31. 1. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 23/1 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Directive relating to the coordination of procedures on the award of public 
service contracts 
COM(90) 372 final — SYN 293 
(Submitted by the Commission on 13 December 1990) 
(91/C 23/01) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 57 (2), 
66, 100a and 113 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
In cooperation with the European Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social 
Committee, 
Whereas the European Council has concluded in successive 
meetings on the need to complete the internal market; 
Whereas measures aimed at progressively establishing the 
internal market during the period up to 31 December 1992 
need to be taken; whereas the internal market is an area 
without internal frontiers in which the free movement of 
goods, persons, services and capital is ensured; 
Whereas these objectives require the coordination of the 
procurement procedures on the award of public service 
contracts; 
Whereas the White Paper on the completion of the internal 
market contains an action programme and a timetable for 
opening up public procurement markets, including in the field of services in so far as this is not already covered by 
Council Directive 71/305/EEC of 16 July 1971 
concerning the coordination of procedures for the award of 
public works contracts (1), as last amended by Directive 
89/440/EEC (2), and Council Directive 77/62/EEC oi 
21 December 1986 coordinating procedures for the award 
of public supply contracts (3), as last amended by Directive 
88/295/EEC(4); 
Whereas this Directive should be applied by all contracting 
authorities in the sense of the aforementioned Directives; 
Whereas suppliers may be natural persons; whereas 
without prejudice to national rules compatible with the 
Treaty suppliers may also be legal persons; 
Whereas the field of services is best described, for the 
purpose of application of procurement rules, and for 
monitoring purposes, by subdividing it into categories 
corresponding to particular positions of the Central 
Product Classification (CPC); 
Whereas the provision of services is covered by this 
Directive only in so far as it is based on contracts; whereas 
I1) OJ No L 185, 16. 8. 1971, p. 5. 
(2) OJ No L 210, 21. 7. 1989, p. 1. 
(3) OJNoL 13, 15. 1. 1977, p. 1. 
(4) OJ No L 127, 20. 5. 1988, p. 1. 
No C 23/2 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 1. 91 
the provision of services on other bases, such as law or 
regulations, or employment contracts, is not covered; 
Whereas as far as research and development (R&D) is 
concerned, this Directive only covers R&D services whose 
results accrue exclusively to the contracting authority; 
Whereas, in order to ensure coherent award procedures, 
public service concessions should be covered by this 
Directive in the same way as Directive 71/305/EEC 
applies to public works concessions; 
Whereas contracts relating to ownership or rights on 
immovable property have particular characteristics, which 
make the application of procurement rules inappropriate; 
Whereas the award of contracts for certain audio-visual 
services in the broadcasting field is governed by 
considerations which make the application of procurement 
rules inappropriate; 
Whereas arbitration and conciliation services are usually 
provided by bodies or individuals which are agreed on, or 
selected, in a manner which cannot be governed by 
procurement rules; 
Whereas the financial services sector includes activities in 
connection with the application of instruments of monetary 
policy; the particular characteristics of this area require 
their exclusion from this Directive; 
Whereas in the field of services the same derogations as in 
the aforementioned Directives should apply, as regards 
State security or secrecy and the priority of other 
procurement rules such as those pursuant to international 
agreements, the stationing of troops, or the rules of 
international organisations; 
Whereas this Directive does not prejudice the application 
of, in particular, Articles 55, 56 and 66 of the Treaty; 
Whereas the rules concerning service contracts as contained 
in Council Directive 90/531 /EEC of 17 September 1990 
on the procurement procedures of entities operating in the 
water, energy, transport and telecommunications 
sectors (a) should remain unaffected by this Directive; 
(!) OJ No L 297, 29. 10. 1990, p. 1. Whereas contracts with a designated single source of 
supply may under certain conditions be fully or partly 
exempted from this Directive; 
Whereas this Directive should not apply to small contracts 
below a certain threshold, in order to avoid unnecessary 
formalities; whereas the threshold may in principle be the 
same as that for public supply contracts; whereas the 
threshold for design contracts concerning a complete work 
within the meaning of Directive 71/305/EEC should 
correspond to the threshold concerning works contracts as 
established by that Directive; whereas the calculation of 
contract value, the publication and the method of 
adaptation of the thresholds should be the same as in the 
other Community procurement directives; 
Whereas, to eliminate practices that restrict competition in 
general and participation in contracts by other Member 
States' nationals in particular, it is necessary to improve the 
access of suppliers to procedures for the award of 
contracts; 
Whereas full application of the Directive must be limited, 
for a transitional period, to contracts for those services 
where the market is genuinely open or will be so by the 
time this Directive comes into effect, and where the 
provisions of the Directive will enable the full potential for 
increased cross-frontier trade to be realized; whereas 
contracts for other services need to be monitored for a 
certain period before taking a decision on the full 
application of the Directive; whereas the mechanism for 
such monitoring needs to be set up by the Directive; 
whereas it should at the same time enable those interested 
to share the relevant information; 
Whereas the rules for the award of public service contracts 
should be as close as possible to those concerning public 
supply contracts and public works contracts; 
Whereas the procurement rules contained in Directives 
71/305/EEC and 77/62/EEC can be applied, with 
necessary adaptations so as to take into account special 
aspects of procurement of services such as the choice of the 
negotiated procedure, design contests, variants, the legal 
form of suppliers, the reservation of certain activities to 
certain professions, registration and quality assurance 
matters; 
Whereas the particular conditions for use of the negotiated 
procedure with prior publication of a notice when the 
service to be performed cannot be specified with sufficient 
31. 1. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 23/3 
precision should be fulfilled in particular in the field of 
intellectual, creative services; 
Whereas the relevant Community rules on mutual 
recognition of diplomas, certificates or other evidence of 
formal qualifications apply when evidence of a particular 
qualification is required for participation in an award 
procedure or a design contest; 
Whereas the objectives of this Directive do not require any 
changes in the current state at national level, as regards the 
admission, or regulation, of price competition between 
suppliers of certain services; 
Whereas contracting authorities must be able to reject 
tenders which, because they are based on State aids, are 
unreliable; whereas tenders which are submitted by public 
bodies may create the risk of distortions of competition 
when they are influenced by the availability of public 
financing; whereas contracting authorities shall, under 
particular conditions, inform the Commission of their 
attitude towards such tenders; whereas this Directive does 
not prejudice the application of Articles 92 et seq, of the 
Treaty; 
Whereas Community undertakings should be granted 
access to the award of public service contracts and 
concessions in non-Community countries; whereas 
negotiations may be initiated to that effect when such 
access, in law or in fact, is found to be restricted; whereas 
the possibility should exist under certain conditions to take 
measures as regards access to public service contracts or 
concessions in the Community, of undertakings or of 
tenders originating in the non-Community country 
concerned; 
Whereas the operation of this Directive should be reviewed 
at the latest three years after the date for compliance of 
national procurement rules; whereas the review should 
extend in particular to the possibility of making the 
Directive fully applicable to a wider range of service 
contracts, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
TITLE I 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 
Article 1 (a) 'public service contracts' are contracts for pecuniary 
interest concluded in writing between a supplier and a 
contracting authority, to the exclusion of 
(i) public supply contracts within the meaning of 
Article 1 (a) of Directive 77/62/EEC and 
public works contracts within the meaning of 
Article 1 (a) of Directive 71/305/EEC; 
(ii) contracts for the purchase, lease or rental of, or 
concerning rights on land, existing buildings or 
other immovable property; 
(iii) contracts for the acquisition of programme 
material by broadcasters within the meaning of 
Council Directive 89/552/EEC (J), and 
contracts for broadcasting time pursuing public 
interest objectives such as information to the 
population in case of civil disasters; 
(vi) contracts for voice telephony, telex, 
radiotelephony, paging and satellite services; 
(v) contracts for arbitration and conciliation 
services; 
(vi) public service concessions in the sense of 
point (h); 
(vii) contracts concerning primary issues of 
government bonds and other activities in the 
area of public debt management; 
(b) 'contracting authorities' (hereafter 'authorities') shall 
be the bodies described in Article 1 (b) of Directive 
71/305/EEC, and any other bodies listed in Annex I 
to Directive 80/767/EEC; 
(c) 'suppliers' are natural or legal persons, including 
public bodies which offer services. A supplier who 
submits a tender shall be designated by the term 
'tenderer', and one who has sought an invitation to 
take part in a restricted or negotiated procedure by the 
term 'candidate'; 
(d) 'open procedures' are those national procedures 
whereby all interested suppliers may submit a tender; 
(e) 'restricted procedures' are those national procedures 
whereby only those suppliers invited by the authority 
may submit a tender; 
(f) 'negotiated procedures' are those national procedures 
whereby authorities consult suppliers of their choice 
and negotiate the terms of the contract with one or 
more of them; 
For the purpose of this Directive: (!) OJ No L 298, 17. 10. 1989, p. 23. 
No C 23/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 1. 91 
(g) 'design contests' are those national procedures which 
aim at providing the authority with a plan or design, 
mainly in the fields of area planning, town planning, 
architecture and civil engineering, or data processing, 
and which are selected by a jury on the basis of 
competition with or without the award of prizes; 
(h) a 'public service concession' is a contract other than a 
public works concession within the meaning of 
Article 1 (d) of Directive 71/305/EEC, concluded 
between an authority and another entity of its choice 
whereby the former transfers the execution of a service 
to the public lying within its responsibility to the latter 
and the latter accepts to execute the activity in return 
for the right to exploit the service or this right together 
with payment. Contracts for the award of rights to 
perform broadcasting activities are excluded from this 
definition. 
Article 2 
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to 
ensure that authorities comply with this Directive when 
they award public service contracts or public service 
concessions, or hold design contests. 
2. Authorities shall ensure that there is no discrimination 
between different suppliers. 
3. Member States shall take the necessary measures to 
ensure that the authorities comply or ensure compliance 
with this Directive where they subsidize directly by more 
than 50 % service contracts awarded by an entity other 
than themselves in connection with projects to which 
Article la (2) of Directive 71/305/EEC relates. 
Article 3 
1. When a concessionnaire is himself an authority within 
the meaning of Article 1 (b), he shall comply with the 
provisions of this Directive in the case of services to be 
carried out by third parties. 
2. Member States shall take the necessary steps to ensure 
that a concessionnaire which is not itself an authority shall 
apply the advertising rules as set out in Articles 17, 18 and 
19 to contracts for services listed in Annex LA which it intends to award to third parties when the value of the 
contract is above the thresholds fixed in Article 8 (1). 
Advertising rules need not be applied when the contract 
meets the conditions laid down in Article 13 (3). 
3. Undertakings which have formed a group in order to 
obtain the concession, or undertakings affiliated to them, 
shall not be regarded as third parties within the meaning of 
paragraph 2 under the conditions specified in Article lb (4) 
of Directive 71/305/EEC. 
Article 4 
1. This Directive shall apply to service contracts awarded 
by authorities in the field of defence, except for contracts to 
which the provisions of Article 223 of the Treaty apply. 
2. This Directive shall not apply to services which are 
declared secret or the execution of which must be 
accompanied by special security measures in accordance 
with the laws, regulations or administrative provisions in 
force in the Member State concerned or when the 
protection of the basic interests of that State's security so 
requires. 
Article 5 
This Directive shall not apply to contracts governed by 
different procedural rules and awards: 
(a) pursuant to an international agreement concluded 
between a Member State and one or more 
non-member countries and covering services intended 
for the joint implementation or exploitation of a 
project by the signatory States; every agreement shall 
be communicated to the Commission, which may 
consult the Advisory Committee for Public Contracts 
set up by Council Decision 71/306/EEC (2); 
(b) to undertakings in a Member State or a non-member 
country in pursuance of an international agreement 
relating to the stationing of troops; 
(c) pursuant to the particular procedure of an 
international organization. 
Article 6 
This Directive shall not apply to the award of public service 
contracts or concessions or the execution of design contests 
by contracting entities within the meaning of Article 2 of 
Directive 90/531/EEC. 
(!) OJNo L 185, 16. 8. 1971, p. 15. 
31. 1. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 23/5 
Article 7 
Without prejudice to Article 17 (1), the provisions of this 
Directive shall not apply to the award of public service 
contracts which authorities have to award to an entity 
which is itself a contracting authority within the meaning 
of Article 1 (b) pursuant to an exclusive right established 
by a published law, regulation or administrative provision 
which is compatible with the Treaty. 
Article 8 
1. The provisions of this Directive shall apply to contracts 
for services falling within category 6 of Annex I.A which: 
(a) as regards insurance services, provide for annual 
premiums of not less than ECU 100 000; 
(b) as regards banking and other financial services, 
provide for fees, commissions or other types of 
remuneration of not less than ECU 200 000. 
2. The provisions of this Directive shall apply to contracts 
for services falling within category 12 of Annex I.A which 
have as their object the complete design of a work within 
the meaning of Article 1 (c) of Directive 71/305/EEC, 
when the estimated cost net of VAT of the execution of the 
work is not less than ECU 5 000 000. 
Where the design of a work is subdivided into several lots, 
each one the subject of a contract, the value of execution of 
each lot must be taken into account for the purpose of 
calculating the amount referred to above. Where the 
aggregate value of the execution of the lots is not less than 
the amount referred to above, the provisions of this 
Directive shall apply to all lots. Authorities shall be 
permitted to depart from this provision for lots the 
execution of which has an estimated value net of VAT of 
less than ECU 1 000 000, provided that the total estimated 
value of the execution of all the lots exempted does not, in 
consequence, exceed 20 % of the total estimated value of 
all lots. 
3. The provisions of this Directive shall apply to contracts 
for services falling within the category 21 of Annex LB 
which provide for expected annual benefits from interest of 
not less than ECU 200 000. 
4. The provisions of this Directive shall apply to all other 
service contracts whose estimated value net of VAT is not 
less than ECU 200 000. 
5. The value of a contract within the meaning of 
paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 includes the total remuneration of the supplier as estimated at the time of publication of the 
notice in accordance with Article 17, along with the 
elements specified in paragraphs 6 to 10. 
6. In the case of contracts which do not specify a total 
price, the basis for calculating the estimated contract value 
shall be: 
— in the case of fixed term contracts, the total contract 
value for its duration, 
— in the case of contracts for an indefinite period or in 
cases where there is doubt as to the duration of the 
contracts, the monthly instalment multiplied by 48. 
7. In the case of regular contracts or of contracts which 
are to be renewed within a given time, the contract value 
may be established on the basis of: 
— either the aggregate cost of similar contracts for the 
same category of services concluded over the previous 
fiscal year or 12 months, adjusted, where possible, for 
anticipated changes in quantity or value over the 
subsequent 12 months, 
or 
— the estimated aggregate cost during the 12 months 
following first performance or during the term of the 
contract, where this is greater than 12 months. 
The selection of the valuation method shall not be used 
with the intention of avoiding the application of this 
Directive. 
8. In cases where a proposed contract specifies option 
clauses, the basis for calculating the contract value shall be 
the highest possible total inclusive of the option clauses. 
9. No procurement requirement for a given amount of 
services may be split up with the intention of avoiding the 
application of this Article. 
10. When calculating the amounts referred to in 
paragraphs 1 to 4, account shall be taken not only of the 
value of the services but also of the estimated value of the 
supplies needed to carry out the services which are made 
available to the supplier by the authorities. 
11. Article 5 (1) (c) and (1) (d) of Directive 77/62/EEC 
are applicable as regards the value in national currency of 
the thresholds laid down in paragraphs 1 to 4 of this 
Article, the calculation of these values, and the revision of 
the method of calculation. 
No C 23/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 1. 91 
TITLE II 
TWO-TIER APPLICATION 
Article 9 
Contracts which have as their 
Annex I.A shall be awarded 
provisions of Titles III to VI. object services listed in 
in accordance with the 
Article 10 which are unacceptable under national provisions that 
are in accordance with the provisions of Title VI 
Chapter 1, in so far as the original terms of the 
contract are not substantially altered. The authority 
may not, in such a case, publish a tender notice where 
it includes in such negotiated procedure all the 
tenderers satisfying the criteria of Articles 26 to 32 
which, during the prior open or restricted procedure, 
have submitted tenders in accordance with the formal 
requirements of the tendering procedure; 
(b) in exceptional cases, when the nature of the services or 
the risks attaching thereto do not permit overall 
pricing; 
Contracts which have as their object services listed in 
Annex LB shall be awarded in accordance with Articles 16 
and 18. 
Article 11 
Contracts which have as their object services listed in both 
Annexes LA and LB shall be awarded in accordance with 
the provisions of Titles III to VI where the value of the 
services listed in Annex LA is greater than the value of the 
services listed in Annex LB. Where this is not the case, they 
shall be awarded in accordance with Articles 16 and 18. (c) when the nature of the services to be procured, in 
particular in the case of intellectual services and 
services falling within category 6 of Annex IA, is such 
that contract specifications cannot be established with 
sufficient precision to permit the award of the contract 
by selecting the best tender according to the rules 
governing open or restricted procedures. 
3. The authorities may award public service contracts by 
negotiated procedure without prior publication of a tender 
notice, in the following cases: 
Article 12 
Where authorities conclude a public service concession 
contract within the meaning of Article 1 (h), the advertising 
rules as described in Articles 17, 18 and 19 shall apply 
irrespective of whether the object of the concession is a 
service within the meaning of Annex LA or Annex LB, 
when its value is not less than ECU 5 000 000. 
TITLE III (a) in the absence of tenders or of appropriate tenders in 
response to an open or restricted procedure in so far as 
the original terms of the contract are not substantially 
altered and provided that a report is communicated to 
the Commission at its request; 
(b) when, for technical or artistic reasons, or for reasons 
connected with the protection of exclusive rights, the 
services may only be carried out by a particular 
supplier; 
CHOICE OF AWARD PROCEDURES, AND RULES ON 
DESIGN CONTESTS 
Article 13 
1. In awarding public service contracts the authorities 
shall apply the procedures defined in Article 1, adapted to 
this Directive. 
2. The authorities may award their public service 
contracts by negotiated procedure, with prior publication 
of a tender notice in the following cases: (c) when the contract concerned is part of the follow-up 
to a design contest and must, according to the relevant 
rules, be awarded to one of the winners of that 
contest; 
(d) in so far as is strictly necessary when, for reasons of 
extreme urgency brought about by events 
unforeseeable by the authorities in question, the time 
limit for the open, restricted or negotiated procedures 
referred to in Article 19 cannot be kept. The 
circumstances invoked to justify extreme urgency must 
not in any event be attributable to the authorities; 
(a) in the event of irregular tenders in response to an open (e) 
or restricted procedure or in the event of tenders for additional services not included in the project 
initially considered or in the contract first concluded 
31. 1. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 23/7 
but which have, through unforeseen circumstances, 
become necessary for the carrying out of the service 
described therein, on condition that the award is made 
to the supplier carrying out such service: 
— when such services cannot be technically or 
economically separated from the main contract 
without great inconvenience to the contracting 
authorities, 
or 
— when such services, although separable from the 
execution of the original contract, are strictly 
necessary to the later stages. 
However, the aggregate estimated value of contracts 
awarded for additional services may not exceed 50 % 
of the amount of the main contract; 
(f) for new services consisting of the repetition of similar 
services entrusted to the supplier to which the same 
authorities awarded an earlier contract, provided that 
such services conform to a basic project for which a 
first contract was awarded according to the 
procedures referred to in paragraph 4. As soon as the 
first project is put up for tender, notice must be given 
that this procedure might be adopted and the total 
estimated cost of subsequent services shall be taken 
into consideration by the authorities when they apply 
the provisions of Article 8. This procedure may be 
applied solely during the three years following the 
conclusion of the original contract. 
4. In all other cases, the authorities shall award their 
public service contracts by the open procedure or by the 
restricted procedure. 
Article 14 
1. This authority shall, within 15 days of the date on 
which the request is received, inform any eliminated 
candidate or tenderer who so requests in writing of the 
reasons for rejection of his application or his tender, and, 
in the case of a tender, the name of the successful 
tenderer. 
2. The authority shall inform candidates or tenderers who 
so request of the grounds on which it decided not to award 
a contract in respect of which a prior call for competition 
was made, or to recommence the procedure. It shall also 
inform the Office for Official Publications of the European 
Communities of that decision. 3. For each contract awarded the authorities shall draw 
up a written report which shall include at least the 
following: 
— its name and address, the subject and value of the 
contract, 
— the names of the candidates or tenderers admitted and 
the reasons for their selection, 
— the names of the candidates or tenderers rejected and 
the reasons for their rejection, 
— the name of the successful tenderer and the reasons for 
his tender having been selected and, if known, any 
share of the contract the successful tenderer may intend 
to subcontract to a third party, 
— for negotiated procedures, the circumstances referred to 
in Article 13 which justify the use of these procedures. 
This report, or the main features of it, shall be 
communicated to the Commission at its request. 
Article IS 
1. Design contests shall be subject to the rules set out 
below. When design contests are held as a separate 
procedure, these rules are applicable only when the total 
amount of prizes and payments to participants is not less 
than ECU 200 000. 
2. The admission of participants to design contests shall 
not be limited by reference to the territory or part of the 
territory of a Member State. 
3. In the case of design contests with a limited number of 
participants, authorities shall apply the rules laid down in 
Article 24. 
4. The jury shall be composed only of persons who have 
no financial connections or special relationships with 
participants in the contest. Whenever a particular 
professional qualification is required from participants in a 
contest, the majority of the jury members shall have the 
same qualifications. 
The jury shall be autonomous in its decisions. It shall take 
its decisions based on projects presented in an anonymous 
way, and solely on the grounds of the criteria indicated in 
the invitation for projects in the sense of Annex IV. 
5. Member States may oblige authorities to award 
subsequent contracts to one of the winners of a design 
contest. 
No C 23/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 1. 91 
TITLE IV 
COMMON RULES IN THE TECHNICAL FIELD 
Article 16 
1. The technical specifications defined in Annex II shall be 
given in the general documents or the contractual 
documents relating to each contract. 
2. Without prejudice to the legally binding national 
technical rules and in so far as these are compatible with 
Community law, such technical specifications shall be 
defined by the authorities by reference to national 
standards implementing European standards or by 
reference to European technical approvals or by reference 
to common technical specifications. 
3. An authority may depart from paragraphs if: 
(a) the standards, European technical approvals or 
common technical specifications do not include any 
provisions for establishing conformity, or technical 
means do not exist for establishing satifactorily the 
conformity of a product to these standards, European 
technical approvals or common technical 
specifications; 
(b) the application of paragraph 2 would prejudice the 
application of Council Directive 86/361/EEC of 
24 July 1986 on the initial stage of the mutual 
recognition of type approval for telecommunications 
terminal equipment (1), or Council Decision 
87/95/EEC of 22 December 1986 on standardization 
in the field of information technology and 
telecommunications (2) or other Community 
instruments in specific service or product areas; 
(c) use of these standards, European technical approvals 
or common technical specifications would oblige the 
authority to acquire products or materials 
incompatible with equipment already in use or would 
entail disproportionate costs or disproportionate 
technical difficulties, but only as part of a clearly 
defined and recorded strategy with a view to 
change-over, within a given period, to European 
standards, European technical approvals or common 
technical specifications; (d) the project concerned is of a genuinely innovative 
nature for which use of existing European standards, 
European technical approvals or common technical 
specifications would not be appropriate. 
4. Authorities invoking paragraph 3 shall record, 
wherever possible, the reasons for doing so in the tender 
notice published in the Official Journal of the European 
Communities or in the contract documents and in all cases 
shall record these reasons in their internal documentation 
and shall supply such information on request to Member 
States and to the Commission. 
5. In the absence of European standards or European 
technical approvals or common technical specifications, the 
technical specifications: 
(a) shall be defined by reference to the national technical 
specifications recognized as complying with the basic 
requirements listed in the Community Directives on 
technical harmonization, in accordance with the 
procedures laid down in those Directives, and in 
particular in accordance with the procedures laid 
down in Council Directive 89/106/EEC (3); 
(b) may be defined by reference to national technical 
specifications relating to design and method of 
calculation and execution of works and use of 
materials; 
(c) may be defined by reference to other documents. 
In this case, it is appropriate to make reference in 
order of preference to: 
(i) national standards implementing international 
standards accepted by the country of the 
authority; 
(ii) other national standards and national technical 
approvals of the country of the authority; 
(iii) any other standard. 
6. Unless it is justified by the subject of the contract, 
Member States shall prohibit the introduction into the 
contractual clauses relating to a given contract of technical 
specifications which mention products of a specific make or 
source or of a particular process and which therefore 
favour or eliminate certain undertakings. In particular, the 
indication of trade marks, patents, types, or of specific 
origin or production shall be prohibited. However, if such 
indication is accompanied by the words 'or equivalent', it 
shall be authorized in cases where the authorities are 
unable to give a description of the subject of the contract 
using specifications which are sufficiently precise and 
intelligible to all parties concerned. 
(!) OJ No L 217, 5. 8. 1986, p. 21. 
(2) OJNoL 36,7. 2. 1987, p. 31. (3) OJ No L 40, 11. 2. 1989, p. 12. 
31. 1. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 23/9 
TITLE V 
COMMON ADVERTISING RULES 
Article 17 
1. Authorities shall make known, by means of an 
indicative notice to be published as soon as possible after 
the beginning of their budgetary year, the intended total 
procurement in each of the service categories listed in 
Annex I.A which they envisage awarding during the 
coming 12 months where the total estimated value, taking 
account of the provisions of Article 8, is equal to or greater 
than ECU 750 000. Intended contracts for the design of a 
work within the meaning of Article 1 (c) of Directive 
71/305/EEC and of which the estimated value is not less 
than the threshold laid down in Article 8 (2) shall be 
indicated separately in the notice. 
2. Authorities who wish to award a public service 
contract by open, restricted or, under the conditions laid 
down in Article 13, negotiated procedure, shall make 
known their intention by means of a notice. 
3. Authorities who wish to award a public service 
concession shall make known their intention by means of a 
notice. 
4. Authorities who wish to carry out a design contest shall 
make known their intention by means of a notice. 
Article 18 
1. Authorities who have awarded a contract or a public 
service concession, or which have held a design contest 
shall send a notice of the results of the award procedure to 
the Office for Official Publications of the European 
Communities. 
2. In cases of public service contracts for services listed in 
Annex I.A, public service concessions and design contests, 
the notice shall be published in accordance with the 
provisions referred to in Article 19. 
3. In the case of public service contracts for services listed 
in Annex I.B, the authorities shall indicate in the notice 
whether they agree on its publication. 
4. The Commission shall draw up the rules for 
establishing regular reports on the basis of such notices, 
and for the publication of such reports in accordance with 
the procedure laid down in Article 39 (3). 5. In so far as release of information on the contract 
award would impede law enforcement or otherwise be 
contrary to the public interest or would prejudice the 
legitimate commercial interests of a particular enterprise, 
public or private, or might prejudice fair competition 
between suppliers, such information may not be 
published. 
Article 19 
1. The notices shall be drawn up in accordance with the 
models set out in Annexes III, IV and V, and shall specify 
the information requested in those models. The authorities 
may not require any conditions but those specified in 
Articles 28 and 29 when requesting information concerning 
the economic and technical standards which they require of 
suppliers for their selection (Point 13 of Annex III.B, 
point 12 of Annex III.C, and point 11 of Annex III.D). 
2. The following provisions of Directive 71/305/EEC 
shall apply: 
(i) Article 12 (6), (8) and (13) concerning publication of 
notices; 
(ii) Articles 13 to 15 concerning minimum time limits for 
the phases of award procedures and communications 
between authorities and candidates; 
(iii) Articles 15a and 15b concerning minimum time limits 
for the award of public service concessions and 
contracts to be awarded by concessionnaires; 
(vi) Article 19 concerning voluntary publication of notices 
in the Official Journal of the European 
Communities. 
3. The conditions for the establishment, transmission, 
reception, translation, accumulation and distribution of the 
notices referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 and in Articles 17 
and 18, and of the statistical reports provided for in 
Articles 18 (4) and 38 and the reference in the notices to 
particular CPC positions within the categories of services 
listed in Annexes I.A and I.B may be modified in 
accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Article 39 (3). 
TITLE VI 
Chapter 1 
Common rules on participation 
Article 20 
Contracts shall be awarded on the basis of the criteria laid 
down in Chapter 3, taking into account Article 21, after 
No C 23/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 1. 91 
the suitability of the suppliers not excluded under 
Article 26 has been checked by the authorities in 
accordance with the criteria referred to in Articles 28 and 
29. 
Article 21 
1. Authorities may take account of variants where the 
criterion for the award of the contract is that of the 
economically most advantageous tender. They shall 
indicate in the tender notice whether or not variants will be 
considered. Where applicable, any specific requirements for 
the presentation of variants shall be stated in the tender 
notice or in the contract documents. 
Variants must not deviate from minimum specifications 
which the authority may have established. Minimum 
specifications shall be stated in the tender notice or in the 
contract documents. 
2. Authorities which have admitted variants pursuant to 
paragraph 1 may not reject a variant on the sole grounds 
that it would lead, if successful, to a supply contract rather 
than a public service contract within the meaning of this 
Directive. 
Article 22 
1. In the contract documents, the authority may ask the 
tenderer to indicate in his tender any share of the contract 
he may intend to subcontract to third parties. 
This indication shall be without prejudice to the question 
of the principal supplier's liability. 
2. Where authorities intend to award a public service 
concession, they may: 
— either require the concessionnaire to award contracts 
representing a minimum of 30 % of the total value of 
the services for which the concession contract is to be 
awarded, to third parties, at the same time providing 
the option for candidates to increase this percentage. 
This minimum percentage shall be specified in the 
concession contract, 
— or request the candidates for concession contracts to 
specify in their tenders the percentage, if any, of the 
total value of the concession contract which they intend 
to assign to third parties. 
Article 23 
1. Tenders may be submitted by groups of suppliers. 
These groups may not be required to assume a specific legal form in order to submit the tender; however, the group 
selected may be required to do so when it has been 
awarded the contract. 
2. Candidates or tenderers may not be rejected on the 
grounds that they are either natural or legal persons. Legal 
persons, however, may be required to indicate in the tender 
or the request for participation the names and relevant 
professional qualification of the staff to be responsible for 
the performance of the service. 
3. Paragraph 2 is without prejudice to national rules 
which establish conditions for the setting up of, or the 
carrying out of particular activities by, legal persons 
governed by the law of the Member States concerned. 
Article 24 
1. In restricted and negotiated procedures the authorities 
shall, on the basis of information given relating to the 
supplier's position as well as to the information and 
formalities necessary for the evaluation of the minimum 
conditions of an economic and technical nature to be 
fulfilled by him, select from among the candidates with the 
qualifications required by Articles 26 to 32 those whom 
they will invite to submit a tender or to negotiate. 
2. Where the authorities award a contract by restricted 
procedure, they may prescribe the range within which the 
number of suppliers which they intend to invite will fall. In 
this case the range shall be indicated in the contract notice. 
The range shall be determined in the light of the nature of 
the service to be carried out. The range must number at 
least five suppliers and may be up to 20. 
In any event, the number of candidates invited to tender 
shall be sufficient to ensure genuine competition. 
3. Where the authorities award a contract by negotiated 
procedure as referred to in Article 13, the number of 
candidates admitted to negotiate may not be less than three 
provided that there is a sufficient number of suitable 
candidates. 
4. Each Member State shall ensure that authorities issue 
invitations without discrimination to those nationals of 
other Member States who satisfy the necessary 
requirements and under the same conditions as to its own 
nationals. 
31. 1. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 23/11 
Article 25 
1. The authority may state in the contract documents, or 
be obliged by a Member State to do so, the authority or 
authorities from which a candidate may obtain the 
appropriate information on the obligations relating to the 
employment protection provisions and the working 
conditions which are in force in the Member State, region 
or locality in which the services are to be performed and 
which shall be applicable to the services provided on site 
during the performance of the contract. 
2. The authority which supplies the information referred 
to in paragraph 1 shall request the tenderers or those 
participating in the contract procedure to indicate that they 
have taken account, when drawing up their tender, of the 
obligations relating to employment protection provisions 
and the working conditions which are in force in the place 
where the service is to be carried out. This shall be without 
prejudice to the application of the provisions of Article 34 
concerning the examination of abnormally low tenders. 
Chapter 2 
Criteria for qualitative selection 
Article 26 
Any supplier may be excluded from participation in the 
contract who: 
(a) is bankrupt or is being wound up, whose affairs are 
being administered by the court, who has entered into 
an arrangement with creditors, who has suspended 
business activities or who is in any analogous situation 
arising from a similar procedure under national laws 
and regulations; 
(b) is the subject of proceedings for a declaration of 
bankruptcy, for an order for compulsory winding up 
or administration by the court or for an arrangement 
with creditors or of any other similar proceedings 
under national laws or regulations; 
(c) has been convicted of an offence concerning his 
professional conduct by a judgement which has the 
force of res judicata; 
(d) who has been guilty of grave professional misconduct 
proven by any means which the authorities can 
justify; 
(e) has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of 
social security contributions in accordance with the 
legal provisions of the country in which he is 
established or with those of the country of the 
authority; 
(f) has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of 
taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the 
country of the authority; (g) is guilty of serious misrepresentation in supplying the 
information required under this chapter. 
Where the authority requires of the supplier proof that 
none of the cases quoted in (a), (b), (c), (e), or (f) applies to 
him, it shall accept as sufficient evidence: 
—' for (a), (b), or (c), the production of an extract from the 
'judicial record' or, failing this, of an equivalent 
document issued by a competent judicial or 
administrative authority in the country of origin or in 
the country whence that person comes showing that 
these requirements have been met, 
— for (e) or (f), a certificate issued by the competent 
authority in the Member State concerned. 
Where the country concerned does not issue such 
documents or certificates, they may be replaced by a 
declaration on oath made by the person concerned before a 
judicial or administrative authority, a notary or a 
competent professional or trade body, in the country of 
origin or in the country whence that person comes. 
Member States shall, within the time limit referred to in 
Article 19, designate the authorities and bodies competent 
to issue these documents and shall forthwith inform the 
other Member States and the Commission thereof. 
Article 27 
1. Any candidate or tenderer may be requested to prove 
his enrolment, as prescribed in his country of 
establishment, in one of the professional or trade registers 
or to provide a declaration or certificate as described in 
paragraph 3. 
2. In so far as candidates for a public contract have to 
possess a particular authorization or to be members of a 
particular organization in their home country in order to be 
able to perform the service concerned, the authority may 
require them to prove that authorization or membership. 
3. The relevant professional or trade registers or 
declarations or certificates are: 
— in Belgium, the 'registre du commerce — 
Handelsregister', 
— in Denmark, the 'Erhvervs-og Selskabsstyreisen' (the 
'Aktieselskabsregistret'; 'Foreningsregistret', or 
'Handelsregistret'), 
— in Germany, the 'Handelsregister' and the 
'Handwerksrolle', 
— in Greece, a declaration on the exercise of the 
profession concerned made on oath before a notary 
may be required, 
No C 23/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 1. 91 
— in Spain, the 'Registro Oficial de Contratistas del 
Ministerio de Industria y Energia', 
— in France, the 'registre du commerce', and the 
'repertoire des metiers', 
— in Italy, the 'Registro della Camera di commercio, 
industria, agricoltura e artigianato' or the 'Registro 
delle commissioni provinciali per Partigianato', 
— in Luxembourg, the 'registre aux firmes' and the 'role 
de la Chambre des metiers', 
— in the Netherlands, the 'Handelsregister', 
— in Portugal, the 'Commissao de Alvaras de Empresas de 
Obras Publicas e Particulares' (CAEOPP) or the 
'Registo Nacional das Pessoas Colectivas', 
— in the United Kingdom and Ireland, the supplier may be 
requested to provide a certificate from the 'Registrar of 
Companies' or the 'Registrar of Friendly Societies' or, if 
he is not so certified, a certificate stating that the person 
concerned has declared on oath that he is engaged in 
the profession in question in the country in which he is 
established in a specific place under a given business 2. Evidence of the suppliers' technical capability may be 
furnished by one or more of the following means according 
to the nature, quantity and purpose of the services to be 
supplied: 
(a) the suppliers' educational and professional 
qualifications and/or those of the firm's managerial 
staff, and in particular, those of the person or persons 
responsible for performing the services; 
(b) a list of the principal services supplied in the past three 
years, with the sums, dates and recipients, public or 
private, involved; 
— where supplied to authorities, evidence to be in the 
form of certificates issued or countersigned by the 
competent authority, 
— where supplied to private purchasers, delivery to 
be certified by the purchaser or, failing this, simply 
declared by the supplier to have been effected; 
Article 28 
1. Proof of the supplier's financial and economic standing 
may, as a general rule, be furnished by one or more of the 
following references: 
(a) appropriate statements from banks or evidence of 
relevant professional risk indemnity insurance, 
(b) the presentation of the supplier's balance sheets or 
extracts therefrom, where publication of the balance 
sheets is required under company law in the country in 
which the supplier is established, 
(c) a statement of the undertaking's overall turnover and 
its turnover in respect of the services to which the 
contract relates for the three previous financial years. 
2. The authorities shall specify in the notice or in the 
invitation to tender which reference or references they have 
chosen and which references other than those mentioned 
under paragraph 1 are to be produced. 
3. If, for any valid reason, the supplier is unable to 
provide the references requested by the authority, he may 
prove his economic and financial standing by any other 
document which the authority considers appropriate. (c) indication of the technicians or technical bodies 
involved, whether or not belonging directly to the 
supplier, especially those responsible for quality 
control; 
(d) a statement of the suppliers' average annual 
manpower and the number of managerial staff for the 
last three years; 
a statement of the tool, plant or technical equipment 
available to the supplier for carrying out the services; 
(f) a description of the suppliers' measures for ensuring 
quality, and his study and research facilities; 
(g) where the services to be provided are complex or, 
exceptionally, are required for a special purpose, a 
check carried out by the authority or on its behalf by a 
competent official body of the country in which the 
supplier is established, subject to that body's 
agreement, on the technical capacities of the supplier 
and, if necessary, on his study and research facilities 
and quality control measures. 
(h) indication of the share of the contract which the 
supplier may intend to sub-contract. 
Article 29 
1. The ability of suppliers to perform services may be 
evaluated in particular with regard to their skills, 
efficiency, experience and reliability. 3. The authority shall specify in the notice or in the 
invitation to tender which references it wishes to receive. 
31. 1. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 23/13 
4. The extent of the information referred to in Article 28 
and paragraphs 1 to 3 of this Article must be confined to 
the subject of the contract. Authorities shall take into 
consideration the legitimate interests of the suppliers as 
regards the protection of their technical or trade-related 
secrets. 
Article 30 
Shoud authorities require the production of certificates 
drawn up by independent bodies for attesting conformity 
of the supplier to certain quality assurance standards, 
reference should be made to quality assurance systems 
based on the relevant EN 29000 European standards series 
certified by bodies conforming to the EN 45000 European 
standards series. Authorities shall recognize equivalent 
certificates from bodies established in other Member States. 
They shall also accept other evidence of equivalent quality 
assurance measures from suppliers who have no access to 
such certificates, or no possibility of obtaining them within 
the relevant time limits. 
Article 31 
Within the limits of Articles 26 to 29, the authority may 
invite the suppliers to supplement the certificates and 
documents submitted or to clarify them. 
Article 32 
1. Member States who have official lists of recognized 
suppliers must adapt them to the provisions of 
Articles 26 (a) to (d) and (g) and of Articles 27 to 29. 
2. Suppliers registered in these lists may, for each 
contract, submit to the authority a certificate of 
registration issued by the competent authority. This 
certificate shall state the references which enabled them to 
be registered in the list and the classification given in this 
list. 
3. Certified registration in such lists by the competent 
bodies shall, for the authorities of other Member States, 
constitute a presumption of suitability corresponding to the 
supplier's classification only as regards Articles 26 (a) to (d) 
and (g), 27, 28 (b) and (c) and 29 (a). 
Information which can be deduced from registration in 
official lists may not be questioned. However, with regard 
to the payment of social security contributions, an 
additional certificate may be required of any registered 
supplier whenever a contract is offered. The authorities of other Member States shall apply the 
above provisions only in favour of suppliers who are 
established in the country holding the official list. 
Chapter 3 
Criteria for the award of contracts 
Article 33 
1. Without prejudice to national law, regulation or 
administrative provision on the remuneration of certain 
services, the criteria on which the authority shall base the 
award of contracts may be: 
(a) when the award is made to the economically most 
advantageous tender, various criteria relating to the 
contract: for example, quality, technical merit, 
aesthetic and functional characteristics, technical 
assistance and service, delivery date and period of 
completion, price; or 
(b) the lowest price only. 
2. Where the contract is to be awarded to the 
economically most advantageous offer, authorities shall 
state in the contract documents or in the tender notice the 
award criteria which they intend to apply and the intended 
ranking or weighting they intend to use. 
3. Paragraph 1 shall not apply when a Member State 
bases the award of contracts on other criteria, within the 
framework of rules in force at the time of the adoption of 
this Directive whose aim it is to give preference to certain 
tenderers, on condition that the rules invoked are 
compatible with the Treaty. 
Article 34 
1. If, for a given contract, tenders appear to be 
abnormally low in relation to the transaction, the authority 
shall request, in writing, details of the constituent elements 
of the tender concerned. It shall, in particular, enquire 
whether the tenderer is an authority within the meaning of 
Article 1 (b), whether the tenderer is in receipt of any form 
of State aid and whether the aid has been notified to and 
received the approval from the Commission pursuant to 
Article 93 (3) of the Treaty. 
Authorities shall verify the constituent elements of the 
tenders concerned, taking account of any explanations 
received, before deciding on the award of the contract or 
on the rejection of a tender. 
No C 23/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 1. 91 
2. In the case of a tender submitted by a public authority 
or a public enterprise, the authority shall in particular 
enquire whether the tender is influenced by public funds 
allocated for 
(a) the setting-off of operating losses; 
(b) the provision of capital; 
(c) non-refundable grants, or loans on privileged terms; 
(d) the granting of financial advantages by foregoing 
profits or the recovery of sums due; 
(e) the foregoing of a normal return on public funds 
used; 
(f) compensation for financial burdens imposed by the 
public authorities. 
It shall inform the Commission if it intends to award a 
contract to a tenderer whose tender is influenced by any of 
these characteristics. 
3. Authorities may reject tenders which are abnormally 
low owing to the receipt of State aid only if they have 
consulted the tenderer and if the tenderer has not been able 
to show that the aid in question has been notified to the 
Commission pursuant to Article 93 (3) of the Treaty or has 
received the Commission's approval. Authorities which 
reject a tender under these circumstances shall inform the 
Commission thereof. 
4. If the contract documents provide for its award at the 
lowest price tendered, the authority must communicate to 
the Commission the rejection of tenders which it considers 
to be too low. 
TITLE VII 
Final provisions 
Article 35 
Until 31 December 1992, this Directive shall not prevent 
the application of existing national provisions on the award 
of public service contracts which have as their objective the 
reduction of regional disparities and the promotion of job 
creation in regions whose development is lagging behind 
and in declining industrial regions, on condition that the 
provisions concerned are compatible with the Treaty, in 
particular with the principles of non-discrimination on 
ground of nationality, freedom of establishment and 
freedom to provide services, and with the Community's 
international obligations. Article 36 
1. Member States shall inform the Commission of 
national provisions covered by Articles 33 (3) and 35 and 
of the rules for applying them. 
2. Member States concerned shall forward to the 
Commission, every year, a report describing the 
implementation of these provisions. The reports shall be 
submitted to the Advisory Committee for Public 
Contracts. 
Article 37 
The calculation of time limits shall be made in accordance 
with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1182/71 of 
3 June 1971, determining the rules applicable to periods, 
dates and time limits (*). 
Article 38 
1. In order to complete the information obtained on the 
basis of the award notices under Article 18, Member States 
shall each year, at the latest by 31 October, forward to the 
Commission a statistical report for the preceding year 
concerning inter alia the total value of contracts awarded 
which are below the thresholds laid down in Article 8 and 
which would otherwise have been covered by this 
Directive. Details shall be fixed according to the procedure 
laid down in Article 39 (3). 
2. The Commission shall determine the nature of any 
additional statistical information, which is required in 
accordance with this Directive, in accordance with the 
procedure laid down in Article 39 (3). 
Article 39 
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Advisory 
Committee for Public Contracts set up by Decision 
71/306/EEC. 
2. As regards procurement of telecommunications services 
falling within category 5 of Annex I.A, the Commission 
shall be assisted by the Advisory Committee on 
Telecommunications Procurement set up by Directive 
90/531/EEC. 
3. Where reference is made to the procedure laid down in 
this paragraph, the representative of the Commission shall 
submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be 
taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft 
within a time limit which the chairman may lay down 
according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by 
taking a vote. 
(!) OJNoL 124, 8. 6. 1971, p. 1. 
31. 1. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 23/15 
The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition, 
each Member State shall have the right to ask to have its 
position recorded in the minutes. 
The Commission shall take the utmost account of the 
opinion delivered by the Committee. It shall inform the 
Committee of the manner in which its opinion has been 
taken into account. 
4. The Committees shall examine, on the initiative of the 
Commission or at the request of a Member State, any 
question relating to the application of this Directive. 
Article 40 
1. The Member States shall inform the Commission of 
any general difficulties encountered, in law or in fact, by 
their undertakings in securing the award of public service 
contracts or public service concessions in third countries. 
2. The Commission shall report to the Council, before 
31 December 1991 and then periodically, on the opening 
up of public service contracts and concessions in third 
countries and on the state of negotiations with these 
countries on this subject in the GATT framework or 
elsewhere. 
3. Whenever the Commission establishes, either on the 
basis of the reports referred to in paragraph 2, or on the 
basis of other information, that a third country, as regards 
the award of public service contracts or concessions, 
(a) does not grant Community undertakings effective 
access comparable to that granted by the Community 
to undertakings from that country; 
(b) does not grant Community undertakings national 
treatment or the same competitive opportunities as 
available to national undertakings; 
or 
(c) grants undertakings from other third countries more 
favorable treatment than Community undertakings; 
the Commission may initiate negotiations in order to 
remedy the situation. 
4. Under the conditions referred to in paragraph 3(b) and 
(c), the Commission may decide, in addition to action 
taken pursuant to that paragraph, that the award of public 
service contracts or concessions to: (b) undertakings affiliated to the undertakings specified in 
(a) and having their registered office in the 
Community but having no effective and continuous 
link with the economy of a Member State; 
(c) tenders which have as their object services originating 
in the country in question; 
may be suspended or restricted during a period to be 
determined in the decision. 
The Commission may decide on the appropriate measures 
either on its own initiative or at the request of a Member 
State, after consulting the Member States in accordance 
with the procedure laid down in Article 39 {3). Where the 
Commission is asked to take action by a Member State, it 
shall take a decision within a maximum period of three 
months of receipt of the request. 
It shall notify the Council and the Member States of the 
decisions taken. 
Any Member State may refer the Commission's decision to 
the Council within a maximum period of four weeks from 
the date of the decision. 
The Council, acting by qualified majority, may take a 
different decision within a maximum period of three 
months of such referral. 
5. This Article is without prejudice to the obligations of 
the Community in relation to non-Member countries. 
Article 41 
Article 1 (1) of Directive 89/665/EEC (J) is replaced by 
the following: 
'1. The Member States shall take the measures 
necessary to ensure that, as regards contract award 
procedures falling within the scope of Directives 
71/305/EEC, 77/62/EEC, and .../.../EEC (*), 
decisions taken by the contracting authorities may be 
reviewed effectively and, in particular, as rapidly as 
possible in accordance with the conditions set out in the 
following Articles, and, in particular, Article 2 (7) on 
the grounds that such decisions have infringed 
Community law in the field of public procurement or 
national rules implementing that law. 
(*) OJ No L 00, 00. 00. 0000, p. 0.' 
(a) undertakings governed by the law of the country in 
question; (!) OJ No L 395, 30. 12. 1989, p. 33. 
No C 23/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 1. 91 
Article 42 
Not later than three years after the time limit for 
compliance with this Directive the Commission, acting in 
close cooperation with the Committees referred to in 
Article 39, shall review the manner in which this Directive 
has operated including, in particular, the effects of the 
application of the Directive to procurement of services 
listed in Annex I. A and the provisions concerning technical 
standards. It shall evaluate, in particular, the prospects for 
the full application of the Directive to procurement of other 
services listed in Annex LB, and the effects of in-house 
performance of services on the effective opening-up of the 
market in this area. It shall make the necessary proposals to 
adapt the Directive accordingly. 
Article 43 
Member States shall implement the laws, regulations and 
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 1 March 1992. They shall forthwith inform 
the Commission thereof. 
When Member States adopt these provisions, these shall 
contain a reference to this Directive or shall be 
accompanied by such reference at the time of their official 
publication. The procedure for such reference shall be 
adopted by the Member States. 
Article 44 
Member States ensure that the texts of the basic provisions 
of domestic law, whether laws, regulations or 
administrative provisions, which they adopt to implement 
this Directive, are communicated to the Commission. 
Article 45 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
31. 1. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 23/17 
ANNEX LA 
Services in the sense of Article 9 
Category 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 Title 
Maintenance and repair services 
Land transport services, including armoured car services, and 
courier services, except transport of mail 
Air transport services of passengers and freight, except 
transport of mail 
Transport of mail by land, except rail, and by air 
Telecommunications services 
Financial services: 
(a) Insurance services 
(b) Banking and investment services remunerated by fees, 
commissions, or comparable types of remuneration (2) 
Computer and related services 
R&D services (3) 
Accounting, auditing and bookkeeping services 
Market research and public opinion polling services 
Management consulting services and related services 
Architectural services; 
Engineering services and integrated engineering services; 
Urban planning and landscape architectural services; 
Related scientific and technical consulting services; 
Technical testing and analysis services 
Advertising services 
Building-cleaning services and property management services 
Publishing and printing services on a fee or contract basis 
Sewage and refuse disposal; sanitation and similar services CPC division, group, class 
or sub-class 
6112, 6122, 633, 886 
712 (except 71235), 7512, 
87304 
73 (except 7321) 
71235, 7321 
752 (!) 
ex 81, 812, 814 
84 
85 
862 
864 
865, 866 (4) 
867 
871 
874, 82201, 82202 
88442 
94 
f1) Except voice telephony, telex, radiotelephony, paging and satellite services. 
(2) Except activities involving primary government bonds and activities involving public debt management. 
(3) As defined in the ninth recital. 
(4) Except arbitration and conciliation services. 
No C 23/18 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 1. 91 
ANNEX LB 
Services in the sense of Article 10 
Category 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 Title 
Hotel and restaurant services 
Transport services by rail 
Water transport services 
Supporting and auxiliary transport services 
Financial services 
Banking and investment services not remunerated by fees, 
commissions, or comparable types of remuneration 
Legal services 
Placement and supply services of personnel 
Investigation and security services (except armoured car 
services) 
Education and vocational educational services 
Health and social services 
Recreational, cultural and sporting services 
Other services CPC division, group, 
class or sub-class 
64 
711 
72 
74 
ex 81 
861 
872 
873 (except 87304) 
92 
93 
96 
31. 1. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 23/19 
ANNEX II 
Definition of certain technical specifications 
For the purpose of this Directive the following terms shall be defined as follows: 
1. 'Technical specifications': the totality of the technical prescriptions contained in particular in the tender 
documents, defining the characteristics required of a work, material, product or supply, which permits a 
work, a material, a product or a supply to be described in a manner such that it fulfils the use for which it is 
intended by the contracting authority. These technical prescriptions shall include levels of quality, 
performance, safety or dimensions, including the requirements applicable to the material, the product or to 
the supply as regards quality assurance, terminology, symbols, testing and test methods, packaging, 
marking or labelling. They shall also include rules relating to design and costing, the test, inspection and 
acceptances for works and methods or techniques of construction and all other technical conditions which 
the contracting authority is in a position to prescribe, under general or specific regulations, in relation to the 
finished works and to the materials or parts which they involve. 
2. 'Standard': a technical specification approved by a recognized standardizing body for repeated and 
continuous application, compliance with which is in principle not compulsory. 
3. 'European standard': a standard approved by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) or by the 
European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (Cenelec) as 'European Standards' or 
'Harmonization documents (HD)' according to the common rules of these organizations or by the European 
Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) as a 'European Telecommunication Standard' (ETS). 
4. 'European technical approval': a favourable technical assessment of the fitness for use of a product, based 
on fulfilment of the essential requirements for building works, by means of the inherent characteristics of 
the product and the defined conditions of applications and use. The European agreement shall be issued by 
an approval body designated for this purpose by the Member State. 
5. 'Common technical specification': a technical specification laid down in accordance with a procedure 
recognized by the Member States to ensure uniform application in all Member States which has been 
published in the Official Journal of the European Communities. 
6. 'Essential requirements': requirements regarding safety, health and certain other aspects in the general 
interest, that the construction works can meet. 
No C 23/20 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 1. 91 
ANNEX III 
MODEL CONTRACT NOTICES 
A. Prior information 
1. The name, address, telegraphic address, telephone, telex and facsimile numbers of the authority, and, if 
different, of the service from which additional information may be obtained; 
2. Intended total procurement in each of the service categories listed in Annex I.A; 
3. Estimated date for initiating the award procedures, per category; 
4. Other information; 
5. Date of dispatch of the notice; 
6. Date of receipt of the notice by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. 
B. Open procedure 
1. The name, address, telegraphic address, telephone, telex and facsimile numbers of the authority. 
2. Category of service and description. CPC classification. 
3. Place of delivery. 
4. (a) Indication whether the execution of the service is by law, regulation or administrative provision 
reserved to a particular profession. 
(b) Reference of the law, regulation or administrative provision. 
(c) Indication whether legal persons should indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff 
to be responsible for the execution of the service. 
5. Indication whether suppliers can tender for a part of the services concerned. 
6. Variants: 
(a) minimum specifications; 
(b) desirable elements; 
(c) where applicable, prohibition on variants. 
7. Duration of contract or time limit for completion of the service. 
8. (a) Name and address of the service from which the relevant documents may be requested. 
(b) Final date for making such requests. 
(c) Where applicable, the amount and terms of payment of any sum payable for such documents. 
9. (a) Persons authorized to be present at the opening of tenders. 
(b) Date, time and place of the opening. 
10. Where applicable, any deposits and guarantees required. 
11. The main terms concerning financing and payment and/or references to the relevant provisions. 
31. 1. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 23/21 
12. Where applicable, the legal form to be taken by the grouping of suppliers winning the contract. 
13. Information concerning the suppliers' own position, and information and formalities necessary for an 
appraisal of the minimum economic and technical standards required of the supplier. 
14. Period during which the tenderer is bound to keep open his tender. 
15. Criteria for the award of the contract and their ranking. Criteria other than that of the lowest price shall 
be mentioned if they do not appear in the contract documents. 
16. Other information. 
17. Date of dispatch of the notice. 
18. Date of receipt of the notice by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. 
C. Restricted procedure 
1. The name, address, telegraphic address, telephone, telex and facsimile numbers of the authority. 
2. Category of service and description. CPC classification. 
3. Place of delivery. 
4. (a) Indication whether the execution of the service is by law, regulation or administrative provision 
reserved to a particular profession. 
(b) Reference of the law, regulation or administrative provision. 
(c) Indication whether legal persons should indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff 
to be responsible for the execution of the service. 
5. Indication of whether the supplier can tender for a part of the services concerned. 
6. Envisaged number of suppliers, or range, which will be invited to tender. 
7. Variants: 
(a) minimum specifications; 
(b) desirable elements; 
(c) where applicable, prohibition on variants. 
8. Duration of contract, or time limit for completion of the service. 
9. Where applicable, the legal form to be assumed by the grouping of suppliers winning the contract. 
10. (a) Where applicable, justification for the use of the accelerated procedure. 
(b) Final date for the receipt of requests to participate. 
(c) Address to which they must be sent. 
(d) Language(s) in which they must be drawn up. 
11. Final date for the dispatch of invitations to tender. 
12. Any deposits and guarantees required. 
13. Information concerning the supplier's own position, and the information and formalities necessary for an 
appraisal of the minimum economic and technical standards required of him. 
No C 23/22 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 1. 91 
14. Criteria for the award of the contract and their ranking if these are not stated in the invitation to 
tender. 
15. Other information. 
16. Date of dispatch of the notice. 
17. Date of receipt of the notice by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. 
D. Negotiated procedure 
1. The name, address, telegraphic address, telephone, telex and facsimile number of the authority. 
2. Category of service and description. CPC classification. 
3. Place of delivery. 
4. (a) Indication whether the execution of the service is by law, regulation or administrative provision 
reserved to a particular profession. 
(b) Reference of the law, regulation or administrative provision. 
(c) Indication whether legal persons should indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff 
to be responsible for the execution of the service. 
5. Indication of whether the supplier can tender for a part of the services concerned. 
6. Envisaged number of suppliers, or range, which will be invited to tender. 
7. Variants: 
(a) minimum specifications; 
(b) desirable elements; 
(c) where applicable, prohibition on variants. 
8. Duration of contract, or time limit for completion of the service. 
9. Where applicable, the legal form to be assumed by the grouping of suppliers winning the contract. 
10. (a) Where applicable, justification for the use of the accelerated procedure. 
(b) Final date for the receipt of requests to participate. 
(c) Address to which they must be sent. 
(d) Language(s) in which they must be drawn up. 
11. Any deposits and guarantees required. 
12. Information concerning the supplier's own position, and the information and formalities necessary for an 
appraisal of the minimum economic and technical standards required of him. 
13. Where applicable, the names and addresses of suppliers already selected by the awarding authority. 
14. Other information. 
15. Date of dispatch of the notice. 
16. Date of receipt of the notice by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. 
17. Date(s) of previous publications in the Official Journal of the European Communities. 
31. 1. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 23/23 
E. Contract awards 
1. Name and address of the authority. 
2. Award procedure chosen; in case of negotiated procedure without prior publication of a tender notice, 
justification (Article 13 (3)). CPC classification. 
3. Category of service and description. 
4. Date of award of contract. 
5. Criteria for award of contract. 
6. Number of tenders received. 
7. Name and address of supplier(s). 
8. Price or range of prices (minimum/maximum) paid. 
9. Where appropriate, value and proportion of contract likely to be sub-contracted to third parties. 
10. Other information. 
11. Date of publication of the tender notice in the Official journal of the European Communities. 
12. Date of dispatch of the notice. 
13. Date of receipt of the notice by the Office for Official Publications oi the European Communities. 
14. In the case of contracts for services listed in Annex I.B, agreement, by the contracting authority, on 
publication of the notice (Article 18 (3)). 
No C 23/24 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 1. 91 
ANNEX IV 
A. Design contest notices 
1. The name, address, telegraphic address, telephone, telex and facsimile numbers of the authority and of the 
service from which the relevant documents may be obtained. 
2. Project description. 
3. Nature of the contest: open or restricted. 
4. In the case of open contests: final date for receipt of projects. 
5. In the case of restricted contests: 
(a) the envisaged number of participants, or range; 
(b) where applicable, names of already selected participants; 
(c) the criteria to be applied in the selection of participants; 
(d) final date for receipt of requests to participate. 
6. Where applicable, indication whether participation is reserved to a particular profession. 
7. The criteria to be applied in the evaluation of projects. 
8. Where applicable, names of selected members of the jury. 
9. Indication whether the decision of the jury is binding for the authority. 
10. Where applicable, the number and value of the prizes to be awarded. 
11. Where applicable, details on payments to all participants. 
12. Indication whether the prize-winners are entitled to be awarded any follow-up contracts. 
13. Other information. 
14. Date of dispatch of the notice. 
15. Date of receipt of the notice by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. 
B. Results of design contests 
1. The name, address, telegraphic address, telephone, telex and facsimile numbers of the authority. 
2. Project description. 
3. Total number of participants. 
4. Number of foreign participants. 
5. Winner(s) of the contest. 
6. Where applicable, the prize(s). 
7. Other information. 
8. Reference of the design contest notice. 
9. Date of dispatch of the notice. 
10. .Date of receipt of the notice by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. 
31. 1. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 23/25 
ANNEX V 
A. Model notice on public service concessions 
1. The name, address, telegraphic address, telephone, telex and facsimile numbers of the authority. 
2. (a) The place of delivery. 
(b) The subject of the concession, nature and extent of the services to be provided. 
(c) Duration of contract. 
3. (a) Final date for receipt of candidatures. 
(b) The address to which they must be sent. 
(c) The language or languages in which they must be drawn up. 
4. Personal, technical and financial conditions to be fulfilled by the candidates. 
5. The criteria for the award of the contract. 
6. Where applicable, the minimum percentage of the total value of the concession contract to be awarded to 
third parties. 
7. Other information. 
8. Date of dispatch of the notice. 
9. Date od receipt of the notice by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. 
B. Concession awards 
1. The name, address, telegraphic address, telephone, telex and facsimile numbers of the authority. 
2. The subject of the concession, nature and extent of the services to be provided. 
3. Date of award of the concession. 
4. Number of tenders received. 
5. Name and address of the concessionnaire. 
6. Other information. 
7. Date of publication of the tender notice in the Official Journal of the European Communities. 
8. Date of dispatch of the notice. 
9. Date of receipt of the notice by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.