Case T-119/02





Royal Philips Electronics NV

v

Commission of the European Communities





«(Competition – Concentrations – Admissibility – Commitments in the course of the first phase of examination – Serious doubts as to compatibility with the common market – Partial referral to national authorities)»

Judgment of the Court of First Instance (Third Chamber), 3 April 2003

Summary of the Judgment

1.. Competition – Concentrations – Investigation by the Commission – Adoption of a decision declaring a concentration compatible with the common market without initiating the Phase II procedure – Condition – Absence of serious doubts – Commitments entered into by the undertakings concerned likely to make the notified concentration compatible – Assessments of an economic nature – Margin of discretion – Review by the Court – Purpose – No manifest error of assessment

(Council Regulation No 4064/89, Art. 6(1))

2.. Procedure – Intervention – Plea in law not raised by the applicant – Inadmissible

(EC Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 37, third and fourth paras; Rules of Procedure of the Court of First Instance, Art. 116(3))

3.. Procedure – Expedited procedure – Whether account to be taken of a plea first raised at the hearing – Infringement of the rights of the defence

(Rules of Procedure of the Court of First Instance, Arts 76a and 116(4))

4.. Competition – Concentrations – Assessment of compatibility with the common market – Commitments entered into by the undertakings concerned likely to make the notified concentration compatible – Requirement of compatibility with Article 81 EC – Commitment to grant trade-mark licences containing a clause requiring the licensee to concentrate sales on the territory of a Member State – Whether permissible

(Art. 81(1) and (3) EC; Council Regulation No 4064/89, Art. 2(1))

5.. Competition – Concentrations – Administrative procedure – Commitments entered into by the undertakings concerned – Modifications notified after the time-limit – Account taken by the Commission of the modified commitments in order to find the concentration compatible with the common market – Whether permissible – Conditions

(Commission Regulation No 447/98, Art. 18(1); Commission Notice on remedies acceptable under Regulations No 4064/89 and No 447/98, para. 37)

6.. Actions for annulment – Natural or legal persons – Measures of direct and individual concern to them – Decision to refer the examination of a concentration to the competent national authorities – Third-party undertaking

(Art. 230, fourth para., EC; Council Regulation No 4064/89, Art. 9(3))

7.. Actions for annulment – Natural or legal persons – Measures of direct and individual concern to them – Decision to refer the examination of a concentration to the competent authorities of a Member State – Third-party undertaking

(Art. 230, fourth para., EC: Council Regulation No 4064/89, Art. 9(3))

8.. Competition – Concentrations – Investigation by the Commission – Referral of the examination of a concentration to the competent authorities of a Member State – Conditions – Review by the Court – Scope

(Council Regulation No 4064/89, Art. 9(2)(a))

9.. Competition – Concentrations – Investigation by the Commission – Decision to refer the examination of a concentration to the competent authorities of a Member State – Discretion of the Commission – Review by the Court – Limits

(Council Regulation No 4064/89, Art. 9(3))

10.. Competition – Concentrations – Investigation by the Commission – Decision to refer the examination of a concentration to the competent authorities of a Member State – Conditions – Risk of a fragmented assessment of a single transaction – Irrelevant

(Council Regulation No 4064/89, Art. 9(2) and (3))

11.. Competition – Concentrations – Referral of the examination of a concentration to the competent authorities of a Member State – Obligations imposed on those authorities – Limits

(Art. 10 EC; Council Regulation No 4064/89, Art. 9)

12.. Competition – Concentrations – Referral of the examination of a concentration to the competent authorities of a Member State – Effects – Exclusive competence of the national authorities to rule on the concentration – Commission may not bind the national authorities as to their substantive findings

(Council Regulation No 4064/89, Art. 9(2) and (3))

13.. Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Scope – Decision to refer the examination of a concentration to the competent authorities of a Member State

(Art. 253 EC; Council Regulation No 4064/89, Art. 9(2)(a) and (3))

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