Press Release: Public procurement: Commission closes infringement case against Slovakia after the cancellation of a service contract awarded by the Slovak Ministry of Infrastructure

In 2007, the Slovak Ministry of Infrastructure awarded a public service contract for advertisement, translation, interpretation, legal and public procurement management services with a contract period until the year 2015 and a contract value of 90 million Euros. The contract was awarded following the publication of a notice for a period of 2 weeks by the Ministry on the notice board situated in a part of its premises with restricted access. Following a complaint in February 2009, the Commission considered that the means of publication in this tender procedure have been insufficient to ensure the Community law principle of adequate transparency due to the restrictions both in time and access to the relevant contract information. Consequently, a formal letter pursuant to Article 226 EC-Treaty was sent to the Slovak authorities in April 2009. The Slovak authorities responded to the Commission by informing about the cancellation of the service contract in May 2009.

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