ECJ rules Ireland in breach of the principles of equal treatment and transparency in relation to the procurement of translation services. Commission v Ireland (C-226/09)

The contract at issue (interpretation and translation services) falls within the category of non-priority services and so is not subject to the full application of Directive 2004/18. The ECJ concluded that Ireland did not breach the principles of equal treatment and transparency by setting the weighting attributable to stated award criteria only after the bids were submitted. However, the modification of the award criteria weightings after an initial review of the bids did amount to a breach of those principles of equal treatment and transparency. The judgment provides further clarification as to the extent of the application of the general EU principles to the award of contracts that are subject to only some of the procedural rules under the procurement directive (such as Part B services contracts).