According to the EC, the contract was awarded as a four-year framework agreement.
The city hall, run by mayor Liviu Negoita, did not allow potential bidders enough time to prepare their offers, said the EC.
“Furthermore, during the procedure they made changes to a number of mandatory conditions in the procurement notice, including the selection criteria, which were not published in the Official Journal of the European Union, but merely announced at national level,” said the Commission.
The EC also considers that the authorities could not have performed an objective evaluation of the offers. “The framework contract was in fact awarded to an applicant whose bid included a large number of anomalies in terms of the prices and deadlines tendered. In the Commission’s view, the further explanations provided by the successful tenderer did not clarify those anomalies.”
The Commission considers that Romania breached EU public procurement rules. “Its request to Romania takes the form of a reasoned opinion, the second stage of EU infringement proceedings. If Romania does not take the measures necessary to ensure compliance with EU public procurement rules within two months, the Commission may refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union,” said the EC.