48As regards, second, the principle of proportionality, it should be recalled, in addition to the case-law referred to in paragraph 45 of the present judgment, that it follows from the third paragraph of recital 101 of Directive 2014/24 that, when applying optional grounds for exclusion such as that set out in Article 57(4)(a) of that directive, contracting authorities must pay particular attention to the principle of proportionality, taking into account in particular the minor nature of the irregularities committed or the repetition of minor irregularities. That attention must be even greater where the exclusion provided for by national legislation is imposed on the economic operator who submitted the tender for a failure to fulfil obligations committed not directly by that operator but by a person outside his undertaking, in relation to the control of whom the operator may not have all the authority required or all the necessary means at his disposal.
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