Official Journal of the European Union

C 225/7

(Case C-386/11) (<span class="super">1</span>)

(Public contracts - Directive 2004/18/EC - Definition of ‘public contract’ - Article 1(2)(a) - Contract concluded between two local authorities - Transfer by one entity of the responsibility for cleaning certain of its buildings to another entity in return for financial compensation)

2013/C 225/11

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Piepenbrock Dienstleistungen GmbH & Co. KG

Respondent: Kreis Düren

Intervening party: Stadt Düren

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling — Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf — Interpretation of Article 1(2)(a) of 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) — Agreement under which, in return for the reimbursement of costs incurred, a regional authority transfers responsibility for the cleaning of the public buildings which it owns to the local authority responsible for the area in which the buildings are situated — Classification of that agreement as a public service contract or as an agreement on cooperation between local authorities that is not subject to the European Union rules on public procurement

Operative part of the judgment

A contract such as that at issue in the main proceedings — whereby, without establishing cooperation between the contracting public entities with a view to carrying out a public service task that both of them have to perform, one public entity assigns to another the task of cleaning certain office, administrative and school buildings, while reserving the power to supervise the proper execution of that task, in return for financial compensation intended to correspond to the costs incurred in the performance of the task, the second entity being, moreover, authorised to avail of the services of third parties which might be capable of competing on the market for the accomplishment of that task — constitutes a public service contract within the meaning of Article 1(2)(d) of 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.

* Language of the case: German.

ECLI:EU:C:2013:386