Case T-346/02: Action brought on 22 November 2002 by Cableuropa, S.A., Región de Murcia de Cable, S.A., Valencia de Cable, S.A., Mediterránea Sur Sistemas de Cable, S.A., y Mediterránea Norte Sistemas de Cable, S.A. against Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2003-01-25
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, Spain, action for annulment (EU), cable distribution, economic concentration, jurisdiction, mass media, merger control, pay television

C 19/40

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

25.1.2003

The applicant finally submits that the defendant committed
serious procedural irregularities. More particularly, the defend-
ant did not respect the principle of good administration, the
right of parties to be heard and the duty to state reasons for its
decisions.

by Admira, by means of an exchange of shares. According to
the notification, following the successful completion of the
abovementioned operation, the resulting undertaking would
come under the joint control of Prisa and Groupe Canal+.

Action brought on 22 November 2002 by Cableuropa,
S.A., Región de Murcia de Cable, S.A., Valencia de Cable,
S.A., Mediterránea Sur Sistemas de Cable, S.A., y Mediter-
ránea Norte Sistemas de Cable, S.A. against Commission
of the European Communities

(Case T-346/02)

(2003/C 19/75)

In support of its arguments, the applicants allege:

— lack of competence of the Commission, in that it is not
empowered to refer a case to the authorities of a
Member State when the markets concerned affect intra-
Community trade and more than one Member State;

— infringement of Article 9 of the abovementioned regu-
lation on concentrations in that the contested decision
makes a ‘blank’ reference to the national authorities;

— failure to observe the obligation to provide reasons,
specifically as regards the exceptional nature of the
reference in cases in which the markets in question affect
a substantial part of the common market.

(Language of the case: Spanish)

(1) OJ 1989 L 395, p. 1.

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 22 November 2002 by Cableuropa,
S.A. (having its registered office in Aravaca, Madrid), Región
de Murcia de Cable, S.A. (having its registered office in Murcia,
Spain), Valencia de Cable, S.A. (having its registered office in
Madrid), Mediterránea sur Sistemas de Cable, S.A. (having its
registered office in Alicante, Spain) y Mediterránea Norte
Sistemas de Cable, S.A. (having its registered office in Castellón,
Spain), represented by Luis Felipe Castresana Sánchez and
Gonzalo Samaniego Bordiu, lawyers.

The applicants claim that the Court should:

— annul the decision of the Commission of 14 August 2002
referring Case COMP/M.2845 - Sogecable/Canalsatélite
Digital/Vía Digital to the competent authorities in the
Kingdom of Spain pursuant
to Article 9 of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89;

— order the parties to bear their own costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The decision contested by the present application concerns the
notification, pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EEC)
No 4064/89 of 21 December 1989 on the control of
concentrations between undertakings (1), of a planned concen-
tration by which Sogecable SA, controlled by Promotora de
Informaciones S.A (Prisa) and Groupe Canal +S.A., the latter
belonging to the Vivendi Universal group, signs an agreement
with the Admira Media S.A. group, belonging to the Telefónica
S.A group, with the aim of merging Sogecable and DTS
Distribuidora de Televisión Digital S.A. (Vía Digital), controlled

Action brought on 22 November 2002 by Aunacable,
S.A.Unipersonal, Retecal Sociedad Operadora de Teleco-
municaciones de Castilla y León, S.A., Euskaltel, S.A.,
Telecable de Avilés, S.A. Unipersonal, Telecable de Ovie-
do, S.A. Unipersonal, Telecable de Gijón, S.A. Uniper-
sonal, R Cable y Telecomunicaciones Galicia, S.A., and
Tenaria S.A. against Commission of the European Com-
munities

(Case T-347/02)

(2003/C 19/76)

(Language of the case: Spanish)

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 22 November 2002 by Aunacable,
S.A.Unipersonal (having its registered office in Madrid), Retecal
Sociedad Operadora de Telecomunicaciones de Castilla y León,
S.A. (having its registered office in Boecilli, Valladolid, Spain),
Euskaltel, S.A.(having its registered office in Zamudio-Bizkaia),
Telecable de Avilés, S.A. Unipersonal (registered in Avilés),
Telecable de Oviedo, S.A. Unipersonal (having its registered
office in Oviedo), Telecable de Gijón, S.A. Unipersonal (having
its registered office in Gijón), R Cable y Telecomunicaciones
Galicia, S.A.(having its registered office in A Coruña, Spain)
and Tenaria S.A.(having its registered office in Cordovilla,
Navarra, Spain), represented by Antonio Creus Carreras,
Natalia Lacalle Mangas and José Mª Jiménez Laiglesia, lawyers.