Press Release: Public procurement: infringement proceedings against France concerning exclusive rights for vocational training in agriculture

The European Commission decided to send a reasoned opinion under Article 226 of the EC Treaty as part of infringement proceedings against France concerning a French Rural Code provision, adopted in 2005, which grants the Centre national pour l'aménagement des structures des exploitations agricoles (CNASEA) an exclusive right to provide regional and local authorities with services relating to the management of public aid. The Rural Code provision in question requires regional and local authorities to entrust the CNASEA with the management of their financial aid and accompanying measures (including the management of financial aid to trainees undergoing vocational training) if those authorities do not wish to manage the aid themselves.