Several members of the federal parliament demanded on Tuesday that the Belgian National Railway Company (SNCB) appear before the legislative body to explain how Spanish manufacturer CAF was chosen for an order for hundreds of new train units.
The legislators said they were willing to hold the hearing behind closed doors if the SNCB management feared disclosing potentially confidential information, as stated in the Chamber’s Mobility Committee.
After being petitioned by Alstom and Siemens, the Council of State suspended the SNCB’s decision in favour of the Spanish manufacturer in mid-April. The high court ruled that the Belgian railway company was not sufficiently transparent in the way it evaluated the different bids.
At Tuesday's committee meeting, Mobility Minister Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés) explained that the SNCB was still analysing the suspension decision. However, he suggested that it might not be necessary to restart the entire procurement process, reiterating the SNCB’s view that it could be enough for it to better justify its decision.
According to Minister Crucke, the SNCB is prepared to explain itself before the parliamentary committee, but can only do so after the conclusion of the procedure.
“The law on public procurement requires the adjudicator to handle the award procedure confidentially,” the minister reminded the legislators. “Candidates, participants, bidders, and third parties do not have access to procedural documentation before the market award decision is made.”
Based on his response, several MPs, including members of the majority, called for SNCB to testify, potentially in a closed session, in the interest of transparency.
