JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
15 January 1998
(1)
(Public procurement - Procedure for the award of public works contracts - State printing office - Subsidiary pursuing commercial activities)
In Case C-44/96,
REFERENCE to the Court under Article 177 of the EC Treaty by the Bundesvergabeamt (Austria) for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between
Mannesmann Anlagenbau Austria AG and Others
and
Strohal Rotationsdruck GesmbH
on the interpretation of Article 1(b) of Council Directive 93/37/EEC of 14 June 1993 concerning the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts (OJ 1993 L 199, p. 54) and Article 7(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/93 of 20 July 1993 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 on the tasks of the Structural Funds and their effectiveness and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments (OJ 1993 L 193, p. 5),
THE COURT,
composed of: G.C. Rodríguez Iglesias, President, C. Gulmann, M. Wathelet and R. Schintgen (Presidents of Chambers), G.F. Mancini, J.C. Moitinho de Almeida, P.J.G. Kapteyn (Rapporteur), J.L. Murray, D.A.O. Edward, J.-P. Puissochet, G. Hirsch, P. Jann and L. Sevón, Judges,
Advocate General: P. Léger,
Registrar: H.A. Rühl, Principal Administrator,
after considering the written observations submitted on behalf of:
- Mannesmann Anlagenbau Austria AG and Others, by M. Winischhofer, of the Vienna Bar,
- Strohal Rotationsdruck GesmbH, by W. Wiedner, of the Vienna Bar,
- the Netherlands Government, by A. Bos, Legal Adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting as Agent,
- the Austrian Government, by W. Okresek, Ministerialrat in the Bundeskanzleramt-Verfassungsdienst, acting as Agent,
- the Commission of the European Communities, by H. van Lier, Legal Adviser, and C. Schmidt, of its Legal Service, acting as Agents,
having regard to the Report for the Hearing,
after hearing the oral observations of Mannesmann Anlagenbau Austria AG and Others, represented by M. Winischhofer; of Strohal Rotationsdruck GesmbH, represented by W. Wiedner; of the French Government, represented by P. Lalliot, Foreign Affairs Secretary in the Legal Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting as Agent; of the Netherlands Government, represented by M. Fierstra, Assistant Legal Adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting as Agent; and of the Commission, represented by H. van Lier, at the hearing on 3 June 1997,
after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 16 September 1997,
gives the following
preliminary ruling under Article 177 of the EC Treaty seven questions on the interpretation of Article 1(b) of Council Directive 93/37/EEC of 14 June 1993 concerning the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts (OJ 1993 L 199, p. 54), and Article 7(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/93 of 20 July 1993 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 on the tasks of the Structural Funds and their effectiveness and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments (OJ 1993 L 193, p. 5).
The relevant Community provisions
Directive 93/37
'For the purpose of this Directive:
(a) "public works contracts" are contracts for pecuniary interest concluded in writing between a contractor and a contracting authority as defined in (b), which have as their object either the execution, or both the execution and design, of works related to one of the activities referred to in Annex II or a work defined in (c) below, or the execution, by whatever means, of a work corresponding to the requirements specified by the contracting authority;
(b) "contracting authorities" shall be the State, regional or local authorities, bodies governed by public law, associations formed by one or several of such authorities or bodies governed by public law;
A "body governed by public law" means any body:
- established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character, and
- having legal personality, and
- financed, for the most part, by the State, or regional or local authorities, or other bodies governed by public law, or subject to management supervision by those bodies, or having an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the State, regional or local authorities or by other bodies governed by public law;
The lists of bodies and categories of bodies governed by public law which fulfil the criteria referred to in the second subparagraph are set out in Annex I. ...'
Directive 89/665
Regulation No 2081/93
'Measures financed by the Structural Funds or receiving assistance from the EIB or from another existing financial instrument shall be in conformity with the provisions of the Treaties, with the instruments adopted pursuant thereto and with Community policies, including those concerning the rules on competition, the award of public contracts and environmental protection and the application of the principle of equal opportunities for men and women.'
The Austrian legislation
'Economic entity "Österreichische Staatsdruckerei"
Paragraph 1.
(1) An independent economic entity is established with the name "Österreichische Staatsdruckerei" (hereinafter the "Staatsdruckerei"). It has its registered office in Vienna and has legal personality.
(2) The Staatsdruckerei is a trader for the purposes of the Commercial Code. It must be registered in Part A of the Commercial Register of the Vienna Commercial Court.
(3) The activities of the Staatsdruckerei are to be pursued in accordance with the rules governing trade.'
The dispute in the main proceedings
in which it holds 99.9% of the share capital, with the object of producing printed matter using the abovementioned process in printing works in Müllendorf.
'1. Can a provision of a national law, such as Paragraph 3 of the Staatsdruckereigesetz in the present case, which confers special and exclusive rights on an undertaking, establish that undertaking as meeting needs in the general interest not having an industrial or commercial character within the meaning of Article 1(b) of Directive 93/37/EEC and make such an undertaking as a whole fall within the scope of that directive, even if those activities form only part of the undertaking's activity and the undertaking in addition participates in the market as a commercial undertaking?
2. In the event that such an undertaking falls within the scope of Directive 93/37/EEC only with respect to the special and exclusive rights conferred on it, is such an undertaking obliged to take organisational measures to prevent financial means obtained from earnings from those special and exclusive rights being switched to other sectors of activity?
3. If a contracting authority starts a project and that project is therefore to be classified as a public works contract within the meaning of Directive 93/37/EEC, may the intervention of a third party who prima facie does not fall within the personal scope of the directive have the effect of altering the classification of a project as a public works contract, or should such a proceeding be regarded as an evasion of the personal scope of the directive and incompatible with the aim and purpose of the directive?
4. If a contracting authority establishes undertakings for carrying on commercial activities and holds majority holdings in them which enable it to exercise economic control over those undertakings, does the classification as a contracting authority then also apply to those associated undertakings?
5. If a contracting authority transfers funds which it has earned from special and exclusive rights conferred on it to purely commercial undertakings in which it owns a majority holding, does that have the effect that, regardless of the legal position of the associated undertaking, that undertaking as a whole must let itself be treated and behave as a contracting authority within the meaning of Directive 93/37/EEC?
6. If a contracting authority which both meets needs in the general interest not having an industrial or commercial character and also carries on commercial activities establishes operating installations which are capable of serving both purposes, is the award of the contract for constructing such operating installations to be classified as a public works contract within the meaning of Directive 93/37/EEC, or does Community law contain criteria according to which such an operating installation can be classified either as serving public needs or as serving commercial activities, and if so, which criteria?
7. Does Article 7(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/93 of 20 July 1993 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 on the tasks of the Structural Funds and their effectiveness and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments make the recipients of the Community subsidies subject to the review procedures within the meaning of Directive 89/665/EEC, even if they themselves are not contracting authorities within the meaning of Article 1 of Directive 93/37/EEC?'
The first and sixth questions
guaranteed supply and production conditions which ensure that standards of confidentiality and security are observed.
addition to its specific task of meeting needs in the general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character.
The second question
The fourth and fifth questions
The third question
tenders are transferred to an undertaking which does not satisfy the conditions set out in Article 1(b) of Directive 93/37.
The seventh question
Costs
50. The costs incurred by the Austrian, French and Netherlands Governments and the Commission of the European Communities, which have submitted observations to the Court, are not recoverable. Since these proceedings are, for the parties to the
main proceedings, a step in the action pending before the national court, the decision on costs is a matter for that court.
On those grounds,
THE COURT,
in answer to the questions referred to it by the Bundesvergabeamt by order of 2 February 1996, hereby rules:
1. An entity such as the Österreichische Staatsdruckerei must be regarded as a body governed by public law within the meaning of the second subparagraph of Article 1(b) of Council Directive 93/37/EEC of 14 June 1993 concerning the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, and thus as a contracting authority within the meaning of the first subparagraph of that provision so that works contracts, of whatever nature, entered into by that entity are to be considered to be public works contracts within the meaning of Article 1(a) of that directive.
2. An undertaking which carries on commercial activities and in which a contracting authority has a majority shareholding is not to be regarded as a body governed by public law within the meaning of Article 1(b) of Directive 93/37, and thus as a contracting authority within the meaning of that provision, on the sole ground that that undertaking was established by the contracting authority or that the contracting authority transferred to it funds which it has earned from activities pursued in order to meet needs in the general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character.
3. A public works contract is not subject to the provisions of Directive 93/37 when it relates to a project which, from the outset, falls entirely within the objects of an undertaking which is not a contracting authority and when the works contracts relating to that project were entered into by a contracting authority on behalf of that undertaking.
4. Article 7(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/93 of 20 July 1993 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 on the tasks of the Structural Funds and their effectiveness and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments is to be interpreted as meaning that Community funding of a works project is not conditional upon the recipients complying with the review procedures within the meaning of Council Directive 89/665/EEC of 21 December 1989 on the coordination of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the application of review procedures to the award of public supply and public
works contracts if they are not themselves contracting authorities within the meaning of Article 1(b) of Directive 93/37.
Rodríguez Iglesias Gulmann WatheletSchintgen
Mancini Moitinho de Almeida KapteynMurray
Edward Puissochet Hirsch JannSevón
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Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 15 January 1998.
R. Grass G.C. Rodríguez Iglesias
Registrar President
1: Language of the case: German.