This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website
Document 62014TJ0445
Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 12 July 2018.
ABB Ltd and ABB AB v European Commission.
Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — European market for power cables — Decision finding an infringement of Article 101 TFEU — Single and continuous infringement — Evidence of the infringement — Products concerned — Public distancing — Duration of participation — Equal treatment.
Case T-445/14.
Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 12 July 2018.
ABB Ltd and ABB AB v European Commission.
Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — European market for power cables — Decision finding an infringement of Article 101 TFEU — Single and continuous infringement — Evidence of the infringement — Products concerned — Public distancing — Duration of participation — Equal treatment.
Case T-445/14.
Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 12 July 2018 –
ABB v Commission
(Case T‑445/14)
(Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — European market for power cables — Decision finding an infringement of Article 101 TFEU — Single and continuous infringement — Evidence of the infringement — Products concerned — Public distancing — Duration of participation — Equal treatment)
1. |
Competition — Administrative procedure — Commission decision finding an infringement — Burden of proving the infringement and its duration on the Commission — Means of proof — Reliance on a body of evidence — Degree of evidential value necessary as regards items of evidence viewed in isolation — Permissibility of an overall assessment of a body of evidence (Art. 101(1) TFEU) (see paras 33-39, 48, 49, 64-66) |
2. |
Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Adverse effect on competition — Criteria for assessment — Anti-competitive object — Sufficient (Art. 101(1) TFEU) (see paras 60-62, 70-72) |
3. |
Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Decision to apply competition rules — Obligation to reply to all the allegations made by the parties during the administrative procedure — None (Arts 101(1) TFEU and 296 TFEU) (see paras 97-99, 143) |
4. |
Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Prohibition — Infringements — Agreements and concerted practices constituting a single infringement — Attribution of liability for the entire infringement to a single undertaking — Conditions — Unlawful practices and conduct forming part of an overall plan — Assessment — Criteria — Contribution to the single objective of the infringement — Knowledge or predictability of the overall plan of the agreement, decision or concerted practice and its principal elements (Art. 101(1) TFEU) (see paras 103, 107-115) |
5. |
Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Agreements between undertakings — Meaning — Participation in meetings having an anti-competitive object — Included — Condition — Undertaking concerned not distancing itself from the decisions adopted — Public distancing — Criteria for assessment (Art. 101(1) TFEU) (see paras 118-122, 130-132) |
6. |
Competition — Administrative procedure — Commission decision finding an infringement — Burden of proving the infringement and its duration on the Commission — Extent of the burden of proof — Proof of the beginning of the infringement — Compliance with the principle of the presumption of innocence (Art. 101(1) TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 48) (see paras 167, 175, 196-204) |
7. |
Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Principle of equal treatment — Scope — Not possible for an undertaking to require non-discriminatory application of unlawful treatment granted to other undertakings concerned (Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2) and (3)) (see paras 178-186) |
Re:
Application under Article 263 TFEU for the annulment of Commission Decision C(2014) 2139 final of 2 April 2014 relating to a proceeding under Article 101 [TFEU] and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case AT.39610 — Power cables) in so far as it concerns the applicants.
Operative part
The Court:
1. |
Dismisses the action; |
2. |
Orders ABB Ltd and ABB AB to pay the costs. |