Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 6 October 2021

1. European Union public contractsTendering procedureAward of contractsMost economically advantageous tenderAward criteriaChoice of the contracting authorityLimitsCompliance with the principles of transparency, equal treatment and non-discrimination

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2018/1046, Arts 160(1) and (2), and 166(2))

(see paras 31-35, 43, 44)

2. European Union public contractsTendering procedureAward of contractsAward criteriaMethod of assessmentDiscretion of the awarding authority

(European Parliament and Council Regulations No 966/2012, Art. 105, first para., and 2018/1046, Art. 166(2))

(see para. 47)

3. Fundamental rightsCharter of Fundamental Rights of the European UnionRight to sound administrationScope

(Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41)

(see para. 60)

4. European Union public contractsTendering procedureObligation to reject ambiguous tendersScopeObligation to comply with the principle of proportionality

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2018/1046)

(see para. 62)

5. European Union public contractsConclusion of a contract following a call for tendersNo obligation on a contracting authority to complete a tendering procedure

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2018/1046, Art. 171)

(see para. 76)

Re:

Application under Article 263 TFEU for annulment of the decision contained in the Parliament’s letter of 28 October 2019 rejecting the tender submitted by the applicant for Lot 15 in tendering procedure TRA/EU19/2019 and of the decision contained in the Parliament’s letter of 4 December 2019 awarding the contract to another tenderer.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders Global Translation Solutions ltd. to pay the costs.