87Third, as follows from the first and fourth paragraphs of that recital, compliance with the principles of equality, non-discrimination and transparency requires that the award criteria are objective, ensuring that tenders are compared and assessed objectively and thus in conditions of effective competition. That would not be the case for criteria having the effect of conferring on the contracting authority an unrestricted freedom of choice (see, with regard to similar provisions of the predecessor directives to Directive 2004/18, Case C-513/99Concordia Bus Finland [2002] ECR I-7213, paragraph 61 and case-law cited).