Commission probes Bechtel's Romania job

[ze_dscherman]

The European Commission is investigating the award - without a tender - of a $2.5bn (€2bn, £1.4bn) Romanian motorway contract to the politically well-connected US company Bechtel.


Günther Verheugen, EU enlargement commissioner, is examining the contract for a 450km road that would be Romania's key transport link with central Europe. He is responding to complaints by Bucharest-based EU diplomats who claim the process was not transparent.

SNIP

A senior EU diplomat in Bucharest said the deal showed awarding contracts in Romania was a political, not commercial process. The diplomat warned that the case threatened Romania's chances of being awarded a market economy status by the EU, a key test before it is admitted to the union.

A spokesman for the US Embassy, which has loudly campaigned for commercial transparency in Romania, said the US had recommended the government issue a tender for the project.

More on how to make a deal: http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1073281552838&p=1012571727102