Cases - Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Denmark

Record details

Name

Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Denmark

Date

(1993)

Citation

C-243/89

Keywords

Tendering and procurement

Summary

The Commission successfully sought a declaration from the ECJ that the Danish government was in breach of its obligations under the then Public Works Contracts Directive (and under the EEC Treaty itself) in the tender procedure for the construction of a bridge over the western channel of the Storebaelt (the case is often referred to as the 'Storebaelt' or 'Storebaelt Bridge' case). The Danish government had included in the general tender conditions the so-called 'Danish content clause', by which tenders were invited on condition that the greatest possible use was made of Danish materials, goods, labour and equipment. The Danish government had committed a further breach in accepting a tender which was submitted as an alternative tender. While alternative tenders were allowable in principle, this one did not comply with the general tender conditions, so the negotiations with the consortium selected had been conducted on the basis of a non-compliant tender.