14.10.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 362/1

1.1.

On 20 June 2014, the European Central Bank (ECB) submitted a Recommendation for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank (ECB/2014/13). On 15 July 2014 the Council decided to consult the European Commission on this proposal.

1.2.

As this Recommendation is of specific relevance to supervision of financial institutions, markets and infrastructures, the stability of the financial system, but also to European statistics, the Commission welcomes this consultation.

1.3.

The ECB recommends that the ECB, on which specific functions in the field of prudential supervision of credit institutions have been conferred by Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 of 15 October 2013 conferring specific tasks on the European Central Bank concerning policies relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions (1), may use confidential statistical information for the performance of these functions. It also recommends that transmission of confidential statistical information between the ESCB members and other authorities of the Member States and the Union responsible for (a) the supervision of financial institutions, markets and infrastructures, and (b) the stability of the financial system, to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) may take place to support the respective tasks. Authorities may include, inter alia, the competent authorities responsible for supervision and macro-prudential oversight, the European Supervisory Authorities, the European Systemic Risk Board, as well as authorities authorised to resolve credit institutions.

2.1.

The recommended amendment involves, among other things, adding a paragraph 4a to Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 (2), in order to enable the transmission and use of statistical information collected by the ESCB between the ESCB and relevant authorities.

2.2.

The Commission supports the objectives sought by the ECB’s recommendation — minimising the reporting burden of undertakings, ensuring that data only needs to be collected once and also providing the EU and Member States bodies responsible for the supervision of financial institutions, markets and infrastructures and the stability of the financial system with the information necessary for the performance of their tasks.

2.3.

However, the Commission must underline the importance of protecting statistical confidentiality when producing European statistics.

2.4.

The Commission would, therefore, like to see, directly in Regulation (EC) No 2533/98, clear and restrictive definitions of the data concerned and the potential use that can be made of them. As regards the receiving authorities, it should be made clear that they are covered by strict confidentiality obligations, including physical and logical protection measures and time restrictions. This is currently not the case, since those obligations are limited to the ESCB members (Article 8(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98).

2.5.

The principle of statistical confidentiality is crucial to maintaining the trust of citizens and enterprises alike. It is therefore established in both systems that are responsible for producing European statistics, namely the European Statistical System (ESS) and the ESCB. However, while the principle is applied in the ESS basic legal framework — Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (3) — by means of a clear prohibition on the use of data collected for statistical purposes for any other purposes, with very few and strict exceptions to that rule, the basic legal framework for the ESCB — Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 — establishes a rather extensive and not so clearly defined list of exceptions (4).

2.6.

It is this list of exceptions that the ECB now recommends should be further expanded, to include the use by entities outside the ESCB that are responsible for tasks related to the supervision of financial institutions, markets and infrastructures and macro-prudential oversight.

2.7.

Failure to include clear and strict rules and conditions in the context of the current recommendation to expand the list of exceptions would be a concern for the Commission in several respects. Firstly, because entities that are not part of the ESCB and are not producers of statistics would be allowed access. Those entities are not bound by the professional principles that apply to statistical authorities on the basis of the abovementioned basic framework regulations and related European Statistics Code of Practice. Secondly, because of the character of the information to be accessed and its intended use for financial supervision purposes. Data of high commercial sensitivity for the data subjects would be used for monitoring and verification purposes. While administrative data may be used for statistical purposes, the use of confidential statistical information for administrative purposes would not be in line with usual statistical principles. Thirdly, because the ESCB may not be able to guarantee that the receiving entities outside the ESCB will protect the data to the full extent required. This could weaken public trust in statistical authorities and, as a consequence, would affect response rates and quality of reported data.

2.8.

Specific rules apply to data originating in the ESS that have been transmitted to the ESCB (in particular Article 8a of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98). These rules are not directly affected by the amendments that are being proposed. Nevertheless, the Commission considers that additional safeguards are needed. These safeguards should be specified in Regulation (EC) No 2533/98, and not only at a later stage in bilateral agreements between the ECB and the Commission (Eurostat) (5) or between other members of the ESCB and of the ESS, respectively.

3.1.

The Commission supports the objectives sought by the ECB’s recommendation — minimising the reporting burden of undertakings, ensuring that data only needs to be collected once and also providing the EU and Member States bodies responsible for the supervision of financial institutions, markets and infrastructures and the stability of the financial system with the information necessary for the performance of their tasks.

3.2.

However, the Commission must underline the importance of protecting the statistical confidentiality when producing European statistics. In order to protect as much as possible this principle the Regulation should provide clear and restrictive definitions of the data concerned and the potential use that can be made of them. As regards the receiving authorities, it should be made clear that they are covered by strict confidentiality obligations, including physical and logical protection measures and time restrictions.

3.3.

Consequently, the Commission is of the opinion that the concerns expressed above have to be addressed in Regulation (EC) No 2533/98.

14.10.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 362/4

—

in the merger section of the Competition website of the Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/). This website provides various facilities to help locate individual merger decisions, including company, case number, date and sectoral indexes,

—

in electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32014M7380. EUR-Lex is the online access to European law.

14.10.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 362/4

—

in the merger section of the Competition website of the Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/). This website provides various facilities to help locate individual merger decisions, including company, case number, date and sectoral indexes,

—

in electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32014M7311. EUR-Lex is the online access to European law.

14.10.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 362/5

14.10.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 362/6

1.

The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission that the anticompetitive behaviour covered by the draft decision constitutes agreements and/or concerted practices between undertakings within the meaning of Article 101 of the TFEU and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement.

2.

The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission that the undertakings concerned by the draft decision have participated in a single and continuous infringement of Article 101 of the TFEU and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement.

3.

The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission that the object of the agreements and/or concerted practices was to restrict competition within the meaning of Article 101 of the TFEU and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement.

4.

The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission that the agreements and/or concerted practices have been capable of appreciably affecting trade between the Member States of the EU and EEA.

5.

The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission’s assessment as regards the duration of the infringement for each addressee.

6.

The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission as regards the addressees of the decision.

7.

The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission that a fine should be imposed on the addressees of the draft decision.

8.

The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission on the basic amounts of the fines.

9.

The Advisory Committee agrees with the determination of the duration for the purpose of calculating the fines.

10.

The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission that there are no aggravating circumstances applicable in this case.

11.

The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission on the reductions based on the mitigating circumstances.

12.

The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission on the adaptation of the fines based on point 37 of the 2006 Guidelines on Fines.

13.

The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission as regards the reduction of the fines based on the 2006 Leniency Notice.

14.

The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission as regards the reduction of the fines based on the 2008 Settlement Notice.

15.

The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission’s assessment of the inability to pay request.

16.

The Advisory Committee agrees with the Commission on the final amounts of the fines.

17.

The Advisory Committee recommends the publication of its Opinion in the Official Journal of the European Union.

14.10.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 362/7

14.10.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 362/8

(1)

The Decision relates to a single and continuous infringement of Article 101 of the Treaty and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement in the sector of steel abrasives. Steel abrasives are loose steel particles, either in round (steel shot) or angular (steel grit) form, with their main applications in the steel, automotive, metallurgy, petrochemical and stone cutting industries. They are produced by the atomisation of molten steel from steel scrap, followed by a series of thermal and mechanical treatments in order to give them final characteristics. The anti-competitive conduct identified in this case covers both steel shot and steel grit in all their grades. The Decision is addressed to the following entities: (i) Ervin Industries Inc. and Ervin Amasteel (Ervin); (ii) WHA Holding SAS and Winoa SA (Winoa); (iii) Metalltechnik Schmidt GmbH & Co. KG (MTS) and (iv) Eisenwerk Würth GmbH (Würth).

(2)

Following the immunity application by Ervin, the Commission carried out unannounced inspections between 15 and 17 June 2010 at the premises of various producers of steel abrasives.

(3)

During the investigation, the Commission also sent several requests for information under Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003.

(4)

On 16 January 2013, the Commission initiated proceedings pursuant to Article 11(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 against the addressees of the Decision and another party with a view to engaging in settlement discussions with them. Settlement meetings took place between February 2013 and December 2013. Subsequently, Ervin, Winoa, MTS and Würth submitted to the Commission their formal requests to settle pursuant to Article 10a(2) of Regulation (EC) No 773/2004 (2).

(5)

On 13 February 2014, the Commission adopted a Statement of Objections addressed to Ervin, Winoa, MTS and Würth. All these parties confirmed that it reflected the contents of their submissions and that they therefore remained committed to following the settlement procedure. The Advisory Committee on Restrictive Practices and Dominant Positions issued a favourable opinion on 31 March 2014 and the Commission adopted the Decision on 2 April 2014.

(6)

The addressees of the Decision have participated in a cartel and/or bear liability for it, infringing therefore Article 101 of the Treaty, during the periods indicated below:

(7)

Ervin Industries Inc. is jointly and severally liable as parent company for the participation of its subsidiary Ervin Amasteel. WHA Holding SAS and Winoa SA are also liable for the behaviour of their directly or indirectly wholly owned relevant subsidiaries and WHA Holding SAS is also jointly and severally liable for the behaviour of Winoa SA.

(8)

The Decision concerns a cartel, the ultimate aim of which was to coordinate prices of steel abrasives and to restrict price competition. In order to achieve their aim the parties engaged in frequent anticompetitive contacts on bilateral, as well as multilateral, bases. Those contacts were used by the parties to discuss the key price components applicable to all their EEA steel abrasives sales and in particular to:

(9)

The geographic scope of the conduct as regards all parties was EEA-wide during the entire period of their participation.

(10)

The Decision applies the 2006 Guidelines on Fines (3). With the exception of Ervin, the Decision imposes fines on all the entities listed under point (6) above.

(11)

In setting the fines, the Commission took into account the sales of the participating entities in the markets concerned in the last year prior to the end of the cartel, the fact that price coordination arrangements are amongst the most harmful restrictions of competition, the duration of the cartel and an additional amount to deter undertakings from entering into price coordination practices.

(12)

The Commission did not apply any aggravating circumstances. However, the Commission considered that mitigating circumstances applied for MTS and Würth, since evidence showed that they contributed to a lesser extent than other parties in some of the arrangements for maintaining the cartel.

(13)

In view of the specific circumstances of this case, the Commission exercised its discretion in accordance with point 37 of the 2006 Fines Guidelines and adapted the fines in a way that takes into account the proportion of the sales of the cartelised product in the total turnover and the differences between the parties in view of their individual participation in the infringement.

(14)

In this case, none of the fines exceeded 10 % of an undertaking’s total turnover for 2012.

(15)

The Commission granted full immunity from the fine to Ervin.

(16)

As a result of the application of the Settlement Notice, the amount of the fines imposed on all addressees was reduced by 10 %.

(17)

The following fines were imposed pursuant to Article 23(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003:

(a)   Ervin Industries Inc. and Ervin Amasteel, jointly and severally: EUR 0;

(b)   Winoa SA: EUR 8 046 000;

(c)   Winoa SA and WHA Holding SAS, jointly and severally: EUR 19 519 000;

(d)   Metalltechnik Schmidt GmbH & Co. KG: EUR 2 079 000;

(e)   Eisenwerk Würth GmbH: EUR 1 063 000.

14.10.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 362/11

14.10.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 362/11

14.10.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 362/12

14.10.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 362/13

Direction générale de l’énergie et du climat — Direction de l’énergie

Bureau exploration et production des hydrocarbures

Tour Séquoia

1 place Carpeaux

92800 Puteaux

FRANCE

Tel. +33 140819527

14.10.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 362/15

1.

On 6 October 2014, the European Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which Iridium Concesiones de infraestructuras S.A. (‘Iridium’, Spain), a subsidiary of the ACS Group (Spain), and DIF Management B.V. (‘DIF’, the Netherlands) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control over a number of concession businesses by way of purchase of shares in a newly created joint venture and by way of contract of management.

2.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

3.

On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved. Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under the Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in this Notice.

4.

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax (+32 22964301), by e-mail to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference number M.7428 — Iridium/DIF/concession businesses, to the following address: