Case C-327/12: Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 12 December 2013 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Consiglio di Stato — Italy) — Ministero dello Sviluppo economico, Autorità per la vigilanza sui contratti pubblici di lavori, servizi e forniture v SOA Nazionale Costruttori — Organismo di Attestazione SpA (Articles 101 TFEU, 102 TFEU and 106 TFEU — Public undertakings and undertakings to which special or exclusive rights have been granted — Undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest — Definition — Bodies tasked with checking and certifying compliance by undertakings carrying out public works with the conditions required by the law — Article 49 TFEU — Freedom of establishment — Restriction — Justification — Protection of recipients of services — Status of certification services)
Date: 2013-12-12
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: award of contract, consumer protection, minimum price, private sector, public sector, public service, public works, right of establishment








C_2014052EN.01001502.xml










22.2.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 52/15





Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 12 December 2013 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Consiglio di Stato — Italy) — Ministero dello Sviluppo economico, Autorità per la vigilanza sui contratti pubblici di lavori, servizi e forniture v SOA Nazionale Costruttori — Organismo di Attestazione SpA
(Case C-327/12) (1)

(Articles 101 TFEU, 102 TFEU and 106 TFEU - Public undertakings and undertakings to which special or exclusive rights have been granted - Undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest - Definition - Bodies tasked with checking and certifying compliance by undertakings carrying out public works with the conditions required by the law - Article 49 TFEU - Freedom of establishment - Restriction - Justification - Protection of recipients of services - Status of certification services)
2014/C 52/24
Language of the case: Italian

Referring court

Consiglio di Stato

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicants: Ministero dello Sviluppo economico, Autorità per la vigilanza sui contratti pubblici di lavori, servizi e forniture

Defendant: SOA Nazionale Costruttori — Organismo di Attestazione SpA

Intervening parties: Associazione nazionale Società Organismi di Attestazione (Unionsoa), SOA CQOP SpA

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling — Consiglio di Stato — Interpretation of Articles 101 TFEU, 102 TFEU and 106 TFEU — Concepts of ‘public undertakings and undertakings to which Member States grant special or exclusive rights’ and ‘Undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest’ — Bodies responsible for verifying and attesting to the fact that potential subcontractors for public works comply with the conditions laid down by law — National legislation imposing minimum tariffs on those bodies.

Operative part of the judgment

Articles 101 TFEU, 102 TFEU and 106 TFEU must be interpreted as meaning that they do not preclude national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which imposes on companies classified as attestation organisations (Società Organismi di Attestazione) a scheme of minimum tariffs for certification services offered to undertakings seeking to participate in procedures for the award of public works contracts
Such national legislation constitutes a restriction of the freedom of establishment within the meaning of Article 49 TFEU, but is suitable for attaining the objective of protecting the recipients of the services in question. It is for the referring court to determine whether, in the light of, inter alia, the method of calculating the minimum tariffs, particularly in the light of the number of categories of work for which the certificate is drawn up, that national legislation goes beyond what is necessary to attain that objective.


(1)  OJ C 295, 29.9.2012.