The Dutch company could be smaller than yours... if you don't know who they are, how do you know they are bigger?? Equally they weren't the cheapest, as you've admitted. Competition rules, or indeed the lack of one can't be used as an "excuse" for you loosing the tender. There is always going to be someone bigger than you, and then if you're the biggest there will always be someone smaller and more flexible than you. Pick your battles, play to your strengths etc etc... and don't blame the EU for your failures.You start sounding a little rattled.
The size of the winning company does not matter, what matters here is that the EU rules hurt small businesses.
That's a fact.
That's why I'm rattled, because seriously every anti EU comment I've read in the last 18 months has proven to be nonsense... and you've just proved it again and again. So we're being taken out of something that has many many positives for a load of nonsense reasons, like this one.
The fact you won't name the company or even now the bike shop that got the service contract is just pathetic.... I'm not sure what you're hiding.