85Article 2d was inserted into the initial version of Directive 89/665 by Directive 2007/66. The EU legislature explained the amendments made by stating in recital 13 of Directive 2007/66 that, in order to combat the illegal direct award of contracts – which the Court in its judgment of 11 January 2005, Stadt Halle and RPL Lochau (C‑26/03, EU:C:2005:5, paragraphs 36 and 37), called the most serious breach of EU law in the field of public procurement on the part of a contracting authority or contracting entity – there should be provision for effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions and, on that basis, a contract resulting from an illegal direct award should in principle be considered ineffective. In recital 14 of that directive, the EU legislature clarified that ineffectiveness is the most effective way to restore competition and to create new business opportunities for those economic operators which have been deprived illegally of their opportunity to compete, and that direct awards within the meaning of that directive should include all contract awards made without prior publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union within the meaning of Directive 2004/18.
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