CELEX: C2004/007/52
Language: en
Date: 2004-01-10 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 30 September 2003 in Joined Cases T-191/98 and T-212/98 to T-214/98: Atlantic Container Line AB and Others v Commission of the European Communities (Competition — Liner conferences — Regulation (EEC) No 4056/86 — Block exemption — Individual exemption — Collective dominant position — Abuse — Service contracts — Accession to the conference — Alteration of the competition structure — Withdrawal of block exemption — Fines — Rights of the defence)

10.1.2004               EN                         Official Journal of the European Union                                          C 7/29
                                                        COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
    JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE                                    JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
                        of 23 October 2003                                                     of 30 September 2003
in Case T-65/98: Van den Bergh Foods Ltd v Commission                      in Joined Cases T-191/98 and T-212/98 to T-214/98:
               of the European Communities (1)                             Atlantic Container Line AB and Others v Commission of
                                                                                           the European Communities (1)
(Action for annulment — Competition — Articles 85 and
86 of the EC Treaty (now Articles 81 EC and 82 EC) — Ice                   (Competition — Liner conferences — Regulation (EEC)
creams intended for immediate consumption — Supply of                      No 4056/86 — Block exemption — Individual exemption —
freezer cabinets to retailers — Exclusivity clause — Barriers              Collective dominant position — Abuse — Service contracts
to entry to the market — Property rights — Article 222 of                  — Accession to the conference — Alteration of the compe-
              the EC Treaty (now Article 295 EC))                          tition structure — Withdrawal of block exemption — Fines
                                                                                              — Rights of the defence)
                           (2004/C 7/51)
                                                                                                    (2004/C 7/52)
                   (Language of the case: English)                                           (Language of the case: English)
In Case T-65/98, Van den Bergh Foods Ltd, formerly HB Ice                  In Joined Cases T-191/98 and T-212/98 to T-214/98: Atlantic
Cream Ltd, established in Dublin (Ireland), represented by                 Container Line AB, established in Gothenburg (Sweden), Cho
M. Nicholson and M. Rowe, solicitors, with an address for                  Yang Shipping Co. Ltd, established in Seoul (South Korea),
service in Luxembourg, v Commission of the European                        DSR-Senator Lines GmbH, established in Bremen (Germany),
Communities (Agents: W. Wils and A. Whelan), supported                     Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd, established in Seoul (South Korea),
by Masterfoods Ltd, established in Dublin represented by                   Hapag-Lloyd AG, established in Hamburg (Germany), Hyundai
P.G.H. Collins, solicitor, and by Richmond Frozen Confection-              Merchant Marine Co. Ltd, established in Seoul (South Korea),
ery Ltd, formerly Treats Frozen Confectionery Ltd, established             A.P. Møller-Mærsk Line, established in Copenhagen (Denmark),
in Northallerton (United Kingdom), represented by I.S. Forre-              Mediterranean Shipping Co. SA, established in Geneva (Switz-
ster, QC, with an address for service in Luxembourg: Appli-                erland), Orient Overseas Container Line (UK) Ltd, established
cation for annulment of Commission Decision 98/531/EC of                   in London (United Kingdom), Polish Ocean Lines (POL),
11 March 1998 relating to a proceeding under Articles 85 and               established in Gdynia (Poland), P & O Nedlloyd BV, established
86 of the EC Treaty (Case Nos IV/34.073, IV/34.395 and IV/                 in London (United Kingdom), Sea-Land Service Inc., established
35.436 — Van den Bergh Foods Limited) (OJ 1989 L 246,                      in Jersey City, New Jersey (United States of America), Neptune
p. 1), the Court of First Instance (Fifth Chamber), composed               Orient Lines Ltd, established in Singapore (Singapore), Nippon
of: R. García-Valdecasas, President, P. Lindh and J.D. Cooke,              Yusen Kaisha, established in Tokyo (Japan), Transportación
Judges; J. Plingers, Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a         Marítima Mexicana SA de CV, established in Mexico City
judgment on 23 October 2003, in which it:                                  (Mexico), Tecomar SA de CV, established in Mexico City
                                                                           (Mexico), represented by J. Pheasant, N. Bromfield, M. Levitt,
                                                                           D. Waelbroeck, U. Zinsmeister, A. Bentley, C. Thomas,
1.    Dismisses the application as unfounded.                              A. Nourry, M. Van Kerckhove, P. Ruttley and A. Merckx,
                                                                           lawyers, with an address for service in Luxembourg, v Com-
2.    Orders Van den Bergh Foods Ltd to bear its own costs and to          mission of the European Communities (Agents: R. Lyal and
      pay those of the Commission, including the costs of the interim      J. Flynn), supported by European Council of Transport Users
      proceedings.                                                         ASBL, represented by M. Clough QC, with an address for
                                                                           service in Luxembourg: Application for the annulment of
3.    Orders Masterfoods Ltd and Richmond Frozen Confectionery             Commission Decision 1999/243/EC of 16 September 1998
      Ltd to bear their own costs.                                         relating to a proceeding pursuant to Articles 85 and 86 of the
                                                                           EC Treaty (Case No IV/35.134 — Trans-Atlantic Conference
                                                                           Agreement) (OJ 1999 L 95, p. 1), the Court of First Instance
(1) OJ C 234 of 25.07.1998.                                                (Fourth Chamber), composed of: K. Lenaerts, President, J. Azizi
                                                                           and M. Jaeger, Judges; J. Plingers, Administrator, for the
                                                                           Registrar, has given a judgment on 30 September 2003, in
                                                                           which it:
 ---pagebreak--- C 7/30                   EN                          Official Journal of the European Union                                            10.1.2004
1.    Annuls Article 5 of Commission Decision 1999/243/EC of                 (Fifth Chamber, Extended Composition), composed of: R. Gar-
      16 September 1998 relating to a proceeding pursuant to                 cía-Valdecasas, President, P. Lindh, J.D. Cooke, P. Mengozzi
      Articles 85 and 86 of the EC Treaty (Case No IV/35.134 —               and H. Legal, Judges; J. Plingers, Administrator, for the
      Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement).                                  Registrar, has given a judgment on 16 October 2003, in which
                                                                             it:
2.    Annuls Article 6 of Decision 1999/243 in so far as it applies
      to mutual disclosure by the applicants of the availability and
                                                                             1.    Dismisses the application as inadmissible.
      content of their individual service contracts.
3.    Annuls Article 7 of Decision 1999/243 to the extent required           2.    Orders the applicant to bear its own costs and to pay those of
      by the annulment of Articles 5 and 6.                                        the Commission.
4.    Annuls Article 8 of Decision 1999/243.                                 3.    Orders the Hellenic Republic to bear its own costs.
5.    Dismisses the remainder of the applications.
                                                                             (1) OJ C 259 of 9.9.2000.
6.    Orders the applicants and the Commission each to bear their
      own costs.
7.    Orders the European Council of Transport Users ASBL to bear
      its own costs.
(1) OJ C 71 of 27.03.1999 and OJ C 86 of 13.03.1999.                             JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
                                                                                                     of 21 October 2003
                                                                             in Case T-368/00: General Motors Nederland BV and
                                                                             Opel Nederland BV v Commission of the European
                                                                                                       Communities (1)
    JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
                                                                             (Competition — Distribution of motor vehicles — Article 81
                        of 16 October 2003
                                                                             EC — Regulations (EEC) No 123/85 and (EC) No 1475/95
                                                                             — Partitioning of the market — General strategy aimed at
in Case T-148/00: The Panhellenic Union of Cotton                            restricting exports — Restriction of supply — Restrictive
Ginners and Exporters v Commission of the European                           bonus policy — Ban on exports — Fine — Gravity and
                          Communities (1)                                    duration of the infringement — Proportionality — Guide-
                                                                                              lines for the calculation of fines)
(State aid — Compensatory levy — Method of financing aid
— Community aid scheme for cotton — Action for annul-                                                   (2004/C 7/54)
ment — Admissibility — Acts which may be challenged —
Commission’s refusal to continue infringement proceedings
           — Principle of independent legal remedies)                                            (Language of the case: English)
                            (2004/C 7/53)
                                                                             In Case T-368/00, General Motors Nederland BV, established
                    (Language of the case: English)                          in Sliedrecht (Netherlands), Opel Nederland BV, established in
                                                                             Sliedrecht, represented by D. Vandermeersch, R. Snelders and
                                                                             S. Allcock, lawyers, with an address for service in Luxembourg,
                                                                             v Commission of the European Communities (Agents:
In Case T-148/00, The Panhellenic Union of Cotton Ginners                    W. Mölls and A. Whelan): Application for, as the principal
and Exporters, established in Thessaloniki (Greece), represented             claim, annulment of the Commission’s decision 2001/146/EC
by K. Adamantopoulos, V. Akritidis and J. Gutiérrez Gisbert,                 of 20 September 2000 relating to a proceeding under
lawyers, with an address for service in Luxembourg, v Com-                   Article 81 EC (Case COMP/36.653 — Opel) (OJ 2001 L 59,
mission of the European Communities (Agents: M. Condou                       p. 1) or, in the alternative, cancellation or reduction of the fine
and D. Triantafyllou), supported by Hellenic Republic (Agents:               imposed on the applicants by that decision., the Court of First
I. Chalkias and C. Tsiavou): Application for the partial annul-              Instance (Second Chamber), composed of: N.J. Forwood,
ment of Commission Decision 2000/206/EC of 20 July 1999                      President, J. Pirrung and A.W.H. Meij, Judges; H. Jung, Registrar,
on an aid scheme applied in Greece to cotton by the Greek                    has given a judgment on 21 October 2003, in which it has
Cotton Board (OJ 2000 L 63, p. 27), the Court of First Instance              ruled: