Concordia Bus Finland Oy Ab, formerly Stagecoach Finland Oy Ab v Helsingin kaupunki and HKL-Bussiliikenne.
Date: 2002-09-17
54 In order to determine whether and under what conditions the contracting authority may, in accordance with Article 36(1)(a), take into consideration criteria of an ecological nature, it must be noted, first, that, as is clear from the wording of that provision, in particular the use of the expression `for example', the criteria which may be used as criteria for the award of a public contract to the economically most advantageous tender are not listed exhaustively (see also, to that effect, Case C-19/00 SIAC Construction [2001] ECR I-7725, paragraph 35).
56 Moreover, as the Court has already held, the purpose of coordinating at Community level the procedures for the award of public contracts is to eliminate barriers to the free movement of services and goods (see, inter alia, SIAC Construction, paragraph 32).
57 In the light of that objective and also of the wording of the third sentence of the first subparagraph of Article 130r(2) of the EC Treaty, transferred by the Treaty of Amsterdam in slightly amended form to Article 6 EC, which lays down that environmental protection requirements must be integrated into the definition and implementation of Community policies and activities, it must be concluded that Article 36(1)(a) of Directive 92/50 does not exclude the possibility for the contracting authority of using criteria relating to the preservation of the environment when assessing the economically most advantageous tender.
59 While Article 36(1)(a) of Directive 92/50 leaves it to the contracting authority to choose the criteria on which it proposes to base the award of the contract, that choice may, however, relate only to criteria aimed at identifying the economically most advantageous tender (see, to that effect, concerning public works contracts, Beentjes, paragraph 19, Evans Medical and Macfarlan Smith, paragraph 42, and SIAC Construction, paragraph 36). Since a tender necessarily relates to the subject-matter of the contract, it follows that the award criteria which may be applied in accordance with that provision must themselves also be linked to the subject-matter of the contract.
60 It should be recalled, first, that, as the Court has already held, in order to determine the economically most advantageous tender, the contracting authority must be able to assess the tenders submitted and take a decision on the basis of qualitative and quantitative criteria relating to the contract in question (see, to that effect, concerning public works contracts, Case 274/83 Commission v Italy [1985] ECR 1077, paragraph 25).
61 Further, it also appears from the case-law that an award criterion having the effect of conferring on the contracting authority an unrestricted freedom of choice as regards the award of the contract to a tenderer would be incompatible with Article 36(1)(a) of Directive 92/50 (see, to that effect, Beentjes, paragraph 26, and SIAC Construction, paragraph 37).
62 Next, it should be noted that the criteria adopted to determine the economically most advantageous tender must be applied in conformity with all the procedural rules laid down in Directive 92/50, in particular the rules on advertising. It follows that, in accordance with Article 36(2) of that directive, all such criteria must be expressly mentioned in the contract documents or the tender notice, where possible in descending order of importance, so that operators are in a position to be aware of their existence and scope (see, to that effect, concerning public works contracts, Beentjes, paragraphs 31 and 36, and Case C-225/98 Commission v France [2000] ECR I-7445, paragraph 51).
63 Finally, such criteria must comply with all the fundamental principles of Community law, in particular the principle of non-discrimination as it follows from the provisions of the Treaty on the right of establishment and the freedom to provide services (see, to that effect, Beentjes, paragraph 29, and Commission v France, paragraph 50).
81 It must be stated that the duty to observe the principle of equal treatment lies at the very heart of the public procurement directives, which are intended in particular to promote the development of effective competition in the fields to which they apply and which lay down criteria for the award of contracts which are intended to ensure such competition (see, to that effect, Case C-243/89 Commission v Denmark [1993] ECR I-3353, paragraph 33).
91 In those circumstances, there is no reason to give a different interpretation to two provisions which fall within the same field of Community law and have substantially the same wording.
92 It should also be noted that the Court has already held, in paragraph 33 of Commission v Denmark, that the duty to observe the principle of equal treatment lies at the very heart of all the public procurement directives. The documents in the main proceedings have not disclosed anything to show that, as regards the contracting entity's choice of award criteria, the interpretation of that principle should depend in this case on the particular directive applicable to the contract in question.