[Discussioni] Fwd: [FSFE PR][EN] Illegal procurement favouring Microsoft killed in Portuguese court

[Francesco Potortì]

------- Start of forwarded message -------
Date: Thu, 02 May 2013 16:20:21 +0200
From: Free Software Foundation Europe <press a fsfeurope.org>
Subject: [FSFE PR][EN] Illegal procurement favouring Microsoft killed in
 Portuguese court
To: press-release a fsfeurope.org
Reply-to: press a fsfeurope.org, pr a fsfeurope.org
Organization: Free Software Foundation Europe

= Illegal procurement favouring Microsoft killed in Portuguese court =

[Read online: http://fsfe.org/news/2013/news-20130429-01.en.html]


On April 27, the administrative court of Almada, Portugal, declared a
550, 000 Euro contract between Microsoft and the municipality of Almada
to be illegal. The technical specifications of the competition launched
by the municipality prevented any company other than Microsoft and their
partners to submit a proposal.

This ruling is especially significant as it clarifies that a widely used
procurement procedure is illegal. The procedure specified the name of
Microsoft products instead of their general functional and technical
requirements.

Unfair tendering practices in Portugal have been repeatedly denounced by
FSFE's Associate Organisation ANSOL [1] and the Portuguese association
ESOP [2], who brought the case to court. They violate fundamental rules
of fair competition and systematically exclude companies that provide
services based on Free Software.

FSFE welcome the court's decision, and calls on other European national
courts to continue to systematically annul similarly discriminatory
contracts.

[1] https://ansol.org/
[2] http://www.esop.pt/


== More information ==

- - The court's decision

https://fsfe.org/documents/court-act-portugal.pdf

- - ESOP's press release about the ruling

http://www.esop.pt/court-annuls-public-tender-for-microsoft-
software-in-the-municipality-of-almada/

- - Discriminatory practices continue to plague IT public procurement
across Europe (Open Forum Europe)

http://www.openforumeurope.org/openprocurement

- - FSFE's Contribution to the European Commission consultation on the
modernisation of European Union public procurement policy

https://fsfe.org/activities/policy/eu/20110418.ProcurementConsultation.FSFE.response.pdf

- - FSFE's work to improve procurement in Finland

http://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20120619-01.en.html


== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==

The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in the
information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free Software
Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the furthering of
Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study, modify and copy.
Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues, securing Free
Software politically and legally, and giving people Freedom by
supporting development of Free Software are central issues of the FSFE.

http://fsfe.org/
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