Europa-Parlamentet og Rådets direktiv 96/71/EF af 16. december 1996 om udstationering af arbejdstagere som led i udveksling af tjenesteydelser, sammenholdt med artikel 49 EF, er i en situation som den i hovedsagen foreliggende til hinder for, at en myndighed i en medlemsstat vedtager en lovgivningsmæssig foranstaltning, hvorved det pålægges den ordregivende myndighed kun at give kontrakter for byggeleverancer til virksomheder, som ved tilbudsgivningen skriftligt har forpligtet sig til ved udførelsen af leveringerne mindst at betale deres ansatte den på leveringsstedet overenskomstmæssigt fastsatte løn.
Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996 concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services, interpreted in the light of Article 49 EC, precludes an authority of a Member State, in a situation such as that at issue in the main proceedings, from adopting a measure of a legislative nature requiring the contracting authority to designate as contractors for public works contracts only those undertakings which, when submitting their tenders, agree in writing to pay their employees, in return for performance of the services concerned, at least the remuneration prescribed by the collective agreement the minimum wage in force at the place where those services are performed.