1. European Community law on public works contracts

The European Union, which currently comprises twenty-eight member states (table 1 ), is governed primarily by two treaties: the Treaty on European Union, signed in Maastricht on February 7, 1992, and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (the original version, signed in Rome on March 25, 1957, was called the "Treaty establishing the European Community"). These two treaties, especially the latter, have undergone numerous changes since they were signed:

• by the Amsterdam Treaty signed on October 2, 1997;

• the Treaty of Nice of February 26, 2001, which came into force on February 1 2003;

• the Treaty of Athens of April 16, 2003, which entered into force on May 1 ...