Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2004:399
Date: 2004-07-01
Language of the case: Italian
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Right of establishment;Approximation of laws;Freedom to provide services
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Italy

Summary of the Judgment Approximation of laws – Procedures for the award of public works contracts – Directive 93/37 – Award of contracts – Criteria for award – National rules which impose a requirement that the contracting authorities use only the criterion of the lowest price – Not permissible (Council Directive 93/37, Art. 30(1)) Article 30(1) of Directive 93/37 concerning the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts is to be interpreted as meaning that it precludes national rules which, for the purpose of awarding public works contracts following open or restricted tendering procedures, impose a general and abstract requirement that the contracting authorities use only the criterion of the lowest price. Such rules deprive the contracting authorities of the possibility of taking into consideration the nature and specific characteristics of the contracts in question, taken in isolation, by choosing for each of them the criterion most likely to ensure free competition and thus to ensure that the best tender will be accepted. (see paras 40, 42, operative part)