natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
I denne sag var ingen af de nævnte principper blevet tilsidesat af Kommissionen, navnlig fordi den havde vedlagt den omhandlede rapport som bilag til meddelelsen af klagepunkter, og idet Archer Daniels Midland ikke havde gjort indsigelse mod, at dette dokument blev benyttet.
Extending, in substance, the same principles to the particular case of attenuating circumstances, the Court of First Instance stated that, in the absence of any binding indication in the Guidelines as regards the attenuating circumstances that might be taken into account, it must be considered that the Commission has retained a certain discretion to make a global assessment of the size of any reduction in the amount of fines to reect attenuating circumstances.
Offentliggørelse af retsakter og definitionen på forretningshemmelighed
Regulation No 17 provided, as Article 23(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 now provides, that for each undertaking and association of undertakings participating in an infringement of Article 81 EC or Article 82 EC, the fine is not to exceed 10 % of its total turnover in the preceding business year.
I sagen Bank Austria Creditanstalt mod Kommissionen gjorde sagsøgeren i det væsentlige gældende, at offentliggørelse af en beslutning, hvorved der blev pålagt bøder, var retsstridig, idet offentliggørelse af denne beslutning i dette tilfælde ikke var obligatorisk. I dommen forkastede Retten imidlertid dette anbringende, idet den fastslog, at institutionernes mulighed for at offentliggøre de retsakter, de vedtager, udgør hovedreglen.
In FNCBV and Others v Commission, to which reference has already been made in connection with the application of the competition rules to the agricultural sector, the contested decision was vitiated by a failure to state reasons owing to the fact that the Commission had not dedicated any passage in the decision to compliance with the 10 % limit and the turnover to be taken into account when calculating that limit.
Retten foretog herefter en definition af begrebet forretningshemmelighed, idet den fastslog, at for at oplysninger ifølge deres natur er omfattet af denne beskyttelse, skal de for det første kun være tilgængelige for en begrænset personkreds.
Nonetheless, the Court of First Instance further held that the possibility for the Commission to rely not on the federations’ own turnover but on that of their members is not limited to the circumstance, already identied in the case-law, in which an association may render its members liable.
Der skal dernæst være tale om oplysninger, hvis offentliggørelse alvorligt kan skade den person, som har videregivet oplysningerne, eller tredjemand.
It must be possible to apprehend the real economic power of an association.
Endelig kræves det, at de interesser, som vil kunne skades ved offentliggørelsen af den pågældende oplysning, objektivt set er beskyttelsesværdige.Vurderingen af den fortrolige karakter af en oplysning forudsætter således, at der foretages en afvejning mellem de berettigede interesser mod en offentliggørelse, og den almene interesse, som fordrer, at fællesskabsinstitutionernes handlinger foretages så åbent som muligt.
Other specic circumstances may therefore justify the turnovers of the members of an association being taken into account, such as, for example, that fact that the infringement committed by an association relates to the activities of its members and that the practices are implemented by the association directly for the benet of its members and in cooperation with them, the association having no autonomous objective interests by reference to its members’ interests.
Retten lagde således til grund, at der er forbindelse mellem forretningshemmelighedsbegrebet og disse to forordninger.
That was indeed the situation in this case.
I det omfang offentligheden derimod har adgang til dokumenter, der indeholder visse oplysninger, kan disse oplysninger ikke anses for at være oplysninger, som ifølge deres natur er undergivet tavshedspligt.
The agreement in issue concerned those members’ activities and had been concluded directly for their benet.
I 2006 afsagde Retten atter talrige domme, der omhandlede spørgsmålet om, hvorvidt bøder pålagt for overtrædelse af artikel 81 EF var lovlige eller passende. De mest
Last, it had been implemented, in particular, by the conclusion of local agreements
Arbejdet bemærkelsesværdige udviklingstendenser dette år vedrørte det strafferetlige legalitetsprincip, anvendelsen af retningslinjerne for beregning af bøder, loftet på 10% af omsætningen og Rettens fulde prøvelsesret med hensyn til bøder.
Proceedings between departmental federations and local agricultural trade associations which were members of the national federations penalised in this case.
I dommene i sagerne Jungbunzlauer mod Kommissionen og Degussa mod Kommissionen forkastede Retten en ulovlighedsindsigelse vedrørende artikel 15, stk. 2, i forordning nr. 17 28, hvorved det gjordes gældende, at denne bestemmelse var i strid med det strafferetlige legalitetsprincip.
Under Article 17 of Regulation No 17, and also under Article 31 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003, the Court of First Instance, when hearing an action against a decision imposing a fine, is to have unlimited jurisdiction, within the meaning of Article 229 EC, which allows it to reduce or increase fines imposed by the Commission.
Ifølge sagsøgerne, der deltog i karteller på markederne for citronsyre og metionin, overlader denne bestemmelse Kommissionen en skønsbeføjelse til at afgøre, hvorvidt der skal pålægges en bøde, og størrelsen på en sådan.
During 2006 the Court of First Instance exercised that jurisdiction on numerous occasions and in various ways.
Retten lagde imidlertid til grund, at det i henhold til det strafferetlige legalitetsprincip, således som det er blevet fortolket i Den Europæiske Menneskerettighedsdomstols retspraksis, såfremt artikel 7, stk. 1, i den europæiske menneskerettighedskonvention finder anvendelse på bøder pålagt for overtrædelse af konkurrencereglerne, ikke er et krav, at affattelsen af de bestemmelser, i medfør af hvilke sanktionen pålægges, er så præcis, at det er muligt med fuldstændig sikkerhed at forudse konsekvenserne af, at bestemmelserne overtrædes.
Thus, in the vitamins cartels cases, the Court of First Instance exercised its unlimited jurisdiction solely in order to draw the consequences from defects aecting the legality of the decision. In BASF v Commission, the Court of First Instance considered that the finding of the illegality of the Commission’s assessment in regard to the aggravating circumstances which had led to an increase in the fine by reference to its basic amount gave the opportunity for the Community judicature to exercise its unlimited jurisdiction in order to conrm, cancel or amend that increase in the fine in the light of all the relevant circumstances of the case.
Endvidere er Kommissionens skønsbeføjelse ved pålæggelse af sanktioner, selv om den er bred, ikke uden begrænsninger, eftersom den er begrænset af loftet på 10% af omsætningen, af bedømmelsen af overtrædelsernes grovhed og varighed, af ligebehandlings- og proportionalitetsprincippet, af Kommissionens tidligere beslutningspraksis, der skal læses i lyset af ligebehandlingsprincippet, og, endelig, den begrænsning, Kommissionen har pålagt sig selv ved vedtagelsen af samarbejdsmeddelelsen og retningslinjerne for beregning af bøder. Retten forkastede således den rejste ulovlighedsindsigelse.
More generally, having been invited by BASF to exercise its unlimited jurisdiction independently of a finding of illegality, the Court of First Instance held that the review which it exercises in respect of a Commission decision finding an infringement of the competition rules and imposing fines is conned to a review of the legality of that decision, it being possible for the Court to exercise its unlimited jurisdiction only where it has made a finding of illegality aecting the decision, and in respect of which the undertaking concerned has complained in its action, and in order to remedy the consequences which that illegality has for the determination of the amount of the fine imposed, by annulling or adjusting that fine if necessary.
Selv om Kommissionen vedtog nye retningslinjer for beregning af bøder den 1. september 2006, vedrører de domme, der er afsagt dette år, ligesom de nye sager, der er indbragt, udelukkende de i 1998 vedtagne retningslinjer 29.
Conversely, in Hoek Loos v Commission, which concerned the industrial gases cartel, the Court of First Instance considered the applicant’s argument from the aspect of the request to cancel or reduce its fine.
Ud fra en generel betragtning er det således med rette antaget, at retningslinjerne har bindende virkning for Kommissionen.
In that context, it observed that the assessment of the proportionate nature of the fine by reference to the gravity and duration of the infringement fell within the unlimited jurisdiction conferred on the Court of First Instance 30.
Retten har imidlertid i dommen i sagen Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich m.fl. mod Kommissionen præciseret, at en sådan begrænsning, som Kommissionen har pålagt sig selv, ikke er uforenelig med, at Kommissionen bibeholder en væsentlig skønsbeføjelse.
Having finally rejected all of those complaints, the Court of First Instance concluded that‘since the final amount of the fine imposed on the applicant appear[ed] to be wholly appropriate, no points raised by the latter justif[ied] any reduction thereof’.
Vedtagelsen af retningslinjerne har således ikke ernet betydningen af tidligere retspraksis, hvorefter Kommissionen er i besiddelse af en
Likewise, in Raieisen Zentralbank Österreich and Others v Commission, the Court of First Instance held that, in addition to reviewing the legality of a decision, it must appraise whether it is appropriate to exercise its unlimited jurisdiction in regard to the fine imposed on the various members of the cartel.
Rådets forordning nr. 17 af 6.2.1962, første forordning om anvendelse af bestemmelserne i traktatens artikel [81 EF] og [82 EF] (EFT 1959-1962, s. 81).
Thus, on a number of occasions, the Court of First Instance, after rejecting a plea put forward by the applicants, has exercised its unlimited jurisdiction and conrmed that the fine imposed was appropriate.
De nye retningslinjer finder anvendelse i sager, hvor der er sket underretning om en meddelelse af klagepunkter efter den 1.9.2006.
See also Westfalen Gassen Nederland v Commission and Case T-329/01 Archer Daniels Midland v Commission, paragraph 380.
Retten i Første Instans skønsbeføjelse, der ved fastsættelsen af størrelsen på den bøde, den agter at pålægge, giver den mulighed for at bestemme, om den vil tage visse forhold i betragtning eller ej, navnlig alt efter sagens omstændigheder.
Last, in FNCBV and Others v Commission, to which reference has already been made, the Court of First Instance noted that, by way of attenuating circumstances, the Commission had taken into account, first, the fact that this was the first time that it had imposed sanctions on a cartel concluded exclusively between trade federations, relating to a basic agricultural product and involving two links in the production chain, and, second, the specic economic context of the case, marked in particular by the serious crisis in the beef sector from 2000, following the discovery of new cases of mad cow disease. For that reason, the Commission had applied a reduction of 60 % to the amount of the fines imposed on the applicants.
Såfremt Kommissionen har fraveget den fremgangsmåde, der er anført i retningslinjerne, påhviler det Retten at kontrollere, om denne fravigelse er berettiget og tilstrækkeligt begrundet.
Exercising its unlimited jurisdiction, the Court of First Instance considered that that reduction, although considerable, did not take sucient account of the exceptional nature of the circumstances of the case.
Retten præciserede imidlertid ligeledes, at Kommissionens skønsbeføjelse og de begrænsninger, som den er undergivet, ikke foregriber fællesskabsretsinstansens fulde prøvelsesret.
Accordingly, it considered that it was appropriate to establish at 70 % the percentage of reduction of the fines to be granted to the applicants and therefore to apply an additional reduction of 10 % to the amount of the fine.
I løbet af 2006 har Retten ligeledes fortsat bidraget med præciseringer af visse af retningslinjernes bestemmelser, f.eks. vedrørende begrebet konkret indvirkning, i sagerne Archer Daniels Midland »natriumgluconat« og Archer Daniels Midland »citronsyre«, om den skærpende omstændighed forbundet med en førende rolle, i dommene i sagen BASF mod Kommissionen og i sagen Archer Daniels Midland mod Kommissionen (citronsyre), samt om den formildende omstændighed forbundet med overtrædelsens ophør straks efter Kommissionens første indgreb i dommene i sagen Archer Daniels Midlands mod Kommissionen (citronsyre) og i sagen Archer Daniels Midland mod Kommissionen (natriumgluconat).
Thus, in Raieisen Zentralbank Österreich and Others v Commission, the Commission requested the Court of First Instance to increase the amount of the fine imposed on the applicant, on the ground that it had disputed for the first time, before the Court of First Instance, the existence of a part of the impugned agreements. The Court of First Instance held that it is important in that regard to know whether the applicant’s conduct obliged the Commission, against any expectation that it might reasonably found on the applicant’s cooperation during the administrative procedure, to prepare and present a defence before the Court of First Instance specically aimed at the contestation of the unlawful acts which it had been entitled to consider were no longer called in question by the applicant.
Det er i forordning nr. 17 og dermed i artikel 23, stk. 2, i forordning nr. 1/2003 fastsat, at bøden for hver af de virksomheder eller virksomhedssammenslutninger, som har deltaget i overtrædelsen af artikel 81 EF og 82 EF, ikke kan overstige 10% af den samlede omsætning i det foregående regnskabsår.
The Court of First Instance concluded in this case that an increase in the penalty was not appropriate owing to the relative unimportance of the points disputed both for the structure of the contested decision and for the preparation of the Commission’s defence, which was scarcely rendered more dicult by the applicant’s conduct.
I den sag, der gav anledning til den allerede i forbindelse med konkurrencereglernes anvendelse på landbrugssektoren nævnte dom i sagen FNCBV m.fl. mod Kommissionen, var den anfægtede beslutning behæftet med en begrundelsesmangel vedrørende den omstændighed, at Kommissionen ikke havde viet et eneste afsnit i beslutningen til spørgsmålet om grænsen på 10% og den omsætning, der skulle tages i betragtning ved beregningen af denne grænse.
In Roquette Frères v Commission, on the other hand, the Court of First Instance increased the contested fine after reducing it. It found, initially, that the fine imposed on the applicant did not correspond with its position on the sodium gluconate market.
Retten fastslog imidlertid endvidere, at Kommissionens mulighed for ikke at støtte sig på omsætningen hidrørende fra selve sammenslutningen, men på medlemmernes omsætning, ikke begrænses i den faktiske situation, der allerede er identificeret i retspraksis, hvor en sammenslutning kan tegne sine medlemmer.
Even though no criticism could be levelled against the Commission, since it had calculated the amount of the fine on the basis of unclear and equivocal information originating with the applicant, the Court of First Instance nonetheless decided to correct that defect in the decision and therefore to reduce the fine.
Andre konkrete omstændigheder kan således berettige, at omsætning hidrørende fra sammenslutningens medlemmer tages i betragtning, såsom f.eks. den omstændighed, at den af en sammenslutning begåede overtrædelse vedrører medlemmernes aktiviteter, og at denne praksis udøves af sammenslutningen til medlemmernes direkte fordel og i
As Regulation No 17 provides that the Commission may impose a fine of between EUR 100 and EUR 5 000 if the undertaking supplies incorrect information in response to a request for information, the Court of First Instance decided to take the applicant’s serious negligence into account and to increase the fine by the maximum amount provided for in that provision.
Arbejdet samarbejde med dem, idet sammenslutningen ikke har objektive interesser, der har uafhængig karakter i forhold til medlemmernes interesser. Det var givetvis tilfældet i denne sag.
Proceedings take into consideration additional information which was not mentioned in the contested decision when assessing the amount of the fine in the light of the complaint raised by the applicant, an assessment which was conrmed in Raieisen Zentralbank Österreich and Others v Commission.
De sammenslutninger, der blev pålagt sanktioner, havde grundlæggende til formål at forsvare deres medlemmer og repræsentere deres interesser. Den omtvistede aftale vedrørte bl.a. disse medlemmers aktiviteter og var direkte blevet indgået til fordel for dem.
However, the Court of First Instance made clear in Roquette Frères v Commission that, in the light of the principle of legal certainty, that possibility must in principle be limited to taking into account items of information preceding the contested decision and of which the Commission might have been aware at the time of adopting its decision.
Endelig var den bl.a. blevet gennemført ved indgåelse af lokale aftaler mellem regionale sammenslutninger og lokale landbrugsforeninger, der var medlemmer af de nationale sammenslutninger, der i denne sag var blevet pålagt sanktioner.
A dierent approach would lead the Court of First Instance to substitute itself for the administration in order to assess a question which the Commission has not yet been called upon to examine, which would be tantamount to interfering with the system of the allocation of functions and the institutional balance between the judiciary and the administration.
Udøvelse af den fulde prøvelsesret
Points raised in connection with the control of concentrations
I medfør af artikel 17 i forordning nr. 17 samt artikel 31 i forordning nr. 1/2003 har Retten ved pådømmelse af søgsmål rettet mod beslutninger, hvorved der pålægges en bøde, fuld prøvelsesret i den forstand, hvori dette udtryk er anvendt i artikel 229 EF, hvorfor Retten kan nedsætte eller forhøje bøder, som Kommissionen har pålagt.
Three judgments concerning the application of Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89, now replaced by Regulation (EC) No 139/2004, were delivered during 2006, as was a fourth judgment concerning the application of the latter regulation 31.
I løbet af 2006 har Retten udøvet denne beføjelse ved adskillige lejligheder og på forskellige måder.
The Commission’s competence in relation to the control of concentrations
Således udøvede Retten i sagerne vedrørende vitaminkartellerne sin fulde prøvelsesret til udelukkende at drage konsekvenserne af mangler, som havde indvirkning på beslutningens lovlighed.
Regulations (EEC) No 4064/89 and (EC) No 139/2004 apply solely to concentrations having a Community dimension, which is dened, inter alia, by reference to a number of turnover thresholds applicable to the parties to the transaction.
Derimod undersøgte Retten i sagen Hoek Loos mod Kommissionen, der omhandlede et kartel vedrørende industrielle gasser, sagsøgerens argumentation i lyset af den nedlagte påstand om ophævelse eller nedsættelse af bøden.
In the first place, Endesa v Commission set out the criteria on which the turnovers of two parties to a concentration must be calculated in order to ascertain whether the concentration has a Community dimension.
I denne forbindelse bemærkede Retten, at bedømmelsen af den pålagte bødes forholdsmæssige karakter i forhold til overtrædelsens grovhed og varighed var omfattet af Rettens fulde prøvelsesret 30.
In that case, Gas Natural, a Spanish company active in the energy sector, had notied the Spanish competition authority of its intention to launch a public bid to acquire the whole of the capital of Endesa, a Spanish company essentially active in the electricity sector.
Efter endelig at have forkastet alle disse klagepunkter konkluderede Retten, at størrelsen på den endelige bøde, der var blevet pålagt sagsøgeren, fremstod »aldeles passende, idet ingen af de omstændigheder, der er gjort gældende af sagsøgeren, kan berettige en nedsættelse af dette beløb«. Retten fastslog ligeledes i dommen i sagen Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich m.fl. mod Kommissionen, at det ud over dens legalitetskontrol
Taking the view that, according to Regulation (EEC) No 139/2004, the transaction had a Community dimension and therefore ought to have been notied to the Commission, Endesa had lodged a complaint with the Commission, which had nonetheless rejected it. Endesa challenged that decision before the Court of First Instance, maintaining, in particular, that the Commission had assessed its turnover incorrectly.
Retten i Første Instans vedrørende en beslutning tilkommer den at foretage en bedømmelse af, om den burde udøve sin fulde prøvelsesret i forhold til den bøde, der var blevet pålagt kartellets forskellige medlemmer.
Court of First Instance complaint by an undertaking which considers that a concentration which has not been notied to the Commission is of a Community dimension, the Commission is required to take a decision on the principle of its competence.
Således har Retten i flere tilfælde efter at have forkastet et anbringende, der var gjort gældende af sagsøgerne, udøvet sin fulde prøvelsesret til at bekræfte den pålagte bødes passende karakter.
Furthermore, the Commission cannot be required to satisfy itself of its own motion in each case that the audited accounts submitted to it faithfully reect reality and to examine all the adjustments envisageable.
Kommissionen havde af denne grund foretaget en nedsættelse på 60% af størrelsen af den bøde, der var blevet pålagt sagsøgerne.
In this case, Endesa maintained, in particular, that the Commission’s examination of its turnover ought to have been based on international accounting standards and not on the Spanish standards then in force.
Ved udøvelse af sin fulde prøvelsesret lagde Retten til grund, at denne nedsættelse, om end den var væsentlig, ikke i tilstrækkeligt omfang tog højde for de i sagen foreliggende faktiske omstændigheders undtagelsesvise karakter.
However, the Court of First Instance interpreted Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 as meaning that it requires that the Commission refer to the undertakings’ accounts for the previous year, drawn up and audited in accordance with the applicable legislation.
Retten fandt således, at det var passende at fastsætte procentsatsen for den bødenedsættelse, som skulle tildeles sagsøgerne, til 70%, idet der således blev anvendt en yderligere nedsættelsesprocent på 10% af bødebeløbet.
In this case, the rules applicable in Spain for accounts for the 2004 business year were the generally accepted national accounting principles and not international accounting principles, which, in accordance with the regulation on the application of international accounting standards, did not become applicable until the 2005 business year.
Det bemærkes ligeledes, at Retten i to sager har undersøgt muligheden af at forhøje den af Kommissionen pålagte bøde.
The Court of First Instance also rejected Endesa’s arguments that the Commission ought to have carried out two adjustments, one relating to Endesa’s distribution operations and the other in respect of gas exchanges.
Således nedlagde Kommissionen i dommen i sagen Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich m.fl. mod Kommissionen påstand om forhøjelse af den bøde, der var blevet pålagt sagsøgeren, idet denne bank for første gang for Retten havde bestridt eksistensen af en del af de aftaler, for hvilke den var blevet pålagt en sanktion.
In that context, the Court of First Instance stated, in particular, that for reasons of legal security, the turnover to take into consideration for the purpose of determining the authority competent to examine a concentration must, in principle, be dened on the basis of the published annual accounts.