Joined Cases T-101/05 and T-111/05: Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 12 December 2007 — BASF and UCB v Commission (Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices in the vitamin products sector — Choline chloride (vitamin B4) — Decision finding an infringement of Article 81 EC and Article 53 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area — Fines — Deterrence — Repeat infringement — Cooperation during the administrative procedure — Single and continuous infringement)
Date: 2007-12-12
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, action for annulment (EU), chemical industry, control of restrictive practices, fine, rights of the defence, unlawful agreement

26.1.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 22/41

Re:

Operative part of the judgment

the decision of

Action brought against
the First Board of
Appeal of OHIM of 7 December 2004 (Case R 328/2004-1),
relating to opposition proceedings between K & L Ruppert Stif-
tung & Co. Handels-KG and Natália Cristina Lopes de Almeida
Cunha, Cláudia Couto Simões and Marly Lima Jatobá

The Court:

1. Disjoins Case T-112/05 Akzo Nobel and Others v Commission
from Cases T-101/05 and T-111/05 for the purposes of the judg-
ment;

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders the applicant, K & L Ruppert Stiftung & Co. Handels-KG,

to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 155, 25.6.2005.

Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 12 December
2007 — BASF and UCB v Commission

2. Annuls Article

of

and

1(b)

Commission Decision
(f)
2005/566/EC of 9 December 2004 relating to a proceeding
under Article 81 [EC] and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement
(Case COMP/E-2/37.533 — Choline Chloride) in so far as it
makes a finding of infringement against BASF AG and UCB SA
during the period before 29 November 1994 in BASF's case and
before 14 March 1994 in UCB's case;

3. In Case T-101/05,
EUR 35,024 million;

4. In Case T-111/05,
EUR 1,870 million;

sets

the

fine

imposed on BASF at

sets

the

fine

imposed

on UCB at

5. Dismisses the remainder of the applications;

6. In Case T-101/05, orders the parties to bear their own costs;

7. In Case T-111/05, orders the Commission, in addition to bearing

its own costs, to pay 90 % of the costs incurred by UCB.

(Joined Cases T-101/05 and T-111/05) (1)

(1) OJ C 115, 14.5.2005.

(Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices
in the vitamin products sector — Choline chloride (vitamin
B4) — Decision finding an infringement of Article 81 EC and
Article 53 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area
— Fines — Deterrence — Repeat infringement — Coopera-
tion during the administrative procedure — Single and contin-
uous infringement)

(2008/C 22/75)

Languages of the case: English and French

Parties

Applicants: BASF AG (Ludwigshafen, Germany) (represented by:
N. Levy, Barrister, J. Temple Lang, Solicitor, and C. Feddersen,
Lawyer) and UCB SA (Brussels, Belguim)
(represented by J.
Bourgeois, J.-F. Bellis and M. Favart, Lawyers)

Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 12 December
2007 — Akzo Nobel and Others v Commission

(Case T-112/05) (1)

(Competition — Cartels in the vitamin products sector —
Choline chloride (Vitamin B4) — Decision finding an infrin-
gement of Article 81 EC and Article 53 of the Agreement on
the
the European Economic Area — Attributability of

infringement)

(2008/C 22/76)

Language of the case: English

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: in Case T-101/05 A. Whelan and F. Amato and in
Case T-111/05 initially O. Beynet and F. Amato, and subse-
quently X. Lewis and F. Amato, Agents)

Parties

Re:

Application for annulment or reduction of the fines imposed on
the applicants by the Commission Decision of 9 December
2004 relating to a proceeding under Article 81 [EC] and
Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case COMP/E-2/37.533 —
Choline chloride)
(summary published in OJ 2005 L 190,
p. 22).

Applicants: Akzo Nobel
(Arnhem, Netherlands), Akzo Nobel
Nederland BV (Arnhem), Akzo Nobel Chemicals International
BV (Amersfoort, Netherlands), Akzo Nobel Chemicals BV
(Amersfoort),
BV
(Amersfoort) (represented by: initially C. Swaak and J. de Gou,
and subsequently C. Swaak, M. van der Woude and M. Mollica,
Lawyers)

Akzo Nobel

Functional

Chemicals

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: A. Whelan and F. Amato, Agents)