WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2081/96 by Jean-Louis BOURLANGES to the Commission. Competition policy: award of contract for roadworks
Date: 1996-07-26
Institutions: BOURLANGES, European Parliament
Subjects: administrative procedure, competition policy, complaint to the Commission, environmental protection, petition, road building, works contract













EUR-Lex - 91996E2081 - EN






Avis juridique important




|



91996E2081

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2081/96 by Jean-Louis BOURLANGES to the Commission. Competition policy: award of contract for roadworks  


Official Journal C 072 , 07/03/1997 P. 0013 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-2081/96 by Jean-Louis Bourlanges (PPE) to the Commission (26 July 1996)Subject: Competition policy: award of contract for roadworksA number of environmental protection organizations and several communes in the Paris region have lodged complaints with the Commission about the French State's decision to award the company Cofiroute a construction contract in connection with the building of a 15 kilometre link road designed to complete the A86 bypass in west Paris. The contract appears to have been awarded under conditions which infringe Community law and breach the most basic rules of competition.The principle whereby, under French law, a wrongly sited structure cannot be demolished, suggests that if the procedures initiated by the organizations and communes do not come to a swift conclusion, the complainants will be unable to win their case and they will suffer a real denial of justice.What steps has the Commission taken or will it take to ensure that the procedures are completed before progress on the project renders the complaints entirely pointless in practice?Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (3 October 1996)The Commission has received several complaints in connection with the Decree of 21 April 1994 approving a seventh supplementary clause to the agreement reached on 26 March 1970 between the French State and the company Cofiroute awarding the concession for the A28, A85, A86 and A126 motorway sections. The first complaint, concerning the A85, formed part of Petition No 722/94, which was examined by Parliament's competent committee. In response to this complaint, a letter of formal notice was sent to the French authorities in November 1995. The Commission received a further complaint concerning the A85 in February 1996. It is this second complaint that is referred to by the Honourable Member. In April a letter was sent to the representative of the aforementioned bodies indicating that the two complaints had been joined together and were being examined as part of the same infringement procedure.The dispute is fundamentally concerned with (i) the value of the commitments entered into by the French authorities prior to the date of entry into force of Directive 89/440/EEC, ((OJ L 210, 21.7.1989. )) as amended by Directive 93/37/EEC, ((OJ L 199, 9.8.1993. )) with the motorway concession holders regarding the above-mentioned sections, and (ii) the assessment as to whether the corresponding rules on competitive tendering were complied with. The French authorities have replied to the Commission's letter of formal notice and have supplemented their July reply with numerous documents now being examined by the Commission.The Commission will be sure to inform the Honourable Member and Parliament's Committee on Petitions of the action taken in this matter.