L 134/114 Official Journal of the European Union 30.4.2004 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 THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com- munity, and in particular Article 47(2) and Article 55 and Article 95 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (%), Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (%), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (¥), in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee on 9 December 2003, Whereas: On the occasion of new amendments being made to Council Directives 92/50/EEC of 18 June 1992 relating to the coordination of procedures for the award of public service contracts (°), 93/36/EEC of 14 June 1993 coordinating procedures for the award of public supply contracts (°) and 93/37[EEC of 14 June 1993 concern- ing the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts (), which are necessary to meet requests for simplification and modernisation made by contracting authorities and economic operators alike in their responses to the Green Paper adopted by the OJ C 29 E, 30.1.2001, p. 11 and O] C 203 E, 27.8.2002, p. 210. 0J C 193, 10.7.2001, p. 7. O] C 144, 16.5.2001, p. 23. Opinion of the European Parliament of 17 January 2002 (O] C 271 E, 7.11.2002, p. 176), Council Common Position of 20 Mars 2003 (O] C 147 E, 24.6.2003, p. 1) and Position of the European Parliament of 2 July 2003 (not yet published in the Official Journal). Legislative Resolution of the European Parliament of 29 January 2004 and Decision of the Council of 2 February 2004. OJ L 209, 24.7.1992, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Commis- sion Directive 2001/78/EC (O] L 285, 29.10.2001, p. 1). OJ L 199, 9.8.1993, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2001/78/EC. OJ L 199, 9.8.1993, p. 54. Directive as last amended by Commis- sion Directive 2001/78/EC. (3) Commission on 27 November 1996, the Directives should, in the interests of clarity, be recast. This Direc- tive is based on Court of Justice case-law, in particular case-law on award criteria, which clarifies the possibili- ties for the contracting authorities to meet the needs of the public concerned, including in the environmental and|or social area, provided that such criteria are linked to the subject-matter of the contract, do not confer an unrestricted freedom of choice on the contracting authority, are expressly mentioned and comply with the fundamental principles mentioned in recital 2. The award of contracts concluded in the Member States on behalf of the State, regional or local authorities and other bodies governed by public law entities, is subject to the respect of the principles of the Treaty and in particular to the principle of freedom of movement of goods, the principle of freedom of establishment and the principle of freedom to provide services and to the principles deriving therefrom, such as the principle of equal treatment, the principle of non-discrimination, the principle of mutual recognition, the principle of propor- tionality and the principle of transparency. However, for public contracts above a certain value, it is advisable to draw up provisions of Community coordination of na- tional procedures for the award of such contracts which are based on these principles so as to ensure the effects of them and to guarantee the opening-up of public procurement to competition. These coordinating provi- sions should therefore be interpreted in accordance with both the aforementioned rules and principles and other rules of the Treaty. Such coordinating provisions should comply as far as possible with current procedures and practices in each of the Member States. Member States should ensure that the participation of a body governed by public law as a tenderer in a proce- dure for the award of a public contract does not cause any distortion of competition in relation to private tenderers. Under Article 6 of the Treaty, environmental protection requirements are to be integrated into the definition and implementation of the Community policies and activities referred to in Article 3 of that Treaty, in particular with a view to promoting sustainable development. This Directive therefore clarifies how the contracting autho- rities may contribute to the protection of the environ- ment and the promotion of sustainable development, whilst ensuring the possibility of obtaining the best value for money for their contracts.