The European Union’s highest court ruled on Tuesday that Italy broke EU laws by buying helicopters only from Italian company Agusta, part of the state-controlled Finmeccanica group. “Italy is declared to be in breach of its treaty obligations by the purchase of Agusta and Agusta Bell helicopters without any competitive tendering procedure,” the court said in a statement.
The European Commission took Italy to the European Court of Justice in 2005 after Rome cited national security grounds for not holding public tenders for the helicopters that are used in forestry and civil protection as well as policing. The EU executive is seeking to bring down barriers to cross-border business throughout the bloc and wants to enforce European public procurement rules. An adviser to the ECJ last year recommended that the court rule against Italy in the case.
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