Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 18 July 2016 —
Argus Security Projects v Commission

(Case T‑266/14)

Public service contracts — Supply of security services as part of the European Union Integrated Border Management Assistance Mission in Libya — Rejection of tender submitted by a tenderer and award of the contract to another tenderer — Obligation to state reasons

1.                     European Union public contracts — Conclusion of a contract following a call for tenders — Discretion of the institutions — Judicial review — Limits (see para. 34)

2.                     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 having regard to the information at the applicant’s disposal at the time the action was brought — Information provided to the applicant not clearly showing the reasons for rejecting the tender and not sufficiently explaining the characteristics and advantages of the tender accepted — Insufficient statement of reasons (Art. 296 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012, Art. 113(2); Commission Regulation No 1268/2012, Arts 158(1), and 161(3)) (see paras 35-37, 40-42, 45, 46, 48-50, 56)

3.                     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 — No obligation on the awarding authority to provide a detailed comparative analysis of the tender accepted and the tender of the unsuccessful tenderer (Art. 296 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012, Art. 113(2); Commission Regulation No 1268/2012, Art. 161(3)) (see para. 47)

Re:

APPLICATION based on Article 263 TFEU and seeking annulment of the decision of the European Union Integrated Border Management Assistance Mission in Libya (EUBAM Libya) not to accept the tender submitted by the applicant for the award, by means of a competitive negotiated procedure, of the contract relating to security services in the context of the EUBAM Libya for an integrated management of the borders in Libya (EUBAM-13-020 contract) and to award the contract to Garda World Ltd.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Annuls the decision of the European Union Assistance Mission (EUBAM Libya) not to accept the tender submitted by the applicant for the award, by means of a competitive negotiated procedure, of the contract relating to security services in the context of the EUBAM Libya for an integrated management of the borders in Libya (EUBAM-13-020 contract) and to award the contract to Garda World Ltd;

2. Orders the European Commission to pay the costs.