Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 26 January 2017

1. European Union public contractsConclusion of a contract following a call for tendersAbnormally low offerObligation of the contracting authority to hear from the tendererExamination by the awarding authority of the abnormally low character of the tenderElements to be taken into consideration

(Commission Regulation No 1268/2012, Arts 139(2), and 158(4))

(see paras 37, 38, 40, 41, 54, 58, 59)

2. European Union public contractsTender procedureAward of contractsAward criteriaMethod of assessmentDiscretion of the awarding authorityJudicial reviewLimits

(see paras 44, 98-100)

3. Actions for annulmentReview of legalityCriteriaAccount taken only of elements of fact and law existing at the date on which the contested measure was adopted

(Art. 263 TFEU)

(see para. 70)

4. Acts of the institutionsStatement of reasonsObligationScopeAssessment of the duty to state reasons by reference to the circumstances of the case

(Arts 263 TFEU and 296 TFEU)

(see paras 79, 80)

5. European Union public contractsTender procedureDuty to comply with the principles of equal treatment of tenderers and transparencyScopeObligation to formulate clearly, precisely and unequivocally the conditions and procedures for awarding the contract

(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012, Art. 102(1))

(see paras 94-96)

6. European Union public contractsTender procedureSubmission of tenders and requests to participateSubmission of variantsDistinct from the use of differentials to improve a tender

(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012, Art. 111)

(see para. 156)

7. European Union public contractsTender procedureAward of contractsMost economically advantageous tenderAward criteriaObservance of the principle of equal treatment of tenderers and of the principle of transparencyNo obligation to establish a weighting for the sub-criteria of award criteria provided for in the tender specifications or contract notice

(Commission Regulation No 1268/2012, Art. 149(3))

(see paras 162, 166, 211, 214)

8. Acts of the institutionsStatement of reasonsObligationScopeDecision, in the procedure for the award of a public service contract, not to accept a tenderObligation to communicate, following a written request, the characteristics and relative advantages of the tender accepted and the name of the tendererNo 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(2) and (3))

(see paras 203, 238, 333, 334, 343)

9. European Union public contractsTender procedureAward of contractsAward criteriaNo obligation expressly to state, in the call for tenders, factors relevant for assessing tenders in relation to a quality criterion, but obvious to a diligent tenderer

(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012, Art. 110)

(see para. 217)

10. European Union public contractsTender procedureAward of contractsAward criteriaCriterion relating to the existence of an on-call and assistance service established at a given place in a Member StateLawfulnessNo infringement of the principle of non-discrimination on the ground of nationality

(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012, Art. 110)

(see paras 223, 225-227)

11. European Union public contractsTender procedureAward of contractsMost economically advantageous tenderAward criteriaChoice of the contracting authoritiesCriteria not exclusively quantitativeLawfulnessCriterion attaching importance to the presentation of the tendersLawfulness

(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012, Art. 110; Commission Regulation No 1268/2012, Art. 149(2))

(see paras 258, 259)

12. Actions for annulmentGroundsMisuse of powersConcept

(Art. 263 TFEU)

(see para. 323)

Re:

APPLICATION based on Article 263 TFEU and seeking annulment of the Commission’s decision rejecting the tender submitted by the applicant for Lot No. 4, entitled ‘streaming, compression, hosting and content delivery’ in the call for tenders bearing reference PO/2014 — 03/A4 and concerning ‘[i]ntegrated audiovisual production, dissemination and archiving services’, of the decision by which the Commission awarded that lot to the successful tenderer and of the contract for the supply of services concluded between the Commission and the successful tenderer.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders TV1 GmbH to pay the costs.