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In 2010, the Commission imposed fines amounting to €175 647 000 on six groups of producers who had participated in a price-fixing cartel and shared the phosphate market for animal feed for more than 30 years. In that cartel, the companies concerned shared sales quotas by region and by customer, coordinated prices and, in some cases, the conditions of sale. A fine of €59 850 000 was imposed on the Roullier group, of which Timab Industries is a subsidiary, for having participated in that cartel from 1993 to 2004.
Unlike the other groups involved in the cartel, the Roullier group did not wish to settle with the Commission after it became aware of the approximate amount of the fine that the Commission intended to impose on it. The purpose of settlement is to simplify the procedure, as the companies concerned admit their participation in the cartel and accept mandatory commitments in exchange for a 10% reduction of the fine. The Commission therefore applied the standard procedure against the Roullier group. This is the first ‘hybrid’ cartel case, in so far as the settlement procedure took place in parallel with the standard procedure.
The Roullier group brought an action before the General Court seeking annulment of the Commission’s decision and a reduction of the fine. In particular, the Roullier group criticised the Commission for imposing on it a fine higher than the maximum in the range envisaged during the settlement procedure. By judgment of 20 May 2015,3 the General Court dismissed the action brought by the Roullier group, finding essentially that the Commission had not penalised the Roullier group on account of its withdrawal from the settlement procedure and was not bound by the range of fines communicated during the settlement procedure. Dissatisfied with the reasoning of the General Court, the Roullier Group asks the Court to set aside the judgment of the General Court.
By today’s judgment, the Court dismisses Roullier group’s appeal and thus confirms the fine of almost €60 million imposed by the Commission.
As regards the argument that the Commission applied to the Roullier group, under the standard procedure, a fine higher than the maximum in the range envisaged during the settlement procedure, the Court observes that the General Court duly verified the validity of the analysis carried out by the Commission during the standard procedure, as well as the factors used by the Commission to calculate the amount of the fine.
Thursday January 12, 2017/ CJEU/ European Union.
http://europa.eu/rapid
