natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Forbuddet i artikel 2, stk. 1, andet punktum, hvorefter virksomhederne for fremtiden skal afholde sig fra enhver form for aftale eller samordnet praksis, som kan have samme eller tilsvarende formål eller virkning, som de overtrædelser, der er konstateret i beslutningens artikel 1, har alene til formål, at hindre virksomhederne i at gentage den adfærd, der er konstateret at være ulovlig. Kommissionen har derfor ikke med dette forbud overskredet de beføjelser, den er tillagt i henhold til artikel 3 i forordning nr. 17.
increases or rebates or individual reductions, particularly on large orders, and that 'the average net increase achieved after all discounts, rebates and other concessions would always be less than the full amount of the announced increase' (point 102, last paragraph, of the Decision).
Da Kommissionen således i beslutningen behørigt har fastslået, at udveksling af individuelle forretningsmæssige oplysninger som sådan udgjorde en overtrædelse af traktatens artikel 85, stk. 1, opfylder forbuddet mod for fremtiden at udveksle oplysninger af denne an betingelserne for at bringe artikel 3, stk. 1, i forordning nr. 17 i anvendelse.
As regards collusion on prices, the Commission appraised the general effects of this collusion.
Artikel 2, stk. 1, litra a), b), og c), har nærmere til formål at forbyde fremtidig udveksling af forretningsmæssige oplysninger.
Consequently, even assuming that the individual data supplied by the applicant show, as it claims, that the effects of collusion on prices were, in its case, less significant than those found on the European cartonboard market taken as a whole, such individual data cannot in themselves suffice to call into question the Commission's assessment.
Forbuddene mod udveksling af forretningsmæssige oplysninger i beslutningens artikel 2, stk. 1, litra b) og c), skal undersøges i lyset af samme artikels stk. 2, 3 og 4, der underbygger de omhandlede påbud.
It is apparent from the Decision, as the Commission confirmed at the hearing, that a distinction was drawn between three types of effects.
Det skal således afgøres ud fra konteksten, om, og i bekræftende fald i hvilket omfang, Kommissionen har anset udveksling af oplysninger for retsstridig, under hensyn til, at de byrder, der påhviler virksomhederne, skal begrænses til, hvad der er nødvendigt for at sikre, at deres adfærd er lovlig i henhold til traktatens artikel 85, stk. 1.
Moreover, the Commission relied on the fact that the price initiatives were considered by the producers themselves to have been an overall success.
Påbuddel i artikel 2, stk. 1, litra a), hvorefter enhver fremtidig udveksling af forretningsmæssige oplysninger, på grundlag af hvilke deltagerne direkte eller indirekte kan få adgang til individuelle oplysninger om konkurrerende virksomheder, forudsætter, at Kommissionen i beslutningen har fastslået, at udveksling af sådanne oplysninger er retsstridig i medfør af traktatens artikel 85, stk. 1.
When appraising this second type of effect the Commission could properly take the view that the existence of a linear relationship between changes in announced prices and changes in transaction prices was proof of an effect by the price initiatives on transaction prices in accordance with the objective pursued by the producers.
I denne forbindelse bemærkes, at det ikke fremgår af beslutningens artikel 1, at udveksling af individuelle forretningsmæssige oplysninger i sig selv er en overtrædelse af traktatens artikel 85, stk. 1.
There is, in fact, no dispute that on the relevant market the practice of holding individual negotiations with customers means that, in general, transaction prices are not identical to announced prices.
Beslutningen må fortolkes således, at Fidessystemet ifølge Kommissionen er i strid med traktatens artikel 85, stk. 1, som følge af, at del fremmede kartellet (beslutningens punkt 134, stk. 3).
The first type of effect taken into account by the Commission, and not contested by the applicant, consisted in the fact that the agreed price increases were actually announced to customers.
En sådan fortolkning bekræftes af ordlyden af beslutningens artikel 1, hvoraf det fremgår, at virksomhederne havde udvekslet forretningsmæssige oplysninger »til støtte for nævnte forholdsregler«, der fandtes at være i strid med traktatens artikel 85, stk. 1.
The new prices thus served as a reference point in individual negotiations on transaction prices with customers (see, inter alia, points 100 and 101, fifth and sixth paragraphs, of the Decision).
Den fastslår generelt, at virksomhederne har overtrådt traktatbestemmelsen ved at deltage i en aftale og en samordnet praksis, hvorved virksomhederne bl.a. »udvekslede forretningsmæssige oplysninger om leverancer, priser, midlertidige produktionsstandsninger, ordrebeholdninger, kapacitetsudnyttelsesgrader osv. til støtte for nævnte forholdsregler.«
As regards the very existence of a relationship between announced price increases and transaction price increases, the Commission was right in referring to the LE report, which consists of an analysis of changes in the price of cartonboard during the period to which the Decision relates, based on information supplied by several producers, including the applicant itself.
Omfanget af de forbud, der gælder for fremtiden, som indeholdt i beslutningens artikel 2, stk. 1, litra b) og c), skal bedømmes under hensyn til denne stillingtagen fra Kommissionens side til spørgsmålet om, hvorvidt Fidessystemet er foreneligt med traktatens artikel 85.
However, that report only partially confirms, in temporal terms, the existence of a 'close linear relationship'.
De nævnte forbud er dels ikke begrænset til at omfatte udveksling af individuelle
Examination of the period 1987 to 1991 reveals three distinct sub-periods.
Beslutningens konklusion skal imidlertid fortolkes på baggrund af dens betragtninger.
The second type of effect consisted in the fact that changes in transaction prices followed those in announced prices.
Beslutningens punkt 134, stk. 2, er affattet således:
It accepts that customers sometimes obtained concessions in regard to the date of entry into force of the
udformet på en sådan måde, at den udelukker enhver form for oplysninger, på grundlag af hvilke individuelle producenters adfærd kan identificeres.« om, at bøden annulleres eller forretningsmæssige oplysninger, men omfatter tillige visse statistiske oplysninger i samlet form [beslutningens artikel 2, stk. 1, litra b), og stk. 2J.
of the LE report summarised his conclusion as follows: There is no close relationship, even with a lag, between announced price increase and market prices in the early part of the period, in 1987 through 1988.
Desuden forbyder beslutningens artikel 2, stk. 1, litra b) og c), udveksling af visse statistiske oplysninger for at forebygge, at en mulig konkurrencebegrænsende adfærd fremmes.
There is such a relationship in 1988/1989, and then the relationship breaks down and behaves rather oddly over the period 1990/1991*. He also observed that those temporal variations were closely linked to variations in demand.
Anbringendet om, dels at Kommissionens antagelse af, at »kartellet var meget succesfuldt med hensyn til opnåelse af sine mål* beroede på et fejbkøn, dels at den ikke har opfyldt sin begrundelsespligt på dette punkt
It follows that the existence of that third type of effect of collusion on prices has not been proved.
Ifølge beslutningens punkt 168, syvende led, fastsatte Kommissionen det generelle bødeniveau bl.a. under hensyn til, at »kartellet var meget succesfuldt med hensyn til opnåelse af sine mål«.
Those conclusions expressed by the author at the hearing are in accordance with the analysis set out in his report, and in particular with the graphs comparing changes in announced prices and changes in transaction prices (LE report, graphs 10 and 11, p. 29).
El sådant forbud går ud over, hvad der er nødvendigt for at sikre, at de regler, som er blevet tilsidesat, overholdes, for så vidt som det er til hinder for, at der udveksles rent statistiske oplysninger, der ikke har karakter af individuelle eller identificerbare oplysninger, med den begrundelse, at oplysningerne kunne anvendes til konkurrencebegrænsende formål.
The above findings are in no way altered by the producers' subjective appraisal, on which the Commission relied in reaching the view that the cartel was largely successful in achieving its objectives.
Dels fremgår det ikke af beslutningen, at Kommissionen skulle have anset udveksling af statistiske oplysninger som sådan for at være i strid med traktatens artikel 85, stk. 1.
In that regard, the Commission referred to a list of documents which it produced at the hearing.
Dels medfører den omstændighed, at et system til udveksling af statistiske oplysninger vil kunne anvendes til konkurrencebegrænsende formål, ikke, at det er i strid med traktatens artikel 85, stk. 1, idet dets konkurrencebegrænsende virkninger i så tilfælde skal fastslås konkret.
However, even supposing that it could base its appraisal of the success of the price initiatives on documents showing the subjective opinions of certain producers, it must be observed that several undertakings, including the applicant, rightly referred at the hearing to a number of other documents in the file showing the problems encountered by the producers in implementing the agreed price increases.
Det følger heraf, at Kommissionens argument om, at beslutningens artikel 2 alene konstaterer, hvad der er gældende ret, savner grundlag.
In those circumstances, the Commission's reference to the statements of the producers themselves is insufficient for a conclusion that the cartel was largely successful in achieving its objectives.
Beslutningens artikel 2, stk. 14, vil derfor være at annullere, med undtagelse af følgende passager:
At the hearing the Commission stated that it had also taken into account a third type of effect of the price collusion, namely the fact that the level of transaction prices was higher than that which would have been achieved in the absence of any collusion.
Ved sin kontrol af Kommissionens skøn med hensyn til virkningerne af overtrædelsen finder Retten, at det er tilstrækkeligt at undersøge dette i relation til virkningerne af el ulovligt samarbejde om priser.
Pointing out that the dates and order of the price increase announcements had been planned by the PWG, the Commission takes the view in the Decision that 'it is inconceivable in such circumstances that the concerted price announcements had no effect upon actual price levels' (point 136, third paragraph, of the Decision).
For del første fremgår det af beslutningen, at konstateringen af den store succes med hensyn til opnåelsen af mål navnlig støttes på virkningerne af et ulovligt samarbejde om priser.
However, the LE report (section 3) drew up a model which enabled a forecast to be made of the price level resulting from objective market conditions.
Mens virkningerne heraf er undersøgt i beslutningens punkt 100-102, 115 og 135-137, har spørgsmålet om, hvorvidt et ulovligt samarbejde om markedsandele og om produktionsstandsninger har haft virkninger på markedet, derimod ikke været genstand for en særskilt undersøgelse.
According to that report, the level of prices determined by objective economic factors in the period 1975 to 1991 would have evolved, with minor variations, in an identical manner to the level of transaction prices applied, including those during the period covered by the Decision.
»De i artikel 1 nævnte virksomheder skal øjeblikkeligt bringe den omhandlede overtrædelse til ophør, såfremt dette ikke allerede er sket.
Having regard to the foregoing considerations, the effects of the infringement described by the Commission are only partially proved.
De skal for fremtiden i forbindelse med deres aktiviteter i kartonbranchen afholde sig fra enhver form for aftale eller samordnet praksis, som kan have samme eller tilsvarende formål eller virkning, herunder enhver form for udveksling af forretningsmæssige oplysninger:
The Court will consider the implications of that conclusion as part of its exercise of its unlimited powers in regard to fines, when it assesses the seriousness of the infringement found in the present case.
For det andet giver undersøgelsen af virkningerne af et ulovligt samarbejde om priser under alle omstændigheder mulighed for ligeledes at vurdere, om det ulovlige samarbejde om produktionsstandsning havde nået sit mål, nemlig at sikre mod, at de samordnede prisinitiativer blev truet af en situation, hvor udbuddet oversteg efterspørgslen.
Infringement of the principle of equal treatment in that the Commission imposed, without objective reasons, much higher fines than in its previous practice
a) hvorved deltagerne direkte eller indirekte oplyses om andre individuelle producenters produktion, salg, ordrebeholdninger, kapacitetsudnyttelsesgrader, salgspriser, omkostninger eller markedsføringsplaner.
Despite those conclusions, the analysis in the report does not justify a finding that the concerted price initiatives did not enable the producers to achieve a level of transaction prices above that which would have resulted from the free play of competition.
Hvad for det tredje angår det ulovlige samarbejde om markedsandele, har Kommissionen ikke gjort gældende, at de virksomheder, der deltog i PWG's møder, ville opnå en absolut fastfrysning af deres markedsandele.
As the Commission pointed out at the hearing, it is possible that the factors taken into account in that analysis were influenced by the existence of collusion.
Enhver ordning til udveksling af almindelige oplysninger, som de indgår, som f.eks Fidessystemet eller dets efterfølger, skal være
In the present case, the Commission determined the general level of fines by taking into account the duration of the infringement (point 167 of
justering og genforhandling«.
the Decision) and the following considerations (point 168):
Henset til denne præcisering kan det derfor ikke bebrejdes Kommissionen, at den skønnede, at kartellet var meget succesfuldt med hensyn til opnåelse af sine mål, uden i beslutningen at undersøge den succes, som det ulovlige samarbejde havde med hensyn til markedsandele.
'- certain types of infringement does not mean that it is estopped from raising that level, within the limits set out in Regulation No 17, if that is necessary in order to ensure the implementation of Community competition policy.
Kommissionen konkluderer følgende: »De nettoprisstigninger, der blev indført, fulgte nøje de annoncerede prisstigninger, endskønt der forekom en vis tidsforskydning.
collusion on pricing and market sharing are by their very nature serious restrictions on competition,
Rapportens forfatter indrømmede under den mundtlige høring, at dette var tilfældet for 1988 samt 1989« (beslutningens punkt 115, stk. 2).
— the cartel covered virtually the whole territory of the Community,
Kommissionen vurderede virkningerne af et ulovligt samarbejde om priser generelt.
— the Community market for cartonboard is an important industrial sector worth some ECU 2 500 million each year,
Som Kommissionen bekræftede i retsmødet, fremgår det af beslutningen, at der sondres mellem tre forskellige former for virkninger.
— the undertakings participating in the infringement account for virtually the whole of the market,
Kommissionen har yderligere lagt til grund, at producenterne selv, samlet betragtet, anså prisinitiativerne for en succes.
— the cartel was operated in the form of a system of regular institutionalised meetings which set out to regulate in explicit detail the market for cartonboard in the Community,
Retten tiltræder, at Kommissionen ved sin vurdering af denne anden form for virkninger med rette kunne anse den omstændighed, al der var en lineær sammenhæng mellem udviklingen i de annoncerede priser og faktureringspriserne, som bevis for, at prisinitiativerne fik virkning i denne henseende, hvilket var i overensstemmelse med producenternes mål.
Second, the Commission rightly argues that, on account of the specific circumstances of the present case, no direct comparison could be made between the general level of fines adopted in the present decision and those adopted in the Commission's previous decisions, in particular in the Polypropylene decision, which the Commission itself considered to be the most similar to the decision in the present case.
Det er ubestridt, at den praksis, der følges på det relevante marked, hvorefter der føres individuelle forhandlinger med kunderne, indebærer, at faktureringspriserne generelt ikke er identiske med de annoncerede priser.
Unlike in the Polypropylene case, no general mitigating circumstance was taken into account in the present case when determining the general level of fines.
Den første form for virkninger, som Kommissionen har taget hensyn til, og som ikke bestrides af sagsøgeren, er den omstændighed, at de aftalte prisforhøjelser faktisk blev meddelt kunderne. De nye priser tjente således som reference ved individuelle forhandlinger med kunderne om faktureringspriser (jf. bl.a. beslutningens punkt 100 og punkt 101, stk. 5 og 6).
— elaborate steps were taken to conceal the true nature and extent of the collusion (absence of any official minutes or documentation for the PWG and JMC; discouraging the taking of notes; stagemanaging the timing and order in which price increases were announced so as to be able to claim they were "following", etc.),
Med hensyn til den indbyrdes sammenhæng mellem forhøjelserne af de annoncerede priser og faktureringspriserne har Kommissionen med rette henvist til LE-rapporten, der er en analyse af udviklingen i kartonpriserne i den periode, beslutningen omhandler, og som bygger på oplysninger fra en række producenter, bl.a. sagsøgeren selv.
Furthermore, according to the Commission's reply to a written question from the Court, fines of a basic level of 9 or 7.5% of the turnover on the Community cartonboard market in 1990 of each undertaking addressed by the Decision were imposed on the undertakings regarded as the 'ringleaders' of the cartel and on the other undertakings respectively.
Den anden form for virkninger er den omstændighed, at udviklingen i faktureringspriser fulgte udviklingen i de annoncerede priser.
On the basis of those factors, the criteria set out in point 168 of the Decision justify the general level of fines set by the Commission.
I denne forbindelse har Kommissionen gjort gældende, at »producenterne [nøjedes] ikke med at annoncere de aftalte prisforhøjelser, men tog også, med få undtagelser, strenge forholdsregler for at sikre, at forhøjelserne blev håndhævet over for kunderne« (beslutningens punkt 101, stk. 1).
Admittedly, the Court has already held that the effects of the collusion on prices, which the Commission took into account when determining the general level of fines, are proved only in part. However, in the light of the foregoing considerations, that conclusion cannot materially affect the assessment of the gravity of the infringement found.
Gennemgangen af perioden fra 1987 til 1991 omfatter tre særskilte underperioder. Under høringen for Kommissionen refererede LE-rapportens forfatter sine konklusioner således: »Der er ikke nær overensstemmelse, end ikke tidsforskudt, mellem de annoncerede prisforhøjelser og markedspriserne i begyndelsen al undersøgelsesperioden, dvs. fra 1987 til 1988.
It should be pointed out, first, that when assessing the general level of fines the Commission is entitled to take account of the fact that clear infringements of the Community competition rules are still relatively frequent and that, accordingly, it may raise the level of fines in order to strengthen their deterrent effect.
En sådan overensstemmelse finder man derimod i
Consequently, the fact that in the past the Commission applied fines of a certain level to
1988/1989, hvorefter den ophører og senere opfører sig noget underligt ¡oddfyj i perioden 1990/1991«.
justify any reduction in the general level of fines set by the Commission.
ulovligt samarbejde. Herefter kan dens anbringende om, at faktureringspriserne havde været lavere, såfremt der ikke havde eksisteret et ulovligt samarbejde mellem producenterne, ikke tiltrædes.
on Rena and Stora must be considerably reduced in order to take account of their active cooperation with the Commission, and that eight other undertakings, including the applicant, were also to benefit from a reduction, to a lesser extent, owing to the fact that in their replies to the statement of objections they did not contest the essential factual allegations on which the Commission based its objections.
Denne tredje form for virkninger af det ulovlige samarbejde om priser er derfor ikke bevist.
Finally, in setting the general level of fines in the present case, the Commission did not so depart from its previous line of decisions as to oblige it to give a more detailed account of the reasons for its assessment of the gravity of the infringement.
Forfatterens mundtlige konklusion svarer til analysen i rapporten, bl.a. de sammenlignende diagrammer mellem udviklingen i annoncerede priser og faktureringspriser.
Insufficient statement of reasons and infringement of the rights of the defence as regards calculation of the fine
På grundlag heraf må det fastslås, at Kommissionen kun delvis har ført bevis for, at der fandtes en sådan »tæt lineær sammenhæng«, som påstået.
It is settled law that the purpose of the obligation to give reasons for an individual decision is to enable the Community judicature to review the legality of the decision and to provide the party concerned with an adequate indication as to whether the decision is well founded or whether it may be vitiated by some defect enabling its validity to be challenged; the scope of that obligation depends on the nature of the act in question and on the context in which it was adopted.
De ovenfor anførte konstateringer ændres ikke af producenternes subjektive vurdering, som Kommissionen anvender som grundlag for at antage, at kartellet var meget succesfuldt med hensyn til opnåelse af sine mål. Kommissionen har i denne forbindelse henvist til en fortegnelse over dokumenter, som den fremlagde under retsmødet.
In its written pleas to the Court and in its reply to a written question put by the Court, the Commission explained that the fines were calculated on the basis of the turnover on the Community cartonboard market in 1990 of each undertaking addressed by the Decision.
Henset hertil er Kommissionen henvisning til producenternes egne redegørelser ikke tilstrækkelig til at begrunde den slutning, at kartellet var meget succesfuldt med hensyn til opnåelse af sine mål.
Two undertakings received a reduction of two-thirds of the amount of their fines on that basis, while other undertakings received a reduction of one-third.
Kommissionen oplyste under retsmødet, at den ligeledes havde taget hensyn til en tredje form for virkninger af det ulovlige samarbejde om priser, nemlig at faktureringspriserne var højere, end de ville have været, uden det ulovlige samarbejde.
Moreover, it is apparent from a table produced by the Commission containing information as to the fixing of the amount of each individual fine that, although those fines were not determined by applying the abovementioned figures alone in a strictly mathematical way, those figures were, nevertheless, systematically taken into account for the purposes of calculating the fines.
Under henvisning til, at planlægningen af tidspunkter og den rækkefølge, hvori prisforhøjelserne skulle meddeles, blev foretaget af PWG, har Kommissionen i beslutningen anført, at »det under sådanne omstændigheder [er[ utænkeligt, at den samordnede annoncering af prisforhøjelserne ingen virkning havde på de laktiske prisniveauer« (beslutningens punkt 136, stk. 3).
As regards a decision which, as in this case, imposes fines on several undertakings for infringement of the Community competition rules, the scope of the obligation to state reasons must be assessed in the light of the fact that the gravity of infringements falls to be determined by reference to a number of factors including, in particular, the specific circumstances and context of the case and the deterrent character of the fines; moreover, no binding or exhaustive list of criteria to be applied has been drawn up.