In its Judgment of 14 November 2013 in case C-221/12 Belgacom, the CJEU has rejected that the avoidance of litigation can be considered a valid 'overriding reason in the public interest' justifying a direct award of a concession contract. In other terms, the fact that the award of the services concession forms part of a settlement agreement is irrelevant for the purposes of determining compliance with the EU primary law requirements applicable to the award of such contracts.
In very clear terms, the CJEU has indicated that
37 [...] since such a concession is of certain cross-border interest, its award, in the absence of any transparency, to an undertaking located in the Member State to which the contracting authority belongs, amounts to a difference in treatment to the detriment of undertakings which might be interested in that concession but which are located in other Member States. In excluding those undertakings, that difference in treatment works primarily to their detriment and therefore amounts to indirect discrimination on grounds of nationality, which is, in principle, prohibited by Articles 49 TFEU and 56 TFEU (see, to that effect, ASM Brescia, paragraphs 59 and 60 and the case-law cited).
38 Such a measure might, exceptionally, be allowed on one of the grounds set out in Article 52 TFEU or justified by overriding reasons in the public interest, in accordance with the Court’s case-law (see, by analogy, Engelmann, paragraphs 51 and 57 and the case-law cited, and Joined Cases C‑357/10 to C‑359/10 Duomo Gpa and Others [2012] ECR I-0000, paragraph 39 and the case-law cited). On this last point, it is clear from a combined reading of paragraphs 51 and 57 of Engelmann that no distinction need be drawn between objective circumstances and overriding reasons in the public interest. Objective circumstances must, ultimately, be accepted as overriding reasons in the public interest.
39 The grounds put forward in the application in the present case, whether considered separately or together, cannot be regarded as being overriding reasons in the public interest.
40 The principle of legal certainty, which is a general principle of European Union law, provides ample justification for observance of the legal effects of an agreement, including – in so far as that principle requires – in the case of an agreement concluded before the Court has ruled on the implications of the primary law on agreements of that kind and which, after the fact, turn out to be contrary to those implications (see, to that effect, ASM Brescia, paragraphs 69 and 70). However, that principle may not be relied on to give an agreement an extended scope which is contrary to the principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination and the obligation of transparency deriving therefrom. It is of no import in that regard that that extended scope may offer a suitable solution for putting an end to a dispute which has arisen between the parties concerned, for reasons outside their control, as to the scope of the agreement by which they are bound (Case C-221/12 at paras 37-40, emphasis added).
This is a very important finding, as it comes to limit the discretion of contracting authorities to (re)negotiate contract awards and to extend the scope of contracts in order to settle arising legal disputes. It may be seen as a significant restriction of sensible contract and dispute management strategies in the altar of transparency, but the CJEU seems to have opted to err on the cautious side of the balance--which I consider appropriate, given that renegotiations are an area prone to massive manipulation and rule avoidance in public procurement in many Member States.
However, the practical effects of the Belgacom Judgment may be relatively limited once the future procurement Directives are adopted, as they will expressly regulate contract modification and set clear limits that will trigger the obligation to retender the contract (see art 72 of the new public sector procurement Directive and art 42 of the new Concessions Directive).