Article 4

Where the Commission itself awards contracts, it may choose not to take account of any applicant who has been notified to it as an operator A by a Member State.

The exclusion of an operator thus decided upon by the Commission shall be subject to the same rules as those applicable to the measure referred to in point (c) of Article 3 (1) of Regulation (EC) No 1469/95 decided on by a Member State. As regards the operator's prior hearing, the Commission shall give him the opportunity of making any comments he considers useful within a maximum period of two months.