Infrastrutture Lombarde SpA — EU competition rules
26.2.2007
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1128/07
by Donata Gottardi (PSE) , Roberto Musacchio (GUE/NGL) , Vittorio Agnoletto (GUE/NGL) , Umberto Guidoni (GUE/NGL) , Sepp Kusstatscher (Verts/ALE) , Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE) , Luigi Cocilovo (ALDE) , Vittorio Prodi (ALDE) and Pier Antonio Panzeri (PSE)
to the Commission
I wish to draw attention to the statement made by the Lombardy section of the CGIL union to the Commission on the abnormal use of internal services, contrary to competition rules, by ‘Infrastrutture Lombarde SpA’, a company of the Lombardy Region, which is structured in such a way that the region holds 68 % of the shares.
‘Infrastrutture Lombarde SpA’ has a variety of functions. These include: acting as the contracting authority for the purpose of public calls for tenders, more general responsibilities and activities in organising and managing regional interventions entrusted to it and internal management of services for the Lombardy Region, direct assignments by other public agencies and autonomous business activities in connection with other public and private bodies.
Many aspects of ‘Infrastrutture Lombarde SpA’ are unacceptable and are potentially at odds with EU rules, namely:
- —the scope and heterogeneous nature of its ‘tasks’,
- —the unacceptable nature of direct awards by the Region to ‘Infrastrutture Lombarde SpA’, in view of the way in which it is structured and the activities assigned to it,
- —restrictions on direct awards in the case of activities as a contracting authority in relation to public works or service contracts (concessions treated like public works and service contracts),
- —restrictions on direct award of assignments relating to the administration of the region's buildings.
In view of the above, does the Commission not consider that the situation which has arisen in Lombardy's regional administration, in connection with ‘Infrastrutture Lombarde SpA’, violates the rules on free competition, freedom of movement and to provide services and market transparency in the context of the internal market?
OJ C 293, 05/12/2007