Judgment_paragraph 65 · LB v Smetna palata na Republika Bulgaria (C-195/21)

65Furthermore, the fact that, in the present case, the managing authority of the operational programme ‘Environment 2014-2020’ considered that the qualification requirement at issue in the main proceedings was not contrary to the rules on public procurement cannot give rise to any legitimate expectation on the part of the contracting authority. The right to rely on the principle of the protection of legitimate expectations extends only to a person in a situation in which an administrative authority has caused that person to entertain expectations which are justified by precise unconditional and consistent assurances provided to him or her and originating from authorised, reliable sources. Nevertheless, the concept that a State is to be viewed as a single entity, which prevails both in public international law and in EU law, precludes, in principle, a national authority from relying on the principle of EU law of legitimate expectations in the context of a dispute between that authority and another component of that State (judgment of 20 May 2021, Riigi Tugiteenuste Keskus, C‑6/20, EU:C:2021:402, paragraphs 69 and 70).