EU to penalize Poland over Euro 2012 stadium construction?
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
07.12.2011 09:30
Poland may be taken to the European Court of Justice for commissioning a company to complete the construction of stadium for Euro 2012 without an official tender.
The matter relates to the Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw, western Poland, one of the four Polish venues for next year's tournament.
Wroclaw's leading daily, Gazeta Wroclawska, has obtained a letter written by the European Commission to Poland's Foreign Ministry six weeks ago.
The newspaper claims that the EC is close to a final decision as to whether to penalise Poland.
“The granting of a contract to an arbitrarily chosen contractor, without the publication of a notice, is a most serious breach of European legislation,” says the letter.
In January 2010, after the agreement with the previous contractor terminated, Wroclaw authorities hired German firm Max Boegl to complete the construction.
Commenting yesterday, Pawel Czuma, a spokesman for the city said that the matter is indeed unresolved.
“Polish authorities investigated the matter and ruled that Wroclaw acted correctly in accordance with Polish law. The case is now a problem between the EC and the Polish government.”
Legal experts noted that if the case goes to court, a fine will be the most likely penalty. (nh/pg)