Competition sanctions: an ethical barrier to EU tenders
Gerard Pérez Olmo, partner in EU and Competition Law at RocaJunyent, has written an article published in the newspaper CincoDías, in which he examines a relevant ruling of the General Court of the European Union handed down last October. This ruling could transform the relationship between national competition sanctions and access to European tenders, by establishing that a competition sanction imposed at national level can justify the exclusion of a company from public tenders financed by the European Union, even if the sanction is not final or has been judicially suspended.
The case of a Spanish company sanctioned by the CNMC and excluded from an EU-OSHA tender highlights the importance of competition rules in the European Union. Despite obtaining a judicial suspension of the sanction, the European agency considered the infringement as ‘serious misconduct’, resulting in the company's exclusion from future tenders for two years. This ruling underlines how European institutions can interpret national sanctions in ethical terms, aligning with the EU Financial Regulation to protect the integrity of public procurement procedures.
The implications of this decision are significant for companies operating in the EU market. Firstly, it reinforces the importance of free competition rules, showing that national sanctions can have repercussions beyond the local level. It also ranks the need for companies to take a proactive approach to compliance by ensuring that their programmes reflect a tangible commitment to European ethical and legal principles. The General Court emphasises the effectiveness of these programmes as a possible exemption from the prohibition on contracting.
Finally, the judgment illustrates the balance the EU seeks to strike between preventing abuses in public procurement and ensuring a fair and competitive environment. Competition sanctions, seen from an ethical perspective, reinforce the idea that access to European resources is conditioned by respect for fundamental values such as fair competition and transparency. This case reminds companies that the European framework rewards not only efficiency and innovation, but also integrity and thorough regulatory compliance.
Access to the full article (available in Spanish)
