CELEX: C2002/144/120
Language: en
Date: 2002-06-15 00:00:00
Title: Case T-132/02: Action brought on 18 April 2002 by Distribuidora Vizcaína de Papeles Sociedad Limitada against the Commission of the European Communities

C 144/62               EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                     15.6.2002
The applicant claims that the Court should:                             explained the very difficult position in which it found itself to
                                                                        the Commission and the crisis situation should have induced
                                                                        the Commission to impose lower fines.
—     annul the Commission’s decision of 20 December 2001
      relating to a procedure under Article 81 of the EC Treaty
      and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case COM P/E-1/
      36.212 — photocopying paper);                                     (1) OJ 1996 C 207, p. 4.
—     substantially reduce the amount of the fine imposed by
      the Commission;
—     order the Commission to pay all the costs.
                                                                        Action brought on 18 April 2002 by Distribuidora Vizcaı́-
                                                                        na de Papeles Sociedad Limitada against the Commission
Pleas in law and main arguments                                                         of the European Communities
                                                                                                 (Case T-132/02)
By the contested decision, the Commission found that the
applicant and 10 other undertakings had infringed Article
81(1) of the EC Treaty and Article 53(1) of the EEA Agreement                                  (2002/C 144/120)
by taking part in a number of agreements and concerted
practices in the photocopying paper sector whereby they
                                                                                          (Language of the case: Spanish)
agreed on price increases, allocated sales quotas and fixed
market shares, and put in place a mechanism enabling them
to monitor implementation of these restrictive agreements.
                                                                        An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
                                                                        ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
The applicant argues that the Commission made a manifest                European Communities on 18 April 2002 by Distribuidora
error of assessment in claiming that it participated in the cartel      Vizcaı́na de Papeles Sociedad Limitada established in Derio
from May 1992 to September 1995. The applicant accepts                  (Vizcaya, Spain), represented by Eduardo Pérez Medrano and
that it participated from October 1993 to July 1995 only. The           Ignacio Delgado González.
Commission has not shown that the applicant participated in
the cartel before October 1993 and after July 1995. The
decision should therefore be annulled.
                                                                        The applicant claims that the Court should:
In the alternative, the applicant requests a reduction in the fine      —     annul Decision C(2001) 4573 final CORR of 20 Decem-
imposed. It argues that given that it only was a party to the                 ber 2001 in Case COMP/E-1/36.212 — carbonless copy
infringement during the abovementioned period, the amount                     paper, in so far as it imputes to the applicant, as well as
of the fine should be reduced by 48 %.                                        participation in collusive arrangements relating to the
                                                                              Spanish market, membership of a cartel which covered
                                                                              the whole of the common market and the EEA, and,
                                                                              in the alternative, reduce the fine imposed by the
Furthermore, it claims that the fine is disproportionate in                   Commission;
relation to its liability for the infringement, and that the
Commission misapplied the Commission notice on the non-                 —     order the Commission to pay the costs.
imposition or reduction of fines in cartel cases (1).
The applicant’s participation should have resulted in the               Pleas in law and main arguments
Commission proposing a 75 % reduction in the fine.
                                                                        This action is directed against the same Commission decision
Finally, the applicant argues that the Commission did not take          as that which is challenged in Case T-109/02 Bolloré v
into account the defensive nature of the cartel. The applicant          Commission (1).
 ---pagebreak--- 15.6.2002              EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                     C 144/63
In support of its claims, the applicant maintains that the                       Removal from the register of Case T-30/98 (1)
Commission infringed both Article 81 of the EC Treaty and
Article 53 of the EEA Agreement, since it failed to take into                                    (2002/C 144/122)
account, or incorrectly assessed, the nature and actions of the
applicant undertaking and did not establish that the applicant
participated in the alleged meetings or the alleged collusive                               (Language of the Case: English)
arrangements within the Spanish market or in the agreements
and concerted practices as a whole, which are described in the
contested decision.
                                                                          By order of 16 January 2002 the President of the First Chamber
                                                                          of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities
                                                                          ordered the removal from the register of Case T-30/98:
It is stated in that regard that the applicant is a small family-         Dr. Peter Stott v Conseil de l’Union européenne and Com-
style undertaking which distributes and processes carbonless              mission of the European Communities.
copy paper and that it neither manufactured nor exported to
markets other than the Spanish market during the period of
the infringement. Furthermore, attention is drawn to its                  (1) OJ C 184 of 13.6.1998.
modest economic size and the limited scale of its business as
compared with the other parties alleged to be involved.
As regards the fine imposed, it is submitted that quantification
thereof involved:
                                                                                 Removal from the register of Case T-370/00 (1)
—     breach of the principles of proportionality and equal
      treatment;                                                                                 (2002/C 144/123)
—     incorrect determination of the period of infringement;                                (Language of the Case: English)
—     failure to take account of the mitigating circumstances
      attendant upon the applicant’s situation.
                                                                          By order of 5 February 2002 the President of the Third
                                                                          Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the European
                                                                          Communities ordered the removal from the register of Case
(1) Not yet published in the Official Journal.                            T-370/00: N.V. Master Foods S. A. v Commission of the
                                                                          European Communities.
                                                                          (1) OJ C 79 of 10.3.2001.
        Removal from the register of Case T-113/97 (1)
                        (2002/C 144/121)                                         Removal from the register of Case T-42/01 (1)
                                                                                                 (2002/C 144/124)
                   (Language of the Case: French)
                                                                                             (Language of the Case: French)
By order of 21 February 2002 the President of the First
Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the European
                                                                          By order of 24 January 2002 the President of the First Chamber
Communities ordered the removal from the register of Case
                                                                          of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities
T-113/97: Pierre Tomarchio v the Court of Auditors of the
                                                                          ordered the removal from the register of Case T-42/01:
European Communities.
                                                                          Syndicat des employés, techniciens et cadres de la F.G.T.B. v
                                                                          Commission of the European Communities.
(1) OJ C 199 of 28.6.1997.
                                                                          (1) OJ C 118 of 21.4.2001.