Judgment_paragraph 47 · Proceedings brought by Porin kaupunki (C-328/19)

47Paragraphs 42 to 44 of the judgment of 21 December 2016, Remondis (C‑51/15, EU:C:2016:985), also make clear that such a transfer of powers does not fulfil all the conditions required to come within the definition of ‘public contract’. Only a contract concluded for pecuniary interest may constitute a public contract coming within the scope of Directive 2004/18. The pecuniary nature of the contract means that the contracting authority concluding a public contract receives a service which must be of direct economic benefit to that contracting authority. The synallagmatic nature of the contract is thus an essential element of a public contract. The very fact that a public authority is released from a competence with which it was previously entrusted by that self-same fact eliminates any economic interest in the accomplishment of the tasks associated with that competence.