Order of the President of the General Court of 26 May 2021 –
OHB System v Commission

(Case T‑54/21 R)

(Interim relief – Public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts – Procurement of Galileo transition satellites – Rejection of a tender – Application for interim measures – Prima facie case – Urgency – Balancing of competing interests)

1.      Interim relief – Suspension of operation of a measure – Interim measures – Conditions for granting – Prima facie case – Urgency – Serious and irreparable damage – Cumulative nature – Order of examination and method of verification – Discretion of the court hearing the application for interim relief – Balancing of all the interests involved

(Arts 256(1), 278 and 279 TFEU; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 156(4))

(see paras 26-29)

2.      European Union public contracts – Tendering procedure – Obligation to comply with the principle of equal treatment of tenderers – Scope

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2018/1046, Art. 160(1))

(see paras 48-50)

3.      European Union public contracts – Tendering procedure – Award of contracts – Exclusion of tenderers in a conflict of interest situation – Conditions – Concrete assessment of the tender and the situation of the tenderer – Need to establish a real and not hypothetical risk

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2018/1046, Art. 141)

(see paras 51, 52)

4.      European Union public contracts – Tendering procedure – Award of contracts – Exclusion of tenderers in a conflict of interest situation – Obligations on the awarding authority

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2018/1046, Art. 141(1)(a))

(see paras 53, 54)

5.      European Union public contracts – Conclusion of a contract following a call for tenders – Abnormally low offer – Obligation of the contracting authority to hear from the tenderer – Examination by the awarding authority of the abnormally low character of the tender – Elements to be taken into consideration

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2018/1046, Annex I, points 23.1 and 23.2)

(see paras 64-69)

6.      Action for annulment – Pleas in law – Action against a decision rejecting a tender submitted by a tenderer in the context of a public procurement procedure launched by an EU institution – Plea in law alleging a manifest error of assessment on the part of the contracting authority – Burden of proof borne by the applicant

(Art. 263 TFEU)

(see para. 77)

7.      Interim relief – Suspension of operation of a measure – Interim measures – Conditions for granting – Urgency – Serious and irreparable damage – Burden of proof borne by the party seeking the interim measure

(Arts 278 and 279 TFEU; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 156(4))

(see paras 85, 86)

8.      Interim relief – Suspension of operation of a measure – Conditions for granting – Urgency – Assessment in public procurement litigation – Serious damage – Sufficient in the case of a particularly serious prima facie case constituted by an obvious and serious illegality – Condition – Application for interim measures brought in the standstill period before conclusion of the contract with the successful tenderer

(Art. 278 TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47; European Parliament and Council Regulation 2018/1046, Art. 175)

(see paras 88-90)

9.      Interim relief – Suspension of operation of a measure – Interim measures – Conditions for granting – Serious and irreparable damage – Irreparable nature of the damage – Assessment in public procurement litigation

(Art. 268 TFEU)

(see para. 91)

10.    Interim relief – Suspension of operation of a measure – Conditions for granting – Urgency – Serious and irreparable damage – Financial loss – Assessment according to the circumstances of the case – Damage linked to the loss of opportunity to be awarded or to perform a public contract – Considerable nature of the damage

(Arts 278 and 279 TFEU)

(see paras 92, 98-100)

11.    Interim relief – Suspension of operation of a measure – Interim measures – Conditions for granting – Balancing of all the interests involved – Public procurement – Decision not to accept a tenderer’s tender – General interest of the European Union taking priority over that of the tenderer

(Art. 278 TFEU)

(see paras 102, 111-116)

Re:

Application pursuant to Article 278 TFEU for, first, suspension of the operation of the decisions of the European Space Agency (ESA) of 19 and 22 January 2021, acting in the name and on behalf of the Commission, to reject the applicant’s tender for public contract 2018/S 091-206089 and to award that public contract to two other tenderers, and, second, for the Commission to be ordered to provide access to the tender documentation.

Operative part

1. The application for interim relief is dismissed.

2. The orders of 31 January 2021, OHB System v Commission (T‑54/21 R), and of 26 February 2021, OHB System v Commission (T‑54/21 R), are set aside.

3. The costs are reserved, with the exception of those incurred by Airbus Defence and Space GmbH. It shall bear the costs in relation to its application to intervene.