natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
For så vidt angår denne sag bemærkes, at de eneste mangler, som sagsøgeren nærmere har angivet, og som Kommissionen har bestridt ved protokollatet af høringen, vedrører en erklæring fra en repræsentant for sagsøgeren angående et forslag fra Kommissionen, om at hver enkelt af Tetra Pak's datterselskaber var forpligtet til at offentliggøre en prisliste såvel for maskiner som for kartoner. En gennemgang af høringsprotokollatet viser imidlertid, at en af sagsøgerens rådgivere under alle omstændigheder udførligt har gennemgået sagsøgerens
(Competition — Dominant position — Definition of the product markets — Geographical market — Application of Article 86 to practices carried out by a dominant undertaking on a market which is distinct from the dominated market —Abuse — Tied sales — Exclusive sales — Unfair terms — Predatory prices — Discriminatory prices — Administrative procedure — Principle of good administration — Provision of proper minutes of the hearing — Injunctions -Fine) (Second Chamber)
Det må endvidere lægges til grund, at Tetra Pak først i 1991, ved skrivelse af 1. februar 1991 til Kommissionen (beslutningens bilag 7) vedlagt de nye standardkontrakter (stævningens bilag3), gav tilsagn om at ville give afkald på systemet med koblingssalg og eksklusive købsforpligtelser, uagtet klagen allerede var indgivet i 1983,
In support of its claim for annulment the applicant relied on four pleas, alleging disregard of t he principle of good administration, failure to provide proper minutes of the hearing, non-
argumentationvedrørende disse prislister, samt at den er medtaget i protokollatet
infringement by the applicant of Article 86 of the Treaty, and, finally, abuse by the Commission of its power to issue orders.
Heraf følger, at den af sagsøgeren påståede undladelse under ingen omstændigheder har skadet sagsøgerens ret til forsvar, hvorfor den følgelig ikke kan antages at påvirke den administrative procedure.
It followed that the omission alleged by the applicant had not prejudiced its right to a fair hearing and could not accordingly vitiate the administrative procedure.
Sagsøgerens andet anbringende kan herefter ikke lægges til grund.
The first plea of disregard of the principle of good administration
Tredje anbringende om, at sagsøgeren ikke har overtrådt traktatens artikel 86
The second plea was therefore to be rejeaed as unfounded.
A — Produktmarkedet
A - The produa market
Henset hertil kan bestemte forbrugsmønstre ikke i sig selv begrunde, at det antages, at der findes et særskilt geografisk marked, der ifølge sagsøgeren består af de nordvesteuropæiske stater.
The Court noted first that the time taken by the Commission to investigate the matter, from the filing of the complaint in 1983 until the initiation of the procedure and the statement of objections in 1988, could not in this case constitute an infringement of the prindple of good administration since it was attributable to the scale and difficulty of an investigation concerning Tetra Pak's commercial policy in its entirety during a particularly long period of time.
I beslutningen defineres fire relevante produktmarkeder: markedet for maskiner til aseptisk kartonemballering af flydende levnedsmidler samt det tilsvarende marked for kartoner, samt markedet for maskiner til kartonemballering af ikkeaseptiske flydende levnedsmidler og det tilsvarende marked for kartoner.
The Decision defined four markets in the relevant products: the market in machinery for the aseptic packaging of liquid foods in cartons and the corresponding market for cartons and the market in machinery for the nonaseptic packaging of liquid foods in cartons and the corresponding market in cartons.
Af de anførte betragtninger fremgår således, at Kommissionens definition af de relevante markeder ikke er behæftet med åbenbare skønsmæssige fejl, hverken i relation til varemarkederne eller det geografiske marked.
The Commission had established to the requisite legal standard that the markets in aseptic machinery and cartons and those in nonaseptic machinery and cartons were insulated from the general market in systems for packaging liquid foods.
C—Tetra Pak's stilling på de relevante markeder og traktatens artikel 86
The Court accordingly considered that the applicant could not complain that the Commission disregarded the prindple of good administration.
Kommissionen har i fornødent omfang godtgjort, at markederne for aseptiske maskiner og kartoner, såvel som markederne for ikkeaseptiske maskiner og kartoner udgør særskilte markeder i forhold til det generelle marked for systemer til emballering af flydende levnedsmidler.
It followed that the applicant's argument that the markets in machinery for packaging a produa and those in packaging cartons were inseparable could not be accepted.
For så vidt angår den aseptiske sektor bemærkes for det første, at det af parternes samstemmende oplysninger fremgår, at Tetra Pak i referenceperioden havde ca. 90% af det aseptiske marked, såvel for maskiner som for kartoner, inden for Fællesskabet som helhed.
In this case, the Commission was entitled to define a single geographical market covering the whole Community for three main reasons.
Det er åbenbart, at sådanne markedsandele forlenede sagsøgeren en stilling pi markedet, som betød, at virksomheden var uomgængelig som partner for embaUeringsvirksomhederne, og sikrede den den uafhængige adfærd, der er kendetegnende for en dominerende stilling.
First as the Commission emphasized without contradiction by the applicant demand was stable and not insignificant — even though it varied in intensity from one Member State to another — for all the relevant products, throughout the territory of the Community, during the period covered by the Decision.
Det er således med rette, at Kommissionen har antaget, at sådanne markedsandele i sig selv udgør et bevis for en dominerende stilling, medmindre der foreligger usædvanlige omstændigheder.
Secondly, according to the same sources, from the technical point of view customers could obtain supplies of machinery or cartons in other Member States, the presence of local distribution units being necessary solely to install, maintain and repair
I denne sag har Kommissionen med rette af tre væsentlige grunde afgrænset ét geografisk marked, der omfatter hele Fællesskabet For det første var der, som anført af institutionen, hvilket står uimodsagt fra sagsøgers side, en stabil og ikke ubetydelig efterspørgsel - selv om den varierede i intensitet de forskellige medlemsstater imellem — efter de pågældende produkter inden for hele Fællesskabet i det tidsrum, beslutningen omfatter. For det andet havde kunderne ifølge
It was noteworthy that the only omissions in the minutes of the hearing specified by the applicant and disputed by the Commission related to a statement by one of the applicant's representatives which essentially concerned a proposal by the Commission to oblige each of Tetra Pak's national subsidiaries to publish a price list for both machines and cartons.
På grundlag af disse betragtninger kan sagsøgerens argumenter om dets kunders forhandlingsposition og om konkurrence fra nye
However, it was apparent from an examination of the minutes that the applicant's argument concerning those price lists was in any event fully expounded by one of its advisers and recorded in the minutes.
2 - Misbrug opfindelser ikke tiltrædes, og virksomhedens dominerende stilling på de to relevante aseptiske markeder må anses for tilstrækkeligt godtgjort.
the two nonaseptic markets, by virtue of the associative links between those two markets and the two aseptic markets.
A — Eneretklausulerne og de øvrige omtvistede kontraktvilkår
In the light of those factors, particular patterns of consumption could not by themselves constitute evidence of the existence of a distina geographical market comprising, according to the applicant the States of north-west Europe.
Dernæst skal det undersøges, om betingelserne for, at artikel 86 finder anvendelse, som hævdet af Kommissionen, ligeledes er opfyldt for så vidt angår de to ikkeaseptiske markeder, som følge af den sammenhæng, der er mellem de to ikkeaseptiske og de to aseptiske markeder.
Moreover, by virtue of its technological lead and its quasi-monopoly in the aseptic sector, Tetra Pak was able to focus its competitive efforts on the neighbouring nonaseptic markets, where it was already well-established, without fear of retaliation in the aseptic sector, which meant that it also enjoyed freedom of condua compared with the other economic operators on the nonaseptic markets as well.
For så vidt angår standardklausulerne, hvorved kunderne pålægges en forpligtelse til udelukkende at anvende Tetra Pak's kartoner i de maskiner, virksomheden har solgt samt til udelukkende at købe kartoner hos Tetra Pak eller hos en af Tetra Pak udpeget leverandør, bemærker Retten for det første, at sagsøgeren ikke har bestridt de faktiske omstændigheder i forbindelse med de indtalte forhold.
It followed from all the preceding considerations that the definition of the relevant markets used by the Commission was not in any way vitiated by any manifest error of assessment, whether concerning the produa markets or the geographical market.
På denne baggrund er det klart, at klausulerne om koblingssalg, såvel som de øvrige klausuler, der er nævnt i beslutningen, var for vidtgående i forhold til de angivne mål, og havde til formål at styrke Tetra Pak's dominerende stilling ved at øge kundernes økonomiske afhængighed af Tetra Pak.
C — Tetra Pak's position on the relevant markets and the application of Article 86 of the Treaty
Tetra Pak's markedsandele på nærved 90% inden for den aseptiske sektor gør virksomheden til en uomgængelig leverandør af aseptiske systemer til virksomheder, der både producerer friske og langtidsholdbare flydende levnedsmidler, og sikrer den ligeledes en privilegeret stilling som leverandør af ikkeaseptiske systemer.
In relation first to the aseptic sector, the information provided by both parties showed that Tetra Pak held approximately 90% of the aseptic markets in both machines and cartons throughout the Community and throughout the period in question.
Som følge af virksomhedens teknologiske forspring og dens monopollignende stilling inden for den aseptiske sektor var Tetra Pak i stand til at koncentrere sin konkurrencemæssige indsats på de tilgrænsende ikkeaseptiske markeder, hvor virksomheden allerede var godt indarbejdet, uden at måtte frygte modstand inden for den aseptiske sektor, hvorved virksomheden kunne drage fordel af en uafhængig adfærd i forhold til andre erhvervsdrivende på de ikkeaseptiske markeder.
It was clear that holding such market shares meant that the applicant's position on the market made it an inevitable partner for packers and guaranteed it the freedom of conduct characteristic of a dominant position. The Commission was therefore correa in raking the view that such market shares were in themselves and in the absence of exceptional circumstances evidence of the existence of a dominant position.
Af det anførte fremgår således, at Kommissionen i fornødent omfang har godtgjort, at alle de nævnte klausuler var udtryk for misbrug.
It followed from all the above that the first limb of the third plea relied on by the applicant had to be rejeaed.
Af de således anførte fremgår, at det af sammenhængen følger, at Tetra Pak's adfærd på de ikkeaseptiske markeder må antages at være omfattet af traktatens artikel 86, uden at det er nødvendigt at føre bevis for en dominerende stilling på disse markeder isoleret set, for så vidt som virksomhedens ledende position på de ikkeaseptiske markeder, sammenholdt med den nære forbindelse, der består mellem disse to markeder og de aseptiske markeder, sikrede Tetra Pak en uafhængig adfærd i forhold til andre erhvervsdrivende på de ikkeaseptiske markeder, hvilket i henhold til artikel 86 kan begrunde, at virksomheden har en særlig forpligtelse til at opretholde en effektiv, ikke fordrejet konkurrence på disse markeder.
In the light of all those factors, the applicant's arguments based on its customers' bargaining power and competition by innovation could not be accepted and its dominant position on the two aseptic markets in question had to be regarded as suffidentiy proven.
Tabenes størrelse og selve deres karakter, der ikke har nogen anden fornuftig økonomisk begrundelse end at udelukke Elopak, havde utvivlsomt til formål at styrke Tetra Pak's position på de ikkeaseptiske markeder for kartoner, hvor dets stilling allerede
The next question was whether, as the Commission contended, the conditions for the application of Article 86 were also satisfied on
Af det således anførte fremgår, at første led af sagsøgerens tredje anbringende må forkastes.
So far as concerned the standard clauses requiring only Tetra Pak cartons to be used on the machines sold by that undertaking and
Heraf fremgår, at Kommissionen i fornødent omfang har godtgjort, at Tetra Rex-kartoner i tiden 1976-1982 solgtes til eliminerende priser i Italien.
C — The machine and carton prices alleged to be discriminatory as between the different Member States
C — Angiveligt diskriminerende priser på maskiner og kartoner i de forskellige medlemsstater
The Court noted as a preliminary point that for an undertaking in a dominant position to apply prices which discriminated between users established in different Member States was prohibited by Article 86(c) of the Treaty.
På baggrund af de ovenfor anførte betragtninger skal det for det første undersøges, hvorvidt salgspriserne og grundlejen for de mest udbredte typer af maskiner, som Tetra Pak markedsførte, varierede betydeligt fra medlemsstat til medlemsstat i tiden 1984-1986, samt dernæst om eventuelle forskelle var begrundet i objektive forhold på markedet
In those circumstances, it was clear that the tiedsale clauses and the other clauses referred to in the Decision went beyond their ostensible purpose and were intended to strengthen Tetra Pak's dominant position by reinforcing. its customers' economic dependence on it Those clauses were therefore wholly unreasonable in the context of proteaing public health, and also went beyond the recognized right of an undertaking in a dominant position to protect its commercial interests. Whether considered in isolation or together, they were unfair.
Retten bemærker for det første, at det forhold, at en dominerende virksomhed anvender diskriminerende priser over for aftagere i forskellige medlemsstater, er forbudt ifølge traktatens artikel 86, litra c), der omhandler misbrug, der består i »anvendelse af ulige vilkår for ydelser af samme værdi over for handelspartnere, som derved stilles ringere i konkurrencen«.
It followed that the Commission had established to the requisite legal standard that the abovementioned clauses taken together were abusive.
Prisforskellene var endnu tydeligere med hensyn til ikkeaseptiske Tetra Rex- og Tetra Brikmaskiner, hvor priserne på én model i tidsrummet 1984-1986 varierede 100-200% eller mere, idet prisforskellene, afhængig af land, i 1986 kunne overstige 400% for visse Tetra Rexmaskiner.
Β — The allegedly predatory prices of Tetra Rex cartons in Italy
Hertil bemærker Retten for det første, at Kommissionen med rette har foretaget en særskilt sammenligning af priser på maskiner og priser på kartoner, der tilhører forskellige markeder, og som det tidligere er påvist skal markedsføres separat.
The Court found first that the Commission correctly carried out a separate comparison of the prices of machines and cartons, which were in separate markets and had to be separately marketed, as had already been shown.
Sagsøgeren har desuden ikke gjort gældende og har heller ikke anført omstændigheder, på grundlag af hvilke det måtte antages, at en sammenligning af priser på komplette systemer ville have ført til et andet resultat end en særskilt gennemgang af priser på maskiner og på kartoner.
Furthermore and in any event the applicant neither claimed nor adduced any evidence to suggest that the outcome of comparing the prices of complete systems would have been different from that of examining the price of machines and cartons separately.
Kommissionen har således i tilstrækkeligt omfang godtgjort, at der gennem ét eller flere år, afhængig af maskintype, var betydelige prisforskelle medlemsstaterne imellem, såvel med hensyn til aseptiske som ikke- aseptiske maskiner i tiden 1984-1986.
As far as concerned the three principal types of carton manufaaured by Tetra Pak, the Decision stated that a comparison of average prices revealed that there were considerable price disparities between Member States' and that they were particularly great between Italy and the other Member States.
For så vidt angår priserne på Tetra Pak's tre hovedtyper af kartoner, fremgår det af beslutningen, at en sammenligning af gennemsnitspriserne har vist, at der er betydelige prisforskelle medlemsstaterne imellem, samt at »der navnlig hersker store prisforskelle mellem Italien og de øvrige medlemsstater.
Moreover, the rabies annexed to the Decision relating first to the selling price of machines in four Member States, namely Greece, Spain, Ireland and Italy, and secondly to the leasing* prices in seven other Member States and in Ireland, further confirmed that in the only State where both
For så vidt angår maskiner skal der foretages en sammenligning mellem priserne på salg og på
In this case, an analysis of Tetra Pak's accounts relating to Tetra Rex cartons in Italy showed an extremely negative net margin from 1976 to 1982 and an extremely negative gross margin from 1976 to 1981.
Retten bemærker endvidere, at disse prisforskelle ikke kunne være begrundet i objektive forhold på markedet I denne sag opstod de betydelige prisforskelle på maskiner og kartoner i forbindelse med en afskærmning af de nationale markeder som følge af kontraktbestemmelserne om koblingssalg, forstærket af Tetra Pak's
Contrary to the applicant's allegation, such condua thus constituted abuse within the meaning of Article 86 of the Treaty, in accordance with settled case-law, and it was not necessary to demonstrate specifically that the undertaking in question had a reasonable prospect of recouping losses so incurred. The same applied as regards 1982.
Heraf fremgår, at Kommissionen i fornødent omrang har godtgjort, at priserne på ikkeaseptiske maskiner, der blev solgt i Det Forenede Kongerige i tidsrummet 1981-1984, var grove underbudspriser.
D - The allegedly predatory machine prices in the United Kingdom
D — Påståede grove underbudspriser på maskiner i Det Forenede Kongerige
The disparities in price were even greater for nonaseptic Tetra Rex and Tetra Brik machines, for which prices varied from 1984 to 1986 for the same model by as much as 100% or more depending on the country, the price differences even exceeding 400% in 1986 for certain Tetra Rex machines.
Under alle omstændigheder har Kommissionen med rette antaget at det selv ved en særskilt undersøgelse af de britiske markeder, må konstateres, at sagsøgeren havde en dominerende stilling på begge de aseptiske markeder og en markedsførende stilling på de to ikkeaseptiske markeder, der ikke alene skyldtes virksomhedens markedsandele, men ligeledes dens økonomiske styrke, der navnlig var en følge af koncernens størrelse, dens teknologiske forspring og dens omfattende vareudvalg. På denne baggrund har Kommissionen i fornødent omfang godtgjort, at Tetra Pak indtog en dominerende stilling på de aseptiske markeder, hvilket har gjort det muligt for virksomheden at føre en bevidst tabsgivende salgspolitik inden for maskinsektoren i tidsrummet 1981-1984, hvilket fremgår af, at Tetra Pak's britiske datterselskab i hele den her omhandlede periode udviste et pænt samlet overskud, selv om næsten samtlige dets produkter var tabsgivende, med undtagelse af de aseptiske Brik-kartoner.
The Court noted at the outset that the applicant's argument relating to the spedfic structure of the United Kingdom milk market was not relevant For as long as there was in the United Kingdom a market in aseptic cartonpackaging machines and a market in nonaseptic packaging machines, Tetra Pak was, in comparison with its competitors, in a competitive position on those markets similar to its position in the Community as a whole, as had already been found in the context of considering the definition of the relevant geographical market The smaller scale of those markets in the United Kingdom had no effect on the assessment of whether machine prices on the United Kingdom markets were predatory.
E — Prisen på maskiner og anden adfærd, der er udtryk for misbrug i Italien
It followed that the Commission had furnished sufficient proof of the existence of considerable variations in price between the Member States for both aseptic and nonaseptic machines over a period of one or more years, depending on the type of machine, from 1984 to 1986.
Retten bemærker for det første, at sagsøgerens argumenter vedrørende den særlige struktur på det britiske marked for mælk ikke er relevant.
Furthermore, given the global scale of the Tetra Pak group, the applicant's argument to the effect that it was unable to use cross-financing between the aseptic and the nonaseptic sectors in the United Kingdom because of the insignificant consumption of UHT milk had to be rejected.
I og med der i Det Forenede Kongerige findes et marked såvel for maskiner til aseptisk kartonemballering, som et marked for maskiner til ikke-aseptisk emballering, har Tetra Pak i forhold til virksomhedens konkurrenter på disse markeder en konkurrencemæssig position, der svarer til den, der findes inden for Fællesskabet som helhed, som allerede fastslået under gennemgangen af definitionen af det relevante geografiske marked (jf· ovenfor, præmis 95).
Moreover, that argument was in any event irrelevant since the Court had already established that the applicant's leading position in the nonaseptic sector in conjunction with the link between that sector and the aseptic sector was sufficient for Article 86 of the Treaty to apply.
Den omstændighed, at disse markeder i Det Forenede Kongerige har et mere begrænset omfang, er uden betydning for vurderingen af, hvorvidt priserne på maskiner på de britiske markeder var eliminerende eller ej.
The application of Article 86 of the Treaty to the nonaseptic markets did not therefore depend on proof that there was cross-financing between the two sectors.
Alt andet lige har sagsøgeren ikke fremført konkrete omstændigheder til støtte for sine påstande, der står i modsætning til, hvad Kommissionen har fastslået og hvorefter Tetra Pak i Italien fastsatte sine priser på maskiner uafhængigt af priserne på kartoner.
In this case, the appredable differences found in the prices of machines and cartons occurred in the context of a partitioning of national markets by the tiedsale clauses in the contracts, reinforced by Tetra Pak's autonomous production and distribution system and by the group's quasi-monopoly on the aseptic markets in the Community.
Retten skal endvidere henvise til, at modsat det af sagsøgeren anførte, må selv isolerede tabsgivende salg, der foretages af en dominerende virksomhed, antages at være udtryk for misbrug som omhandlet i traktatens artikel 86, såfremt det i fornødent omrang er godtgjort, at de havde eliminerende karakter.
It followed that the Commission had established to the requisite legal standard that from 1976 to 1986 Tetra Pak's machine prices in Italy, particularly in the aseptic sector, were discriminatory.
I en skrivelse af 27. maj 1982 henviser tidsskriftet til »en aftale med et andet selskab inden for denne sektor, som [det] havde givet eneret for en lang periode«. Denne aftale bekræftes endvidere af den omstændighed, at Elopak, i modsætning til Tetra Pak, ikke fik lov til at annoncere i tidsskriftet
In that context the Commission had established to the requisite legal standard that Tetra Pak's dominant position on the aseptic markets enabled it to pursue a deliberate policy of sales at a loss in the machine sector from 1981 to 1984, was demonstrated by the extremely positive overall results of Tetra Pak's United Kingdom subsidiary during that period, notwithstanding the losses made on nearly all its products except aseptic Brik cartons.