DEAL - EU LAW - COMPETITION LAW

Arendt successfully represents a big European defence and space company before the EU General Court in relation to the Galileo program.

Five months after successfully defending a case involving pan-European supercomputers (Lenovo v EU Commission, T-717/20), Arendt’s EU Law team has once again been able to contribute to the reindustrialisation of Europe.

Supported by Arendt’s litigation practice, the EU Law team successfully represented a big European defence and space company (“the company”) before the General Court, as intervener in support of the EU Commission, which was seeking the rejection of an action for annulment lodged against the award of an €800 million contract under the Galileo program (Case T-54/21 - OHB System v Commission - Judgment of the General Court on 26 April 2023 – Read here_).

Using their expertise in proceedings before the EU Courts, our lawyers safeguarded the company’s interests without delaying the interim proceedings, and compelled the disclosure of key documents during the proceedings on the merits. They also put forward arguments to help the General Court assess under what conditions an adjudicating power is required to suspend a public tender, investigate a bidder’s grievances, and reject abnormally low bids. The case was an opportunity for the General Court to balance the needs to preserve the efficiency of public tenders and protect the legitimate interests of bidders.

The Arendt EU Law team is delighted to have collaborated closely with the company’s in-house lawyers, and with German public procurement lawyer, Uwe-Carsten Völlink from HEUSSEN.

This case represents a success not only for Arendt’s EU Law team, which has displayed excellence before European and national courts for some years, but also for Arendt’s entire litigation practice. Our litigation lawyers are involved in all types of national law matters, including criminal law, as well as European law matters, international arbitration, and even fundamental rights actions before the European Court of Human Rights. Our litigation practice now comprises more than 50 lawyers and is regularly involved in high profile cases. Arendt’s multilingualism, multiculturalism and long-standing litigation know-how enable us to represent clients from all over the EU and beyond, and conduct the most demanding cases.

For EU Law issues, contact Philippe-Emmanuel Partsch.