CELEX: 62006TJ0208
Language: en
Date: 2011-11-30 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 30 November 2011.#Quinn Barlo Ltd, Quinn Plastics NV and Quinn Plastics GmbH v European Commission.#Competition - Agreements, decisions and concerted practices - Market for methacrylates - Decision finding an infringement of Article 81 EC and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement - Concept of single infringement - Duration of the infringement - Fines - Gravity of the infringement - Mitigating circumstances.#Case T-208/06.

Case T-208/06
      Quinn Barlo Ltd and Others 
      v
      European Commission
      (Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Market for methacrylates – Decision finding an infringement of Article 81 EC and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement – Concept of single infringement – Duration of the infringement – Fines – Gravity of the infringement – Mitigating circumstances)
      Summary of the Judgment
      1.      Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Concerted practice – Adverse effect on competition – Criteria
            for assessment – Anti-competitive purpose – Sufficient
      (Art. 81(1) EC)
      2.      Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Concerted practice – Concept – Need for a causal link between
            the concerted practice and the undertakings’ conduct on the market – Presumption that that causal link exists
      (Art. 81(1) EC)
      3.      Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Complex infringement comprising elements both of an agreement
            and of a concerted practice – Classified singly as ‘an agreement and/or concerted practice’ – Lawfulness
      (Art. 81(1) EC)
      4.      Competition – Administrative procedure – Commission decision finding an infringement – Means of proof – Reliance on a body
            of evidence – Degree of evidential value required as regards items of evidence viewed in isolation
      (Art. 81(1) EC)
      5.      Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Participation of an undertaking in anti-competitive initiatives
            – Sufficiency of tacit approval without public distancing to render the undertaking liable
      (Art. 81(1) EC)
      6.      Competition – Administrative procedure – Commission decision finding an infringement – Use as evidence of statements of other
            undertakings which participated in the infringement – Lawfulness – Conditions
      (Arts 81 EC and 82 EC)
      7.      Community law – Principles – Fundamental rights – Presumption of innocence – Procedures in competition matters – Applicability
      (Art. 81(1) EC)
      8.      Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Prohibition – Infringements – Agreements and concerted practices
            constituting a single infringement – Attribution of liability for the entire infringement to a single undertaking – Conditions
      (Art. 81(1) EC)
      9.      Community law – Interpretation – Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – To be taken into consideration
      10.    Competition – Administrative procedure – Commission decision finding an infringement – Burden of proving the infringement
            and its duration on the Commission
      (Art. 81(1) EC)
      11.    Competition – Fines – Amount – Determination – Criteria – Gravity of the infringement –Gravity of the participation of each
            undertaking
      (Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2); Commission Notice 98/C 9/03)
      12.    Competition – Fines – Amount – Determination – Criteria – Actual impact on the market – Obligation to demonstrate such an
            impact in order to classify an infringement as very serious – None
      (Council Regulation No 17, Art.15(2); Commission Notice 98/C 9/03)
      13.    Competition – Fines – Amount – Determination – Criteria – Gravity of the infringement – Mitigating circumstances – Passive
            or ‘follow-my-leader’ role of the undertaking
      (Art. 81 EC; Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15; Commission Notice 98/C 9/03)
      14.    Competition – Fines – Amount – Determination – Criteria – Mitigating circumstances – Conduct deviating from that agreed within
            the cartel
      (Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2); Commission Notice 98/C 9/03)
      1.      In deciding whether a concerted practice is prohibited by Article 81(1) EC, there is no need to take account of its actual
         effects once it is apparent that its object is to prevent, restrict or distort competition within the common market. Consequently,
         it is not necessary to examine the effects of a concerted practice once its anti-competitive object has been established.
      
      (see para. 39)
      2.      In the context of Article 81(1) EC, even though the concept of a concerted practice implies, in addition to the participating
         undertakings concerting with each other, subsequent conduct on the market and a relationship of cause and effect between the
         two, it must be presumed, subject to proof to the contrary, which the economic operators concerned must adduce, that the undertakings
         taking part in the concerted action and remaining active on the market take account of the information exchanged with their
         competitors in determining their conduct on that market.
      
      (see para. 40)
      3.      The concepts of ‘agreement’ and ‘concerted practice’ within the meaning of Article 81(1) EC cover forms of collusion having
         the same nature which are distinguishable from each other only by their intensity and the forms in which they manifest themselves.
      
      In the context of a complex infringement which has involved many producers seeking over a number of years to regulate the
         market between them the Commission cannot be expected to classify the infringement precisely, for each undertaking and for
         any given moment, as an agreement or a concerted practice, as in any event both those forms of infringement are covered by
         Article 81 EC.
      
      In such a situation, the dual characterisation of ‘agreement and concerted practice’ must be understood as referring to a
         complex whole comprising a number of factual elements some of which were characterised as agreements and others as concerted
         practices for the purposes of Article 81(1) EC, which lays down no specific category for a complex infringement of this type.
      
      (see paras 34, 41-42)
      4.      In relation to adducing evidence of an infringement of Article 81(1) EC, it is incumbent on the Commission to adduce evidence
         capable of demonstrating to the requisite legal standard the existence of circumstances constituting an infringement. In this
         respect, it must produce sufficiently precise and consistent evidence to establish the existence of the infringement.
      
      However, it is not necessary for every item of evidence produced by the Commission to satisfy those criteria in relation to
         every aspect of the infringement. It is sufficient if the body of evidence relied on by the institution, viewed as a whole,
         meets that requirement.
      
      The items of evidence on which the Commission relies in the decision in order to prove the existence of an infringement of
         Article 81(1) EC by an undertaking must not be assessed separately, but as a whole.
      
      (see paras 43-45)
      5.      It is sufficient for the Commission to show that the undertaking concerned participated in meetings at which anti-competitive
         agreements were concluded, without manifestly opposing them, to prove to the requisite standard that the undertaking participated
         in the cartel. Where participation in such meetings has been established, it is for that undertaking to put forward evidence
         to establish that its participation in those meetings was without any anti-competitive intention by demonstrating that it
         had indicated to its competitors that it was participating in those meetings in a spirit that was different from theirs.
      
      The reason underlying that principle of law is that, having participated in the meeting without publicly distancing itself
         from what was discussed, the undertaking gave the other participants to believe that it subscribed to what was decided there
         and would comply with it.
      
      Nor is the fact that an undertaking does not act on the outcome of a meeting having an anti-competitive object such as to
         relieve it of responsibility for the fact of its participation in a cartel, unless it has publicly distanced itself from what
         was agreed in the meeting.
      
      Furthermore, the notion of publicly distancing oneself as a means of excluding liability must be interpreted narrowly. In
         particular, silence by an operator in a meeting during which the parties colluded unlawfully on a precise question of pricing
         policy cannot be regarded an expression of firm and unambiguous disapproval.
      
      (see paras 47-50)
      6.      In competition matters there is no general provision or principle of European Union law which prohibits the Commission from
         using statements against an undertaking which have been provided by other undertakings involved in the infringement. Statements
         made pursuant to the Commission notice on immunity from fines and reduction of fines in cartel cases (‘the Leniency Notice’)
         cannot therefore be regarded as devoid of probative value on that ground alone.
      
      Some caution as to the evidence provided voluntarily by the main participants in an unlawful agreement is understandable,
         since they might tend to play down the importance of their contribution to the infringement and maximise that of others. However,
         given the inherent logic of the procedure provided for in the Leniency Notice, the fact of seeking to benefit from the application
         of the Leniency Notice in order to obtain a reduction in the fine does not necessarily create an incentive for the other participants
         in the cartel in question to submit distorted evidence. Indeed, any attempt to mislead the Commission could call into question
         the sincerity and the completeness of cooperation of the undertaking seeking to benefit, and thereby jeopardise its chances
         of benefiting fully under the Leniency Notice.
      
      In particular, when a person admits that he committed an infringement and thus admitted the existence of facts going beyond
         those whose existence could be directly inferred from the documents in question, that fact implies, a priori, in the absence
         of special circumstances indicating otherwise, that that person had resolved to tell the truth. Statements which run counter
         to the interests of the declarant must in principle be regarded as particularly reliable evidence.
      
      However, an admission by one undertaking accused of having participated in a cartel, the accuracy of which is contested by
         several other undertakings similarly accused, cannot be regarded as constituting adequate proof of an infringement committed
         by the latter unless it is supported by other evidence.
      
      For the purpose of examining the probative value of statements by undertakings which have submitted an application under the
         Leniency Notice, the Court takes into account inter alia the strength of consistent evidence supporting the relevance of those
         statements and the absence of evidence that they might have tended to play down the importance of their contribution to the
         infringement and maximise that of other undertakings. Similarly, the relevance of a statement has a bearing on the degree
         of corroboration required.
      
      The fact that a statement was introduced at a very late stage of the procedure, namely in the response to the statement of
         objections, does not in itself mean that no probative value whatsoever must be accorded to that statement, which must be examined
         in the light of all of the relevant facts of the case. However, such a statement has less probative value than one made spontaneously,
         irrespective of a statement made by another undertaking. In particular, when the undertaking lodging an application for immunity
         is aware of the information gathered by the Commission in its investigation, the inherent logic of the procedure provided
         for in the Leniency Notice, according to which any attempt to mislead the Commission could call into question the sincerity
         and the completeness of cooperation of the undertaking, does not apply to the same degree as where it is a spontaneous statement,
         made without knowledge of the Commission’s objections. Similarly, the consideration that statements made under the Leniency
         Notice run counter to the interests of the declarant and must in principle be regarded as particularly reliable evidence may
         not be fully applicable in respect of the response to the statement of objections coming from an undertaking lodging an application
         for immunity.
      
      (see paras 52-56, 97, 108-109)
      7.      Regarding the scope of the judicial review, where it hears an action for the annulment of a decision applying Article 81(1)
         EC, the General Court must undertake in general a comprehensive review of the question whether or not the conditions for applying
         Article 81(1) EC are met.
      
      Where the Court is in doubt the undertaking which is the addressee of the decision finding an infringement must have the benefit
         of that doubt, in keeping with the principle of the presumption of innocence which, as a general principle of European Union
         law, applies in particular to the procedures relating to infringements of the competition rules applicable to undertakings
         that may result in the imposition of fines or periodic penalty payments.
      
      (see paras 57-58)
      8.      Given the nature of the infringements of the competition rules and also the nature and the degree of severity of the related
         sanctions, responsibility for committing those infringements is personal in nature.
      
      The agreements and concerted practices referred to in Article 81(1) EC are necessarily the result of collusion on the part
         of a number of undertakings, all of whom are co-perpetrators of the infringement, but whose participation can take different
         forms, varying, in particular, according to the characteristics of the market concerned and the position of each undertaking
         on that market, the aims pursued and the means of implementation chosen or envisaged. 
      
      However, the mere fact that each undertaking takes part in the infringement in ways particular to it does not suffice to exclude
         its liability for the entire infringement, including its liability for conduct which, in practical terms, is put into effect
         by other participating undertakings, but which has the same anti-competitive object or effect.
      
      Moreover, an infringement of Article 81(1) EC may result not only from an isolated act but also from a series of acts or from
         continuous conduct. That interpretation cannot be challenged on the ground that one or several elements of that series of
         acts or continuous conduct could also constitute in themselves and individually an infringement of that provision. When the
         various acts form part of an ‘overall plan’ because they have the same object of distorting competition within the common
         market, the Commission is entitled to attribute liability for those actions on the basis of participation in the infringement
         considered as a whole, even if it is established that the undertaking concerned directly participated in only one or some
         of the constituent elements of the infringement. Equally, the mere fact that the undertaking was not active in the sector
         concerned does not necessarily mean that that undertaking cannot be held liable for the entire single infringement. 
      
      In order to establish that an undertaking participated in such a single infringement, the Commission must show that the undertaking
         intended to contribute by its own conduct to the common objectives pursued by all the participants and that it was aware of
         the actual conduct planned or put into effect by other undertakings in pursuit of those same objectives, or that it could
         reasonably have foreseen it, and that it was prepared to take the risk.
      
      Thus, an undertaking may be held liable for an overall cartel if it knew, or must have known, that the collusion in which
         it participated, especially by means of regular meetings organised over several years, was part of an overall plan intended
         to distort competition and if that overall plan included all the constituent elements of the cartel. The mere fact that there
         is identity of object between an agreement in which an undertaking participated and a global cartel does not suffice to render
         that undertaking responsible for the global cartel. It is only if the undertaking knew or should have known when it participated
         in the agreement that in doing so it was joining in the global cartel that its participation in the agreement concerned can
         constitute the expression of its accession to that global cartel.
      
      The mere fact that the undertaking was aware of and pursued the anti-competitive objectives in respect of one of the products
         in the relevant sector does not mean that it was aware of the single objective pursued by the cartel as a whole in that sector.
         The concept of a single objective cannot be determined by a general reference to the distortion of competition in a given
         sector, since an impact on competition, whether as object or effect, is an essential element of any conduct covered by Article
         81(1) EC. Such a definition of the concept of a single objective is likely to deprive the concept of a single and continuous
         infringement of a part of its meaning, since it would have the consequence that different instances of conduct which relate
         to a particular economic sector and are prohibited by Article 81(1) EC would have to be systematically characterised as constituent
         elements of a single infringement.
      
      (see paras 125-128, 143-144, 149)
      9.      The operative part of an act is indissociably linked to the statement of reasons for it and when it has to be interpreted
         account must be taken of the reasons that led to its adoption. 
      
      (see para. 131)
      10.    The duration of the infringement is an intrinsic element of an infringement under Article 81(1) EC, the burden of proof of
         which is borne principally by the Commission. If there is no evidence directly establishing the duration of an infringement,
         the Commission should adduce at least evidence of facts sufficiently proximate in time for it to be reasonable to accept that
         that infringement continued uninterruptedly between two specific dates.
      
      The fact that the cartel as such was uninterrupted does not exclude the possibility that one or more of its participants may
         have interrupted their participation for a certain time.
      
      Although the period separating two manifestations of infringing conduct is a relevant criterion in order to establish the
         continuous nature of an infringement, the fact remains that the question whether or not that period is long enough to constitute
         an interruption of the infringement cannot be examined in the abstract. On the contrary, it needs to be assessed in the context
         of the functioning of the cartel in question, including, where appropriate, the specific ways in which the undertaking concerned
         participated therein.
      
      (see paras 155-156, 159)
      11.    In the determination of the amount of a fine for infringement of the competition rules under the Guidelines on the method
         of setting fines imposed pursuant to Article 15(2) of Regulation No 17 and Article 65(5) of the ECSC Treaty, a distinction
         must be drawn between the assessment of the gravity of the infringement, which is used to determine the general starting amount
         of the fine, and the assessment of the relative gravity of the participation of each of the undertakings concerned, which
         must be examined in the context of any aggravating or mitigating circumstances.
      
      Sections 2 and 3 of the Guidelines provide for a variation in the basic amount of the fine on the basis of certain aggravating
         or mitigating circumstances, which are specific to each of the undertakings concerned. In particular, Section 3 of the Guidelines
         sets out, under the title of ‘attenuating circumstances’, a non-exhaustive list of circumstances which might lead to a reduction
         in the starting amount of the fine. Thus, reference is made to the passive role of the undertaking, to the non-implementation
         in practice of the offending agreements or practices, to termination of the infringement as soon as the Commission intervenes,
         to the existence of reasonable doubt on the part of the undertaking as to whether the restrictive conduct does indeed constitute
         an infringement, to the fact that the infringement was committed as a result of negligence and to the effective cooperation
         by the undertaking in the proceedings outside of the scope of the Leniency Notice.
      
      By contrast, in the determination of the starting amount of the fine, the Commission is not required to assess the effects
         resulting from the conduct of an undertaking in particular. The effects to be taken into consideration in determining the
         general level of fines are not those resulting from the actual conduct which an undertaking claims to have adopted but those
         resulting from the whole of the infringement in which it participated.
      
      However, when the undertaking is not liable for the entire cartel, but can only be held liable for one branch of the cartel,
         this fact must be taken into account in the determination of the starting amount of the fine. In that case, the infringement
         of the competition rules is necessarily less serious than that attributed to the offenders who participated in all branches
         of the infringement and thereby contributed more to the effectiveness and the gravity of the cartel than an offender involved
         in only one branch of it. An undertaking may never be fined an amount which is calculated to reflect its participation in
         collusion for which it is not held liable.
      
      (see paras 183-185, 197-200)
      12.    In the assessment of the gravity of an infringement of the Community competition rules for the purposes of determining the
         starting amount of the fine imposed on an undertaking, it is apparent from the Guidelines on the method of setting fines imposed
         pursuant to Article 15(2) of Regulation No 17 and Article 65(5) of the ECSC Treaty that the Commission may classify horizontal
         price or market sharing agreements as very serious infringements solely on account of their nature and is not required to
         demonstrate an actual impact of the infringement on the market. By reason of their very nature, such agreements merit the
         severest fines. Their possible concrete impact on the market, particularly the question to what extent the restriction of
         competition resulted in a market price higher than would have obtained without the cartel, is not a decisive factor for determining
         the level of fines.
      
      (see para. 189)
      13.    A passive role implies that the undertaking adopted a ‘low profile’, that is to say, that it did not actively participate
         in the creation of any anti-competitive agreements. Amongst the circumstances that may indicate the adoption by an undertaking
         of a passive role within a cartel is the situation where the undertaking’s participation in cartel meetings is significantly
         more sporadic than that of the ‘ordinary’ members of the cartel, and likewise its belated entry to the market where the infringement
         occurred, irrespective of the duration of its participation in the infringement, or again the existence of express statements
         to that effect emanating from representatives of other undertakings which participated in the infringement.
      
      (see para. 224)
      14.    For the purpose of determining whether a party may benefit from mitigating circumstances on the basis of the non-implementation
         in practice of agreements under Section 3, second indent, of the Guidelines on the method of setting fines imposed pursuant
         to Article 15(2) of Regulation No 17 and Article 65(5) of the ECSC Treaty, it is necessary to determine whether the circumstances
         put forward by the undertaking concerned are capable of showing that, during the period in which it was party to the offending
         agreements, it actually avoided implementing them by adopting competitive conduct on the market or, at the very least, that
         it clearly and substantially breached the obligations relating to the implementation of the cartel to the point of disrupting
         its very operation.
      
      (see para. 231)
JUDGMENT OF THE GENERAL COURT (Third Chamber)
      30 November 2011 (*)
      
      (Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Market for methacrylates – Decision finding an infringement of Article 81 EC and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement – Concept of single infringement – Duration of the infringement – Fines – Gravity of the infringement – Mitigating circumstances)
      In Case T‑208/06,
      Quinn Barlo Ltd, established in Cavan (Ireland),
      
      Quinn Plastics NV, established in Geel (Belgium),
      
      Quinn Plastics GmbH, established in Mayence (Germany),
      
      represented by W. Blau, F. Wijckmans and F. Tuytschaever, lawyers,
      applicants,
      v
      European Commission, represented initially by V. Bottka and S. Noë, and subsequently by V. Bottka and N. Khan, acting as Agents,
      
      defendant,
      APPLICATION for annulment of Articles 1 and 2 of Commission Decision C(2006) 2098 final of 31 May 2006 relating to a proceeding
         pursuant to Article 81 EC and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case COMP/F/38.645 – Methacrylates) in so far as it relates
         to the applicants and, in the alternative, application for annulment of Article 2 of that decision in so far as it imposes
         a fine on the applicants or, in the further alternative, application for a reduction in that fine,
      
      THE GENERAL COURT (Third Chamber),
      composed of O. Czúcz, President, I. Labucka (Rapporteur) and D. Gratsias, Judges,
      Registrar: J. Plingers, Administrator,
      having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 10 May 2011,
      gives the following
      Judgment
       Background to the dispute
      1        By Commission Decision C(2006) 2098 final of 31 May 2006 relating to a proceeding pursuant to Article 81 EC and Article 53
         of the EEA Agreement (Case COMP/F/38.645 – Methacrylates) (‘the contested decision’), the Commission of the European Communities
         found inter alia that a certain number of undertakings had infringed Article 81 EC and Article 53 of the Agreement on the
         European Economic Area (EEA) by participating, during various periods between 23 January 1997 and 12 September 2002, in a
         complex of anti-competitive agreements and concerted practices in the methacrylates industry, covering the whole EEA territory
         (Article 1 of the contested decision).
      
      2        According to the contested decision, there was a single and continuous infringement involving three polymethyl-methacrylate
         (‘PMMA’) products as follows: PMMA moulding compounds, PMMA solid sheet and PMMA sanitary ware. The contested decision indicates
         that although those three PMMA products are physically and chemically distinct and have different uses, they may be considered
         as one homogenous product group due to their common raw-material input, methacrylate-monomers (‘MMA’) (recitals 4 to 8 of
         the contested decision).
      
      3        According to the contested decision, the infringement in question consisted in discussing prices, agreeing, implementing and
         monitoring price agreements either in the form of price increases, or at least stabilisation of the existing price level;
         discussing the passing-on of additional service costs to customers; exchanging commercially important and confidential market
         and/or company-relevant information and participating in regular meetings and having other contacts which facilitated the
         infringement (Article 1 and recitals 1 to 3 of the contested decision).
      
      4        The contested decision was addressed to Degussa AG, Röhm GmbH & Co. KG and Para-Chemie GmbH (‘Degussa’), Total SA, Elf Aquitaine
         SA, Arkema SA (formerly Atofina SA), Altuglas International SA and Altumax Europe SAS (collectively ‘Atofina’), Lucite International
         Ltd and Lucite International UK Ltd (collectively ‘Lucite’), ICI plc, and also the applicants Quinn Barlo Ltd, Quinn Plastics
         NV and Quinn Plastics GmbH.
      
      5        The applicants are part of the Irish conglomerate Quinn Group Ltd., which, on 7 May 2004, after the infringement period in
         question, took over the entire share capital of the ultimate parent company of the Barlo group (Barlo Group plc, subsequently
         renamed Barlo Group Ltd) (recital 299 of the contested decision). The applicants are the result of the integration of the
         activities of the three former companies of the Barlo group (‘Barlo’) into the Quinn group in January 2005:
      
      –        Quinn Plastics GmbH is the successor to Barlo Plastics GmbH. According to the contested decision, Barlo Plastics GmbH participated
         in the collusive behaviour in the methacrylates sector (recital 297 of the contested decision);
      
      –        Quinn Plastics NV is the successor to Barlo Plastics NV. The latter was the parent company of Barlo Plastics GmbH, holding
         100% of its share capital indirectly (recitals 38, 43 and 301 of the contested decision);
      
      –        Quinn Barlo is the successor to Barlo Group Ltd. It is the parent company of the former Barlo group, which holds, directly
         or indirectly, 100% of the share capital of the former Barlo companies (recitals 300 and 301 of the contested decision).
      
      6        All three applicants are addressees of the contested decision, the Commission having considered that Quinn Barlo and Quinn
         Plastics NV were responsible for the conduct of Quinn Plastics GmbH (formerly Barlo Plastics GmbH) during the infringement
         (recitals 301 and 304 and Article 1 of the contested decision).
      
      7        The investigation which led to the adoption of the contested decision was initiated after Degussa submitted an application
         for immunity on 20 December 2002 under the Commission notice of 19 February 2002 on immunity from fines and reduction of fines
         in cartel cases (OJ 2002 C 45, p. 3) (‘the Leniency Notice’).
      
      8        On 25 and 26 March 2003, the Commission conducted inspections at the premises of Atofina, Barlo, Degussa and Lucite (recital
         59 of the contested decision). Following those inspections, on 3 April and 11 July 2003 respectively Atofina and Lucite submitted
         applications for immunity or reduction in the amount of the fine under the Leniency Notice (recitals 60 and 66 of the contested
         decision). On 18 October 2004, ICI submitted an application for a reduction in the amount of the fine under the Leniency Notice
         (recital 83 of the contested decision). Barlo did not submit an application under that notice.
      
      9        From 9 April 2003 to 29 July 2004, the Commission made a number of requests for information to Barlo under Article 11 of Council
         Regulation No 17 of 6 February 1962: First Regulation implementing Articles [81 EC] and [82 EC] (OJ, English Special Edition
         1959-1962, p. 87) and under Article 18 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 of 16 December 2002 on the implementation of the
         rules on competition laid down in Articles [81 EC] and [82 EC] (OJ 2003 L 1, p. 1) (recitals 62 to 79 of the contested decision).
      
      10      On 17 August 2005 the Commission adopted a statement of objections concerning a single and continuous infringement relating
         to MMA, PMMA moulding compounds, PMMA solid sheet and PMMA sanitary ware and addressed it to, inter alia, the applicants and
         Quinn Plastics SA (recital 85 of the contested decision).
      
      11      A hearing was held on 15 and 16 December 2005.
      
      12      In the light of the evidence provided by the undertakings in their replies to the statement of objections and at the hearing,
         the Commission decided to withdraw certain objections, including:
      
      –        the objections directed at all of the undertakings to which the statement of objections had been addressed in respect of the
         part of the infringement relating to MMA;
      
      –        the objections directed at the applicants and Quinn Plastics, SA in respect of the PMMA moulding compounds;
      –        the objections directed at Quinn Plastics, SA in respect of the PMMA solid sheet (recital 93 of the contested decision).
      13      On 31 May 2006, the Commission adopted the contested decision. As regards the applicants, the Commission found that they had
         participated in the anti-competitive agreements and concerted practices referred to in paragraphs 1 to 3 above in the period
         from 30 April 1998 to 21 August 2000 (Article 1(l) to(n) of the contested decision) and imposed on them a fine of EUR 9 million,
         for which they were held jointly and severally liable (Article 2(e) of the contested decision).
      
      14      With regard to the calculation of the fine, the Commission examined the gravity of the infringement and found, first of all,
         that, in view of the nature of the infringement and the fact that it covered the entire territory of the EEA, it was a very
         serious infringement within the meaning of the Guidelines on the method of setting fines imposed pursuant to Article 15(2)
         of Regulation No 17 and Article 65(5) of the ECSC Treaty (OJ 1998 C 9, p. 3) (‘the Guidelines’) (recitals 319 to 331 of the
         contested decision).
      
      15      The Commission then considered that, within the category of very serious infringements, it was possible to apply differential
         treatment to undertakings in order to take account of the effective economic capacity of the offenders to cause significant
         economic damage to competition. To that end, the Commission found in the present case that the undertakings concerned ‘[could]
         be subdivided into [three] categories according to their relative weight in turnover achieved with the PMMA products for which
         they participated in the cartel’. The Commission stated that Barlo, with EEA turnover of EUR 66.37 million in 2000 in PMMA
         solid sheet, was to be placed in the third category.
      
      16      Moreover, again in relation to differential treatment, the Commission reduced by 25% the basic amount of the fine calculated
         for the applicants, for the following reasons (recital 335 of the contested decision):
      
      ‘… the Commission takes into account that it is not clear whether Barlo took part in any collusive contacts concerning PMMA
         moulding compounds or PMMA sanitary ware. Therefore it seems that Barlo was not aware or could not necessarily have had knowledge
         of the overall scheme of the anti-competitive arrangements …’
      
      17      Those considerations led the Commission to set the starting amount for the fine to be imposed on the applicants at EUR 15 million
         (recital 336 of the contested decision).
      
      18      Secondly, the Commission discussed the duration of the infringement and found that, as the applicants had been involved in
         the infringement for a period of two years and three months, the starting amount should be increased by 20% (10% for each
         full year of participation) (recitals 351 to 353 of the contested decision). The starting amount of the fine calculated for
         the applicants was thus EUR 18 million (recital 354 of the contested decision).
      
      19      Thirdly, the Commission examined the aggravating and mitigating circumstances and found no aggravating circumstances against
         the applicants. So far as mitigating circumstances were concerned, the Commission accepted the applicants’ argument that they
         had had only a passive and minor role in the infringement and granted them a 50% reduction in the fine which would otherwise
         have been imposed (recitals 372 to 374 of the contested decision).
      
      20      The Commission rejected the other mitigating circumstances put forward by the applicants (recitals 375 to 396 of the contested
         decision) and therefore set the fine at EUR 9 million (recital 397 of the contested decision). As the applicants received
         no benefit under the Leniency Notice, that is the final amount of their fine.
      
       Procedure and forms of order sought
      21      The applicants brought the present action by application lodged at the Registry of the Court on 8 August 2006.
      
      22      The composition of the Chambers of the Court of First Instance (now the General Court) changed and the Judge-Rapporteur was
         assigned to the Third Chamber, to which this case was accordingly assigned.
      
      23      Upon hearing the report of the Judge-Rapporteur, the General Court (Third Chamber) decided to open the oral procedure and,
         by way of measures of organisation of procedure, to request the Commission to reply to certain questions and produce documents.
         The Commission complied with that request within the period prescribed.
      
      24      The parties presented oral argument and answered the questions put to them by the Court at the hearing on 10 May 2011. The
         Commission also lodged additional documents in response to the request referred to in the preceding paragraph, which were
         placed in the case file. As the applicants had stated that they had been able to adopt a position on those documents at the
         hearing, the oral procedure was closed at the end of the hearing.
      
      25      The applicants claim that the Court should:
      
      –        by way of principal claim, annul Articles 1 and 2 of the contested decision in so far as it concerns them; 
      –        in the alternative, annul Article 2 of the contested decision in so far as it concerns them;
      –        in the further alternative, annul Article 2 of the contested decision in so far as it imposes a fine on the applicants of
         EUR 9 million and reduce the amount of the fine in the light of the arguments put forward in support of the present action;
      
      –        order the Commission to pay the costs.
      26      The Commission contends that the Court should:
      
      –        dismiss the action as unfounded;
      –        order the applicants to pay the costs.
       Law
      27      The applicants put forward two pleas in law in support of their action. The first plea alleges infringement of Article 81 EC.
         The second plea alleges infringement of Article 23(3) of Regulation No 1/2003, the Guidelines and the principle of proportionality.
      
       The first plea: infringement of Article 81 EC
      28      In the context of the first plea, the applicants submit, in substance, that the Commission has not established sufficiently
         how Barlo’s conduct constituted an infringement of Article 81 EC. That plea is, in essence, divided into three parts. In the
         first part of the first plea, the applicants dispute the Commission’s assessment relating to five meetings on which the contested
         decision is based in so far as they are concerned and complain that the Commission failed to take account of the absence of
         other contacts or exchanges involving them. In the second part of the first plea, they state that the Commission has failed
         to establish that Barlo participated in a ‘single and common anti-competitive scheme’. In the third part of the first plea,
         the applicants maintain that the Commission has not established that Barlo participated in a continuous infringement.
      
       The first part of the first plea: incorrect assessment of the meetings and other contacts or exchanges involving Barlo
      29      This part of the first plea is based on three complaints.
      
      30      First of all, whilst acknowledging Barlo’s presence at four of the five meetings in question (namely the meetings held in
         Germany in Dernbach in April 1998, Darmstadt on 29 June 1998, Heidelberg on 24 February 2000 and Deidesheim on 21 August 2000),
         the applicants argue that the Commission has failed to establish that its presence at those meetings constituted a significant
         restriction of competition and an infringement of Article 81 EC. Next, the applicants deny that Barlo was present at the fifth
         meeting in question, namely the meeting in Barcelona in May/June 1999, and they consider that the Commission has not demonstrated
         that such a meeting took place. Lastly, the applicants claim that the Commission failed to take into account the fact that,
         apart from the presence of a Barlo representative at the four abovementioned meetings, it had not established that there was
         any other anti‑competitive exchange or contact involving the applicants.
      
      –       The four meetings at which Barlo’s presence is admitted
      31      The applicants deny that they infringed Article 81 EC on account of the presence of a Barlo representative at the four meetings
         in question. First, they dispute the description of those meetings as set out in the contested decision on the ground that
         it is not sufficiently supported by evidence. Second, the applicants maintain that there was a ‘legitimate explanation’ for
         Barlo’s conduct. They observe that the interests of the cartel participants were not necessarily aligned with those of Barlo
         because Barlo was not active in MMA or in all PMMA products. In the applicants’ submission, since Barlo’s pricing policy was
         not in line with the cartel’s objective and its market share was growing, the cartel participants presumably wanted to test
         Barlo to see whether it could be involved in the cartel by inviting Barlo to meetings with an ‘innocent’ agenda or on occasions
         when no meeting was scheduled at all. The evidence in the Commission’s file makes it clear that those attempts failed and
         that Barlo continued to follow its own commercial policy aimed at increasing its market share. 
      
      32      In that regard it should be borne in mind as a preliminary point that, according to Article 1 of the contested decision, the
         applicants infringed Article 81 EC and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement ‘… by participating … in a complex of agreements and
         concerted practices in the methacrylates industry which covered the whole EEA territory and which consisted of discussing
         prices, agreeing, implementing and monitoring price agreements either in the form of price increases, or at least stabilisation
         of existing price levels; discussing the passing-on of additional service costs to customers; exchange of commercially important
         and confidential market and/or company relevant information and participating in regular meetings and other contacts to facilitate
         the infringement’.
      
      33      Under Article 81(1) EC, all agreements between undertakings, decisions by associations of undertakings and concerted practices
         which may affect trade between Member States and which have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion
         of competition within the common market are incompatible with the common market and prohibited.
      
      34      According to settled case-law, the concepts of ‘agreement’ and ‘concerted practice’ within the meaning of Article 81(1) EC
         cover forms of collusion having the same nature which are distinguishable from each other only by their intensity and the
         forms in which they manifest themselves (Case C‑49/92 P Commission v Anic Partecipazioni [1999] ECR I‑4125, paragraphs 131 and 132, and Case C‑8/08 T‑Mobile Netherlands and Others [2009] ECR I‑4529, paragraph 23).
      
      35      In order for there to be an agreement within the meaning of Article 81(1) EC it is sufficient that the undertakings in question
         should have expressed their joint intention to conduct themselves on the market in a specific way (Case T‑7/89 Hercules Chemicals v Commission [1991] ECR II‑1711, paragraph 256, and Case T‑9/99 HFB and Others v Commission [2002] ECR II‑1487, paragraph 199).
      
      36      The concept of a concerted practice refers to a form of coordination between undertakings which, without being taken to the
         stage where an agreement properly so called has been concluded, knowingly substitutes for the risks of competition practical
         cooperation between them (Commission v Anic Partecipazioni, paragraph 34 above, paragraph 115, and Case C‑199/92 P Hüls v Commission [1999] ECR I‑4287, paragraph 158).
      
      37      In that regard, Article 81(1) EC strictly precludes any direct or indirect contact between such operators of such a kind as
         to influence the conduct on the market of an actual or potential competitor or to disclose to such a competitor the conduct
         decided upon or envisaged on the market, where the object or effect of such contact is to create conditions of competition
         which would not correspond to the normal conditions of the market in question (see, to that effect, Commission v Anic Partecipazioni, paragraph 34 above, paragraphs 115 to 117, and T‑Mobile Netherlands and Others, paragraph 34 above, paragraph 33).
      
      38      It follows inter alia that the exchange of information between competitors is liable to be incompatible with the competition
         rules if it reduces or removes the degree of uncertainty as to the operation of the market in question, with the result that
         competition between undertakings is restricted (T‑Mobile Netherlands and Others, paragraph 34 above, paragraph 35).
      
      39      Moreover, in deciding whether a concerted practice is prohibited by Article 81(1) EC, there is no need to take account of
         its actual effects once it is apparent that its object is to prevent, restrict or distort competition within the common market.
         Consequently, it is not necessary to examine the effects of a concerted practice once its anti-competitive object has been
         established (see, to that effect, T‑Mobile Netherlands and Others, paragraph 34 above, paragraph 29 and the case-law cited).
      
      40      Furthermore, even though the concept of a concerted practice implies, in addition to the participating undertakings concerting
         with each other, subsequent conduct on the market and a relationship of cause and effect between the two, it must be presumed,
         subject to proof to the contrary, which the economic operators concerned must adduce, that the undertakings taking part in
         the concerted action and remaining active on the market take account of the information exchanged with their competitors in
         determining their conduct on that market (see, to that effect, T‑Mobile Netherlands and Others, paragraph 34 above, paragraph 51 and the case-law cited).
      
      41      In the context of a complex infringement which has involved many producers seeking over a number of years to regulate the
         market between them the Commission cannot be expected to classify the infringement precisely, for each undertaking and for
         any given moment, as an agreement or a concerted practice, as in any event both those forms of infringement are covered by
         Article 81 EC (see, to that effect, Commission v Anic Partecipazioni, paragraph 34 above, paragraphs 111 to 114, and Joined Cases T‑305/94 to T‑307/94, T‑313/94 to T‑316/94, T‑318/94, T‑325/94,
         T‑328/94, T‑329/94 and T‑335/94 Limburgse Vinyl Maatschappij and Others v Commission [1999] ECR II‑931, paragraph 696).
      
      42      In such a situation, the dual characterisation of ‘agreement and concerted practice’ must be understood as referring to a
         complex whole comprising a number of factual elements some of which were characterised as agreements and others as concerted
         practices for the purposes of Article 81(1) EC, which lays down no specific category for a complex infringement of this type
         (Hercules Chemicals v Commission, paragraph 35 above, paragraph 264, and HFB and Others v Commission, paragraph 35 above, paragraph 187). 
      
      43      In relation to adducing evidence of an infringement of Article 81(1) EC, it should be pointed out that it is incumbent on
         the Commission to adduce evidence capable of demonstrating to the requisite legal standard the existence of circumstances
         constituting an infringement (Case C-185/95 P Baustahlgewebe v Commission [1998] ECR I-8417, paragraph 58). In this respect, it must produce sufficiently precise and consistent evidence to establish
         the existence of the infringement (see Case T‑62/98 Volkswagen v Commission [2000] ECR II‑2707, paragraph 43 and the case-law cited, and judgment of 8 July 2008 in Case T‑54/03 Lafarge v Commission, not published in the ECR, paragraph 55). 
      
      44      However, it is not necessary for every item of evidence produced by the Commission to satisfy those criteria in relation to
         every aspect of the infringement. It is sufficient if the body of evidence relied on by the institution, viewed as a whole,
         meets that requirement (see Joined Cases T‑67/00, T‑68/00, T‑71/00 and T‑78/00 JFE Engineering and Others v Commission [2004] ECR II‑2501, paragraph 180 and the case-law cited).
      
      45      The items of evidence on which the Commission relies in the decision in order to prove the existence of an infringement of
         Article 81(1) EC by an undertaking must not be assessed separately, but as a whole (see Case T‑53/03 BPB v Commission [2008] ECR II‑1333, paragraph 185 and the case-law cited). 
      
      46      It should also be borne in mind that anti-competitive activities take place in a clandestine fashion and that, in most cases,
         the existence of an anti-competitive practice or agreement must therefore be inferred from a number of coincidences and indicia
         which, taken together, may, in the absence of another plausible explanation, constitute evidence of an infringement of the
         competition rules (Joined Cases C‑204/00 P, C‑205/00 P, C‑211/00 P, C‑213/00 P, C‑217/00 P and C‑219/00 P Aalborg Portland and Others v Commission [2004] ECR I‑123, paragraphs 55 to 57).
      
      47      It is, moreover, settled case-law that it is sufficient for the Commission to show that the undertaking concerned participated
         in meetings at which anti-competitive agreements were concluded, without manifestly opposing them, to prove to the requisite
         standard that the undertaking participated in the cartel. Where participation in such meetings has been established, it is
         for that undertaking to put forward evidence to establish that its participation in those meetings was without any anti-competitive
         intention by demonstrating that it had indicated to its competitors that it was participating in those meetings in a spirit
         that was different from theirs (Hüls v Commission, paragraph 36 above, paragraph 155; Commission v Anic Partecipazioni, paragraph 34 above, paragraph 96; and Aalborg Portland and Others v Commission, paragraph 46 above, paragraph 81).
      
      48      The reason underlying that principle of law is that, having participated in the meeting without publicly distancing itself
         from what was discussed, the undertaking gave the other participants to believe that it subscribed to what was decided there
         and would comply with it (Aalborg Portland and Others v Commission, paragraph 46 above, paragraph 82).
      
      49      Nor is the fact that an undertaking does not act on the outcome of a meeting having an anti-competitive object such as to
         relieve it of responsibility for the fact of its participation in a cartel, unless it has publicly distanced itself from what
         was agreed in the meeting (see Aalborg Portland and Others v Commission, paragraph 46 above, paragraph 85). 
      
      50      Furthermore, it has been held that the notion of publicly distancing oneself as a means of excluding liability must be interpreted
         narrowly. In particular, silence by an operator in a meeting during which the parties colluded unlawfully on a precise question
         of pricing policy cannot be regarded an expression of firm and unambiguous disapproval (see, to that effect, Case T‑303/02
         Westfalen Gassen Nederland v Commission [2006] II‑4567, paragraphs 103 and 124).
      
      51      It should also be noted, however, that the abovementioned case-law on tacit approval is based on the premise that the undertaking
         concerned participated in meetings at which anti-competitive agreements were concluded (Aalborg Portland and Others v Commission, paragraph 46 above, paragraph 81) or which were manifestly anti-competitive (Hüls v Commission, paragraph 36 above, paragraph 155). Consequently, where the anti-competitive nature of a meeting has not been established
         beyond doubt, that case-law does not apply (see, to that effect, T‑36/05 Coats Holdings and Coats v Commission, judgment of 12 September 2007, not published in the ECR, paragraph 91).
      
      52      As regards the applicants’ arguments concerning the value of the statements made in the context of their applications under
         the Leniency Notice, it should be borne in mind that, according to settled case-law, there is no general provision or principle
         of European Union law which prohibits the Commission from using statements against an undertaking which have been provided
         by other undertakings involved in the infringement (Limburgse Vinyl Maatschappij and Others v Commission, paragraph 41 above, paragraph 512). Statements made pursuant to the Leniency Notice cannot therefore be regarded as devoid
         of probative value on that ground alone (Lafarge v Commission, paragraph 43 above, paragraphs 57 and 58).
      
      53      Some caution as to the evidence provided voluntarily by the main participants in an unlawful agreement is understandable,
         since they might tend to play down the importance of their contribution to the infringement and maximise that of others. However,
         given the inherent logic of the procedure provided for in the Leniency Notice, the fact of seeking to benefit from the application
         of the Leniency Notice in order to obtain a reduction in the fine does not necessarily create an incentive for the other participants
         in the cartel in question to submit distorted evidence. Indeed, any attempt to mislead the Commission could call into question
         the sincerity and the completeness of cooperation of the undertaking seeking to benefit, and thereby jeopardise its chances
         of benefiting fully under the Leniency Notice (Case T‑120/04 Peróxidos Orgánicos v Commission [2006] ECR II‑4441, paragraph 70, and Lafarge v Commission, paragraph 43 above, paragraph 58).
      
      54      In particular, when a person admits that he committed an infringement and thus admitted the existence of facts going beyond
         those whose existence could be directly inferred from the documents in question, that fact implies, a priori, in the absence
         of special circumstances indicating otherwise, that that person had resolved to tell the truth. Statements which run counter
         to the interests of the declarant must in principle be regarded as particularly reliable evidence (JFE Engineering and Others v Commission, paragraph 44 above, paragraphs 211 and 212; Joined Cases T‑109/02, T‑118/02, T‑122/02, T‑125/02, T‑126/02, T‑128/02, T‑129/02,
         T‑132/02 and T‑136/02 Bolloré and Others v Commission [2007] ECR II‑947, paragraph 166; and Lafarge v Commission, paragraph 43 above, paragraph 59).
      
      55      However, according to settled case-law, an admission by one undertaking accused of having participated in a cartel, the accuracy
         of which is contested by several other undertakings similarly accused, cannot be regarded as constituting adequate proof of
         an infringement committed by the latter unless it is supported by other evidence (JFE Engineering and Others v Commission, paragraph 44 above, paragraph 219; Case T‑38/02 Groupe Danone v Commission [2005] ECR II‑4407, paragraph 285; and Lafarge v Commission, paragraph 43 above, paragraph 293).
      
      56      For the purpose of examining the probative value of statements by undertakings which have submitted an application under the
         Leniency Notice, the Court takes into account inter alia the strength of consistent evidence supporting the relevance of those
         statements (see, to that effect, JFE Engineering and Others v Commission, paragraph 44 above, paragraph 220, and Peróxidos Orgánicos v Commission, paragraph 53 above, paragraph 70) and the absence of evidence indicating that they have tended to play down the importance
         of their contribution to the infringement and maximise that of other undertakings (see, to that effect, Lafarge v Commission, paragraph 43 above, paragraphs 62 and 295).
      
      57      Lastly, regarding the scope of the judicial review in the present case, it should be borne in mind that, according to settled
         case-law, where it hears an action for the annulment of a decision applying Article 81(1) EC, the General Court must undertake
         in general a comprehensive review of the question whether or not the conditions for applying Article 81(1) EC are met (see
         Case T‑41/96 Bayer v Commission [2000] ECR II‑3383, paragraph 62 and the case-law cited). 
      
      58      Moreover, where the Court is in doubt the undertaking which is the addressee of the decision finding an infringement must
         have the benefit of that doubt, in keeping with the principle of the presumption of innocence which, as a general principle
         of European Union law, applies in particular to the procedures relating to infringements of the competition rules applicable
         to undertakings that may result in the imposition of fines or periodic penalty payments (Hüls v Commission, paragraph 36 above, paragraphs 149 and 150).
      
      59      The applicants’ arguments to the effect that, in essence, the Commission has not established that Barlo’s attendance at the
         four meetings in question constituted an infringement of Article 81 EC must be examined in the light of those general considerations.
      
      60      In the first place, as regards the April 1998 meeting in Dernbach, it is described as follows in recital 151 of the contested
         decision:
      
      ‘In April 1998, the second of the meetings mentioned above in recital 144 took place in the … [h]otel in Dernbach. According
         to Atofina, the purpose of this meeting was also the implementation of new price structures in Germany and the participants
         ensured the functioning and respecting of these new price structures, especially as regards the charging of higher prices
         for small quantities and cutting costs that were to be passed on to customers. Barlo confirms this meeting and the presence
         of Mr [B], states that the original purpose of the meeting had been the discussion of market trend issues but that the agenda
         was then extended to the announcement of new price structures involving charging higher service costs to customers. As the
         attendees did not agree upon the charge of service costs to customers there was no attempt by Barlo to increase the average
         price of PMMA solid sheet after the meeting. Although Degussa considers it possible that this meeting was identical to the
         one of 16 March 1998 mentioned above in recital 148, the Commission concludes, on the basis of the statements by Atofina and
         Barlo, that the meeting mentioned in this recital actually took place in April 1998.’
      
      61      It is apparent from the case-file and from the very wording of recital 151 of the contested decision that, in order to ascertain
         the content of the meeting in question, the Commission relied on two pieces of evidence: a statement made by Atofina as part
         of its application under the Leniency Notice and the applicants’ reply to the statement of objections.
      
      62      In the light of that evidence, the Court finds, first of all, that it has been established to the requisite legal standard
         that the meeting in question had a manifestly anti-competitive object.
      
      63      First, the applicants are incorrect in suggesting that the description given by Mr B. is the only piece of evidence concerning
         the anti-competitive nature of that meeting. Atofina’s statement indicates that the object of that meeting was to ensure the
         functioning of and compliance with the new price structures, an object must be held to be manifestly anti-competitive. This
         finding is unaffected by the mere fact that it is a general description applying to a number of meetings.
      
      64      Second, it should be observed that the applicants do not call in question the accuracy of the description given by their own
         representative, Mr B. Contrary to their assertion, that description also shows that it was a cartel meeting. It is apparent
         that there was an announcement of new price structures and that those new price structures were discussed, even if, according
         to Mr B., the participants had not reached agreement on them. The fact that, according to Mr B., that discussion did not lead
         to an agreement does not make that meeting any less manifestly anti-competitive, since it involved, at the very least, an
         exchange of commercially sensitive information.
      
      65      It should also be observed that those two factors corroborate each other, inter alia, as regards the discussion of the ‘new
         pricing structures’ and the presence of Barlo at that discussion. In those circumstances, the fact that Atofina mentioned
         the presence of other undertakings at that meeting, whose presence is not confirmed by the contested decision, does not affect
         the validity of the Commission’s finding as regards the applicants.
      
      66      In addition, Degussa’s statements in its response to the statement of objections does not cast doubt on the description given
         by Atofina and Mr B. Degussa simply stated that it could not confirm specifically that a meeting had taken place in April
         1998, whilst emphasising that it could not rule out the possibility either. It stated that it was possible that it was the
         same meeting as the one on 16 March 1998. It should be noted that, as evidenced by footnote 92 of the contested decision,
         Degussa also referred to the presence of a Barlo representative at the latter meeting.
      
      67      Moreover, in a subsequent statement, in response to a request for information from the Commission, Atofina also situated the
         meeting not in April, but on 16 March 1998, whilst confirming the description thereof. That uncertainty, however, as to the
         exact date of the meeting in question is not such as to exonerate the applicants, given their statements and the fact that
         the date accepted, namely April 1998 instead of 16 March 1998, is advantageous to them, since it is that date (the last day
         of April) which was accepted by the Commission as the start of their participation in the infringement.
      
      68      Second, as regards the assessment of Barlo’s conduct during the Dernbach meeting, it should be borne in mind that the applicants
         do not deny that Barlo was present at the meeting in question and do not allege that Barlo publicly distanced itself from
         the content thereof (see paragraph 47 above).
      
      69      Under those circumstances, the mere presence of Barlo at the meeting suffices for a finding that its conduct was contrary
         to Article 81 EC, since, as is apparent from the foregoing, it involved, at the very least, a discussion about prices and
         must therefore be categorised as manifestly anti-competitive (see paragraphs 37 and 38 above). In that situation, contrary
         to what the applicants claim, Mr B ought to have realised that he was attending a cartel meeting and have distanced himself
         publicly from it (see paragraphs 47, 48 and 51 above).
      
      70      Furthermore, even if it were established that Barlo did not increase its prices following that meeting, that would not be
         sufficient to call the applicants’ liability in question (see paragraph 49 above). In any event, the applicants have not shown
         that Barlo, in its conduct on the market, did not take account of the information exchanged at the meeting (see paragraph
         40 above).
      
      71      In the second place, as regards the meeting of 29 June 1998 in Darmstadt, referred to in recital 155 of the contested decision,
         the applicants do not dispute the anti-competitive nature of that meeting. They state, however, that it has not been established
         that Barlo intended to contribute through its own conduct to the other participants’ common objectives, with the result that
         Barlo’s presence at that meeting could not be categorised as an infringement of Article 81 EC.
      
      72      That line of argument cannot succeed, however.
      
      73      According to the description of that meeting in recital 155 of the contested decision, which is not disputed by the applicants,
         it was a manifestly anti-competitive meeting. Under those circumstances, under the case-law referred to in paragraph 47 above,
         it was for Barlo to distance itself publicly from its content.
      
      74      In particular, the fact that Barlo did not convey that it would change its pricing policy (recital 155, in fine, of the contested
         decision) does not qualify as distancing itself publicly (see paragraph 50 above).
      
      75      Similarly, the argument that the participants in the cartel invited Barlo to that meeting so as to involve it in the cartel
         and that that attempt failed cannot succeed. Since it did not publicly distance itself, it has not been proved that Barlo
         did not give the other participants the impression that it concurred in or would submit to what had been decided, as the applicants
         allege.
      
      76      Under those circumstances, the applicants’ arguments to the effect, first, that it was the first meeting about price negotiations
         in the presence of a Barlo representative and that he was not expecting such anti-competitive content, second, that Barlo
         denied any active participation at the meeting and that it has not been demonstrated that Barlo had changed its pricing policy
         following that meeting and, lastly, that the contested decision does not refer to the Barlo representative at any follow-up
         meetings, are not relevant. Moreover, as is apparent from the foregoing, it was not the first meeting attended by the Barlo
         representative. Lucite’s statements to that effect are contradicted by those of Atofina, Degussa and the applicants themselves,
         as set out above.
      
      77      In the third place, as regards the meeting of 24 February 2000 in Heidelberg, the applicants argue that the description given
         by the Commission in recital 167 of the contested decision is not correct and that it was not a cartel meeting but rather
         an ‘unexpected attempt’ to put a pricing agreement in place and involve Barlo, one which failed.
      
      78      It should be observed in that regard, first, that recital 167 of the contested decision does reproduce correctly the content
         of the statement made by the applicants in their response to the statement of objections, the accuracy of which is not disputed
         in the present action. Moreover, contrary to what the applicants suggest, that statement is in itself sufficient to establish
         that the meeting in question was manifestly anti-competitive in nature. There is no doubt whatsoever that Degussa and Atofina
         presented their new pricing structures in order to encourage the other participants to follow them and that there was a ‘discussion’
         amongst the participants on the topic. Even if that ‘discussion’ did end without any tangible result, as the applicants allege,
         that would not be sufficient to eliminate the anti-competitive nature of the meeting, since it involved, at the very least,
         a discussion about pricing and a significant exchange of commercially important information. As Barlo did not distance itself
         publicly from such content of the meeting, the applicants’ participation in the cartel is established by the mere presence
         of Barlo at that meeting (see paragraphs 37 and 47 to 51 above).
      
      79      Second, the Commission’s statements that the undertakings ‘[had] held a meeting aimed at verifying the implementation of the
         price increase agreements’, that ‘[t]he previous months had shown that prices in some national markets had not or had only
         partly increased’ and that the ‘participants [had] also exchanged market relevant information’ are supported by the content
         of the statements made by Degussa, which were produced by the Commission at the request of the Court (see paragraph 23 above).
         Moreover, the Commission’s claim, referring to recital 117 of the contested decision, that the exchange concerned inter alia
         the prices on the market is corroborated by the applicants’ statement referred to in the preceding paragraph, which mentions
         that Degussa and Atofina presented their new pricing structures.
      
      80      Under those circumstances, given the applicants’ own – undisputed – statement as to the content of the meeting in question,
         their other arguments cannot succeed. In particular, it is irrelevant that the undertaking Repsol is not referred to in the
         contested decision as being among the participants at the meeting, whereas its presence was referred to by Degussa, or that
         Lucite does not remember any meeting on that date. The same is true of the arguments alleging that, in its response to the
         statement of objections, Degussa corrected certain aspects of its earlier statements. In addition, Degussa did not call in
         question the anti-competitive nature of the discussions amongst the undertakings involved. Lastly, as to the applicants’ argument
         that the Commission’s assertion that the exchange concerned information ‘such as mentioned … in recital 117’ is unsubstantiated,
         it must be borne in mind that the applicants themselves acknowledged that Degussa and Atofina had presented their new pricing
         structures. Therefore, even if the exchange concerning all the types of information referred to in recital 117 of the contested
         decision has not been established, that does not affect the finding that an exchange of commercially important information
         had indeed taken place at the meeting in question.
      
      81      In the fourth place, as regards the meeting of 21 August 2000 in Deidesheim, it must be noted that recital 168 of the contested
         decision contains a detailed description of that meeting which is based mainly on handwritten notes taken by Lucite’s representative
         at the meeting, which were found at Lucite’s premises at the time of the inspection and refer inter alia to a price increase
         planned for Barlo. That meeting, including its anti-competitive nature, was subsequently confirmed by Lucite in the context
         of its application under the Leniency Notice, as well as by Degussa and Atofina. As for Barlo, it confirmed its presence at
         the meeting in question, as well as its manifestly anti-competitive nature, by stating the following:
      
      ‘On 21 August 2000, a fourth meeting took place in Deidesheim … under the agenda of “E-Commerce” which was at that time also
         much discussed at CEFIC-meetings. The invitation to the meeting came again from Degussa. Instead of talking about E-Commerce,
         Degussa and Atofina made a change to the agenda of the meeting in order to propose a price increase for November 2000. Degussa
         and Atofina, after exchanging details of their prices, announced their plan to raise prices in November 2000. [The applicants]
         understand … that Mr [B.] did not agree on any increase of prices.’
      
      82      In the light of the foregoing, the Court finds that the manifestly anti-competitive nature of the meeting and Barlo’s presence
         at it have been established to the requisite legal standard.
      
      83      Nor in the context of the present action have the applicants called in question the description given in recital 168 of the
         contested decision; they have merely asserted that the Commission has not proven that Barlo’s presence at it was contrary
         to Article 81 EC, on the ground that Barlo did not give its approval to the proposals from Atofina and Degussa. Thus, according
         to the applicants, that meeting was an ‘unexpected attempt’ to involve Barlo in the cartel. They add that there is no evidence
         that Barlo implemented the increase which had been decided on at that meeting, a fact acknowledged by the Commission, as the
         date of that meeting corresponds to the end of its participation in the infringement.
      
      84      That line of argument does not cast doubt on the Commission’s finding relating to the infringement of Article 81 EC, however.
      
      85      First, the argument that Barlo did not agree to the price increases is contradicted by the content of the handwritten notes
         taken by Lucite’s representative, which was subsequently confirmed by Lucite, Degussa and Atofina.
      
      86      Second, even if Barlo did not give its explicit agreement to a price increase, it nevertheless attended a manifestly anti-competitive
         meeting, at which price increases were discussed and decided and commercially sensitive information was exchanged, without
         distancing itself publicly from its content. Under those circumstances, the infringement of the competition rules is established,
         in accordance with the principles established in the case-law as referred to in paragraph 49 above. In particular, the fact
         that the content of the meeting was ‘unexpected’ for Barlo and that Barlo did not implement what was decided at the meeting
         is irrelevant.
      
      87      In addition, Atofina’s statement to the effect that ‘the purpose of the meeting was to attempt to re-establish trust between
         Degussa/Ato[fina]/Lucite/Barlo in order to increase prices’, far from establishing that the meeting was not planned as a cartel
         meeting, as the applicants maintain, rather confirms the manifestly anti-competitive nature of the meeting, Barlo’s presence
         at it, and the fact that Barlo had already been involved in the cartel previously to that meeting.
      
      88      In the light of the foregoing, the Court finds that the Commission was correct in finding that Barlo’s attendance at the four
         abovementioned meetings constituted an infringement of Article 81 EC.
      
      89      That conclusion is not affected by the applicants’ arguments that in the present case ‘particular attention’ must be paid
         to the burden of proof – which the Commission is allegedly attempting to reverse – in view of the fact that the applicants
         acquired Barlo four years after the end of the infringement and it is therefore impossible for them to adduce their own evidence.
         It follows from the foregoing that the infringement of Article 81 EC has been established according to settled case-law on
         the burden of proof.
      
      90      Similarly, since the conclusion drawn in paragraph 88 above is based on unequivocal evidence gathered by the Commission, the
         applicants’ arguments attempting, in essence, to provide another ‘plausible explanation’ of the facts than that accepted by
         the Commission cannot succeed (see, to that effect, Coats Holdings and Coats v Commission, paragraph 51 above, paragraphs 72 and 74).
      
      91      Accordingly, the present complaint must be rejected.
      
      –       The disputed Barcelona (Spain) meeting in May-June 1999 (recital 164 of the contested decision)
      92      Unlike the four meetings analysed above, the applicants deny that Barlo took part in any meeting in May or June 1999, adding
         that the Commission has not even established that it was held. That meeting is, they claim, of ‘crucial importance’ for them,
         since it makes the link between two meetings in 1998 and the meetings in 2000, at which Barlo was present.
      
      93      It must be borne in mind in that regard that recital 164 of the contested decision states:
      
      ‘In May or June 1999, a meeting took place between representatives of Atofina, ICI, Degussa, Barlo and Irpen (a local producer)
         at a hotel in Barcelona. The purpose of the meeting was to inform Irpen about the price agreements and to include them in
         the agreements. The discussions also related to the definition of minimum prices and the fixing of minimum prices per pallet.
         The discussions were based on a country-per-country and a client-per-client basis with a precise definition of the timing
         of the price increases for each country.’
      
      94      As the applicants observe, it is common ground that the Commission has no documentary evidence relating to that meeting, not
         only as regards its anti-competitive nature, but also in relation to its content and the persons attending. In support of
         the description of that meeting, the Commission merely referred, in the contested decision, to a statement made by Atofina
         in the context of its application under the Leniency Notice and Degussa’s confirmation in its response to the statement of
         objections.
      
      95      It is therefore appropriate to ascertain whether those statements made it possible to establish Barlo’s participation at the
         alleged meeting to the requisite legal standard.
      
      96      In that regard, it must be noted that, as shown by the case-law referred to in paragraphs 52 to 54 above, the statements made
         in the context of the leniency policy play an important role. Those statements made on behalf of undertakings have a probative
         value that is not insignificant, since they entail considerable legal and economic risks (see also Case T‑385/06 Aalberts Industries and Others v Commission [2011] ECR I-0000, paragraph 47). However, it is also apparent from the case-law referred to in paragraphs 53 and 55 above
         that statements made by undertakings in the context of their applications under the Leniency Notice must none the less be
         assessed with caution and, in general, cannot be accepted without corroboration.
      
      97      Moreover, in order to examine the probative value of statements made by undertakings which have made applications under the
         Leniency Notice, the Court takes account in particular of how much consistent evidence there is supporting the relevance of
         those statements (JFE Engineering and Others v Commission, paragraph 44 above, paragraph 220, and Peróxidos Orgánicos v Commission, paragraph 53 above, paragraph 70). Similarly, the relevance of a statement has a bearing on the degree of corroboration
         required (see, to that effect, JFE Engineering and Others v Commission, paragraph 44 above, paragraph 220).
      
      98      In the present case, the applicants argue that Atofina’s statement, made in its application lodged under the Leniency Notice,
         has no probative value because it is not sufficiently precise.
      
      99      It should be observed in that regard that Atofina places the meeting in question in the context of a series of meetings held
         in the period from the summer of 1997 until 1999, which are described in a page taken from its application under the Leniency
         Notice, annexed to the statement in defence. At the top of that page, under the heading ‘Acteurs’ (‘Players’), Atofina indicated
         the undertakings concerned, namely Atoglas, Röhm, Degussa, Lucite (ICI), Repsol and Barlo, and also the names of their representatives,
         including ‘W. [B.] + E. [S.] as from 99’ as regards Barlo. Next, Atofina described a number of meetings in Germany, including
         two meetings in Darmstadt in the summer and autumn of 1998, in France and in Italy. Lastly, at the bottom of that page, Atofina
         stated the following:
      
      ‘In May/June 99
      Meeting in a hotel in the centre of Barcelona: the same plus Irpen (local producer) and presence of representatives of local
         networks.
      
      Content of discussions in Darmstadt and at local level:
      Distributors’ price levels (70% of the market), definition of objectives of mini prices for converters, fixing mini prices
         per palette.’
      
      100    In fact, contrary to what the applicants assert, that statement identifies both the participants at and the anti-competitive
         nature of that meeting. The reference to ‘the same plus Irpen’ must be read in the light of the list of participants at the
         different meetings at the top of the page of Atofina’s statement, where it stated inter alia: ‘Barlo[:] W. [B.] + E. [S.]
         as from 99’. Similarly, the reference to ‘content of discussions … at local level’, in the context of that page, must necessarily
         be construed as referring inter alia to the meeting in question in Barcelona. Thus, according to Atofina, the content of that
         meeting consisted in the fixing of ‘distributors’ price levels’, the ‘definition of objectives of mini prices for converters’,
         and ‘fixing mini prices per palette’. Moreover, even if that document is not referred to in recital 164 of the contested decision,
         it is clear from the case-file that, subsequently, in response to a request for information from the Commission, Atofina provided
         additional comments on the disputed meeting, referring explicitly to the presence of Barlo’s representative. Atofina added
         a further clarification as to the anti-competitive content of the meeting by stating that its ‘purpose … was to extend the
         pricing structure to Spain/Portugal and to convince the local manufacturers to join in’.
      
      101    It is absolutely clear therefrom that, according to Atofina, Barlo’s representative was among the participants at the meeting
         in question and that the meeting was anti-competitive in nature.
      
      102    It should also be observed, however, that the applicants are correct in stating that Atofina’s statement does not contain
         much in the way of explanation about the alleged Barcelona meeting. It does not identify the date, exact location of the meeting,
         or the topics specifically discussed at it. Further explanations about the topics were added only subsequently (see paragraph
         100 above). That description contrasts with that of the other meetings referred to on the page in question, which refers to
         the names of the hotels where those meetings took place, the specific topics and sometimes also further information, such
         as the name of the undertaking which paid the hotel costs. Similarly, apart from the mention of Barlo’s representative among
         the participants at the meeting, Atofina’s statement does not contain any specific information about it.
      
      103    Moreover, it is possible to put the relevance of Atofina’s statement in perspective in the light of the Commission’s assessment
         of other meetings it mentioned. Of the eight other meetings included in the series referred to in Atofina’s statement (meetings
         of September 1997 in Dernbach, April 1998 in Dernbach, June 1998 in Idstein (Germany), the spring of 1998 in Paris (France),
         the summer of 1998 in Darmstadt, the autumn of 1998 in Darmstadt and two meetings in or near Milan (Italy) in 1999), only
         two, which Barlo has admitted attending, namely the Dernbach meeting in April 1998 and the Darmstadt meeting in June 1998,
         were relied on as against the applicants in the contested decision. According to Atofina, the ‘players’, including Barlo,
         referred to at the top of the page of its statement, attended all the meetings in the series.
      
      104    Under those circumstances, in the absence of any documentary evidence about the disputed meeting, particular attention must
         be paid to Degussa’s statement in so far as concerns Barlo’s presence at the disputed meeting.
      
      105    It must be stated at the outset, however, that Degussa’s statement is of limited relevance, given its content and the circumstances
         in which it was made.
      
      106    First, Degussa confirmed, in a very general manner, ‘the content and occurrence of and participants at’ the meeting, without
         providing any specific information about Barlo. The only specific information in that statement relates to its object (involvement
         of Irpen in the agreements) and does not concern Barlo specifically. As to the rest, Degussa stated explicitly that it no
         longer remembered details and that, in particular, it could not give the date of the meeting as it did not have travel expense
         vouchers for Mr F. for that period.
      
      107    Accordingly, the degree of corroboration of that statement, as regards Barlo’s presence at the disputed meeting, is relatively
         low.
      
      108    Second, as to the applicants’ arguments alleging that that confirmation was introduced at a very late stage of the procedure,
         namely in the response to the statement of objections, it should be noted that that fact does not in itself mean that no probative
         value whatsoever must be accorded to Degussa’s statement, which must be examined in the light of all of the relevant facts
         of the case.
      
      109    However, such a statement has less probative value than one made spontaneously, irrespective of Atofina’s statement. In particular,
         when the undertaking lodging an application for immunity is aware of the information gathered by the Commission in its investigation,
         the inherent logic of the procedure provided for in the Leniency Notice, according to which any attempt to mislead the Commission
         could call into question the sincerity and the completeness of cooperation of the undertaking (see paragraph 53 above), does
         not apply to the same degree as where it is a spontaneous statement, made without knowledge of the Commission’s objections.
         Similarly, the consideration that statements made under the Leniency Notice run counter to the interests of the declarant
         and must in principle be regarded as particularly reliable evidence (see paragraph 54 above) may not be fully applicable in
         respect of the response to the statement of objections coming from an undertaking lodging an application for immunity, such
         as Degussa. 
      
      110    Nor can the possibility be ruled out that the scope of such a statement might be influenced by the content of the statement
         of objections where, as in the present case, it is a very general confirmation of the ‘holding’ and ‘content’ of and ‘participants’
         at a meeting. That is illustrated by the discussion of two meetings in or near Milan which, according to Atofina’s statement,
         were held in 1999. In its response to a question from the Court, the Commission explained that ‘[f]or the [two] meetings indicated
         by Atofina [in its statement], the Commission [had not held] these against [the applicants] as the second leniency source,
         Degussa did not explicitly confirm the presence of Barlo at those meetings’. It further stated that ‘[a]t paragraph 160 of
         its reply to the statement of objections Degussa [had] merely recalled the attendance of Atofina, Degussa, Lucite, Madreperla
         and Plastidit, as had been stated at paragraph 240 of the statement of objections’. However the Commission has not explained
         why, in paragraph 240 of the statement of objections, it had chosen not to mention Barlo among the participants at two meetings
         in or near Milan, whereas it had done so for the disputed Barcelona meeting, in a situation where, in both cases, the presence
         of Barlo had been referred to by Atofina in the same terms (‘the same plus …’). Accordingly, the possibility cannot be ruled
         out that, as regards the identity of the participants at anti-competitive meetings, Degussa relied to a certain extent on
         the wording of the statement of objections, instead of making an objective reconstruction of the facts.
      
      111    Lastly, it must be borne in mind, first, that the applicants firmly dispute the presence of Barlo at the disputed meeting,
         whilst they explicitly acknowledge its presence at all the other meetings held against it in the contested decision and, second,
         that the contested decision does not refer to any other confirmation of that meeting which, in Atofina’s submission, also
         implicated ICI (now Lucite), and the undertakings Repsol and Irpen, even though ICI and Lucite also lodged applications under
         the Leniency Notice.
      
      112    Having regard to all of the factors examined above and, in particular, the Commission’s inability to gather documentary evidence
         relating to the meeting in question or more substantiated statements regarding Barlo’s presence at it, and given the principle
         according to which where the Court is in doubt the undertaking which is the addressee of the decision finding an infringement
         must have the benefit of that doubt (see paragraph 58 above), the Court finds that the Barcelona meeting referred to in recital
         164 of the contested decision could not be held against the applicants.
      
      113    In that regard, the Commission is correct in arguing that, although it must adduce specific and coherent evidence in order
         to establish with certainty that the infringement has been committed (see, to that effect, Volkswagen v Commission, paragraph 43 above, paragraph 43 and the case-law cited, and Lafarge v Commission, paragraph 43 above, paragraph 55), it is not necessary for every item of evidence produced by it to satisfy those criteria
         in relation to every aspect of the infringement. Rather, it is sufficient if the body of evidence relied on by the institution,
         viewed as a whole, meets that requirement (see, to that effect, JFE Engineering and Others v Commission, paragraph 44 above, paragraph 180 and the case-law cited). Similarly, the Commission is also correct in stating that the
         evidence must be assessed in its entirety, taking into account all relevant circumstances of fact (see, to that effect, Case
         T‑141/94 Thyssen Stahl v Commission [1999] ECR II‑347 paragraph 175).
      
      114    However, although the Commission alleges that the Barcelona meeting in May-June 1999 must be assessed in the light of the
         ongoing cooperation between the cartel members which, in Degussa’s submission, began as early as 1984-1985, it must be borne
         in mind that the Commission acknowledged in the contested decision that ‘Barlo’s involvement in the cartel was not comparable
         to that of most other undertakings’, inter alia because ‘proven anti-competitive contacts comprised sporadic attendance [at]
         meetings which were mainly limited to Barlo being informed about the anti-competitive agreements or practices for PMMA solid
         sheet’ (recital 373 of the contested decision). Moreover, the Commission also acknowledged that Barlo had participated in
         the infringement during a shorter period than the other undertakings, from 30 April 1998 to 21 August 2000, whilst the infringement
         as such was established for the period from 23 January 1997 to 12 September 2002. In the light of those circumstances, it
         is entirely plausible that Barlo’s involvement in the cartel was limited to the four meetings which the applicants have admitted
         it attended. Therefore, neither the overall body of evidence adduced by the Commission as against the applicants nor the context
         of the case affects the conclusion set out in paragraph 112 above.
      
      115    It follows that the present plea must be upheld. 
      
      –       The lack of other contacts or exchanges in which Barlo was involved
      116    The applicants dispute the accuracy of the statements in recital 227 of the contested decision. They submit, first, that the
         detailed description of the meetings which Barlo attended shows that those meetings did not serve to inform it of the content
         of the meetings it had missed. Second, the applicants maintain that the contested decision does not in any way indicate that
         there were other contacts or exchanges in which Barlo took part and that no evidence has been adduced to show that there were
         such contacts or exchanges.
      
      117    Recital 227 of the contested decision states the following:
      
      ‘… the fact that Barlo may not have participated in all of the meetings as regards the product where it was active (i.e. PMMA
         solid sheet) in no way detracts from the assessment of its participation in the cartel, since it participated in meetings
         before or after the meetings it missed and it was in a position to be informed and take account of the information exchanged
         with its competitors when determining its commercial conduct on the market’.
      
      118    The applicants’ line of argument is in fact based on an incorrect reading of that recital. In that passage, the Commission
         merely rejected the argument that the applicants could not be held liable for the single and continuous infringement due to
         the limited number of meetings in which Barlo had participated. The Commission did not allege that Barlo had in fact been
         informed of the content of the meetings it had missed, nor did it suggest that there were other contacts or exchanges involving
         Barlo. It merely referred to the possibility that Barlo might have been informed (‘was in a position’), which is moreover
         not disputed in the application.
      
      119    The applicants’ line of argument is therefore ineffective.
      
      120    It is, moreover, common ground amongst the parties that the complaints upheld by the Commission as against the applicants
         is based on Barlo’s participation in five anti-competitive meetings concerning PMMA solid sheet, which were examined above.
         
      
      121    Furthermore, inasmuch as the applicants dispute their liability for the single infringement, reference is made to the examination
         of the second part of the first plea, set out below.
      
      122    Accordingly, the present complaint must be rejected.
      
      –       Conclusion on the first part of the first plea in law
      123    In the light of the foregoing, the first part of the first plea in law, alleging an incorrect assessment of the meetings and
         other contacts or exchanges involving Barlo, must be upheld as regards the assessment of Barlo’s alleged participation in
         the May or June 1999 meeting in Barcelona and be rejected as to the remainder. The possible impact of this conclusion on the
         legality of the contested decision and the determination of the amount of the fine will be examined below.
      
       Second branch of the first plea in law: incorrect assessment of Barlo’s participation in ‘a single, common anti-competitive
         project’ covering PMMA products 
      
      124    The applicants submit that, in the contested decision, the Commission found incorrectly that they had infringed Article 81 EC
         by joining or contributing to ‘a single, common anti-competitive project’ covering three categories of products: PMMA moulding
         compounds, PMMA solid sheet and PMMA sanitary ware.
      
      125    In that regard, it should be borne in mind as a preliminary point that, given the nature of the infringements of the competition
         rules and also the nature and the degree of severity of the related sanctions, responsibility for committing those infringements
         is personal in nature (Commission v Anic Partecipazioni, paragraph 34 above, paragraph 78).
      
      126    Next, it should be observed that the agreements and concerted practices referred to in Article 81(1) EC are necessarily the
         result of collusion on the part of a number of undertakings, all of whom are co-perpetrators of the infringement, but whose
         participation can take different forms, varying, in particular, according to the characteristics of the market concerned and
         the position of each undertaking on that market, the aims pursued and the means of implementation chosen or envisaged. However,
         the mere fact that each undertaking takes part in the infringement in ways particular to it does not suffice to exclude its
         liability for the entire infringement, including its liability for conduct which, in practical terms, is put into effect by
         other participating undertakings, but which has the same anti-competitive object or effect (Commission v Anic Partecipazioni paragraph 34 above, paragraphs 79 and 80).
      
      127    An infringement of Article 81(1) EC may result not only from an isolated act but also from a series of acts or from continuous
         conduct. That interpretation cannot be challenged on the ground that one or several elements of that series of acts or continuous
         conduct could also constitute in themselves and individually an infringement of that provision (see, to that effect, Commission v Anic Partecipazioni, paragraph 34 above, paragraph 81). When the various acts form part of an ‘overall plan’ because they have the same object
         of distorting competition within the common market, the Commission is entitled to attribute liability for those actions on
         the basis of participation in the infringement considered as a whole (see Aalborg Portland and Others v Commission, paragraph 46 above, paragraph 258 and the case-law cited), even if it is established that the undertaking concerned directly
         participated in only one or some of the constituent elements of the infringement (see Joined Cases T‑101/05 and T‑111/05 BASF and UCB v Commission [2007] ECR II‑4949, paragraph 161 and the case-law cited).
      
      128    According to the Court’s case-law, in order to establish that an undertaking participated in such a single agreement, the
         Commission must show that the undertaking intended to contribute by its own conduct to the common objectives pursued by all
         the participants and that it was aware of the actual conduct planned or put into effect by other undertakings in pursuit of
         those same objectives, or that it could reasonably have foreseen it, and that it was prepared to take the risk (Commission v Anic Partecipazioni, paragraph 34 above, paragraph 87, and Aalborg Portland and Others v Commission, paragraph 46 above, paragraph 83).
      
      129    Lastly, the fact that an undertaking has not taken part in all aspects of a cartel or that it played only a minor role in
         the aspects in which it did participate must be taken into consideration when the gravity of the infringement is assessed
         and if and when it comes to determining the fine (Commission v Anic, paragraph 34 above, paragraph 90, and Aalborg Portland and Others v Commission, paragraph 46 above, paragraph 86).
      
      130    In the present case, in the first place, it must be noted that the operative part of the contested decision does not specify
         the exact scope of the infringement for which the addressees of the decision were held liable, Article 1 merely referring
         to ‘a complex of agreements and concerted practices in the methacrylates industry’, without mentioning specifically the products
         concerned. 
      
      131    It must be borne in mind, however, that it is settled case-law that the operative part of an act is indissociably linked to
         the statement of reasons for it and when it has to be interpreted account must be taken of the reasons that led to its adoption
         (see T‑201/04 Microsoft v Commission [2007] ECR II‑3601, paragraph 1258 and the case-law cited). 
      
      132    Recital 2 of the contested decision states clearly that the single and continuous infringement relates to three PMMA products
         in the following terms:
      
      ‘The addressees of this decision participated in a single and continuous infringement of Article 81 [EC] and Article 53 of
         the EEA Agreement in the methacrylates industry involving three products:
      
      –        [PMMA] moulding compounds;
      –        [PMMA] solid sheet, and
      –        [PMMA] sanitary ware.’
      133    Moreover, in recitals 222 to 226 of the contested decision, the Commission set out the reasons why it had found that the cartel
         in question could be classified as a single and continuous infringement involving the three aforementioned products. In that
         context, the specific situation of the applicants is discussed in the following terms:
      
      ‘The fact that an undertaking concerned did not participate in all the constituent elements of the overall cartel cannot relieve
         it of responsibility for the infringement of Article 81 [EC]. In this case the fact that one company, namely Barlo, does not
         produce all three PMMA products like the other participants of the anti-competitive arrangements does not change the nature
         and the object of the infringement which was to distort the normal movement of prices with regard to the three PMMA products.
         From the facts described above in [recital] 3 [of the contested decision] it is clear that all participants in the anti-competitive
         arrangements adhered and contributed, to the extent they could (i.e. to the extent they were active in one or more of the
         products concerned by the arrangements) to the common anti-competitive plan.’ (recital 226 of the contested decision).
      
      134    It is therefore clear, in the light of the reasons given in the contested decision, that Article 1 thereof holds the applicants
         liable for participation in a single and continuous infringement as regards PMMA moulding compounds, PMMA solid sheet and
         PMMA sanitary ware.
      
      135    Secondly, the question referred for the Court’s appraisal is not that of the existence of a single infringement relating to
         the three products in question, but that of the applicants’ liability for the entirety of such an infringement. It was only
         in the reply that the applicants developed a line of argument questioning the existence, as such, of such a single infringement.
         That line of argument must be considered as a new plea in law and rejected as inadmissible under Article 48(2) of the Rules
         of Procedure of the Court. Moreover, given the considerations set out below, it is not necessary in any event to examine it.
      
      136    It is therefore necessary to consider whether the applicants’ participation in the infringement, through their own conduct,
         was such as to give rise to liability on their part for the entire infringement committed during the time that they participated.
      
      137    First of all, the argument that Barlo was not active in one of the product sectors, namely PMMA sanitary ware, must be rejected.
         As the Court has already held, an undertaking may infringe the prohibition laid down in Article 81(1) EC where the purpose
         of its conduct, as coordinated with that of other undertakings, is to restrict competition on a specific relevant market within
         the common market, and that does not mean that the undertaking has to be active on that relevant market itself (Case T‑99/04
         AC‑Treuhand v Commission [2008] ECR II‑1501, and Case T‑29/05 Deltafina v Commission [2010] ECR II-0000, paragraph 48). Consequently, the mere fact that Barlo was not active in PMMA sanitary ware does not necessarily
         mean that the applicants could not be held liable for an infringement committed in respect of that product.
      
      138    Secondly, the fact that, in the contested decision, the Commission ‘drop[ped] objections against [the applicants] in relation
         to PMMA moulding compounds’ (recital 93 of the contested decision), does not mean that they could not be held liable for the
         single infringement relating to, inter alia, that product.
      
      139    Admittedly, the wording employed by the Commission in recital 93 of the contested decision is somewhat infelicitous and might
         appear to contradict the applicants’ liability for such an infringement, as set out in Article 1 of the contested decision
         and as interpreted in the light of recitals 2 and 226 thereof (see paragraphs 130 to 134 above). However, in the light of
         all of the reasons set out in the contested decision, recital 93 of the contested decision must be understood as meaning that,
         in the Commission’s view, Barlo’s direct participation in the part of the cartel relating to PMMA moulding compounds was not
         established. However, that does not by itself rule out the applicants’ liability for the single infringement relating to the
         three products concerned (see paragraph 126 above). 
      
      140    Thirdly, the fact that, in the contested decision, the Commission referred only to five meetings in reference to the applicants,
         spread out over a period of more than two years, none of which was a ‘summit level meeting’ at which the ‘basic understanding
         for collaboration’ was agreed upon (recital 105 of the contested decision), is not sufficient to rule out their liability
         for a single infringement.
      
      141    According to the case-law, the fact that the roles played by various undertakings in pursuit of a common objective were different
         does not cancel out the fact that the anti-competitive object, and hence the infringement, was identical, provided that each
         undertaking has contributed, at its own level, to the pursuit of the common objective (see Case T‑452/05 BST v Commission [2010] ECR II-0000, paragraph 32 and the case-law cited). Further, it has been held that, in the context of an overall agreement
         extending over several years, a gap of several months between the manifestations of the cartel is of little relevance. The
         fact that the various actions form part of an overall plan owing to their identical object, on the other hand, is decisive
         (Aalborg Portland and Others v Commission, paragraph 46 above, paragraph 260, and Lafarge v Commission, paragraph 43 above, paragraph 483). 
      
      142    Fourthly, it thus remains to be ascertained, in the light of the arguments put forward by the applicants, whether the conditions
         laid down by the case-law referred to in paragraph 128 above are satisfied.
      
      143    In that regard, the Court has held that an undertaking may be held liable for an overall cartel even though it is shown to
         have participated directly only in one or some of its constituent elements, if it knew, or must have known, that the collusion
         in which it participated, especially by means of regular meetings organised over several years, was part of an overall plan
         intended to distort competition and if that overall plan included all the constituent elements of the cartel (see, to that
         effect, Case T‑48/00 Corus UK v Commission [2004] ECR II‑2325, paragraph 176, and BST v Commission, paragraph 141 above, paragraph 32).
      
      144    Accordingly, the mere fact that there is identity of object between an agreement in which an undertaking participated and
         a global cartel does not suffice to render that undertaking responsible for the global cartel. It is only if the undertaking
         knew or should have known when it participated in the agreement that in doing so it was joining in the global cartel that
         its participation in the agreement concerned can constitute the expression of its accession to that global cartel (Case T-28/99
         Sigma Tecnologie v Commission [2002] ECR II-1845, paragraph 45, and Bolloré and Others v Commission, paragraph 54 above, paragraph 209).
      
      145    In that regard it should be observed at the outset that the Commission has not established, or even alleged, that Barlo knew
         or should have known that, by participating in an agreement relating to PMMA solid sheet, it was joining in a global cartel
         relating to three PMMA products.
      
      146    On the contrary, as rightly pointed out by the applicants, the Commission itself acknowledged in the contested decision that
         ‘Barlo was not aware or could not necessarily have had knowledge of the overall scheme of the anti-competitive arrangements’
         (recital 335 of the contested decision).
      
      147    Similarly, the Commission does not allege that Barlo was aware of the material conduct envisaged or implemented by other undertakings
         in pursuit of the same objectives or that it could reasonably foresee it and was prepared to take that risk. On the contrary,
         it affirms in its statement in defence that Barlo was aware of the actions of its competitors that aimed at achieving that
         single objective ‘at least as regards the product PMMA solid sheet’. 
      
      148    The Commission’s position is based solely on the allegation that the infringement that Barlo ‘subjectively may have perceived’
         as covering only PMMA solid sheet was in fact an integral part of a larger single infringement covering all three PMMA products.
         However, it is clear from the case-law referred to in paragraphs 128, 143 and 144 above that the subjective perception of
         the infringement is a relevant factor for the purposes of Article 81(1) EC. In that regard, it should be recalled that that
         provision does not apply unless there is a concurrence of wills between the parties concerned (see Case T‑18/05 IMI and Others v Commission [2010] ECR II-0000, paragraph 88 and the case-law cited).
      
      149    It should also be observed that the mere fact that Barlo was aware of and pursued the anti-competitive objectives in PMMA
         solid sheet did not mean that it was aware of the single objective pursued by the cartel as a whole in the methacrylates sector.
         As has already been held, the concept of a single objective cannot be determined by a general reference to the distortion
         of competition in a given sector, since an impact on competition, whether as object or effect, is an essential element of
         any conduct covered by Article 81(1) EC. Such a definition of the concept of a single objective is likely to deprive the concept
         of a single and continuous infringement of a part of its meaning, since it would have the consequence that different instances
         of conduct which relate to a particular economic sector and are prohibited by Article 81(1) EC would have to be systematically
         characterised as constituent elements of a single infringement (BASF and UCB v Commission, paragraph 127 above, paragraph 180, and Case T‑446/05 Amann & Söhne and Cousin Filterie v Commission [2010] ECR II‑0000, paragraph 92).
      
      150    The view advocated by the Commission would allow an undertaking to be held liable for a single infringement solely because
         of objective links between that infringement and the agreement in which that undertaking participated, such as belonging to
         the same economic sector, even though it had not been established that it was aware of the existence of such a single infringement
         or that it could reasonably have foreseen it and was prepared to take that risk.
      
      151    Accordingly the Court finds that the Commission has not established that Barlo’s participation in the infringement in respect
         of PMMA solid sheet gave rise to liability for the applicants for the entire single infringement; the second part of the first
         plea in law must therefore be upheld.
      
      152    Consequently, Article 1 of the contested decision must be annulled in so far as it finds that the applicants infringed Article
         81(1) EC and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement by participating in a complex of concerted agreements and practices, not only
         in respect of PMMA solid sheet, but also PMMA moulding compounds and PMMA sanitary ware.
      
      153    The impact of that finding on the amount of the fine imposed on the applicants will be examined below, as part of the analysis
         of the second part of the second plea in law, alleging incorrect assessment of the gravity of the infringement.
      
       The third part of the first plea in law: incorrect assessment of Barlo’s participation in a continuing infringement
      154    The applicants submit that the Commission has not established to the requisite legal standard that they had committed a continuing
         infringement. They state that the contested decision is based on Barlo’s presence at five meetings held over a period of more
         than two years, which, practically speaking, rules out any form of continuing participation in the cartel. The applicants
         add that, leaving aside the alleged Barcelona meeting in May or June 1999, which they deny took place, the contested decision
         is based on four meetings, the first two of which supposedly were held in the first half of 1998, whilst the other two took
         place in 2000, that is, 20 months apart.
      
      155    It should be borne in mind in that regard that the duration of the infringement is an intrinsic element of an infringement
         under Article 81(1) EC, the burden of proof of which is borne principally by the Commission. In this respect, according to
         the case-law, if there is no evidence directly establishing the duration of an infringement, the Commission should adduce
         at least evidence of facts sufficiently proximate in time for it to be reasonable to accept that that infringement continued
         uninterruptedly between two specific dates (see Case T‑450/05 Peugeot and Peugeot Nederland v Commission [2009] ECR II‑2533, paragraph 220 and the case-law cited).
      
      156    It has also been held that the fact that the cartel as such was uninterrupted does not exclude the possibility that one or
         more of its participants may have interrupted their participation for a certain time (IMI and Others v Commission, paragraph 148 above, paragraph 83). 
      
      157    Moreover, the Commission’s argument that the continuing nature of an infringement must be analysed by taking into account
         the failure of a party to distance itself from the cartel and the failure to pursue a genuinely independent policy, and not
         simply the non-participation in the activities of the cartel during a brief period, is relevant only where the Commission
         has satisfied the burden of proof incumbent upon it by adducing evidence of facts sufficiently proximate in time for it to
         be reasonable to accept that that infringement continued uninterruptedly between two specific dates (IMI and Others v Commission, paragraph 148 above, paragraph 86 and the case-law cited). To allow the Commission’s argument in the absence of such evidence
         would amount to placing the burden of proof of the duration of the infringement on the applicants, contrary to the principles
         referred to in paragraphs 43 and 155 above.
      
      158    Consequently, it is appropriate to consider whether, in the present case, the Commission did in fact adduce evidence of facts
         sufficiently proximate in time, as it claimed.
      
      159    It should also be observed in that regard that, although the period separating two manifestations of infringing conduct is
         a relevant criterion in order to establish the continuous nature of an infringement, the fact remains that the question whether
         or not that period is long enough to constitute an interruption of the infringement cannot be examined in the abstract. On
         the contrary, it needs to be assessed in the context of the functioning of the cartel in question (IMI and Others v Commission, paragraph 148 above, paragraph 89), including, as the case may be, the specific method by which the undertaking concerned
         participated in the cartel.
      
      160    In the light of its assessment of the first part of the first plea in law, the Court finds that the Commission’s complaints
         about the applicants are based on Barlo’s presence at the following four meetings: the meeting of April 1998 in Dernbach (recital
         151 of the contested decision), the meeting of 29 June 1998 in Darmstadt (recital 155 of the contested decision), the meeting
         of 24 February 2000 in Heidelberg (recital 167 of the contested decision) and the meeting of 21 August 2000 in Deidesheim
         (recital 168 of the contested decision).
      
      161    The Court finds, as a first point, that only a few months separated the meeting in Dernbach and the one in Darmstadt, on the
         one hand, and the meeting in Heidelberg and the one in Deidesheim, on the other. Those intervals, viewed in the context of
         the functioning of the cartel, are not sufficiently long to substantiate a finding of interruption in Barlo’s participation
         in the cartel. Nor do the applicants claim otherwise.
      
      162    Secondly, it is necessary to determine whether the Commission established Barlo’s continuous participation in the cartel between
         the meeting of 29 June 1998 in Darmstadt (recital 155 of the contested decision) and the meeting of 24 February 2000 in Heidelberg
         (recital 167 of the contested decision).
      
      163    In should be noted in that regard that it is apparent from recital 155 of the contested decision that, at the meeting of 29
         June 1998 in Darmstadt, the participants agreed on a price increase for October 1998. Even though that recital states that
         Barlo did not indicate that it would change its pricing policy and although Barlo is not referred to in recital 157 of the
         contested decision as one of the undertakings which actually did conclude an agreement at the meeting of 29 June 1998 in Darmstadt,
         the fact remains that it was able to benefit from the information relating to the price increases planned for October 1998
         and adapt its commercial conduct accordingly. The Court finds, therefore, that Barlo participated in the cartel, continuously,
         until the end of October 1998.
      
      164    The Court notes, moreover, that the contested decision lists 10 meetings concerning PMMA solid sheet in that period, which
         were held subsequently to the Darmstadt meeting, quite regularly and at least until the end of the first half of 1999 (the
         meetings on 18 August, 11 September, and 10 December 1998, the meetings on 20 January, 4 and 19 March and 5 May 1999, the
         meetings in May or June 1999 and two additional meetings held on unspecified dates in Italy in 1999: recital 157 et seq. of
         the contested decision). According to the contested decision, at those meetings the participants agreed to increase prices
         and pass on service costs to customers and exchanged market information. In addition, recital 166 of the contested decision
         refers to a price increase announced on 1 November 1999 and implemented in January 2000 (recital 166 of the contested decision).
      
      165    Those considerations indicate, first, that the period in which there were no collusive contacts or manifestations by Barlo
         amounted to almost 16 months (from the end of October 1998 to 24 February 2000) and, second, that that period largely exceeded
         the intervals at which the undertakings which were members of the cartel had each shown their wish to restrict competition.
         It is therefore clear that Barlo’s continuous participation in the cartel has not been established for that period.
      
      166    Furthermore, even though, according to the contested decision, Barlo’s participation in the cartel was in any event limited
         to ‘sporadic attendance at meetings’ which consisted merely in keeping ‘abreast of anti-competitive agreements or practices
         agreed for PMMA solid sheet’ (recital 373 of the contested decision), that does not affect the finding as to the interruption
         in its participation in the infringement during the abovementioned period. In the absence of any established anti-competitive
         contact, Barlo cannot be considered as having been informed of the agreements concluded during that period.
      
      167    The contested decision must therefore be annulled in so far as it holds the applicants liable for their participation in the
         cartel between 1 November 1998 and 23 February 2000. The impact of that finding on the determination of the amount of the
         fine will be examined below.
      
       The second plea in law: infringement of Article 23(3) of Regulation No 1/2003, the Guidelines and the principle of proportionality
      168    The applicants submit that, even if they are found to have infringed Article 81 EC, the fine imposed on them does not comply
         with the rules laid down in Article 23(3) of Regulation No 1/2003 and in the Guidelines and infringes the principle of proportionality.
         
      
       The first part of the second plea in law: incorrect assessment of the duration of the alleged infringement
      169    The applicants submit that the duration of their participation in the infringement, fixed in the contested decision at two
         years and three months, is wrong because the Commission found, incorrectly, that their participation in the infringement began
         on 30 April 1998 and ran until 21 August 2000, especially because the contested decision does not contain sufficient evidence
         in support of the statement that the infringement was continuous and uninterrupted during that period.
      
      170    In the first place, the applicants’ criticisms about the dates established by the Commission must be rejected as regards the
         beginning and end of their participation in the infringement.
      
      171    First, as is apparent from the foregoing, Barlo’s attendance at the anti-competitive meeting in April 1998 in Dernbach has
         been established to the requisite legal standard. Moreover, the fact that the Commission was unable to establish the exact
         date of that meeting is irrelevant to the amount of the fine imposed on the applicants, since the more advantageous date for
         them (30 April 1998) was used.
      
      172    In addition, as regards the date on which the applicants’ participation in the infringement ended (21 August 2000), it is
         clear from the foregoing that, on that date, Barlo attended an anti-competitive meeting, from which it did not distance itself.
         Under those circumstances, the argument that Barlo did not agree to the price increases, even if it were to be established,
         is irrelevant. The same holds true for the argument that the Commission has not made out Barlo’s unlawful conduct following
         that meeting.
      
      173    In the second place, it should be borne in mind that it has already been held, in the examination of the third part of the
         first plea in law, that the applicants’ participation in the cartel between 1 November 1998 and 23 February 2000 has not been
         established and that the contested decision must be annulled in so far as the Commission held them liable for that period.
         Consequently, the Court also finds that the Commission incorrectly took account of that period for the purpose of determining
         the duration of their participation in the infringement in calculating the amount of the fine. 
      
      174    The Court rejects the Commission’s argument that an interruption in the participation in the cartel should give rise to two
         fines, the total amount of which would be even higher. As is clear from the foregoing, the applicants participated in one
         and the same infringement, even if that participation was interrupted. Accordingly, the gravity of that infringement, and
         not of two separate infringements, must guide the determination of the amount of the fine. Moreover, the gravity of the infringement,
         assessed inter alia according to its nature and geographical scope, remains the same, despite the interruption in the applicants’
         participation in it.
      
      175    It is therefore appropriate, in the exercise of the Court’s unlimited jurisdiction, to recalculate the amount of the fine
         which was imposed on the applicants, taking account of the duration of their actual participation in the infringement (see,
         to that effect, IMI and Others v Commission, paragraph 148 above, paragraphs 96, 97 and 190).
      
      176    In the light of the foregoing, the duration of that participation in the infringement totalled 11 months and 28 days. Consequently,
         according to the method for calculating the fine as set out in the Guidelines and applied by the Commission in the contested
         decision, that participation amounted to a short-term infringement, for which no additional amount added to the amount of
         the fine is, as a rule, provided for (Section 1 B of the Guidelines). That provision does not, however, lay down an imperative
         rule and it cannot, in any event, bind the court in the exercise of its unlimited jurisdiction.
      
      177    In the light of the circumstances of the present case, in particular the necessarily approximate nature of the duration referred
         to in the preceding paragraph, which takes 30 October 1998 to be the date of the end of the first period of the applicants’
         participation in the cartel, and the fact that that participation was subsequently resumed, the Court finds that an additional
         amount of 10% of the starting amount of the fine reflects adequately the duration of that participation in the infringement.
      
      178    Consequently, it is appropriate to reduce the amount of the fine by replacing the increase of 20% of the starting amount applied
         by the Commission in recital 353 of the contested decision by an increase of 10% and to dismiss the remainder of the first
         part of the second plea in law.
      
       The second part of the second plea in law: incorrect assessment of the gravity of the alleged infringement
      179    The applicants submit that, according to settled case-law, in determining the gravity of the infringement, it is necessary
         to determine the individual liability of the undertakings concerned and the relative gravity of the participation of each
         of them. In their view, in the contested decision either the Commission did not conduct that individual examination or it
         made an incorrect assessment. Consequently, the starting amount of the fine (EUR 15 million) is not justified. 
      
      180    In that regard it should be borne in mind as a preliminary point that, where an infringement has been committed by several
         undertakings, the relative gravity of the participation of each of them must be examined by the Commission (see Commission v Anic Partecipazioni, paragraph 34 above, paragraph 153 and the case-law cited), in order to determine whether there are, in regard to those undertakings,
         aggravating or mitigating circumstances (Case T‑73/04 Carbone‑Lorraine v Commission [2008] ECR II‑2661, paragraph 190). 
      
      181    That conclusion follows logically from the principle that penalties must be specific to the offender and the offence, so that
         an undertaking may be penalised only for acts imputed to it individually, a principle applying in any administrative procedure
         that may lead to the imposition of sanctions under European Union competition law (Case T‑224/00 Archer Daniels Midland and Archer Daniels Midland Ingredients v Commission [2008] ECR II‑2597, paragraph 261).
      
      182    As regards the application of the Guidelines, it should be borne in mind that the method they set out for determining the
         amount of the fine follows an approach based on the fixing of a basic amount according to the gravity and the duration of
         the infringement, to which additional amounts are applied to take account of aggravating circumstances and decreases applied
         to take account of mitigating circumstances. 
      
      183    It is clear from the case-law that, in applying the Guidelines, a distinction must be drawn between the assessment of the
         gravity of the infringement, which is used to determine the general starting amount of the fine, and the assessment of the
         relative gravity of the participation of each of the undertakings concerned, which must be examined in the context of any
         aggravating or mitigating circumstances (Carbone‑Lorraine v Commission, paragraph 180 above, paragraph 100; see also, to that effect, Case T‑220/00 Cheil Jedang v Commission [2003] ECR II‑2473, paragraph 189, and Case T‑18/03 CD-Contact Data v Commission [2009] ECR II‑1021, paragraph 95).
      
      184    It must be remembered that Sections 2 and 3 of the Guidelines provide for a variation in the basic amount of the fine on the
         basis of certain aggravating or mitigating circumstances, which are specific to each of the undertakings concerned. In particular,
         Section 3 of the Guidelines sets out, under the title of ‘attenuating circumstances’, a non-exhaustive list of circumstances
         which might lead to a reduction in the starting amount of the fine. Thus, reference is made to the passive role of the undertaking,
         to the non-implementation in practice of the offending agreements or practices, to termination of the infringement as soon
         as the Commission intervenes, to the existence of reasonable doubt on the part of the undertaking as to whether the restrictive
         conduct does indeed constitute an infringement, to the fact that the infringement was committed as a result of negligence
         and to the effective cooperation by the undertaking in the proceedings outside of the scope of the Leniency Notice.
      
      185    By contrast, in the determination of the starting amount of the fine, the Commission is not required to assess the effects
         resulting from the conduct of an undertaking in particular. It is settled case-law that the effects to be taken into consideration
         in determining the general level of fines are not those resulting from the actual conduct which an undertaking claims to have
         adopted but those resulting from the whole of the infringement in which it participated (Commission v Anic Partecipazioni, paragraph 34 above, paragraph 152, and the judgment of 12 November 2009 in Case C‑554/08 P Carbone-Lorraine v Commission, not published in the ECR, paragraphs 21 and 24). 
      
      186    In the present case, in the first place, the applicants criticise the Commission, in essence, for having failed to examine
         their conduct in the assessment of the gravity of the infringement. They state that, in categorising the infringement as ‘very
         serious’ in recitals 319 to 331 of the contested decision, the Commission focused on the cartel as such, without considering
         the individual conduct of the different competitors and that of Barlo in particular. In the applicants’ submission, Barlo’s
         conduct cannot be categorised as ‘very serious’, particularly in the light of the principal characteristics of the infringement
         as analysed in recital 320 of the contested decision.
      
      187    It should be noted in that regard that, as is apparent from the foregoing, in the assessment under the Guidelines, such factors
         relating to the conduct of an undertaking are to be taken into account, if necessary, at the stage of assessment of aggravating
         and mitigating circumstances (Sections 2 and 3 of the Guidelines), in order to adapt the basic amount of the fine, as determined
         inter alia according to the gravity of the infringement in which it participated. Therefore, the argument that, at that stage
         of the determination of the amount of the fine, the Commission ought to have analysed specifically the applicants’ individual
         conduct must be rejected.
      
      188    Moreover, the applicants do not actually challenge the gravity of the infringement as such, as established by the Commission.
         In particular, although they allege that the Commission did not conduct any analysis of the size of the geographical market
         concerned, they do not put forward any factors casting doubt on the well-foundedness of the Commission’s finding that that
         market covered the entire EEA.
      
      189    In any event, the Court has held that it is apparent from the Guidelines that the Commission may classify horizontal price
         or market sharing agreements as very serious infringements solely on account of their nature and is not required to demonstrate
         an actual impact of the infringement on the market (Case C‑534/07 P Prym and Prym Consumer v Commission [2009] ECR I‑7415, paragraph 75, and Joined Cases C‑125/07 P, C‑133/07 P, C‑135/07 P and C‑137/07 P Erste Group Bank and Others v Commission [2009] ECR I‑8681, paragraph 103). By reason of their very nature, such agreements merit the severest fines. Their possible
         concrete impact on the market, particularly the question to what extent the restriction of competition resulted in a market
         price higher than would have obtained without the cartel, is not a decisive factor for determining the level of fines (Case
         T‑127/04 KME Germany and Others v Commission [2009] ECR II‑1167, paragraph 64). Consequently, the applicants’ argument that their conduct had not had any impact on the
         market does not, in any event, call in question the categorisation of the infringement as ‘very serious’.
      
      190    Therefore, the Court finds that the Commission was correct in finding, in recital 331 of the contested decision, that the
         cartel in question constituted a ‘very serious’ infringement by reason of its very nature and the fact that it covered the
         entire EEA.
      
      191    In the second place, the applicants dispute the assessment made by the Commission in recitals 332 to 336 of the contested
         decision by way of ‘differential treatment’ which led it to grant them a 25% reduction in the amount of the fine.
      
      192    First, the applicants state that the amount of the fine, before the application of the 25% reduction, does not reflect any
         differential treatment, as it results from the application of the same ‘mathematical formula’ to all the undertakings concerned.
         According to the applicants, in order to fix the starting amount of the fine, the Commission used a percentage of approximately
         30% of the turnover achieved in the EEA by the undertakings concerned on PMMA products (recital 334 of the contested decision).
      
      193    In that regard, it should be borne in mind that the sixth subparagraph of Section 1 A of the Guidelines provides for the possibility
         of differentiating the starting amounts to be applied to undertakings involved in the same infringement ‘in order to take
         account of the specific weight and, therefore, the real impact of the offending conduct of each undertaking on competition,
         particularly where there is considerable disparity between the sizes of the undertakings committing infringements of the same
         type’. This is what the Commission did in recital 332 et seq. of the contested decision. It stated that ‘the proposed scale
         of likely fines ma[de] it possible to apply differential treatment to undertakings in order to take account of the effective
         economic capacity of the offenders to cause significant damage to competition’ and that ‘[t]his [was] appropriate where, as
         in this case, there is considerable disparity as regards the turnover in the cartelised products of the undertakings participating
         in the infringement’ (recital 332 of the contested decision). It should also be observed that, although it is not clear from
         the contested decision that the Commission applied the ‘mathematical formula’ as alleged by the applicants, it is nevertheless
         clear that, in order to fix the starting amount of the fine, it applied the same criteria to all the undertakings concerned,
         namely the criterion of the ‘relative weight in turnover achieved with the PMMA products for which they participated in the
         cartel’ (recital 333 of the contested decision).
      
      194    There is nothing to criticise in this approach. On the contrary, it enabled account to be taken, in a non-discriminatory manner,
         of objective differences between the participants in the cartel in the light of the objective pursued, namely the determination
         of the amounts of the fine in the light of the actual economic capacity of the offenders to cause damage to competition. Since
         that treatment gave rise to different starting amounts, it is clear that the Commission indeed applied genuine ‘differential
         treatment’ for the purposes of the Guidelines, contrary to what the applicants assert.
      
      195    It should further be noted that the criterion used by the Commission also takes account of the fact that the applicants’ direct
         participation in the cartel has been established only in relation to PMMA solid sheet. The Commission stated clearly that
         ‘for Barlo, this concern[ed] PMMA solid sheet only’ (recital 333 of the contested decision) and it therefore took account
         of the EEA turnover in 2000 recorded for that product. As is clear from the case-file, the applicants were in fact also active
         in the PMMA moulding compounds sector. Consequently, the fact that the second part of the first plea in law is well founded
         (see inter alia paragraph 152 above) does not affect the Commission’s assessment on that point.
      
      196    Second, the applicants argue that the 25% reduction in the amount of the fine, applied in recital 335 of the contested decision,
         was not supported by a sufficient statement of reasons and that it is insufficient. In their submission, that reduction ought
         to have taken account of the fact that they were not liable for the entire cartel, not just the fact that they were unaware
         of it, whilst holding them liable for the single infringement. Consequently, they consider that a reduction reflecting the
         MMA distribution between the different categories of products in question would have been an ‘absolute minimum’. They observe
         that, according to recital 5 of the contested decision, that distribution was as follows: 49% for solid sheet, 36% for moulding
         compounds and 15% for sanitary ware.
      
      197    In that regard, the Court finds that the applicants are correct in maintaining that the fact that they were not liable for
         the entire cartel, as evidenced by the examination of the second part of the first plea in law, should have been taken into
         account in the determination of the starting amount of the fine.
      
      198    As is apparent from the foregoing, unlike the other addressees of the contested decision, the applicants could only be held
         liable for one branch of the cartel, the one relating to PMMA solid sheet. Therefore, the infringement of the competition
         rules was necessarily less serious than that attributed to the offenders who participated in all branches of the infringement
         and thereby contributed more to the effectiveness and the gravity of the cartel than an offender involved in only one branch
         of it (see, to that effect, IMI and Others v Commission, paragraph 148 above, paragraphs 162 and 164).
      
      199    An undertaking may never be fined an amount which is calculated to reflect its participation in collusion for which it is
         not held liable (Sigma Tecnologie v Commission, paragraph 144 above, paragraphs 79 to 82, and IMI and Others v Commission, paragraph 148 above, paragraph 157).
      
      200    With regard to the application of the Guidelines, that assessment necessarily has to be made at the stage when a specific
         starting amount is set, since the taking into account of attenuating circumstances only allows the basic amount of the fine
         to be adjusted by reference to the way in which the offender implemented the cartel. An offender who is not held responsible
         for certain branches of that cartel cannot have been involved in the implementation of them (IMI and Others v Commission, paragraph 148 above, paragraph 164).
      
      201    It is clear in the present case, however, that although the Commission made an error in the determination of the applicants’
         liability for the cartel, it nevertheless determined the amount of the fine correctly, in accordance with the principles set
         out above.
      
      202    First, as demonstrated by the foregoing (see paragraph 195 above), the stage of calculating the amount of the fine consisting
         in classifying the undertakings concerned in a number of categories according to their relative weight in the turnover achieved
         through the sale of PMMA products, for which they participated in the cartel, is not affected by the error made in determining
         liability for the infringement.
      
      203    Furthermore, as regards the applicants’ argument that the turnover taken into account should not include the turnover achieved
         by Quinn Plastics, SA, since, in the contested decision, the Commission withdrew all complaints against that company, it should
         be noted that the applicants do not dispute the Commission’s statement that the fact that that company is not an addressee
         of the contested decision does not affect the turnover recorded for PMMA solid sheet that can be attributed to the undertaking
         Barlo, which also includes the parent company addressee Quinn Barlo, which owned 100% of Quinn Plastics, SA at the time of
         the infringement.
      
      204    Second, in recital 335 of the contested decision, the Commission granted the applicants a specific reduction of 25% of the
         starting amount of the fine on the ground that it ‘[was] not clear whether Barlo took part in any collusive contacts concerning
         PMMA moulding compounds or PMMA sanitary ware’ and that, accordingly ‘it seem[ed] that Barlo was not aware or could not necessarily
         have had knowledge of the overall scheme of the anti-competitive arrangements’.
      
      205    That reduction was not based on the applicants’ bearing no liability for the branches of the cartel relating to PMMA moulding
         compounds or PMMA sanitary ware, but only on their lack of direct involvement in those branches or knowledge of them.
      
      206    However, that consideration alone is not such as to call in question the reduction granted, as the Commission was fully entitled
         to grant a reduction in the amount of the fine on such a basis. 
      
      207    It remains therefore to be ascertained whether that reduction and the specific starting amount resulting therefrom (EUR 15
         million) reflect adequately the gravity of the infringement committed by the applicants, assessed in the light of the partial
         annulment of Article 1 of the contested decision (see paragraph 152 above).
      
      208    It should be observed in that regard that, even if that infringement related to only one of the three products concerned,
         the fact remains that it was by nature a very serious infringement (see paragraph 189 above) which, moreover, covered the
         entire EEA. In particular, the fact that the single infringement, taken as a whole, might have been an even greater infringement
         of the competition law rules does not in any way mean that the infringement committed by the applicants is not, as such, ‘very
         serious’ (see, to that effect, Case T‑448/05 Oxley Threads v Commission, judgment of 28 April 2010, not published in the ECR, paragraph 37).
      
      209    That finding is not affected by the applicants’ arguments that it has not been established that they participated in the main
         features of the cartel, set out in recital 320 of the contested decision. Given the considerations set out in paragraphs 180
         to 187 above, the relevant question at the stage of determining the starting amount of the fine was not that of the applicants’
         own conduct, but that of the features of the infringement in which they had participated. Yet the applicants do not argue
         that the main features of the cartel set out in recital 320 of the contested decision are not applicable to the infringement
         at issue because it concerned only PMMA solid sheet. Moreover, even if the applicants did not participate directly in all
         the types of anti-competitive conduct referred to in recital 320 of the contested decision, it should be noted that the applicants
         took part in meetings concerning PMMA solid sheet, during which, inter alia, pricing agreements were concluded, prices were
         discussed and market information was exchanged (see paragraphs 60 to 78 above), and they were thus aware of that anti-competitive
         conduct, including that in which it did not participate directly, or they could reasonably have foreseen it (see paragraph
         128 above).
      
      210    It is clear, therefore, that the infringement committed by the applicants must be categorised as ‘very serious’ for the purpose
         of the Guidelines. It must also be borne in mind that those Guidelines provide for EUR 20 million as the general minimum starting
         amount for such infringements.
      
      211    As to the applicants’ argument that, in essence, the starting amount of the fine applied to them should reflect the size of
         PMMA solid sheet market in relation to all the PMMA products which were included in the single infringement, it should be
         remembered that the principle of proportionality requires the Commission to set the fine proportionately to the factors taken
         into account for the purposes of assessing the gravity of the infringement and also to apply those factors in a way which
         is consistent and objectively justified (see BST v Commission, paragraph 141 above, paragraph 60 and the case-law cited). 
      
      212    As is apparent from the case-law, however, the size of the relevant market is not as a rule a factor which must be taken into
         account, but just one among a number of other factors to be taken into account in evaluating the gravity of the infringement
         and setting the amount of the fine (Prym and Prym Consumer v Commission, paragraph 189 above, paragraph 55). Similarly, according to the method set out in the Guidelines, it is not a decisive factor
         in the determination of the starting amount of the fine (see, to that effect, Case T‑116/04 Wieland-Werke v Commission [2009] ECR II‑1087, paragraphs 62 to 64). 
      
      213    It follows that the reduction in the starting amount of the fine to which the applicants could be entitled by virtue of their
         participation in the cartel only as regards PMMA solid sheet did not have to reflect proportionately the size of the market
         for that product as compared with all PMMA products covered by the single infringement. On the contrary, such a reduction
         would not have been in keeping with the principle of proportionality referred to in paragraph 211 above, as it would not have
         taken sufficient account of the fact that, like the other addressees of the contested decision, the applicants had participated
         in a cartel which, by its nature, was very serious and covered the entire territory of the EEA.
      
      214    It should further be noted that the applicants’ claim asking, in essence, for a 51% reduction in the starting amount of the
         fine, instead of the 25% reduction granted by the Commission (see paragraph 196 above), is based not on turnover recorded
         for the sales for each of the three PMMA products concerned, but for the raw material (MMA) distribution between those three
         products, without the applicants’ explaining how that criterion is relevant for assessing the gravity of the infringement
         committed by them. As regards the question of which share of the turnover recorded for sales of all three of the PMMA products
         concerned at EEA level in 2000 may be attributed solely to PMMA solid sheet, it is clear from the documents produced by the
         Commission in response to the Court’s request that most of the undertakings concerned, including the applicants, estimated
         it to be 60% or more during the administrative proceedings, with only one undertaking estimating it to be approximately 50%.
      
      215    Under those circumstances, the Court finds that the 25% reduction in the starting amount of the applicants’ fine, granted
         in recital 335 of the contested decision, is a suitable reflection of the gravity of the infringement in which they participated.
         It follows, first, that notwithstanding the error committed in the determination of the applicants’ liability for the cartel
         (see paragraph 152 above), the Commission did not make a manifest error of assessment in the determination of the starting
         amount of their fine and, second, that it is not necessary to reduce the amount further in the exercise of the Court’s unlimited
         jurisdiction.
      
      216    Accordingly, the second part of the second plea must be rejected.
      
       The third part of the second plea in law: incorrect assessment of mitigating circumstances
      217    The applicants submit that the assessment in the contested decision relating to mitigating circumstances does not provide
         sufficient reasons and infringes the Guidelines and the principle of proportionality.
      
      –       The passive and minor role in the implementation of the infringement
      218    The applicants submit that the reasons given for the Commission’s assessment in recital 373 of the contested decision concerning
         the 50% reduction for the passive and minor role are incorrect, as that recital contains inaccurate and unsubstantiated statements.
         Consequently, that reduction is insufficient.
      
      219    It should be borne in mind as a preliminary point that it is settled case-law that where the Commission adopts guidelines
         intended to specify, consistent with the Treaty, the criteria which it intends to apply in the exercise of its discretion,
         there is a self-imposed limitation of that discretion in that it is obliged to comply with the guiding rules which it imposed
         on itself (see Carbone‑Lorraine v Commission, paragraph 180 above, paragraph 192 and the case-law cited).
      
      220    The self-limitation on the Commission’s discretion arising from the adoption of the Guidelines is not incompatible with the
         Commission’s maintaining a substantial margin of discretion. The Guidelines display flexibility in a number of ways, enabling
         the Commission to exercise its discretion in accordance with the provisions of Regulation No 1/2003, as interpreted by the
         Court of Justice (see, to that effect, Wieland-Werke v Commission, paragraph 212 above, paragraph 31, and Case T‑161/05 Hoechst v Commission [2009] ECR II‑3555, paragraph 129).
      
      221    Thus, in the absence of any binding indication in the Guidelines regarding the mitigating circumstances that may be taken
         into account, it must be concluded that the Commission has retained a degree of latitude in making an overall assessment of
         the extent to which a reduction of fines may be made in respect of mitigating circumstances.
      
      222    Regarding the mitigating circumstance relating to the entirely passive or ‘follow my leader’ role in the implementation of
         the infringement, provided for in the first indent of Section 3 of the Guidelines, the Commission stated as follows in recital
         373 of the contested decision:
      
      ‘… It is clear from the facts described in recitals 137 and 223 that Barlo’s involvement in the cartel was not comparable
         to that of most other undertakings. There appears not to be much evidence that Barlo actively participated in the creation
         of any anti-competitive agreements or practices. Rather, proven anti-competitive contacts comprised sporadic attendance [at]
         meetings which were mainly limited to Barlo being informed about the anti-competitive agreements or practices for PMMA solid
         sheet. It also seems that Barlo did not participate in many of the significant multilateral meetings in which key aspects
         of the price agreements and anti-competitive practices were agreed.’
      
      223    In the light of those considerations, the Commission found that the applicants had played a ‘passive and minor role’ and granted
         them a 50% reduction in the amount of the fine which otherwise would have been imposed on them (recital 374 of the contested
         decision).
      
      224    It should be noted in that regard that, according to the case-law, a passive role implies that the undertaking adopted a ‘low
         profile’, that is to say, that it did not actively participate in the creation of any anti-competitive agreements. Amongst
         the circumstances that may indicate the adoption by an undertaking of a passive role within a cartel is the situation where
         the undertaking’s participation in cartel meetings is significantly more sporadic than that of the ‘ordinary’ members of the
         cartel, and likewise its belated entry to the market where the infringement occurred, irrespective of the duration of its
         participation in the infringement, or again the existence of express statements to that effect emanating from representatives
         of other undertakings which participated in the infringement (see Joined Cases T‑456/05 and T‑457/05 Gütermann and Zwicky v Commission [2010] ECR II-0000, paragraphs 184 and 185 and the case-law cited).
      
      225    It is therefore clear that the Commission was correct in assessing the mitigating circumstance relating to the applicants’
         passive role in the present case. It stated, in essence, that the applicants’ involvement in the cartel could not be compared
         to that of most of the other undertakings because the anti-competitive contacts established showed rather that Barlo had only
         sporadically attended meetings which were mainly limited to informing it of the anti-competitive agreements or practices agreed
         for PMMA solid sheet.
      
      226    It is, moreover, clear from the wording of recital 373 of the contested decision that, in its assessment of the mitigating
         circumstance in question, the Commission took account only of the facts analysed as part of the examination of the first part
         of the first plea in law. It should also be borne in mind in that regard that recital 373 of the contested decision refers
         expressly to recital 137 thereof, which states that ‘in [their] reply to the statement of objections, [the applicants] den[ied]
         the attendance of Mr [B.] at most meetings in which he is alleged to have participated’, whilst ‘confirm[ing] the presence
         of Mr [B.] at four meetings’. Under those circumstances, the findings that ‘[t]here appears not to be much evidence that Barlo
         actively participated in the creation of any anti-competitive agreements or practices’ or that ‘[i]t also seems that Barlo
         did not participate in many of the significant multilateral meetings’ cannot be interpreted as attributing to the applicants
         active involvement in drawing up anti-competitive agreements or practices or involvement in significant multilateral meetings.
         Therefore, the applicants’ complaints on this point are therefore ineffective.
      
      227    Furthermore, the applicants merely dispute the wording of recital 373 of the contested decision, without explaining how the
         facts of the present case justify an even greater reduction for the mitigating circumstance examined.
      
      228    Accordingly, the present complaint must be rejected.
      
      –       Non-implementation in practice of the unlawful agreements or practices
      229    The applicants submit that the grounds on which the Commission rejected, in the contested decision, their argument alleging
         as a mitigating circumstance the fact that there was no implementation in practice of the unlawful agreements or practices
         (recital 381 of the contested decision) are incorrect. 
      
      230    The Commission stated the following in recital 381 of the contested decision:
      
      ‘Whilst it remains unproven that Barlo systematically refrained from applying the price agreements or service costs to customers,
         it was able to benefit from the market-related information exchanged and alter its commercial conduct accordingly (perhaps
         facilitating market share increases). Furthermore, Barlo did not explicitly refrain as regards the other undertakings from
         following the proposed common objectives agreed by all the undertakings (irrespective of whether these objectives were occasionally
         only unexpectedly revealed during the meeting). The Commission therefore rejects Barlo’s claim that its non-implementation
         in practice of the offending agreements or practices comprises a mitigating circumstance.’
      
      231    It must be borne in mind in that regard that, according to the case-law, for the purpose of determining whether a party may
         benefit from mitigating circumstances on the basis of the non-implementation in practice of agreements under Section 3, second
         indent, of the Guidelines, it is necessary to determine whether the circumstances put forward by the undertaking concerned
         are capable of showing that, during the period in which it was party to the offending agreements, it actually avoided implementing
         them by adopting competitive conduct on the market or, at the very least, that it clearly and substantially breached the obligations
         relating to the implementation of the cartel to the point of disrupting its very operation (Case T‑26/02 Daiichi Pharmaceutical v Commission [2006] ECR II‑713, paragraph 113, and Carbone‑Lorraine v Commission, paragraph 180 above, paragraph 196).
      
      232    It should be observed that, in recital 381 of the contested decision, the Commission based its assessment on correct criteria
         in accordance with the case-law referred to in the preceding paragraph.
      
      233    In particular, the applicants cannot validly criticise the Commission for having taken account of the lack of evidence that
         Barlo systematically refrained from applying the price agreements or passing on additional service costs to customers, since
         it clearly is a relevant factor for assessing the mitigating circumstance in question. Moreover, contrary to what the applicants
         appear to suggest, it is clear from the wording of recital 381 of the contested decision that it was one factor among several,
         the overall assessment of which led the Commission to refuse to grant the benefit of the mitigating circumstance in question.
      
      234    The applicants’ arguments are not such as to cast doubt on that overall assessment conducted by the Commission.
      
      235    In the first place, the circumstances put forward by the applicants are not sufficient to establish that Barlo actually did
         refrain from applying the price agreements or passing on additional service costs to customers.
      
      236    The applicants merely put forward, first, the statements by Mr B., to the effect that Barlo had not implemented anything following
         the meetings he attended and, second, the statement by Atofina, referred to in recital 326 of the contested decision. As to
         the remainder, they acknowledge explicitly that they were unable to provide specific proof on the pricing policy for the period
         1999-2000.
      
      237    It should also be observed that Atofina’s statement refers to an increase in Barlo’s market share for PMMA solid sheet during
         the period from 2000 to 2002. Since Barlo’s involvement in the infringement took place over the period from 30 April 1998
         to 21 August 2000, that is not a factor enabling it to be established that there was non-implementation of the pricing agreements,
         even less in a systematic manner. As to the statements by Barlo’s representative, they cannot by themselves be considered
         as sufficiently probative, in the absence of objective documentary evidence supporting them.
      
      238    Similarly, the fact that the contested decision does not contain any evidence proving that Barlo implemented the pricing agreements
         is not in itself decisive. It cannot be argued that, because it failed to establish that the unlawful agreements or practices
         were implemented by an undertaking, the Commission was automatically required to grant the applicants a reduction in the amount
         of the fine.
      
      239    In the second place, the applicants do not question the Commission’s assessment that Barlo was able to benefit from the market
         information exchanged at the meetings and adapt its commercial conduct accordingly. They merely argue that that allegation
         has not been proven by the Commission. Yet, according to the case-law referred to in paragraph 231 above, it was for the applicants
         to put forward the circumstances capable of showing that the mitigating circumstance sought should be allowed, in particular
         those concerning any non-implementation of the branch of the infringement relating to the exchange of commercially important
         and confidential market and/or company-relevant information.
      
      240    In the third place, the applicants dispute the Commission’s assessment in the second sentence of recital 381 of the contested
         decision, on the ground that no common objective was agreed on at the meetings attended by Barlo. As is clear from the examination
         of the first part of the first plea in law, that allegation is inaccurate.
      
      241    Moreover, the applicants have not alleged that Barlo had, at the very least, clearly and substantially breached the obligations
         relating to the implementation of the cartel to the point of disrupting its very operation (see paragraph 231 above).
      
      242    It follows that the applicants’ criticisms of the Commission’s assessment contained in recital 381 of the contested decision
         are unsubstantiated.
      
      243    For the sake of completeness, it should be observed that, in the circumstances of the present case, the refusal to allow the
         mitigating circumstance thus analysed is also justified by the overall scheme of the contested decision.
      
      244    First, it is clear from that decision that, during certain periods, the cartel as a whole was not fully effective, as the
         participants, including Barlo, had departed from the agreements concluded (see, for example, recital 329 of the contested
         decision). As that is a factor which is specific to the functioning of the cartel as such, it cannot be taken into account
         by way of mitigating circumstance; it can at most be weighed up in the consideration of the gravity of the infringement. It
         should be observed in that regard that, in determining the starting amount of the fine, the Commission examined arguments
         relating to the lack of effectiveness of the cartel (recitals 321 to 329 of the contested decision) and, in that context,
         particularly Atofina’s statement, relied on by the applicants (see paragraph 236 above). Although it found that the infringement
         could be categorised as very serious, it nevertheless stated explicitly that it was not relying ‘specifically on a particular
         impact [of the infringement on the market]’ (recital 321 of the contested decision), in determining the amount of the fine.
      
      245    Second, even if Barlo’s conduct on the market was substantially different from that of the other undertakings that were addressees
         of the contested decision, it must be remembered that the Guidelines do not state that the Commission must always take account
         separately of each of the mitigating circumstances listed in Section 3 of those Guidelines (KME Germany and Others v Commission, paragraph 189 above, paragraph 114). Under those Guidelines, the Commission has a margin of discretion when making an overall
         assessment of the size of any reduction in the fines, taking into account all of the mitigating circumstances characterising
         the case before it (Case T‑44/00 Mannesmannröhren-Werke v Commission [2004] ECR II‑2223, paragraphs 274 and 275, and Case T‑50/00 Dalmine v Commission [2004] ECR II‑2395, paragraphs 325 and 326; see also, to that effect, Case T‑30/05 Prym and Prym Consumer v Commission, judgment of 12 September 2007, paragraph 204).
      
      246    In the light of the circumstances of the present case, it is the recognition of the passive and minor role in the implementation
         of the infringement, on the ground in particular that Barlo’s involvement in the cartel could not be compared to that of most
         of the other undertakings (recital 373 of the contested decision), which best reflects the relative gravity of Barlo’s involvement
         in it. In any event, the factors put forward by the applicants and examined in paragraphs 236 to 241 above do not justify
         an additional reduction in the basic amount of the fine, over and above that already applied by the Commission on grounds
         of the passive role.
      
      247    Accordingly, the present complaint must be rejected.
      
      –       The early termination of the infringement
      248    The applicants submit that it is not disputed that the infringement attributed to Barlo ended well before the Commission’s
         initial investigation. They consider that the Commission’s rejection of that mitigating circumstance is manifestly contrary
         to the Guidelines, which provide that mitigating circumstances include ‘termination of the infringement as soon as the Commission
         intervenes’, and contest the reasons set out by the Commission in recitals 384 and 385 of the contested decision.
      
      249    It should be observed in that regard that the end of Barlo’s participation in the infringement has been established as being
         21 August 2000. It is therefore common ground that Barlo stopped participating in the infringement before the Commission first
         intervened in the present case by carrying out on-the-spot inspections on 25 and 26 March 2003 (recital 59 of the contested
         decision).
      
      250    However, as regards the claim for a reduction in the amount of the fine, it is settled case-law that the benefit of a mitigating
         circumstance cannot be granted under Section 3, third indent, of the Guidelines where the infringement has already come to
         an end before the date on which the Commission first intervenes and independently of that intervention (see, to that effect,
         Prym and Prym Consumer v Commission, paragraph 189 above, paragraphs 105 and 106).
      
      251    Moreover, the fact that Barlo voluntarily terminated the infringement before the Commission opened its investigation has been
         taken into account sufficiently in the calculation of the duration of the infringement period attributed to the applicants,
         with the result that they may not rely on Section 3, third indent, of the Guidelines (see, to that effect, Amann & Söhne and Cousin Filterie v Commission, paragraph 149 above, paragraph 260, and Case T‑21/05 Chalkor v Commission, [2010] ECR I-0000, paragraph 152).
      
      252    Therefore, the applicants’ criticisms directed at the Commission’s assessment as set out in recitals 384 and 385 of the contested
         decision are unfounded and the present plea must be dismissed.
      
      –       The introduction of a programme of compliance with the competition rules
      253    The applicants state that the contested decision is the first decision under the European Union competition rules adopted
         against the Quinn group. They state that, as soon as the Quinn group learned of the investigation, it initiated a programme
         of compliance with the competition rules, the details of which were given to the Commission. Under those specific circumstances,
         the refusal to take that programme into account as a mitigating circumstance is unfounded. 
      
      254    That line of argument cannot be upheld.
      
      255    First, it should be noted that the fact that the contested decision is the first decision finding an infringement of the European
         Union competition rules against the applicants does not justify a reduction in the basic amount of the fine. On the contrary,
         that circumstance was taken into account inasmuch as the Commission did not hold that repeated infringement was as an aggravating
         circumstance against the applicants.
      
      256    Second, it should also be observed that the adoption of measures to prevent further infringements, although significant, does
         not change the fact that the infringement found has taken place.
      
      257    Third, it has already been held that the mere adoption by an undertaking of a programme of compliance with the competition
         rules cannot constitute a valid and definite guarantee of future and continuing compliance by that undertaking with those
         rules, with the result that such a programme cannot require the Commission to reduce the fine on the ground that the objective
         of prevention pursued by it has already been at least partly achieved (Case T‑279/02 Degussa v Commission [2006] ECR II‑897, paragraph 361; see also BASF and UCB v Commission, paragraph 127 above, paragraph 52).
      
      258    On those grounds, the present complaint must be rejected.
      
      –       The absence of benefit, the absence of the need for deterrence and proportionality
      259    The applicants observe that the fines provided for by competition law are directed, first, at depriving the perpetrators of
         the benefit they may have derived from the infringement and, second, to have a deterrent effect (recital 388 of the contested
         decision). In the present case, however, the fine imposed is not proportionate to those objectives since, not only did the
         applicants not derive any benefit from the alleged infringement, but neither Barlo nor the Quinn group have ever been found
         to have infringed the competition rules. 
      
      260    First of all, the circumstances relied on by the applicants under the present plea are not explicitly provided for as mitigating
         circumstances in Section 3 of the Guidelines.
      
      261    Next, it should be observed that the Commission was correct in finding that those factors did not justify a reduction in the
         amount of the fine.
      
      262    First, the argument relating to the absence of benefit has not been proven. The applicants also seem to acknowledge that such
         a benefit could have been derived, whilst stressing that it would have benefited the undertaking’s former shareholders, not
         the current shareholders, who must bear the financial consequences of the fine. However, not only is that latter argument
         unsubstantiated, it is irrelevant. Nor do the applicants deny being the legal successors of Barlo, or that the contested decision
         had to be addressed to them in the event of the infringement being established (see paragraph 5 above).
      
      263    In any event, the Commission was correct in stating, in recital 388, in fine, of the contested decision, that any absence
         of profit does not change the gravity of the infringement committed, as established by the contested decision.
      
      264    Second, regarding the fact that neither Barlo nor the Quinn group has ever been found to have infringed the European Union
         competition rules, reference is made to paragraph 255 above; the fact that there has been no repeated infringement is not
         in itself a mitigating circumstance.
      
      265    The – unsubstantiated – claim that, because of the acquisition of Barlo through a hostile takeover, the current shareholders
         were unable to conduct a due diligence and were unaware of any potential infringement is not such as to mitigate the gravity
         of the infringement committed or influence the amount of the fine, inasmuch as it pursues an objective of deterrence.
      
      266    Accordingly, the present complaint must be rejected.
      
      –       Active cooperation in the proceedings outside the scope of the Leniency Notice
      267    The applicants state that they have cooperated fully with the Commission throughout the administrative proceedings. They did
         so by seeking confirmation of facts which were not immediately available to them and made considerable efforts to that end.
         In their submission, the Commission’s refusal in the contested decision to take account of that aspect as a mitigating circumstance
         is unfounded.
      
      268    It should be borne in mind in that regard that, in Section 3, sixth indent, of the Guidelines, the Commission includes as
         a mitigating circumstance effective cooperation by the undertaking in the proceedings outside of the scope of the Leniency
         Notice.
      
      269    In the present case, the Commission found, in recital 392 of the contested decision, that, pursuant to the aforementioned
         provision, it had considered whether cooperation by one of the undertakings concerned had enabled it to establish the infringement
         with less difficulty. In recital 393 of the contested decision, it found that, having regard to the very limited scope and
         value of their cooperation and the challenges on matters of fact made outside that limited cooperation, there were no other
         circumstances which would give rise to a reduction in the amounts of the fines outside the scope of the Leniency Notice which,
         in secret cartel cases, could in any event only be of an exceptional nature.
      
      270    The Court finds that the Commission was correct in finding that the application of Section 3, sixth indent, of the Guidelines
         must, in the case of secret cartels, be exceptional. 
      
      271    The application of that provision cannot lead to the Leniency Notice being deprived of its useful effect. It is clear from
         that notice that it defines the framework for rewarding undertakings which are or were parties to secret cartels affecting
         the Community for their cooperation in Commission investigations. It follows that undertakings may, as a rule, obtain a reduction
         in the amount of the fine in return for their cooperation only when they satisfy the conditions laid down in that notice.
      
      272    Thus, it has been held, for instance, that the Commission may reserve the application of Section 3, sixth indent, of the Guidelines
         to the undertaking which is the first to provide it with information enabling it to expand its investigation and to undertake
         the necessary measures in order to establish a more serious infringement or an infringement of greater duration (Case T‑11/05
         Wieland-Werke and Others v Commission, judgment of 19 May 2010, not published in the ECR, paragraph 232; see also paragraph 234).
      
      273    In the present case, it should be observed, first, that the applicants have not explained in sufficient detail how and to
         what extent their cooperation enabled the Commission to establish the facts alleged.
      
      274    Second, although the examination of the first part of the first plea in law does show that the applicants’ confirmation of
         certain matters in their reply to the statement of objections helped the Commission to establish Barlo’s participation in
         a number of anti-competitive meetings, nevertheless the applicants continue to challenge precisely the fact that that reply
         to the statement of objections was such as to establish their liability for the cartel.
      
      275    Under those circumstances, it has not been established that there are circumstances justifying granting the benefit of mitigating
         circumstance as requested.
      
      276    Accordingly, the present complaint must be rejected. 
      
      277    Lastly, in so far as certain of the arguments put forward by the applicants under the second plea in law must be construed
         as being directed at an infringement of the obligation to state reasons in relation to the determination of the amount of
         the fine, including the amounts of reductions granted (see paragraphs 196, 217 and 218 above), they must be dismissed. It
         follows from the foregoing that the Commission set out, in sufficient detail, the assessment factors which enabled it to determine
         the gravity and the duration of the infringement committed by the applicants, including, in recitals 335 and 372 to 374, the
         grounds on which it decided to grant the reductions in the amount of the fine. Thus, it fulfilled the essential procedural
         requirements of the obligation to state reasons (see, to that effect, Case C‑248/98 P KNP BT v Commission [2000] ECR I‑9641, paragraph 42). In particular, that obligation does not require the Commission to indicate in its decision
         the figures relating to the method of calculating the fines (see Microsoft v Commission, paragraph 131 above, paragraph 1361 and the case-law cited) and nor, therefore, was it required to state any further reasons
         for the amounts of reductions granted.
      
       Conclusion 
      278    It follows from all of the foregoing that the contested decision must be annulled, first, in so far as it holds the applicants
         liable for their participation in the cartel from 1 November 1998 to 23 February 2000 and, second, in so far as it finds that
         they infringed Article 81 EC and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement by participating in a complex of concerted agreements and
         practices, not only in respect of PMMA solid sheet, but also PMMA moulding compounds and PMMA sanitary ware. The other heads
         of claim seeking annulment must be dismissed.
      
      279    Regarding the determination of the amount of the fine, it follows from all of the foregoing that, first, the increase of 20%
         in the starting amount applied by the Commission in recital 353 of the contested decision must be replaced by an increase
         of 10% and, second, the other heads of claim seeking a reduction in the amount of the fine must be dismissed.
      
      280    Consequently, the amount of the fine imposed on the applicants under Article 2 of the contested decision is fixed at EUR 8 250 000.
         
      
       Costs
      281    Under Article 87(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the unsuccessful party is to be ordered to pay the costs if they have been
         applied for in the successful party’s pleadings. Under Article 87(3) of the Rules of Procedure, the Court may rule that costs
         are to be shared or that each party is to bear its own costs where each party succeeds on some and fails on other heads, or
         where the circumstances are exceptional. 
      
      282    In the present case, the applicants succeeded on some heads and the Commission was unsuccessful in its claim asking for the
         case to be dismissed in its entirety. However, the applicants were unsuccessful in seeking total annulment of the contested
         decision as regards them. The Court will make an equitable assessment of the case in ruling that the applicants are to bear
         60% of their own costs and to pay 60% of the costs incurred by the Commission, whilst the Commission is to bear 40% of its
         own costs and 40% of the costs incurred by the applicants.
      
      On those grounds,
      THE GENERAL COURT (Third Chamber)
      hereby:
      1.      Annuls Article 1 of Commission Decision C(2006) 2098 final of 31 May 2006 relating to a proceeding pursuant to Article 81
            EC and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case COMP/F/38.645 – Methacrylates), first, in so far as it finds that Quinn Barlo
            Ltd, Quinn Plastics NV and Quinn Plastics GmbH infringed Article 81 EC and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (EEA) by participating
            in a complex of concerted agreements and practices, not only in respect of polymethyl-methacrylate solid sheet, but also polymethyl-methacrylate
            moulding compounds and polymethyl-methacrylate sanitary ware and, second, in so far as it holds those companies liable for
            their participation in the cartel from 1 November 1998 to 23 February 2000;
      2.      Sets the amount of the fine for which Quinn Barlo, Quinn Plastics NV and Quinn Plastics GmbH are jointly and severally liable
            under Article 2 of Decision C(2006) 2098 final at EUR 8 250 000;
      3.      Dismisses the action as to the remainder;
      4.      Orders Quinn Barlo, Quinn Plastics NV and Quinn Plastics GmbH to bear 60% of their own costs and to pay 60% of the costs incurred
            by the European Commission;
      5.      Orders the Commission to bear 40% of its own costs and to pay 40% of the costs incurred by Quinn Barlo, Quinn Plastics NV
            and Quinn Plastics GmbH.
      
               Czúcz 
            
            
                Labucka 
            
            
                Gratsias
            
         Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 30 November 2011.
      [Signatures]
      Table of contents
      
      Background to the dispute
      Procedure and forms of order sought
      Law
      The first plea: infringement of Article 81 EC
      The first part of the first plea: incorrect assessment of the meetings and other contacts or exchanges involving Barlo
      – The four meetings at which Barlo’s presence is admitted
      – The disputed Barcelona (Spain) meeting in May-June 1999 (recital 164 of the contested decision)
      – The lack of other contacts or exchanges in which Barlo was involved
      – Conclusion on the first part of the first plea in law
      Second branch of the first plea in law: incorrect assessment of Barlo’s participation in ‘a single, common anti-competitive
         project’ covering PMMA products
      
      The third part of the first plea in law: incorrect assessment of Barlo’s participation in a continuing infringement
      The second plea in law: infringement of Article 23(3) of Regulation No 1/2003, the Guidelines and the principle of proportionality
      The first part of the second plea in law: incorrect assessment of the duration of the alleged infringement
      The second part of the second plea in law: incorrect assessment of the gravity of the alleged infringement
      The third part of the second plea in law: incorrect assessment of mitigating circumstances
      – The passive and minor role in the implementation of the infringement
      – Non-implementation in practice of the unlawful agreements or practices
      – The early termination of the infringement
      – The introduction of a programme of compliance with the competition rules
      – The absence of benefit, the absence of the need for deterrence and proportionality
      – Active cooperation in the proceedings outside the scope of the Leniency Notice
      Conclusion
      Costs
      *  Language of the case: English.