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CJEU Case C-152/17 / Judgment

Consorzio Italian Management and Catania Multiservizi SpA v Rete Ferroviaria Italiana SpA
Deciding body type
Court of Justice of the European Union
Deciding body
Court (Ninth Chamber)
Type
Decision
Decision date
19/04/2018
ECLI (European case law identifier)
ECLI:EU:C:2018:264

Charta základných práv Európskej únie

Title II: Freedoms

Article 16 - Freedom to conduct a business

Title VII: General provisions

Article 51 - Field of application

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  • CJEU Case C-152/17 / Judgment

    Key facts of the case:

    Reference for a preliminary ruling — Procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors — Directive 2004/17/EC — Obligation to review prices after the award of the contract — No such obligation in Directive 2004/17/EC or arising from the general principles underlying Article 56 TFEU and Directive 2004/17/EC — Cleaning and maintenance services linked to railway transport operations — Article 3(3) TEU — Articles 26, 57, 58 and 101 TFEU — Lack of sufficient information concerning the factual context of the dispute in the main proceedings and the reasons justifying the need for a reply to the questions referred — Inadmissibility — Article 16 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union — Provision of national law not implementing EU law — Lack of jurisdiction.

    Outcome of the case:

    On those grounds, the Court (Ninth Chamber) hereby rules:

    Directive 2004/17/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors, as amended by Commission Regulation (EU) No 1251/2011 of 30 November 2011, and the general principles underlying that directive are to be interpreted as not precluding national rules, such as those at issue in the main proceedings, which do not provide for periodic price review after a contract has been awarded in the sectors covered by that directive.

  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter

    1) This request for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Article 3(3) TEU, Articles 26, 56 to 58 and 101 TFEU, Article 16 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’) and Directive 2004/17/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors (OJ 2004 L 134, p. 1), as amended by Commission Regulation (EU) No 1251/2011 of 30 November 2011 (OJ 2011 L 319, p. 43) (‘Directive 2004/17’), and the assessment of the validity of Directive 2004/17.

    ...

    19) In those circumstances, the Consiglio di Stato (Council of State, Italy) decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling:

    ‘(1) Is an interpretation of national law that excludes price review in contracts relating to “special sectors”, particularly as regards contracts with a different object from those to which the Directive 2004/17 refers, but which are functionally linked to those sectors, compatible with EU law, in particular, Article 3(3) TEU, Articles 26, 56 to 58 and 101 TFEU, and Article 16 of the Charter and Directive 2004/17?

    (2) Is Directive 2004/17 (if it should be considered that price review may be excluded, in all contracts concluded and implemented within “special sectors” as a direct result of that directive compatible with the principles of the European Union, in particular Articles 3(1) TEU, Articles 26, 56 to 58 and 101 TFEU, and Article 16 of the Charter, “in the light of the unfairness, disproportionality and distortion of contractual balance and, therefore, of the rules governing an efficient market”?’

    ...

    20) By its first question, the referring court asks, in essence, whether Article 3(3) TEU, Articles 26, 56 to 58 and 101 TFEU, Article 16 of the Charter and Directive 2004/17 must be interpreted as precluding national rules, such as those at issue in the main proceedings, which do not provide for periodic review of prices after a contract has been awarded in the sectors covered by that directive.

    ...

    33) Thirdly, as regards the interpretation of Article 16 of the Charter, it must be recalled that, under Article 51(1) of the Charter, its provisions are addressed to the Member States only when they are implementing EU law. Under Article 51(2) of the Charter, the Charter does not establish any new power or task for the Union, or modify powers and tasks as defined in the Treaties. Accordingly, the Court is called upon to interpret EU law, in the light of the Charter, within the limits of the powers conferred on it (see judgment of 10 July 2014, Julián Hernández and Others, C‑198/13, EU:C:2014:2055, paragraph 32 and the case-law cited).

    34) In that regard, it should be borne in mind that the concept of ‘implementing Union law’ within the meaning of Article 51 of the Charter presupposes a degree of connection between the measure of EU law and the national measure at issue. In particular, the Court has ruled that fundamental European Union rights could not be applied in relation to national legislation because the provisions of EU law in the area concerned did not impose any specific obligation on Member States with regard to the situation at issue in the main proceedings (see judgment of 10 July 2014, Julián Hernández and Others, C‑198/13, EU:C:2014:2055, paragraphs 34 and 35 and the case-law cited).