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Document 52015XC0805(04)

Communication from the Commission — Amendments to the Commission Notice on the cooperation between the Commission and courts of the EU Member States in the application of Articles 81 and 82 EC

OJ C 256, 5.8.2015, p. 5–5 (BG, ES, CS, DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, HR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SL, FI, SV)

5.8.2015   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 256/5

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION

Amendments to the Commission Notice on the cooperation between the Commission and courts of the EU Member States in the application of Articles 81 and 82 EC

(2015/C 256/04)

1.

The Notice on the cooperation between the Commission and courts of the EU Member States in the application of Articles 81 and 82 EC (1) (now 101 and 102 TFEU) is hereby amended as follows.

2.

Paragraph 26 is replaced by the following text:

‘26.

There are further exceptions to the disclosure of information by the Commission to national courts. Particularly, the Commission may refuse to transmit information to national courts for overriding reasons relating to the need to safeguard the interests of the European Union or to avoid any interference with its functioning and independence, in particular by jeopardising the accomplishment of the tasks entrusted to it (2). Disclosure of information to national courts should not unduly affect the effectiveness of enforcement of the competition rules by the Commission, in particular so as not to interfere with pending investigations nor with the functioning of leniency programmes and settlement procedures.

(2)  Order in Zwartveld, C-2/88, EU:C:1990:440, paragraphs 10 and 11; Judgment in First and Franex, C-275/00, EU:C:2002:711, paragraph 49 and Judgment of 18 September 1996, Postbank, T-353/94, ECR, EU:T:1996:119, paragraph 93.’."

3.

The following paragraphs 26a and 26b are inserted after paragraph 26:

‘26a.

For that purpose, the Commission will not at any time transmit the following information to national courts for use in actions for damages for breaches of Article 101 or 102 of the Treaty:

—

leniency corporate statements, within the meaning of Article 4a(2) of Regulation (EC) No 773/2004 (3), and

—

settlement submissions, within the meaning of Article 10a(2) of Regulation (EC) No 773/2004.

This paragraph is without prejudice to the situation referred to in Article 6(7) of Directive 2014/104/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (4).

(3)  Regulation (EC) No 773/2004, as amended by Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/1348 (OJ L 208, 5.8.2015, p. 3)."

(4)  Directive 2014/104/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 November 2014 on certain rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringements of the competition law provisions of the Member States and of the European Union (OJ L 349, 5.12.2014, p. 1).’"

‘26b.

As regards other types of information, the Commission will not transmit the following to the national courts for use in actions for damages for breaches of Article 101 or 102 of the Treaty, before it has closed its proceedings against all investigated parties by adopting a decision referred to in Article 7, 9 or 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 or before it has otherwise terminated its administrative procedure:

—

information that was prepared by a natural or legal person specifically for the proceedings of the Commission, and

—

information that the Commission has drawn up and sent to the parties in the course of its proceedings.

When it is asked to transmit the said information to national courts for other purposes than the use in actions for damages for breaches of Article 101 or 102 of the Treaty, the Commission will in principle apply the limitation in time mentioned in the first subparagraph, in order to protect its pending investigations.’.

(1)  OJ C 101, 27.4.2004, p. 54.

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