Case T-274/15: Judgment of the General Court of 10 April 2018 — Alcogroup and Alcodis v Commission (Action for annulment — Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Markets in bioethanol and ethanol — Administrative procedure — Decision ordering an inspection — Commission’s powers of investigation — Professional privilege protecting communications between lawyers and their clients — Documents exchanged following a previous inspection — Commission’s refusal to suspend the infringement proceedings at issue — Measure not open to challenge — Inadmissibility)
Date: 2018-04-10
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: administrative procedure, admissibility, biofuel, cartel, competition policy, confidentiality, ethanol, powers of the institutions (EU), sanction (EU)








C_2018182EN.01002002.xml










28.5.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 182/20





Judgment of the General Court of 10 April 2018 — Alcogroup and Alcodis v Commission
(Case T-274/15) (1)

((Action for annulment - Competition - Agreements, decisions and concerted practices - Markets in bioethanol and ethanol - Administrative procedure - Decision ordering an inspection - Commission’s powers of investigation - Professional privilege protecting communications between lawyers and their clients - Documents exchanged following a previous inspection - Commission’s refusal to suspend the infringement proceedings at issue - Measure not open to challenge - Inadmissibility))
(2018/C 182/23)
Language of the case: French

Parties


Applicants: Alcogroup (Brussels, Belgium) and Alcodis (Brussels) (represented by: P. de Bandt, J. Dewispelaere and J. Probst, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission (represented by: T. Christoforou, C. Giolito, V. Bottka and F. Jimeno Fernández, acting as Agents)

Interveners in support of the applicants: Orde van Vlaamse Balies (Brussels) (represented by: initially, T. Bontinck and P. Goffinet, and subsequently by F. Wijckmans, S. Engelen and S. De Keer, lawyers), Ordre des barreaux francophones et germanophone (Brussels) (represented by: T. Bontinck, A. Guillerme and P. Goffinet, lawyers), and Ordre français des avocats du barreau de Bruxelles (Brussels) (represented by: T. Bontinck, A. Guillerme and P. Goffinet, lawyers)

Re:

Action pursuant to Article 263 TFEU seeking the annulment of Commission Decision C(2015) 1769 final of 12 March 2015, addressed to Alcogroup and to all companies directly or indirectly controlled by it, including Alcodis, and relating to a procedure pursuant to Article 20(4) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 (AT.40244 — Bioethanol) and the annulment of the Commission’s letter of 8 May 2015 addressed to Alcogroup in the context of the investigations AT.40244 — Bioethanol and AT.40054 — Oil and Biofuel Markets.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Dismisses the action as inadmissible;










2.


Orders Alcogroup and Alcodis to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission, including those relating to the proceedings for interim measures;










3.


Orders the Orde van Vlaamse Balies, the Ordre des barreaux francophones et germanophone and the Ordre français des avocats du barreau de Bruxelles to bear their own respective costs incurred in the present proceedings.






(1)  OJ C 279, 24.8.2015.