45In that regard, it should be borne in mind, first, that the contracting authorities must, throughout the procedure, observe the principles of procurement set out in Article 18 of Directive 2014/24, which include, inter alia, the principles of equal treatment and proportionality (judgment of 26 September 2019, Vitali, C‑63/18, EU:C:2019:787, paragraph 39 and the case-law cited), and, second, that, in accordance with the principle of proportionality, which is a general principle of EU law, the rules laid down by the Member States or contracting authorities in implementing the provisions of that directive, such as the rules intended to lay down the implementing conditions of Article 57 of that directive, must not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objectives of that directive (see, to that effect, judgments of 7 July 2016, Ambisig, C‑46/15, EU:C:2016:530, paragraph 40, and of 8 February 2018, Lloyd’s of London, C‑144/17, EU:C:2018:78, paragraph 32 and the case-law cited).
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