CELEX: 62005TJ0175
Language: en
Date: 2009-09-30
Title: Judgment of the Court of First Instance (Seventh Chamber) of 30 September 2009. # Akzo Nobel NV and Others v Commission of the European Communities. # Competition - Agreements, decisions and concerted practices - Market for monochloroacetic acid - Decision finding an infringement of Article 81 EC - Action for annulment - Admissibility - Market sharing and price fixing - Attributability of the infringement - Fines - Obligation to state the reasons on which the decision is based - Gravity and duration of the infringement - Deterrent effect. # Case T-175/05.

Judgment of the Court of First Instance (Seventh Chamber) of 30 September 2009 – Akzo Nobel and Others v Commission 
      (Case T-175/05)
      Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Market for monochloroacetic acid – Decision finding an infringement of Article 81 EC – Action for annulment – Admissibility – Market sharing and price fixing – Attributability of the infringement – Fines – Obligation to state the reasons on which the decision is based – Gravity and duration of the infringement – Deterrent effect
      1.                     Actions for annulment – Community law – Action brought by several companies in a group against a Commission decision fining
            them jointly and severally – Action admissible in relation to some of those entities – No need to adjudicate on a plea of
            inadmissibility raised against certain others not capable of benefiting from a possible annulment(Art. 230 EC) (see paras 46-47)
      2.                     Competition – Community rules – Infringements – Attribution – Parent company and subsidiaries – Economic unit – Criteria for
            assessment – Presumption of decisive influence exercised by the parent company over its wholly‑owned subsidiaries – Obligation
            of the parent company to rebut the presumption that management power was actually exercised over its subsidiary (Arts 81 EC
            and 82 EC) (see paras 91-93, 96)
      3.                     Competition – Fines – Amount – Determination – Maximum amount – Calculation – Turnover to be taken into consideration – Cumulative
            turnover of all the companies constituting the economic unit acting as an undertaking (Art. 81 EC; Council Regulations Nos
            17, Art. 15, and 1/2003, Art. 23) (see paras 114, 132-133)
      4.                     Competition – Fines – Amount – Determination – Turnover  taken into consideration – Reference year – Last full year of the
            infringement(Council Regulations Nos 17, Art. 15, and 1/2003, Art. 23) (see paras 142-143)
      5.                     Competition – Fines – Amount – Determination – Deterrent effect – Account taken of the size and global resources of the fined
            undertaking (Council Regulations Nos 17, Art. 15, and 1/2003, Art. 23; Commission Communication 98/C 9/03, Section 1A) (see
            paras 154-155)
      Re:
      
         
               APPLICATION, principally, for annulment of Commission Decision C(2004) 4876 final of 19 January 2005 relating to a proceeding
                  pursuant to Article 81 [EC] and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case COMP/E-1/37.773 – MCAA) and, in the alternative, reduction
                  of the fine imposed on the applicants.
               
            Operative part 
      The Court:
      
         
                  1.
               
               
                  
               
               
                  	Dismisses the action;
               
            
         
                  2.
               
               
                  
               
               
                  	Orders Akzo Nobel NV, Akzo Nobel Nederland BV, Akzo Nobel AB, Akzo Nobel Chemicals BV, Akzo Nobel Functional Chemicals BV,
                     Akzo Nobel Base Chemicals AB and Eka Chemicals AB to pay the costs.