Opinion of the Advisory Committee on restrictive practices and dominant positions at its meeting on 27 June 2019 concerning a draft decision in Case AT.37956 – Ronds à Beton Rapporteur: Austria 2020/C 312/04
Date: 2019-06-27
Institutions: Advisory Committee on Restrictive Practices and Dominant Positions
Subjects: EU competition policy, Italy, bar, cartel, concrete, control of restrictive practices, market-sharing agreement, price agreement, sanction (EU)








C_2020312EN.01000401.xml










21.9.2020   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 312/4






Opinion of the Advisory Committee on restrictive practices and dominant positions at its meeting on 27 June 2019 concerning a draft decision in Case AT.37956 – Ronds à Beton
Rapporteur: Austria
(2020/C 312/04)

1.   

The Advisory Committee (8 Member States) agrees with the Commission that the anticompetitive behaviour covered by the draft decision constitutes an agreement and/or concerted practices between undertakings within the meaning of Article 65(1) of the ECSC Treaty, which was in force at the time of the facts.



2.   

The Advisory Committee (8 Member States) agrees with the Commission’s assessment of the product and geographic market of the agreements and/or concerted practices contained in the draft decision.



3.   

The Advisory Committee (8 Member States) agrees with the Commission that the undertakings concerned by the draft decision participated in a single, complex and continuous infringement of Article 65(1) of the ECSC Treaty, as spelled out in the draft decision.



4.   

The Advisory Committee (8 Member States) agrees with the Commission that the object and/or the effect of the agreements and/or concerted practices was to restrict competition within the meaning of Article 65(1) of the ECSC Treaty.



5.   

The Advisory Committee (8 Member States) agrees with the Commission that the agreements and/or concerted practices were capable of appreciably affecting trade between the Member States of the EU.



6.   

The Advisory Committee (8 Member States) agrees with the Commission on the applicability of Articles 7(1) and 23(2) of Regulation No 1/2003 as legal basis.



7.   

The Advisory Committee (8 Member States) agrees with the Commission on the applicability of Article 65(1) of the ECSC Treaty as substantive law despite its expiry.



8.   

The Advisory Committee (8 Member States) agrees with the Commission’s assessment as regards the duration of the infringement.



9.   

The Advisory Committee (8 Member States) agrees with the Commission that the oral hearing of 23 April 2018 remedied the procedural error identified by the European Court of Justice in its judgments of 21 September 2017.



10.   

The Advisory Committee (8 Member States) agrees with the Commission on the continuation of proceedings.



11.   

The Advisory Committee (8 Member States) agrees with the Commission that the arguments raised by the parties after the continuation of proceedings are appropriately addressed in the draft decision.



12.   

The Advisory Committee (8 Member States) agrees with the Commission that, for the reasons described in the draft decision, when balancing the general interest against the interest of the undertakings concerned, it is the effective implementation of the competition rules in the European Union that has to be ensured.



13.   

The Advisory Committee (8 Member States) agrees on the re-adoption of the decision by the European Commission.



14.   
The Advisory Committee (8 Member States) recommends the publication of its Opinion in the Official Journal of the European Union.
I hereby confirm that Spain and Italy participated in this Advisory Committee meeting via videoconferencing link and asked me to sign the Opinion of the Advisory Committee on their behalf.



Konstantina STROUVALI

Chair of the Advisory Committee meeting