EU slams Cyprus over EAC Vasiliko power deal

The European Commission has decided to refer Cyprus to the European Court of Justice over the award of a public contract for Vasilikos Power Station, the EU’s executive body announced in Brussels Thursday.
The Commission will refer Cyprus to the European Court over the tendering procedure launched by the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) for the award of the public contract for the design, supply and construction of the 4th Unit of the Vasilikos Power Station.
More specifically, the Commission found that: 1) the provisions of the invitation to tender were not applied in a uniform way during the procedure in question, by rejecting an offer on the basis of criteria which were not clearly mentioned in the call for tenders and by accepting a candidate who did not respect the requirements on experience; 2) the complainant was not provided in due time with the necessary information concerning the reasons for his rejection so that the latter could have formed an effective procedural defence.
By acting in this way, Cyprus has infringed its obligations under Articles 4(2) and 33(1) of Directive 93/38/EEC coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors, as well as Article 1(1) of Directive 92/13/EEC as interpreted by the Court of Justice.
The Commission has also decided, under Article 228 of the EC Treaty, to send a reasoned opinion to Greece concerning its compliance with a judgment of the European Court of Justice.