natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Retten fandt, at grunden til, at Kommissionen ikke havde kunnet fremlægge beviser vedrørende Rhône-Poulenc's prispolitik, var, at selskabet ikke havde bevaret nogen dokumentation for denne politik. Tværtimod kunne Kommissionen bevise, at for så vidt angik salgsmængden, svarede sagsøgerens politik i 1980 med hensyn til markedsandelen til resultatet af de møder for polypropyl en-producenter, som selskabet havde deltaget i.
Article 1 of the Commission decision of 23 April 1986 (IV/31.149 -Polypropylene) is annulled in so far as it is found therein that the applicants ANIC, Rhône-Poulenc, Hercules, Chemie Linz, Solvay, Atochem, BASF, DSM and Hüls took part in an agreement or concerted practices before Autumn 1979; the applicants Hoechst, Shell, ICI and Montedipe took part in the said agreement or concerted practices from about mid-1978 until Autumn 1979;
Det hedder i domskonklusionen:
ANIC SpA took part in the said agreement or concerted practices after the middle of 1982;
Sagsøgeren betaler sagens omkostninger."
The fines set out in Article 3 of the decision are amended as follows:
I øvrigt frifindes Kommissionen.
For the rest, the applicati ons are dismiss^
Med hensyn til sagsomkostningerne bemærkes, at Kommissionen i de fleste af sagerne i overvejende grad har fået medhold i sine synspunkter.
With regard to the costs of the case, it should be observed that in most of the cases the Commission's arguments have been upheld to a large extent.
Imidlertid har der kunnet rejses berettiget kritik af beslutningen, således at den på en række punkter bør annulleres.
However, its decision has been subject to justified criticism and must be annulled on certain points.
Det har altså ikke været urimeligt at føre sagerne, og det vil derfor efter min opfattelse være rigtigt at bringe bestemmelsen i artikel 69, stk. 3, i Domstolens procesreglement, jf. nu artikel 87, stk. 3, i Rettens procesreglement, i anvendelse og lade hver part bære sine omkostninger.
It was therefore not unreasonable to bring the cases, and I think it would therefore be right to apply the provisions of Article 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice (see Article 87(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of First Instance) and order the parties to bear their own costs.
Dette gælder i sagerne T-l/89, T-3/89, T-4/89 og T-6/89 - T-15/89.
That should apply to Cases T-l/89, T-3/89, T-4/89 and T-6/89 to T-15/89.
Med hensyn til sag T-2/89, Petrofina, bør Kommissionen under hensyn til sagens udfald ud over sine egne bære halvdelen af sagsøgerens omkostninger."
With regard to Case T-2/89, Petrofina, in view of the outcome of the case the Commission should in addition to its own costs pay half of the applicant's costs.
Sag T-2/89: Petrofina S.A. mod Kommissionen for De Europæiske Fællesskaber
Case T-2/89: Petrofina SA ν Commission of the European Communities
"Konkurrence - aftale og samordnet praksis - kollektivt ansvar" (Første Afdeling)
(Competition -- Concepts of agreement and concerted practice -- Collective responsibility) (First Chamber)
FAKTISKE OMSTÆNDIGHEDER
THE FACTS AT THE ORIGIN OF THE APPLICATION
Nærværende sag vedrører en beslutning fra Kommissionen, hvorved der blev pålagt 15 polypropylen-producenter en bøde for overtrædelse af EØF-Traktatens artikel 85, stk. 1 (herefter benævnt beslutningen).
The present case concerns the Commission's decision imposing a fine on fifteen producers of polypropylene for infringing Article 85(1) of the EEC Treaty.
KONSTATERING AF OVERTRÆDELSEN
THE FINDING OF THE INFRINGEMENT
I. Perioden fra 1980 til marts 1982
The period from 1980 to March 1982
Retten fandt, at da der ikke forelå noget bevis for, at Petrofina havde deltaget i de regelmæssige møder for polypropylen-producenter i denne periode, havde Kommissionen ikke påvist, at sagsøgeren havde deltaget i udarbejdelsen af tabeller vedrørende salgsmål og dermed heller ikke i fastsættelsen af disse mål.
In the absence of any evidence of Petrofina's attendance at the periodical meetings of polypropylene producers during the period in question the Court of First Instance finds that the Commission has not sufficiently shown that the applicant took part in the drawing up
15 oplysningerne om Montefinas produktionskapacitet og salg samt om Petrofinas planer nødvendigvis måtte være kendt af den anden part i det i fællesskab ejede selskab, og denne part måtte have fremlagt disse ved de regelmæssige møder for polypropylen-producenter for effektivt at kunne deltage i fast sættelsen af salgsmålene.
- 14 - of the tables relating to the targets of sales volumes and therefore in the fixing of those targets. The inclusion of the applicant's or Petrofina's name in those tables must be regarded as insufficient evidence in so far as on the one hand at the time the whole of Petrofina's polypropylene production was marketed by Montefina, a joint subsidiary of the applicant and Monte, and on the other, the data relating to the production capacity and sales by Montefina and Petrofina's aims were necessarily known to its partner in the joint subsidiary and must have been revealed by it at the periodic meetings of polypropylene producers in order effectively to take part in the fixing of the targets of sales volumes.
Perioden fra marts 1982 til november 1983
Period from March 1982 to November 1983
A. Systemet med regelmæssige møder
The system of periodical meetings
Retten fandt, at det måtte lægges til grund, at sagsøgeren havde deltaget fast i de regelmæssige møder for polypropylen-producenter fra marts 1982 til slutningen af september 1983, selv om selskabet bestred, at det havde deltaget i møderne den 20. august og 2. november 1982.
The applicant regularly attended periodical meetings of polypropylene producers between March 1982 and the end of September 1983 although it denies having attended the meetings of 20 August and 2 November 1982.
På grundlag af de oplysninger, som ICI var fremkommet med i svaret på begæringen om oplysninger, og som blev bekræftet af de utallige mødereferater, havde Kommissionen med rette anset det for bevist, at formålet med møderne navnlig var at fastsætte mål pri ser og salgsmål.
The Commission rightly took the view on the basis that the data supplied by ICI in its answer to the request for information, which was confirmed by numerous minutes of meetings, that the object of the meetings was in particular to fix target prices and sales volumes.
Retten fremhævede endvidere, at Petrofinas udtalelse om, at selskabet kun havde deltaget passivt i møderne, ikke stemte overens med selskabets egne oplysninger om, at det undertiden havde givet visse oplysninger om månedlige mængdemål for sit salg.
Petrofina's own statements showed that its participation was not just passive for it admits that it sometimes supplied information about the monthly tonnage of its sales.
Kommissionen havde herefter ført tilstrækkeligt bevis for, at sagsøgeren havde deltaget fast i de regelmæssige møder for polypropylen-producenter fra marts 1982 til september 1983, at disse møder navnlig havde til formål at fastsætte målpriser og salgsmål, at møderne havde været afholdt systematisk, og at sagsøgeren ikke kun havde deltaget passivt i disse møder.
It is clear from the above considerations that the Commission has sufficiently established in law that the applicant regularly attended periodical meetings of polypropylene producers between March 1982 and September 1983, that the object of the meetings was in particular to fix target prices and sales volumes, that they were part of a system and that the applicant's attendance at the meetings was not purely passive.
B. Prisinitiativerne
Price initiatives
Retten fandt, at det fremgik af mødereferaterne fra de regelmæssige møder for polypropylen-producenter, at de producenter, der havde deltaget i disse møder, dér var blevet enige om de prisinitiativer, som er nævnt i beslutningen.
The Court of First Instance finds that the minutes of the periodical meetings of polypropylene producers show that the producers who attended those meetings agreed the price initiatives referred to in the Decision.
Da der var ført tilstrækkeligt bevis for, at sagsøgeren havde deltaget fast i disse møder fra marts 1982, kunne selskabet ikke gøre gældende, at det ikke havde accepteret de prisinitiativer, som var blevet besluttet, planlagt og kontrolleret dér, uden at fremkomme med indicier, der kunne bekræfte dette anbringende.
Since it is established sufficiently in law that the applicant regularly attended those meetings from March 1982, it cannot allege that it did not subscribe to the price initiatives which were decided, arranged and supervised there without providing evidence to support its allegation.
Retten fandt, at sagsøgeren i hvert fald i større omfang, end selskabet selv hævdede, havde gennemført beslutningerne fra møderne, selv om Kommissionen ikke kunne fremlægge nogen skriftlig prisinstruktion.
In any event the Court of First Instance observes that the applicant's implementation of the result of the meetings was more substantial than it alleges even if the Commission has not been able to produce a single written price instruction.
Retten tilføjede, at Kommissionen med rette havde forstået ICI's svar på begæringen om oplysninger således, at prisinitiativerne var et led i et system med fastsættelse af mål pri ser.
The Commission was rightly able to infer from ICI's answer to the request for information that those initiatives were part of a system of fixing target prices.
Kommissionen havde derfor ført tilstrækkeligt bevis for, at sagsøgeren var blandt de polypropylen-producenter, der var blevet enige om de i beslutningen nævnte prisinitiativer, at disse prisinitiativer var led i et system, og at de fungerede til november 1983.
It follows from the above that the Commission has sufficiently established in law that the applicant was included among the polypropylene producers who evinced a common intention in relation to the price initiatives referred to in the Decision, that the initiatives were part of a system and were effective until November 1983.
C. Foranstaltninger, der skulle fremme iværksættelsen af prisinitiativerne
the implementation of the price
Retten fandt, at Petrofina havde givet oplysninger om sine kunder og om selskabets priser sammenlignet med de fastlagte mål, og at selskabet havde været udpeget som "account leader" for flere af sine kunder.
The Court of First Instance finds that Petrofina exchanged information in relation to its customers, the prices which it charged compared with the targets and that it was designated "account leader" of several of its customers.
Kommissionen havde herefter ført tilstrækkeligt bevis for, at sagsøgeren fra marts 1982 havde været blandt de polypropylen-producenter, der var blevet enige om de i beslutningen nævnte foranstaltninger, som skulle fremme iværksættelsen af prisinitiativerne.
It follows from the above that the Commission has sufficiently established in law that from March 1982 the applicant was included among the polypropylene producers who evinced a common intention in relation to the price initiatives referred to in the Decision.
D. Mængdemål og kvoter
Target tonnages and quotas
Retten henviste til, at sagsøgeren fra marts 1982 til 30. september 1983 havde deltaget fast i de regelmæssige møder for polypropylen-producenter, hvorunder producenterne diskuterede salgsmål og udvekslede oplysninger herom.
From March 1982 until 30 September 1983 the applicant regularly attended periodical meetings of polypropylene producers during which discussions about the sales volumes of various producers took place and information relating thereto was exchanged.
Retten bemærkede, at samtidig med, at Petrofina deltog i møderne, fremgik selskabets navn også af forskellige tabeller, hvis indhold klart viste, at de skulle anvendes til at fastlægge salgsmål.
In addition to Petrofina's attendance at the meetings its name is included in the various tables which clearly showed that they were intended to define the targets of sales volumes.
Hovedparten af sagsøgerne havde i deres svar på et skriftligt spørgsmål fra Retten indrømmet, at det ikke havde været muligt at opstille de tabeller, der blev fundet hos ICI, ATO og Hercules, på grundlag af statistikker fra Fides-systemet.
The majority of the applicants admitted in their replies to a written question put by the Court of First Instance that it would not have been possible to draw up the tables discovered at ICI, ATO and the Hercules on the basis of statistics from the Fides system of exchange of data.
Retten fastslog, at Kommissionen med rette havde fundet, at forhandlingerne mellem producenterne havde ført til indførelsen af et kvotesystem.
The Court of First Instances finds that the Commission rightly inferred that the negotiations between the producers led to the establishment of a quota system.
Et internt notat fra Shell viste således, at selskabet havde anmodet sine nationale salgsselskaber om at begrænse deres salg, ikke for at reducere Shell-gruppens samlede salgsvolumen, men for at begrænse gruppens samlede
The internal note from the Shell group shows that it requested its national sales companies to reduce their sales not in order to reduce the total volume of sales of the Shell group but to limit the group's total share of the market to 11%.
Kommissionen havde herefter ført tilstrækkeligt bevis for, at sagsøgeren fra marts 1982 havde været blandt de polypropylen-producenter, der var blevet enige om den begrænsning af deres månedlige salg på grundlag af salget i en tidligere periode (indtil slutningen af 1982) og om de salgsmål for første halvdel af 1983, som var nævnt i beslutningen, og som var led i et kvotesystem.
In view of the above considerations the Commission has sufficiently established in law that from March 1982 the applicant was included among the polypropylene producers who evinced a common intention in relation to the limitation of their monthly sales by reference to a previous period (to the end of 1982) and in relation to targets for sales volumes for the first half of 1983 referred to in the Decision and which were part of a system of quotas.
Anvendelsen af EØF-Traktatens artikel 85, stk. 1
Application of Article 85(1) of the EEC Treaty
Retten bemærkede, at det fremgår af Domstolens praksis, at det for, at der er tale om en aftale i henhold til EØF-Traktatens artikel 85, stk. 1, er tilstrækkeligt, at de pågældende virksomheder har givet udtryk for en fælles vilje til at optræde på markedet på en bestemt måde. Kommissionen havde derfor med rette kunnet anse den enighed, der var mellem sagsøgeren og andre polypropylen-producenter, og som der var ført tilstrækkeligt bevis for, for en aftale i henhold til EØF-Traktatens artikel 85, stk. 1.
The Court of First Instances observes that since it is clear from the case-law of the Court of Justice that for there to be an agreement for the purposes of Article 85(1) of the EEC Treaty it is sufficient that the undertakings in question have expressed their joint intention to conduct themselves on the market in a particular manner, the Commission was entitled to regard as agreements for the purposes of Article 85(1) of the EEC Treaty the agreements between the applicants and the other polypropylene producers which it has sufficiently established in law.
Med hensyn til definitionen af begrebet "samordnet praksis" henviste Retten til Domstolens praksis, hvoraf fremgår, at de kriterier om koordination og samarbejde, som den tidligere har opstillet, skal forstås ud fra den grund tanke, der ligger bag Traktatens konkurrencebestemmelser, og hvorefter enhver erhvervsdrivende uafhængigt skal tage stilling til den politik, han vil føre på det fælles marked.
In order to define the term "concerted practice" it is necessary to refer to the case-law of the Court of Justice which shows that the criteria of co-ordination and co-operation which have previously been laid down must be understood in the light of the concept inherent in the provisions of the Treaty relating to competition that each economic operator must determine independently the policy which he intends to adopt on the common market.
Selv om dette krav om uafhængighed ganske vist ikke udelukker, at de erhvervsdrivende kan foretage de nødvendige til pasninger til deres konkurrenters konstaterede eller forventede adfærd, forhindrer det imidlertid enhver direkte eller indirekte kontakt mellem sådanne erhvervsdrivende, som har til formål eller til følge enten at påvirke en aktuel eller mulig konkurrents markedsadfærd eller at informere en sådan konkurrent om den markedsadfærd, som man har besluttet sig til -eller overvejer - selv at følge.
Although this requirement of independence does not deprive economic operators of the right to adapt themselves intelligently to the existing and anticipated conduct of their competitors, it does however strictly preclude any direct or indirect contact between such operators, the object or effect whereof is either to influence the conduct on the market of an actual or potential competitor or to disclose to such competitor the course of conduct which they themselves have decided to adopt or contemplate adopting on the market.
Sagsøgeren havde i denne sag deltaget i møder, der havde til formål at fastsætte målpriser og salgsmål.
In the present case the applicant took part in meetings the object of which was to fix price targets and sales volumes.
Sagsøgeren havde ved sin deltagelse i disse møder sammen med sine konkurrenter deltaget i en samordnet praksis med det formål at påvirke deres markedsadfærd og at informere hinanden om, hvorledes den enkelte producent forventede at ville optræde på markedet.
In attending those meetings it took part with its competitors in concerted action the object of which was to influence their conduct on the market and to disclose the course of conduct which each producer contemplated adopting on the market.
B. Påvirkning af samhandelen mellem medlemsstaterne
Effect on trade between Member States
Retten bemærkede, at Kommissionen - i modsætning til det, sagsøgeren havde anført - ikke havde været forpligtet til at påvise, at selskabets deltagelse i en aftale eller samordnet praksis havde påvirket samhandelen mellem medlemsstaterne mærkbart.
Contrary to the applicant's claims the Commission had no obligation to show that its participation in an agreement and concerted practice had an appreciable effect upon trade between Member States.
Der var herefter ikke med Kommissionens faktiske konstateringer i relation til sagsøgeren ført tilstrækkeligt bevis vedrørende perioden fra begyndelsen af 1980 til marts 1982, og beslutningens artikel 1 blev derfor annulleret, for så vidt det heri udtaltes, at sagsøgeren havde medvirket til over trædelsen i denne periode.
It follows from the above that since the Commission's findings of fact against the applicant for the period from the beginning of 1980 to March 1982 have not been sufficiently established in law, Article 1 of the Decision must be declared void in so far as it finds that the applicant participated in the offence during that period.
Sagsøgerens øvrige anbringender vedrørende Kommissionens faktiske konstateringer og anvendelse af EØF-Traktatens artikel 85, stk. 1, i den anfægtede retsakt blev forkastet.
For the remainder, the applicant's objections to the Commission's findings of fact in the contested measure and the application of Article 85(1) of the EEC Treaty must be rejected.
Overtrædelsens grovhed
The seriousness of the offence
Manglende adskillelse af kriterierne til udmåling af bøderne
Failure to individualize the criteria for fixing the fines
Retten fandt, at de kriterier, der er nævnt i beslutningen, fuldt ud begrunder det generelle bødeniveau, som er anvendt over for de virksomheder, beslutningen er rettet til.
The Court of First Instance considers that the criteria adopted in the decision fully justify the general level of the fine imposed on the undertakings to which the decision was addressed.
Retten henviste i denne forbindelse specielt til, at overtrædelsen af Traktatens artikel 85 var åbenbar, hvilket polypropylen-producenterne, der handlede forsætligt og i dybeste hemmelighed, ikke havde været uvidende om.
In that respect it is necessary to stress particularly the patent nature of the infringement of Article 85 of the Treaty of which the polypropylene producers, who acted deliberately and in the greatest secrecy, were not unaware.
Retten fandt ligeledes, at kriterierne var relevante og tilstrækkelige som grundlag for en rimelig udmåling af de bøder, der var blevet pålagt den enkelte virksomhed.
The Court of First Instance also considers that the criteria are relevant and sufficient for the purposes of fairly balancing the fines imposed on each undertaking.
Hensyntagen til overtrædelsens virkninger
The account taken of the effects of the offence
Retten bemærkede, at Kommissionen havde sondret mellem to typer af virkninger forårsaget af overtrædelsen.
The Court of First Instance observes that the Commission distinguished two kinds of effects of the offence.
Den første type gik ud på, at producenterne - efter de møder, hvor der var blevet fastsat mål pri ser - gav deres salgsafdelinger instruktion om at iværksætte dette prisniveau, således at "målpriserne" var udgangspunkt for prisforhandlinger med kunderne.
The first related to the fact that after agreeing target prices at the meetings all the producers requested their sales departments to achieve those prices and the "targets" thus serve as a basis for price negotiation with their customers.
Det var berettiget, at Kommissionen på grundlag heraf konkluderede, at alt tydede på, at aftalen påvirkede konkurrenceforholdene mærkbart.
That enabled the Commission to conclude that in the present case everything indicated that the agreement had an appreciable effect upon the conditions of competition.
Den anden type gik ud på, at en sammenligning mellem udviklingen i fakturerede priser med de målpriser, der blev fastsat i forbindelse med konkrete prisinitiativer, bekræftede rigtigheden af den fremstilling, som var blevet givet i de papirer, der blev fundet hos ICI og andre producenter angående gennemførelsen af prisinitiativerne.
The second relates to the fact that the trend in prices invoiced to the various clients compared with the target prices fixed during the specific price initiatives agrees with the report of the implementation of the price initiatives as appears from the documents discovered at ICI and the other producers.
De betragtninger til beslutningen, der vedrører bødeudmålingen, måtte ses i sammenhæng med de øvrige betragtninger til beslutningen, og det fremgik heraf, at Kommissionen med rette fuldt ud havde taget hensyn til den første type af virkninger og i et vist omfang til den anden type.
Since the grounds of the Decision relating to the determination of the amount of the fines must be read in the light of the other grounds, the Commission rightly took fully into account the first kind of effect and paid only limited regards to the second.
Retten bemærkede i denne forbindelse, at sagsøgeren ikke havde redegjort for, i hvilket omfang Kommissionen havde undladt at tage tilstrækkeligt hensyn til den anden type af virkninger med henblik på at nedsætte bøden.
In that respect the applicant has not shown to what extent the taking into account of the limited nature of the second kind of effect was so inadequate as to warrant reduction in the amount of the fines.
Retten bemærkede, at en betingelse for, at lighedsgrundsætningen kunne anses for krænket, var, at sammenlignelige forhold var blevet behandlet forskelligt.
The Court of First Instance observes that in order for there to be a breach of the principle of equal treatment it is necessary that comparable situations should be treated differently.