Analysis from the practice
Short, practical pieces on the questions our clients bring us, written by the lawyers who argue them. Nothing here is legal advice; every matter turns on its facts.
How much must an EU contracting authority tell you?
Read articleThe EU Financial Regulation gives an unsuccessful tenderer a two-stage right to reasons: the grounds for rejection, then, on request, the characteristics and relative advantages of the winning tender and the winner's name. Judgments in T-70/05 (EMSA) and T-300/07 ('Your Europe' portal) show reasons that fell short; the Court of Justice's ruling in C-629/11 P shows where the duty stops.
Incumbent advantage and equal treatment: lessons from CORDIS
When an EU institution re-tenders a live IT system, the incumbent contractor starts with knowledge no competitor has. In Case T-345/03 the Court of First Instance annulled the Commission's award of the CORDIS Lot 2 contract because technical information held by the incumbent reached the other tenderers late or not at all, in breach of equal treatment and transparency. The judgment tells authorities what to disclose, bidders what to ask for, and both how a challenge is preserved.
Read articleCascade framework contracts: challenging your ranking
In EU institutional framework contracts awarded in cascade, the tenderer ranked second or third has formally won but commercially lost. Two 2015 General Court judgments in the European Dynamics litigation, and the Court of Justice's 2017 appeal ruling, map what such a tenderer can challenge: reasons, undisclosed weighting, manifest error and, with strict limits, damages for loss of opportunity.
Read articleThe five-year clock: limitation of damages claims against the EU
A tenderer that wants compensation from an EU institution has five years from the moment it learns of the rejection of its bid, whether or not it yet knows why it lost. The Court of Justice's 2012 judgment in C-469/11 P settled that the clock starts with the rejection decision and that the ten-day extension on account of distance does not apply; this article draws the practical consequences and offers a bidder's checklist.
Read articleLoss of opportunity: when the EU must compensate unsuccessful bidders
In 2015 and 2016 the General Court, for the first time, ordered an EU body to compensate an unsuccessful tenderer for the loss of the opportunity to win a framework contract. The Court of Justice set both damages awards aside on appeal while leaving the annulments intact, and in doing so defined what a bidder must now prove to be compensated.
Read articleBelgian criminal procedure explained: from arrest to trial
Belgian criminal procedure gives a central role to an independent investigating judge and subjects pre-trial detention to strict time limits and periodic judicial review. This explainer walks through each stage, from the first 48 hours after arrest to the hearing before the correctional court, for readers unfamiliar with the Belgian system.
Read articleArticle 7 TEU and the limits of EU rule-of-law enforcement
A 2020 article co-authored by JuriSpectrum's founding partner asked whether the Union could still impose the rule of law on Poland and Hungary as Article 7 TEU stalled. The Conditionality Regulation and the Court of Justice's judgments of 16 February 2022 in C-156/21 and C-157/21 have since supplied a working tool, but one confined to the protection of the Union budget.
Read articleBelgian tax residence and annual returns: a guide for Greek residents
Greek and other international residents of Brussels are taxed in Belgium on their worldwide income, must report foreign bank accounts and property, and fall under a special regime if they work for the EU institutions. This guide, drawn from a June 2025 seminar at the Greek Community of Brussels, sets out the rules and the common pitfalls.
Read articleWho decides EU citizenship? Passport schemes after Commission v Malta
In April 2025 the Grand Chamber found Malta's investor citizenship scheme incompatible with Article 20 TFEU and Article 4(3) TEU. This note revisits the competence debate opened by the Cyprus programme in 2020 and explains what the judgment does, and does not, decide.
Read articleDesignations of origin as trade weapons: the Halloumi/Hellim saga
Registering a protected designation of origin under Regulation 1151/2012 hands one group of producers the exclusive right to a name across the Union and its trade partners. The ten-year fight over Halloumi/Hellim, from the 2015 interim-measures order in T-584/15 R to the 2024 General Court judgment in T-361/21, shows that the decisive choices are made in the specification, not in Luxembourg.
Read articleDiscuss your matter with a partner
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