Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2014:1039
Date: 2014-12-09
Language of the case: Italian
Court formation: Eighth Chamber
Subject matter: Competition;Agreements, decisions and concerted practices
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded;Action for annulment - inadmissible;Application for measures of inquiry - unfounded
Origin: Italy

summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based — Similar requirements for claims invoked in support of a plea (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 44(1)) (see paras 322, 323) 24. Competition — Fines — Assessment by reference to the individual conduct of the undertaking — Irrelevant that no sanction brought against another economic operator (Art. 65 CS; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23) (see para. 324) 25. Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Criteria — Gravity of the infringement — No binding or exhaustive list of criteria (Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2); Commission Notice 98/C 9/03, point 1A) (see para. 329) 26. Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Complex evaluation of economic matters — Commission’s margin of discretion — Judicial review — Review of legality — Scope (Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2); Commission Notice 98/C 9/03, points 1A and 1B) (see para. 329, 339-341) 27. Competition — Fines — Guidelines on the method of setting fines — Legal nature — Indicative rule of conduct implying a self-limitation on the discretion of the Commission — Obligation to comply with the principles of equal treatment, protection of legitimate expectations and legal certainty (Commission Notice 98/C 9/03) (see paras 331-333) 28. Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Criteria — Gravity of the infringement — Classification of an infringement as very serious — Primary role of the criterion based on the nature of the infringement — Not independent of those based on the size of the product markets in question and the concrete effect of the infringement on the market — Infringement classified as very serious despite being limited to the territory of a single Member State — Lawfulness (Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2); Commission Notice 98/C 9/03, point 1A) (see paras 344, 353) 29. Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Division of the undertakings in question into categories with a specific starting point — Lawfulness — Conditions — No infringement of the principles of equal treatment and proportionality — No need to take account of the turnovers of the undertakings concerned and to ensure that fines are proportional to those turnovers (Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2); Commission Notice 98/C 9/03, point 1A) (see paras 360-369) 30. Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Criteria — Duration of the infringement — Guidelines on the method of setting fines — Assessment of the duration of a single and continuous infringement — Account taken of the total duration of all aspects of the infringement (Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2); Commission Notice 98/C 9/03, point 1B) (see paras 374, 377-381) 31. Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Non-imposition or reduction of the fine for cooperation of the undertaking concerned — Need for conduct which facilitated the Commission’s finding of an infringement — Information concerning acts not capable of giving rise to fines under Regulation No 1/2003 — Mere willingness to cooperate insufficient — Assessment of the degree of cooperation provided by each of the undertakings which participated in the cartel — Respect for the principle of equal treatment (Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2); Commission Notice 96/C 207/04, point D(2)) (see paras 389, 401-403, 407-410, 414-416) 32. Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Non-imposition or reduction of the fine for cooperation of the undertaking concerned — Need for conduct which facilitated the Commission’s finding of an infringement — Burden of proof (Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2); Commission Notice 96/C 207/04) (see para. 405) 33. Actions for annulment — Interest in bringing proceedings — Action against a decision adding annexes to an existing decision without changing its substance — Action not capable of procuring a benefit for the party bringing it — Inadmissibility (Art. 263, fourth para., TFEU) (see paras 431-434) Re: In Cases T‑489/09 and T‑490/09, applications for annulment of Commission Decision C(2009) 7492 final of 30 September 2009 relating to a proceeding under Article 65 CS (Case COMP/37.956 — Reinforcing bars, readoption), and in the alternative, applications for a reduction in the amount of the fine imposed on the applicants, and in Case T‑56/10, application for annulment of Commission Decision C(2009) 9912 final of 8 December 2009, amending Decision C(2009) 7492 final. Operative part The Court: 1. Orders that Cases T‑489/09, T‑490/09 and T‑56/10 be joined for the purposes of the present judgment; 2. Dismisses the actions; 3. In Case T‑489/09, orders Leali SpA to pay the costs; 4. In Case T‑490/09, orders Acciaierie e Ferriere Leali Luigi SpA to pay the costs; 5. In Case T‑56/10, orders Leali and Acciaierie e Ferriere Leali Luigi to pay the costs.