Public procurement: Commission sends formal request to Slovakia concerning award of electronic toll collection service by National Motorway Company

14 May 2009

The European Commission has decided to send a formal request to Slovakia concerning the award of the Electronic Toll Collection Service by the National Motorway Company.

In this case, the Slovak contracting authority excluded three tenderers from the tender procedure. Based on the information available to the Commission, the Slovak authorities could have violated the principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination, as stipulated in the Public Procurement Directive 2004/18/EC and the EC Treaty.

This formal request takes the form of a 'letter of formal notice', the first stage of the infringement procedure laid down in Article 226 of the EC Treaty. If there is no satisfactory reply within two months, the Commission may proceed to the second stage of the procedure in the form of the 'reasoned opinion'. Ultimately the Commission may refer the matter to the European Court of Justice.

The latest information on infringement proceedings concerning all Member States can be found at: http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/index_en.htm