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The Association’s conduct aimed at the development of groups of laboratories consists of four types of decision, identified at recital 127 to the contested decision: first, decisions aimed at prohibiting the dismemberment of shares in SELs; second, decisions aimed at requiring that share movements be immediately notified to the ONP; third, decisions aimed at requiring that pharmacist-biologists hold a minimum shareholding; and, fourth, decisions aimed at requiring that any change in the statutes or appointment of a director be conditional on the prior approval of the Association. That conduct is examined in detail in Chapter 5.2 of the contested decision (recitals 222 to 494). Recitals 667 to 676 summarise the consequences, as follows: ‘… (667) As described in Chapter 5.2 … the evidence shows that decisions were aimed at laboratories having links with groups with the objective of slowing down, and if possible putting a stop to, the development of such groups, and thus limiting or controlling production, technical development and investments. (668) This objective is illustrated, in particular, by the minutes of a meeting of an ONP body held on 27 March 2003[:] “From a strictly legal perspective, it does not seem possible to oppose the dismemberment of interests or shares in an SEL … the Council decides that a detailed opinion should be drawn up showing that dismemberment in favour of Stés Unilabs should be rejected for ethical reasons”. It is also illustrated by the Section G management team’s draft electoral programme in 2005[,] which refers to financial groups. stating: “There can be no doubt, we have hit the target, it must be knocked down.” (669) The decisions in question can be seen from March 2003, when a policy emerged within the ONP according to which “a new doctrine” was to be developed, according to which “the dismemberment of shares in favour of Stés Labco should be rejected”, and at the latest as from October 2003, and thereafter in 2004, in the form of letters sent by the ONP to the laboratories having links with groups. As far as the Commission is aware, the ONP continues to behave in this way. (670) A number of factors make it possible to discern the economic objective of restricting competition in the market pursued by the ONP through this second type of behaviour. The risk to competition posed for the many small laboratories active in the market was quickly identified by the ONP, which focused its actions on one factor, namely control of the capital. The ONP thus penalised failures to comply with supposed obligations in respect of ownership of the capital and the communication of documents relating to developments in the SELs, with the aim of impeding or slowing down the development of these groups of laboratories. (671) As shown in numerous documents in the case file which are described in Chapter 5.2, such as “Clinical biochemistry and its financiers”, or “List of Labco complaints by SEL”, the ONP organised for those purposes a systematic hunt for laboratories having links with groups. At the same time, the ONP, just as systematically, initiated disciplinary action against the laboratories in question and the pharmacists practising in them (see Chapter 5). The factor common to all the laboratories and pharmacists referred to in the documents and decisions mentioned in Chapter 5.2 above is that they belong to groups of laboratories (in particular Labco, Unilabs and Confindex) which in the ONP’s view represent a danger of competition with the majority of its members. (672) The groups’ shareholdings in the laboratories enable the latter to invest in high-performance equipment in order to achieve economies of scale, to develop the range of tests on offer, and deliver the results more quickly, as explained in Chapter 2.2.2.2. The ONP and, in particular, the managing bodies of Section G cannot be unaware of the increases in quality, speed and productivity that the most recent laboratory equipment has made possible, particularly given that two hospital biologists sit on the Central Council of Section G. (673) Moreover, even if the view were to be taken that the disciplinary penalties imposed by the ONP on laboratories belonging to one of the groups targeted by its decisions are legally justified, the sanctions are objectively disproportionate, especially when set alongside the penalties imposed for non-compliance with a quality standard (obligatory since 1994) by approximately one third of the laboratories active in the market, and those generally imposed by the ONP on SELs or pharmacist-biologists for serious public health reasons, as explained in Chapter 5.4. (674) Last, as shown in Chapter 5.2, the ONP’s justifications for the decisions designed to restrict development in the market by groups of laboratories are in conflict with the arguments it has put forward in support of the positions it has adopted in relation to the so-called reference laboratories, which are not in direct competition with the large majority of laboratories active in the market. (675) Thus, the defence of “the independence of practising professionals” may, according to the ONP, be based on other criteria when the laboratories in which such professionals practise are not in competition with those whose economic interests the ONP champions. What is more, the legal mechanisms disputed by the ONP have had their legality clearly affirmed by the French State on numerous occasions. Moreover, the ONP cannot claim to be championing professionals when the French State did not consider it necessary to impose restrictions on transactions exclusively between professionals (natural or legal persons (SELs)) on grounds of undermining professional independence. In this case, the ONP, which does not have regulatory powers, cannot substitute itself for the [legislature] to impose these restrictions. (676) By impeding the economic activities of professionals active in the market or preventing external capital from being invested in the market, the ONP is aiming to limit or control production, technical development and investment.’