Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 16 September 2013 —
Ecoceane v EMSA
(Case T‑518/09)
Public service contracts — Tendering procedures — Operation of stand-by oil spill recovery vessels — Rejection of a tenderer’s bid — Obligation to state reasons — Equal treatment — Transparency — Manifest error of assessment — Non-contractual liability
1. EU public contracts — Conclusion of a contract following a call for tenders — Discretion of the institutions — Criteria for selecting candidates — Duty to comply with the principle of equal treatment of tenderers — Scope (Council Regulation No 1605/2002, Arts 89(1), and 97(1); Commission Regulation No 2342/2002, Arts 131(1), and 135(2)) (see paras 50-53, 75, 113)
2. EU public contracts — Conclusion of a contract following a call for tenders — Discretion of the institutions — Judicial review — Limits (see para. 86)
3. Judicial proceedings — Application initiating proceedings — Formal requirements — No brief summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based — Inadmissibility (Statute of the Court Justice, Art. 21, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 44(1)(c)) (see para. 111)
4. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision, in the procedure for the award of a public service contract, not to accept a tender — Assessment in the light of information available to the applicant at the time the action brought (Art. 253 EC; Council Regulation No 1605/2002, Art. 100(2); Commission Regulation No 2342/2002, Art. 149) (see paras 139-143)
5. Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision, in the procedure for the award of a public service contract, not to accept a tender — Obligation to communicate, following a written request, the characteristics and relative advantages of the tender accepted and the name of the tenderer (Council Regulation No 1605/2002, Art. 100(2); Commission Regulation No 2342/2002, Art. 149(3), fourth para.) (see para. 165)
6. Non-contractual liability — Conditions — Unlawfulness —Damage — Causal link — One of the conditions not satisfied — Claim for compensation dismissed in its entirety (Art. 340, second para., TFEU) (see paras 171-173)
Re:
| APPLICATION for (i) annulment of EMSA’s decision of 28 October 2009 rejecting the tender submitted by the applicant in the tendering procedure EMSA/NEG/1/2009, relating to the conclusion of public service contracts for stand-by oil spill recovery vessels (Lot No 2: Atlantic/Channel), and of the decision awarding the contract to another tenderer; and (ii) damages. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders Ecoceane to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). |