Public service contracts - Invitation to tender concerning support services for the system of registries established under Directive 2003/87/EC - Rejection of a tender - Decision to award the contract to another tenderer - Manifest error of assessment - Obligation to state the reasons on which the decision is based - Claim for damages.

Judgment of the Court of First Instance (First Chamber) of 12 November 2008 – Evropaïki Dynamiki v Commission (Case T-406/06) Public service contracts – Invitation to tender concerning support services for the system of registries established under Directive 2003/87/EC – Rejection of a tender – Decision to award the contract to another tenderer – Manifest error of assessment – Obligation to state the reasons on which the decision is based – Claim for damages 1.                     Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Scope – Decision in an award procedure for a public service contract, to reject a tender (Art. 253 EC; Council Regulation No 1605/2002, Art. 100(2); Commission Regulation No 2342/2002, Art. 149(2) and (3), third para.) (see paras 47-50, 99-100, 106-107, 110-111) 2.                     European Communities’ public procurement – Conclusion of a contract following a call for tenders – Discretion of the institutions – Judicial review – Limits (see para. 64) 3.                     European Communities’ public procurement – Tendering procedure – Duty to comply with the principles of equal treatment of tenderers and transparency in order to ensure an undistorted system of competition (Council Regulation No 1605/2002, Art. 89(1)) (see paras 82-86) Re: APPLICATION for, first, annulment of the Commission’s decision of 19 October 2006 to reject the applicant’s offer in a call for tenders for support services for the system of registries established under Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (OJ 2003 L 275, p. 32), the Community independent transaction log (CITL), with technical maintenance and user support (OJ 2006 S 102), and an application for annulment of the decision to award the contract to another tenderer and, secondly, a claim for damages. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Evropaïki Dynamiki – Proigmena Systimata Tilepikoinonion Pliroforikis kai Tilematikis AE to pay its own costs and those incurred by the Commission.