Case C-187/16: Action brought on 4 April 2016 — European Commission v Austrian Republic
Date: 2016-04-04
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: award of contract, confidentiality, driving licence, freedom to provide services, identity document, provision of services, services contract, tendering








C_2016191EN.01002201.xml










30.5.2016   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 191/22





Action brought on 4 April 2016 — European Commission v Austrian Republic
(Case C-187/16)
(2016/C 191/27)
Language of the case: German

Parties


Applicant: European Commission (represented by: A. Tokár, B.-R. Killmann, acting as Agents)

Defendant: Austrian Republic

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:






1.


Declare that the Austrian Republic:






—


by awarding public service contracts directly to the Österreichische Staatsdruckerei GmbH for the manufacture of certain documents, such as chip passports, emergency passports, residence permits, identity cards, fireworks display permits, credit card-sized driving licences and credit card-sized vehicle licences under and above the thresholds applicable under Directive 92/50/EEC and Directive 2004/18/EC in the time before and after the transposition of Directive 2004/18/EC, and










—


by maintaining national provisions, such as in particular Paragraph 2(3) of the Federal Law on the reorganisation of the legal relationships of the Österreichische Staatsdruckerei, which require contracting authorities to award those public service contracts exclusively to the Österreichische Staatsdruckerei GmbH;




has failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 49 and 56 TFEU or under Article 4 read in conjunction with Articles 11 to 37 of Directive 92/50/EEC (1) and Articles 14, 20 and 23 to 55 of Directive 2004/18/EC. (2)











2.


Order the Austrian Republic to pay the costs.





Pleas in law and main arguments

In support of the action, the applicant relies on the following arguments:
Österreichische Staatsdruckerei GmbH is a private undertaking.
Austrian law requires that the manufacture of all documents which entail secrecy or compliance with security rules to be awarded exclusively to the Österreichische Staatsdruckerei GmbH.
Austrian contracting authorities were therefore required to award public service contracts for the manufacture of chip passports, emergency passports, residence permits, identity cards, credit card-sized driving licences, credit card-sized vehicle licences and fireworks display permits directly to the Österreichische Staatsdruckerei GmbH.
Austrian contracting authorities had, however, the obligation to award the manufacture of the above documents to undertakings that were selected following award procedures which conformed to the requirements of Directive 92/50/EEC and Directive 2004/18/EC or with a sufficient degree of publicity pursuant to the TFEU.
In so far as Austrian contracting authorities awarded public service contracts for the manufacture of the above documents to the Österreichische Staatsdruckerei GmbH without carrying out award procedures and were, on the basis of national law, required to award public service contracts for the manufacture of those documents exclusively to the Österreichische Staatsdruckerei GmbH, Austria has failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law.


(1)  Council Directive 92/50/EEC of 18 June 1992 relating to the coordination of procedures for the award of public service contracts (OJ 1992 L 209, p. 1).

(2)  Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts (OJ 2004 L 134, p. 114).