessageries Paul Kraus11, rue Christophe PlantinL-2339 LuxembourgTél. 49 98 888Télex 25 15CCP 49242-63NEDERLANDStaatsdrukkerij- en uitgeverijbedrijfChristoffel PlantijnstraatPostbus 200142500 EA 's-GravenhageTel. (070) 78 98 80 (bestellingen)PORTUGALImprensa NacionalCasa da Moeda, E. P.Rua D. Francisco Manuel de Melo, 51092 Lisboa CodexTel. 69 34 14Telex 15328 INCMDistribuidora Livros Bertrand Lda.Grupo Bertrand, SARLRua das Terras dos Vales, 4-AApart. 372700 Amadora CODEXTel. 493 90 50 - 494 87 88Telex 15798 BERDISUNITED KINGDOMHM Stationery OfficeHMSO Publications Centre51 Nine Elms LaneLondon SW8 5DRTel. (01) 211 56 56Sub-agent:Alan Armstrong &  Associates Ltd72 Park RoadLondon NW1 4SHTel. (01) 723 39 02Telex 297635 AAALTD GUNITED STATES OF AMERICAEuropean Community Information Service2100 M Street, NWSuite 707Washington, DC 20037Tel. (202) 862 9500CANADARenouf Publishing Co., Ltd61 Sparks StreetOttawaOntario K1P 5R1Tel. Toll Free 1 (800) 267 4164Ottawa Region (613) 238 8985-6Telex 053-4936JAPANKinokuniya Company Ltd17-7 Shinjuku 3-ChomeShiniuku-kuTokyo 160-91Tel. (03) 354 0131Journal DepartmentPO Box 55 ChitoseTokyo 156Tel. (03) 439 0124TABLE VII  LIST OF EC BUSINESS INFORMATION CENTRES CURRENTLY OPERATING OR PLANNED >TABLE>TABLE VIII MODEL NOTICES OF SUPPLY CONTRACTS A. Open procedures 1.  The name, address, telephone number and, where applicable, telegraphic address and telex number of the contracting authority (Article 13 (e)): 2.  The award procedure chosen (Article 13 (b)): 3.  (a)  The place of delivery (Article 13 (c)):(b)  The nature and quantity of goods to be supplied (Article 13 (c)):(c)  Whether suppliers can tender for some and/or all of the goods required (Article 13 (c)): 4.  Any time limit for delivery (Article 13 (d)): 5.  (a)  Name and address of the service from which the relevant documents may be requested (Article 13 (f)):(b)  The final date for making such request (Article 13 (f)):(c)  Where applicable, the amount and terms of payment of any sum payable for such documents (Article 13 (f)): 6.  (a)  The final date for receipt of tenders (Article 13 (g)):(b)  The address to which they must be sent (Article 13 (g)):(c)  The language or languages in which they must be drawn up (Article 13 (g)): 7.  (a)  The persons authorized to be present at the opening of tenders (Article 13 (h)):(b)  The date, time and place of this opening (Article 13 (h)): 8.  Any deposits and guarantees required (Article 13 (i)): 9.  The main terms concerning financing and payment and/or references to the provisions regulating these (Article 13 (j)):10.  Where applicable, the legal form to be taken by the grouping of suppliers winning the contract (Article 13 (k)):11.  The information and formalities necessary for an appraisal of the minimum economic and technical standards required of the supplier (Article 13 (l)):12.  The period during which the tenderer is bound to keep open his tender (Article 13 (m)):13.  The criteria for the award of the contract. Criteria other than that of the lowest price shall be mentioned if they do not appear in the contract documents (Article 25):14.  Other information:15.  The date of dispatch of the notice (Article 13 (a)):B. Restricted procedures 1.  The name, address, telephone number and, where applicable, telegraphic address and telex number of the contracting authority (Article 14 (a)): 2.  The award procedure chosen (Article 14 (a)): 3.  (a)  The place of delivery (Article 14 (a)):(b)  The nature and quantity of goods to be supplied (Article 14 (a)):(c)  Whether suppliers can tender for some and/or all of the goods required (Article 14 (a)): 4.  Any time limit for delivery (Article 14 (a)): 5.  Where applicable, the legal form to be assumed by the grouping of suppliers winning the contract (Article 14 (a)): 6.  (a)  The final date for the receipt of requests to participate (Article 14 (b)):(b)  The address to which they must be sent (Article 14 (b)):(c)  The language or languages in which they must be drawn up (Article 14 (b)): 7.  The final date for the dispatch of invitations to tender (Article 14 (c)): 8.  Information concerning the supplier's personal position, and the information and formalities necessary for an appraisal of the minimum economic and technical standards required of him (Article 14 (d)): 9.  The criteria for the award of the contract if these are not stated in the invitation to tender (Article 15 (d)):10.  Other information:11.  The date of dispatch of the notice (Article 14 (a)):TABLE IX MODEL NOTICES OF PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACTSA. Open procedures 1.  Name and address of the authority awarding the contract (Article 16 (e)) (;): 2.  The award procedure chosen (Article 16 (b)): 3.  (a)  The site (Article 16 (e)):(b)  The nature and extent of the services to be provided and the general nature of the work (Article 16 (c)):(c)  If the contract is subdivided into several lots, the size of the different lots and the possibility of tendering for one, for several, or for all of the lots (Article 16 (c)):(d)  Information relating to the purpose of the contract if the contract entails the drawing up of projects (Article 16 (c)): 4.  Any time limit for the completion of the works (Article 16 (d)): 5.  (a)  Name and address of the service from which the contract documents and additional documents may be requested (Article 16 (f)):(b)  The final date for making such request (Article 16 (f)):(c)  Where applicable, the amount and terms of payment of any sum payable for such documents (Article 16 (f)): 6.  (a)  The final date for receipt of tenders (Article 16 (g)):(b)  The address to which they must be sent (Article 16 (g)):(c)  The language or languages in which they must be drawn up (Article 16 (g)): 7.  (a)  The persons authorized to be present at the opening of tenders (Article 16 (h)):(b)  The date, time and place of this opening (Article 16 (h)): 8.  Any deposits and guarantees required (Article 16 (i)): 9.  The main procedure for financing and payment and/or references to the instruments regulating these (Article 16 (j)):(;) The Articles in brackets refer to Council Directive N° 71/305/EEC of 26. 7. 1971 (OJ N° L 185, 16. 8. 1971, p. 5).10.  Where applicable, the specific legal form which must be assumed by the group of contractors to whom the contract is awarded (Article 16 (k)) (;):11.  The minimum economic and technical standards required of the contractors (Article 16 (l)):12.  Period during which the tenderer is bound to keep open his tender (Article 16 (m)):13.  Criteria for the award of the contract. Criteria other than that of the lowest price shall be mentioned if they do not appear in the contract documents (Article 29):14.  Other information:15.  The date of dispatch of the notice (Article 16 (a)):B. Restricted procedures 1.  Name and address of the authority awarding the contract (Article 17 (a)) (;): 2.  The award procedure chosen (Article 17 (a)): 3.  (a)  The site (Article 17 (a)):(b)  The nature and extent of the services to be provided and the general nature of the work (Article 17 (a)):(c)  If the contract is subdivided into several lots, the size of the different lots and the possibility of tendering for one, for several, or for all of the lots (Article 17 (a)):(d)  Information relating to the purpose of the contract if the contract entails the drawing up of projects (Article 17 (a)): 4.  Any time limit for the completion of the works (Article 17 (a)): 5.  Where applicable, the specific legal form which must be assumed by the group of contractors to whom the contract is awarded (Article 17 (a)): 6.  (a)  The final date for the receipt of requests to participate (Article 17 (b)):(b)  The address to which they must be sent (Article 17 (b)):(c)  The language or languages in which they must be drawn up (Article 17 (b)): 7.  The final date for the dispatch of invitations to tender (Article 17 (c)): 8.  Information concerning the contractor's personal position, and the minimum economic and technical standards required of him (Article 17 (d)): 9.  The criteria for the award of the contract if these are not stated in the invitation to tender (Article 18 (d)):10.  Other information:11.  The date of dispatch of the notice (Article 17 (a)):TABLE X MODEL NOTICES OF SUBCONTRACTS 1.  (a)  The site (N° ii) ($):(b)  The nature and extent of the service to be provided and the general nature of the work (N° ii):2.  Any time limit for the completion of the works (N° iii):(;) The Articles in brackets refer to Council Directive N° 71/305/EEC of 26. 7. 1971 (OJ N° L 185, 16. 8. 1971, p. 5).($) The numbers quoted refer to the Declaration of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council concerning procedures to be followed in the field of public works concessions - II subcontracts, 2, rules on publication (OJ N° C 82, 16. 8. 1971, p. 14).3.  Name and address of the service from which the contract documents and additional documents may be requested (N° vi):4.  (a)  The final date for receipt of tenders (N° v):(b)  The address to which they must be sent (N° vii):(c)  The language or languages in which they must be drawn up:5.  Any deposit and guarantees required (N° iv):6.  The economic and technical standards required of the contractor (N° viii):7.  The criteria for the award of the contract (last paragraph of N° II.2):8.  Other information:9.  The date of dispatch of the notice (N° i):TABLE XI COUNCIL REGULATION DETERMINING THE RULES APPLICABLE TO PERIODS, DATES AND TIME LIMITS THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 235 thereof,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 203 thereof,Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (;),Whereas numerous acts of the Council and of the Commission determine periods, dates or time limits and employ the terms 'working days' or 'public holidays';Whereas it is necessary to establish uniform general rules on the subject;Whereas it may, in exceptional cases, be necessary for certain acts of the Council or Commission to derogate from these general rules;Whereas, to attain the objectives of the Communities, it is necessary to ensure the uniform application of Community law and consequently to determine the general rules applicable to periods, dates and time limits;Whereas no authority to establish such rules is provided for in the Treaties,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:Article 1Save as otherwise provided, this Regulation shall apply to acts of the Council or Commission which have been or will be(;) OJ N° C 51, 29. 4. 1970, p. 25.passed pursuant to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community or the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community.CHAPTER IPeriodsArticle 21.  For the purposes of this Regulation, 'public holidays' means all days designated as such in the Member State or in the Community institution in which action is to be taken.To this end, each Member State shall transmit to the Commission the list of days designated as public holidays in its laws. The Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Communities the lists transmitted by the Member States, to which shall be added the days designated as public holidays in the Community institutions.2.  For the purposes of the Regulation, 'working days' means all days other than public holidays, Sundays and Saturdays.Article 31.  Where a period expressed in hours is to be calculated from the moment at which an event occurs or an action takes place, the hour during which that event occurs or that action takes place shall not be considered as falling within the period in question.Where a period expressed in days, weeks, months or years is to be calculated from the moment at which an event occurs or an action takes place, the day during which that event occurs or that action takes place shall not be considered as falling within the period in question.2.  Subject to the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 4:(a)  a period expressed in hours shall start at the beginning of the first hour and shall end with the expiry of the last hour of the period;(b)  a period expressed in days shall start at the beginning of the first hour of the first day and shall end with the expiry of the last hour of the last day of the period;(c)  a period expressed in weeks, months or years shall start at the beginning of the first hour of the first day of the period, and shall end with the expiry of the last hour of whichever day in the last week, month or year is the same day of the week, or falls on the same date, as the day from which the period runs. If, in a period expressed in months or in years, the day on which it should expire does not occur in the last month, the period shall end with the expiry of the last hour of the last day of that month;(d)  if a period includes parts of months, the month shall, for the purpose of calculating such parts, be considered as having 30 days.3.  The periods concerned shall include public holidays, Sundays and Saturdays, save where these are expressly excepted or where the periods are expressed in working days.4.  Where the last day of a period expressed otherwise than in hours is a public holiday, Sunday or Saturday, the period shall end with the expiry of the last hour of the following working day.This provision shall not apply to periods calculated retroactively from a given date or event.5.  Any period of two days or more shall include at least two working days.CHAPTER IIDates and time limitsArticle 41.  Subject to the provisions of this Article, the provisions of Article 3 shall, with the exception of paragraphs 4 and 5,apply to the times and periods of entry into force, taking effect, application, expiry of validity, termination of effect or cessation of application of acts of the Council or Commission or of any provisions of such acts.2.  Entry into force, taking effect or application of acts of the Council or Commission - or of provisions of such acts - fixed at a given date shall occur at the beginning of the first hour of the day falling on the date.This provision shall also apply when entry into force, taking effect or application of the afore-mentioned acts or provisions is to occur within a given number of days following the moment when an event occurs or an action takes place.3.  Expiry of validity, the termination of effect or the cessation of application of acts of the Council or Commission - or of any provisions of such acts - fixed at a given date shall occur on the expiry of the last hour of the day falling on the date.This provision shall also apply when expiry of validity, termination of effect or cessation of application of the afore-mentioned acts or provisions is to occur within a given number of days following the moment when an event occurs or an action takes place.Article 51.  Subject to the provisions of this Article, the provisions of Article 3 shall, with the exception of paragraphs 4 and 5, apply when an action may or must be effected in implementation of an act of the Council or Commission at a specified moment.2.  Where an action may or must be effected in implementation of an act of the Council or Commission at a specified date, it may or must be effected between the beginning of the first hour and the expiry of the last hour of the day falling on that date.This provision shall also apply where an action may or must be effected in implementation of an act of the Council or Commission within a given number of days following the moment when an event occurs or another action takes place.Article 6This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 July 1971.ANNEX III THE PROHIBITION OF 'MEASURES HAVING EQUIVALENT EFFECT' TO QUANTITATIVE RESTRICTIONS ON TRADE IN ARTICLE 30 OF THE EEC TREATY To help ensure free trade in goods within the European Community, the EEC Treaty (Articles 30 et seq.) prohibits quantitative restrictions on imports and exports within the Community and 'all measures having equivalent effect'.The prohibition applies both to goods originating in Member States and to goods imported from non-member countries which are 'in free circulation in Member States'. Imported goods are in free circulation if import formalities have been complied with and any customs duties or changes having equivalent effect that are payable have been levied in the Member State of importation and if they have not benefited from a total or partial reimbursement of such duties or charges (1).'Goods' are any products that have a monetary value and, as such, can be the subject of commercial transactions, regardless of their nature, characteristics or intended use (2).Articles 30 et seq. do not apply to products covered by the European Coal and Steel Community and Euratom Treaties, as Article 232 of the EEC Treaty provides that the provisions of that Treaty do not prejudice those of the ECSC and Euratom Treaties. However, the ECSC and Euratom Treaties have similar provisions prohibiting quantitative restrictions and measures having equivalent effect.As to the type of measures prohibited, the term 'quantitative restrictions', a synonym for import or export quotas, is self-explanatory. It has been further defined as unilateral measures by Member States amounting to a total or partial restraint of imports, exports or goods in transit within the Community (3). 'Measures having equivalent effect', on the other hand, is a catch-all phrase and has required considerable interpretation, both by the Commission and in a long line of judgments by the European Court of Justice.These have provided guidance on the meaning of both 'measures' and 'measures having equivalent effect to quantitative restrictions'.On the first aspect, Commission Directive 70/50/EEC of 22 December 1969 (4) on the abolition of measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions on imports(1) Articles 9 (2) and 10 (1) of the EEC Treaty.(2) Judgment of the European Court of Justice in Case 7/68 Commission v. Italy (1968) ECR 423 at 428-9.(3) Judgment of the European Court of Justice in Case 2/73 Geddo v. Ente Nazionale Risi (1973) ECR 865 at 879.(4) OJ N° L 13, 19. 1. 1970, p. 29 (English Special Edition 1970 (I), p. 17).which were in operation on the date of entry into force of the EEC Treaty defined 'measures' as laws and regulations, administrative practices, and any acts of public authorities, including recommendations.'Administrative practices' were further defined as any habitual conduct of a public authority and 'recommendations' as any acts of a public authority which, while not legally binding on the addressees, cause them to pursue a certain conduct. As the definition indicates, 'measures' include not only positive acts, but also omissions, i.e. the failure or neglect of a public authority to use its powers to prevent restrictions on trade in goods between Member States.The Directive also made it clear that any public authority can be the author of 'measures'. In other words, the prohibition under Articles 30 et seq. applies not only to measures emanating from the State in the narrow sense of the central legislative, executive/administrative and judicial authority, but to measures by any of the multitude of other entities, commonly called public authorities, which, though leading a legally separate existence have such close links to the state that they can be regarded as part of its organization and as exercising powers delegated by the central authority.The second term of the expression, 'having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions', indicates that, like quantitative restrictions, the measure must act as a total or partial restraint on imports or exports.The effect of these restrictions, as indicated above, is to prohibit, in whole or in part, the imports or exports which could have been realized in their absence.To have this effect, they need not prevent trade entirely, but only impede it.Thus, in Directive 70/50/EEC the Commission defined such measures, with particular reference to those which formally discriminate between domestic and imported products, as those which either preclude importation or make it more difficult or costly than the marketing of equivalent domestic products. Similarly, in the Geddo judgment (5) the Court, after defining quantitative restrictions, stated that measures(5) Judgment of the European Court of Justice in Case 2/73 Geddo v. Ente Nazionale Risi (1973) ECR 865 at 879.having equivalent effect could take the form not only of outright prohibitions, but also of obstacles having the same effect, whatever their name or mode of operation.Furthermore, it is not necessary for a measure actually to have restricted intra-Community trade; it only needs to be 'capable of hindering, directly or indirectly, actually or potentially, intra-Community trade' (1).This definition gives the prohibition of measures having equivalent effect a very wide scope. To specify all the possible types of measures caught by it would require a detailed analysis of all the cases the Commission and the Court have decided over the years.For the purpose of this Guide, the following general classification will suffice. The prohibition of measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions covers measures which:- subject the importation or marketing of imported products or the exportation of domestic products to conditions that are only applicable to imports or exports and make the importation or marketing of imported products or the exportation of domestic products impossible or more difficult or costly than the marketing of domestic products or sale on the domestic market,- subject imports or exports to conditions that are different from those applicable to domestic products or marketing on the domestic market and thereby have a similar discriminatory effect on the importation or marketing of imported products, or of products imported through some channels rather than others, or on the exportation of domestic products,- favour domestic products or grant them preferential treatment, other than aid, whether or not subject to conditions, or- though equally applicable to domestic and imported products, have a restrictive effect on imports not justified by the requirement the measure is intended to serve.The last category includes many of the regulations introduced by Member States in various fields for consumer protection, environmental and health and safety reasons. Such regulations generally prescribe technical requirements or quality standards that have to be met by any product, domestic or imported, of a certain kind that is put on sale on the domestic market, thereby effectively preventing the marketing, and hence importation, of products not meeting the prescribed requirements or standards. At first sight, such regulations do not appear to fall within the definition of measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions, as they apply equally to domestic and imported products and the exclusion of imports is merely an incidental result of the general and mandatory nature of such regulations, as of all law.(1) Judgment of the European Court of Justice in Case 8/74 Procureur du Roi v. Dassonville (1974) ECR 837 at 852.Yet it is possible for such regulations to restrict trade in a similar way to a quantitative restriction, by making imports impossible or more difficult or costly than the marketing of domestic products, without this being necessary to attain the objective of the regulations.The Commission provided some initial illumination on this matter in Directive 70/50/EEC, when it classed as measures having equivalent effect to quantitative restrictions measures governing the marketing of products and dealing, in particular, with their shape, size, weight, composition, presentation, identification or packaging, which though equally applicable to domestic and imported products had a restrictive effect on the free movement of goods that exceeded the effects inherent in the regulation of commerce. This was the case, in particular, where:- the restrictive effects on the free movement of goods were out of proportion to their purpose,- the same objective could be attained by other means that were less of a hindrance to trade.The 1979 Cassis de Dijon judgment of the European Court (2) gave a whole new impetus and direction to the policy on trade barriers caused by divergent national technical regulations and standards. It established, first of all, that in the absence of Community rules on the production or marketing of a product, Member States were free to regulate all matters relating to the production or marketing of the product on their respective territories. It then, however, laid down the principle that any product lawfully produced and marketable in one Member State should be able to be imported and marketed in any other Member State. Products should be considered lawfully produced and marketable if they conformed to the legislation or traditional or established production or distribution practices of the Member State of manufacture. Obstacles to movement within the Community resulting from disparities between national regulations were only acceptable in so far as the national provisions were necessary, i.e. appropriate and not excessive, to satisfy 'essential requirements' relating, for example, to the enforcement of tax legislation, health and safety, fair trading or consumer protection, and were thus an essential safeguard of the public interest such as to take precedence over the requirements of free movement of goods, which was one of the fundamental rules of the Community.Consequently, a Member State cannot prohibit the sale of a product lawfully produced and marketable in another Member State simply because the product does not meet its own quality specifications or technical standards. If the(2) Case 120/78 REWE v. Bundesmonopolverwaltung fuer Branntwein (1979) ECR 649 at 662 and 664.different specifications or standards to which the product has been manufactured attain the requirements served by the importing country's standards to an equivalent degree, then the product may not be denied entry.On this analysis, which the Court has confirmed in all its subsequent judgments, the general rule is that Member States are obliged to admit on to their markets products that have been manufactured in other Member States to different technical requirements. Only if the importing Member State can prove that the different design of the products means that they do not reach standards equivalent to its own may it refuse entry to the products.The later judgments of the Court have established how this rule applies to specific situations. For example, Member States may not duplicate tests or checks already carried out in the country of manufacture but must recognize the manufacturing country's test certificates. Nor may they require inspections of products manufactured in other Member States before being marketed unless the products pose a serious and definite danger to health or safety.The rule has been taken up in the Commission's new policy towards technical barriers caused by divergent national product specifications and standards announced in its White Paper setting out a programme for removing the remaining internal barriers within the common market by 1992. This policy is that whenever EC harmonization of technical specifications and standards is not considered essential (1) for health and safety, consumer protection or the environment, or for industrial reasons, the principle of mutual recognition by Member States of each other's quality standards and composition requirements, etc., and each other's testing and certification procedures, will apply.A number of statutory exceptions to the prohibition of restrictions on intra-Community trade contained in Articles 30 to 34 are made by Article 36. This provides that Member States may maintain in force or introduce 'prohibitions or restrictions on imports, exports or goods in transit justified on grounds of public morality, public policy or public security; the protection of health and life of humans, animals or plants; the protection of national treasures possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value; or the protection of industrial and commercial property. Such prohibitions or restrictions shall not, however, constitute a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade between Member States'.(1) In cases where EC harmonization is necessary, the harmonization will be confined to the essential requirements, leaving the framing of the actual technical standards to the European standardization institutes.The Court of Justice and the Commission have consistently regarded this safeguard clause as applying also to measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions.A quantitative restriction or a measure having equivalent effect is only covered by Article 36 if the following conditions are fulfilled:(a)  The measure must be justified on one of the stated grounds of exception. That is to say, there must be a causal link between it and the objective sought, it must be a sufficient and necessary condition of protection of the national interest, and the objective must not be attainable by other means less restrictive of intra-Community trade.(b)  The objective must strictly fall within one of the grounds of exception. That is to say, these are to be taken as justifying interference in trade only in limited exceptional circumstances and may not be given a broad interpretation.(c)  The measure must not be a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on intra-Community trade. That is to say, it may not be applied solely to imported or exported products unless there is similar provision for domestic products, and may not be intended to protect a domestic industry or disadvantage the industry of another Member State.The same criteria apply in assessing whether a product may be refused entry on the ground that it does not meet an 'essential requirement' within the meaning of the Cassis de Dijon judgment.However, whereas the grounds listed in Article 36 may be invoked in defence of measures that discriminate between imported and domestic products, 'essential requirements' may be asserted only where the measures apply to domestic and imported products alike.The Treaty also makes provision for exceptions from the free trade rules in specific cases, under appropriate Community supervision. It would take too long to go into all of these here, but one important exception that should be mentioned is the right of Member States to take measures departing from the Treaty, including Articles 30 to 34, in relation to the production of or trade in arms, munitions and war materials, where such measures are necessary to protect its essential security interests and do not adversely affect competitive conditions in the common market for products not intended for specifically military purposes (2). In 1958 the Council drew up a list of the products for which Member States may invoke this safeguard clause.(2) Article 223(1)(b) of the EEC Treaty.