Internal Market: ESA takes Norway to Court for faulty public tender procedure
PR(17)08
EN | NO
The Norwegian Municipality of Kristiansand
breached EEA rules on public procurement when awarding a contract for the
construction and operation of an underground parking. This is the conclusion of
the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA), which today has decided to bring Norway
before the EFTA Court.
“The Municipality
chose a tender procedure that is in breach of EEA rules. It may also have
prevented Kristiansand from obtaining more tenders and perhaps even more
advantageous offers both on price and quality,” says ESA president Sven Erik
Svedman.
The Municipality of Kristiansand
failed to publish the public contract notice EEA-wide and did not respect the
minimum time-limit for the submission of applications. Further, the
Municipality incorrectly classified the contract as a “service concession”. The
classification chosen by Kristiansand does not take into account the
construction element of the contract, and, as a result, the tender procedure is
not in line with public procurement rules.
Consequently, the Municipality
may have prevented competition and precluded companies from other parts of
Norway and the EEA from participating in the tender procedure.
“Public
tenders tend to involve taxpayers' money and should always be classified
correctly and awarded in a transparent and accountable way,” says Svedman.
The Norwegian Government has taken the same position as the Municipality, so ESA
now asks the EFTA Court to rule how EEA rules are to be applied. Taking a case
to court is the final step in a formal infringement procedure, and the EFTA
Court has the final say.
ESA brings the court case
against the Kingdom of Norway, not the Municipality of Kristiansand.
Documents
For further information, please
contact:
Ms. Anne Vestbakke
Head of Communications
tel. +32 2 286 18 66
mob. +32 490 57 63 53
