Case C-450/06: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 14 February 2008 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d'État (Belgium)) — Varec SA v Belgian State (Public procurement — Review — Directive 89/665/EEC — Effective review — Meaning — Balance between the adversarial principle and the right to observance of business secrets — Protection, by the body responsible for the review, of the confidentiality of information provided by economic operators)
Date: 2008-02-14
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: award of contract, confidentiality, interpretation of the law, professional secret, public contract

C 79/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

29.3.2008

Operative part of the judgment

Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 of
the Council of
29 February 1968 laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and
the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of
the European
Communities and instituting special measures temporarily applicable to
officials of the Commission, as amended by Council Regulation (EEC,
Euratom, ECSC) No 2074/83 of 21 July 1983, has general applica-
tion, is binding in its entirety and is directly applicable in all Member
States. In view of the direct applicability of that regulation in the legal
systems of the Member States, a child giving rise to entitlement to
family allowances under
the
European Communities must be treated in the same way as a child
giving rise to entitlement to family allowances under national law or
an international social security convention in force in the Member
State concerned.

the Staff Regulations of Officials of

(1) OJ C 326, 30.12.2006.

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 14 February
2008 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil
d'État (Belgium)) — Varec SA v Belgian State

(Case C-450/06) (1)

(Public procurement — Review — Directive 89/665/EEC —
Effective review — Meaning — Balance between the adver-
sarial principle and the right to observance of business secrets
— Protection, by the body responsible for the review, of the
confidentiality of information provided by economic operators)

contracts (OJ 1993 L 199, p. 1) and Articles 6 and 41(3) of
Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures
for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts
and public service contracts (OJ 2004 L 134, p. 114) — Supply
of military material — Balance between the principles that both
parties be heard and that defence rights be complied with and
the right to respect for business secrets and the protection of
sensitive or confidential information.

Operative part of the judgment

Article 1(1) of Council Directive 89/665/EEC of 21 December 1989
on the coordination of the laws, regulations and administrative provi-
sions relating to the application of review procedures to the award of
public supply and public works contracts, as amended by Council
Directive 92/50/EEC of 18 June 1992 relating to the coordination of
procedures for the award of public service contracts, read in conjunction
with Article 15(2) of Council Directive 93/36/EEC of 14 June 1993
coordinating procedures for the award of public supply contracts, as
amended by European Parliament and Council Directive 97/52/EC of
13 October 1997, must be interpreted as meaning that the body
responsible for the reviews provided for in Article 1(1) must ensure
that confidentiality and business secrecy are safeguarded in respect of
information contained in files communicated to that body by the
parties to an action, particularly by the contracting authority, although
it may apprise itself of such information and take it into consideration.
It is for that body to decide to what extent and by what process it is
appropriate to safeguard the confidentiality and secrecy of that informa-
tion, having regard to the requirements of effective legal protection and
the rights of defence of the parties to the dispute and, in the case of
judicial review or a review by another body which is a court or tribunal
within the meaning of Article 234 EC, so as to ensure that the
proceedings as a whole accord with the right to a fair trial.

(2008/C 79/09)

(1) OJ C 326, 30.12.2006.

Language of the case: French

Referring court

Conseil d'État

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Varec SA

Defendant: Belgian State

Intervener: Diehl Remscheid GmbH & Co

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Conseil d'État (Belgium)
— Interpretation of Article 1(1) of Council Directive
89/665/EEC of 21 December 1989 on the coordination of the
laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the
application of review procedures to the award of public supply
and public works contracts (OJ 1989 L 395, p. 33), read with
Article 15(2) of Council Directive 93/36/EEC of 14 June 1993
the award of public supply
coordinating procedures

for

Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 31 January 2007
— Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom
of Spain

(Case C-32/07) (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Directive
2001/84/EC — Copyright — Resale right for the benefit of
the author of an original work of art)

(2008/C 79/10)

Language of the case: Spanish

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: R. Vidal Puig and W. Wils, acting as Agent(s))