WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2438/97 by Luciano PETTINARI to the Commission. Higher Health Institute
Date: 1997-07-08
Institutions: European Parliament, PETTINARI
Subjects: Italy, competition law, credit guarantee, infectious disease, invitation to tender, medical research, public contract, public health, research body

11. 3. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 76/111

(98/C 76/215)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2438/97

by Luciano Pettinari (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(8 July 1997)

Subject: Higher Health Institute

The Italian Higher Health Institute (Istituto Superiore di Sanita‘ › ISS) was awarded the contract, publicized in
the  Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities  of  6  July  1996,  for  a  (cid:145)scientific  and  technical  analysis  of
resources in matters relating to monitoring and controlling transmissible diseases(cid:146), the contract number being
SOC/96 202361. The ISS was asked to obtain a bank guarantee for an amount equal to 30% of the total cost of the
contract. However, the ISS is a public body and, as such, is prohibited under Italian law from carrying out such
banking  transactions.  Article  10(2)  of  Annex  1  to  the  (cid:145)General  terms  and  conditions  applicable  to  service
contracts  awarded  by  the  EC  Commission(cid:146)  stipulates  that  (cid:145)the  payment  of  the  advance  MAY  BE  made
conditional upon the furnishing by the Contractor of proof that he has lodged a deposit equal to the amount of the
advance(cid:146).  In  other  words,  the  Commission  itself  considers  this  to  be  optional,  not  compulsory.  Does  the
Commission therefore not intend to drop its requirement that the ISS provide a guarantee › given that the ISS is
expessly forbidden by law to do so › and to allow the project signed with the ISS to go ahead? What are the
Commission(cid:146)s reasons for insisting that the ISS obtain such a guarantee and, thereby, risking the cancellation of
such an important project, which is a sign of the competitiveness of Italian public health bodies?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission

(12 September 1997)

The  (cid:145)Istituto  superiore  di  Sanita(cid:146)  was  awarded  the  contract  following  a  public  invitation  to  tender.  The
specifications relating to this invitation to tender explicitly mentioned the fact that the contractor would have to
provide a bank guarantee as security against the initial payment. Dispensing with this requirement would have
falsified  the  rules  of  competition,  giving  rise  to  the  possibility  of  legal  proceedings  being  taken  against  the
Commission by the other applicants.

The purpose of the guarantee, as explained in Article 64a of the Commission’s Financial Regulation, is to protect
the Commission in the event of the contractor failing to perform a contract or against a delay in its performance,
by providing for the reimbursement of all damages, interest and equivalent costs. In other words, it is not merely
a question of guaranteeing the financial soundness of the contractor, and the fact that the contractor selected is a
public body is therefore not a decisive factor.

The same objective may be achieved by other means, such as a direct payment to the Commission, appropriate
insurance  arrangements  or  the  provision  of  a  guarantee  by  another  body.  The  (cid:145)Istituto  superiore  di  Sanita(cid:146)
informed the Commission that it did not have any possibility of providing an acceptable substitute guarantee.

A solution has finally been found between the contractor and the Commission, involving changes to the schedule
of payments by the Commission.

For information, it should also be noted that when the Commission’s Joint Research Centre is awarded a public
contract in Italy, the Commission is obliged to provide a guarantee in accordance with the Italian public contracts
code.

(98/C 76/216)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2447/97

by Marjo Matikainen-Kallstro¤m (PPE) to the Commission

(16 July 1997)

Subject: Extension of the EU(cid:146)s youth programme to include early youth (under-15s)

Organizations  working  with  the  under-15s  have  proposed  to  the  Commission  the  founding  of  a  (cid:145)Children(cid:146)s
Europe(cid:146) group exchange programme to promote and support exchanges for groups of 10-15-year-olds in the EU
Member States.

This could be a way of encouraging young people to form a picture of the world and gain knowledge of European
peoples and cultures, supporting them in their development as good citizens, motivating them to learn languages
and preventing the emergence of exclusion at an early age.