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PARALLEL TEXTS
Il Tribunale annulla parzialmente la decisione della Commissione relativa a un’intesa sul mercato dei tubi marini
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-60_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-60_it.htm
Data documento: 17-05-2013
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The General Court partially annuls the Commission’s Decision relating to a cartel on the marine hoses market
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Il Tribunale annulla parzialmente la decisione della Commissione relativa a un’intesa sul mercato dei tubi marini
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The fine imposed on Parker ITR is reduced by €25.61 million to €6.40 million inasmuch as the Commission could not find that company liable for the whole duration of the infringement
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L’ammenda irrogata alla Parker ITR è ridotta da 25,61 milioni di euro a 6,40 milioni di euro perché la Commissione non poteva fondatamente affermare la responsabilità dell’impresa per l’intera durata dell’infrazione
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By decision of 28 January 2009, the Commission found that 11 companies, including Parker ITR Srl (Parker ITR), Parker-Hannifin Corp. (Parker-Hannifin), Trelleborg Industrie SAS (Trelleborg Industrie), Trelleborg AB and Manuli Rubber Industries SpA (MRI) had participated in a cartel on the marine hoses market.
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Con decisione del 28 gennaio 2009,la Commissione ha accertato la partecipazione di undici società, tra cui la Parker ITR Srl (Parker ITR), la Parker-Hannifin Corp. (Parker-Hannifin), la Trelleborg Industrie SAS (Trelleborg Industrie), la Trelleborg AB e la Manuli Rubber Industries SpA (MRI), a un’intesa sul mercato dei tubi marini.
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The cartel, regarded by the Commission as having lasted from April 1986 to May 2007, had the objectives of the allocation of tenders, price-fixing, quota-fixing, the fixing of sales conditions, the sharing of geographic markets, and the exchange of sensitive information.
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L’intesa, che la Commissione ha ritenuto sussistente tra l’aprile 1986 e il maggio 2007, aveva per oggetto l’aggiudicazione di appalti, la fissazione dei prezzi, la ripartizione dei mercati e lo scambio di informazioni sensibili.
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The Commission imposed a fine of €24.50 million on Trelleborg Industrie, for €12.20 million of which Trelleborg was jointly and severally liable.
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La Commissione ha irrogato alla Trelleborg Industrie un’ammenda dell’importo di 24,50 milioni di euro, di cui la Trelleborg AB era responsabile in solido per la somma di 12,20 milioni di euro.
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The fine imposed on Parker ITR amounted to €25.61 million, for €8.32 million of which Parker-Hannifin was jointly and severally liable.
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L’ammenda irrogata alla Parker ITR era dell’importo di 25,61 milioni di euro, di cui la Parker-Hannifin era responsabile in solido per la somma di 8,32 milioni di euro.
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A fine of €4.90 million was imposed on MRI.
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L’ammenda irrogata alla MRI ammontava a 4,90 milioni di euro.
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The five companies brought actions before the General Court seeking either the annulment of the Commission’s Decision or a reduction in the fines imposed on them.
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Le cinque società hanno proposto vari ricorsi dinanzi al Tribunale dell’Unione europea chiedendo l’annullamento della decisione della Commissione o la riduzione delle ammende ad esse irrogate.
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The Court partially annuls the Commission’s Decision as regards Parker ITR and Parker-Hannifin and reduces the fines imposed on them.
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Il Tribunale annulla parzialmente la decisione della Commissione nella parte riguardante la Parker ITR e la Parker-Hannifin, riducendo le loro ammende.
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First, the Court holds that the Commission has not shown that there was a structural link between Parker ITR and the entity which preceded it and actually took part in the cartel.
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Da un lato, la Commissione non ha dimostrato l’esistenza di un legame strutturale tra la Parker ITR e il soggetto che l’aveva preceduta, il quale aveva effettivamente preso parte all’intesa.
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Secondly, the Court holds that it has not been proved that the transfer of Parker ITR was an abuse.
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Dall’altro, non è stato provato che la cessione della Parker ITR fosse intervenuta in condizioni abusive.
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Consequently, in accordance with the principle of personal liability, the Court annuls the Commission’s Decision in so far as it found that the company had participated in the infringement in respect of the period before 1 January 2002.
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Di conseguenza, in base al principio della responsabilità personale, il Tribunale annulla la decisione della Commissione nella parte in cui essa ha affermato che la società aveva partecipato all’infrazione nel periodo antecedente al 1° gennaio 2002.
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The Court reduces the initial amount of the fine from €25.61 million to €6.40 million, for €6.30 million of which Parker-Hannifin must be held jointly and severally liable.
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Il Tribunale riduce da 25,61 milioni a 6,40 milioni di euro l’importo iniziale dell’ammenda, per il quale la Parker-Hannefin deve essere considerata responsabile in solido per un importo di 6,30 milioni di euro.
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As regards the action brought by Trelleborg Industrie and Trelleborg AB, the Court holds that the Commission erred in law in categorising their infringement as continuous.
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Quanto al ricorso proposto dalla Trelleborg Industrie e dalla Trelleborg AB, il Tribunale rileva che la Commissione ha commesso un errore di diritto nel qualificare la loro infrazione come continuata.
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The Court holds that the Commission did not have any proof that those companies participated in the cartel during the intermediate period from May 1997 to June 1999.
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La Commissione non disponeva di alcun elemento di prova che stabilisse la partecipazione di tali società all’intesa durante il periodo intermedio compreso tra il maggio 1997 e il giugno 1999.
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During that period the cartel’s activity was reduced, or even non-existent, and in the absence of objective and consistent indicia that the applicants still intended to re-start that cartel or subscribe to its objectives, the Commission was not entitled to assume continued participation, even passive, on their part.
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Infatti, durante tale periodo l’attività dell’intesa era ridotta, se non inesistente e, in assenza di indici obiettivi e concordanti in merito ad un’eventuale volontà persistente delle società di rilanciarla o di aderire ai suoi obiettivi, la Commissione non aveva elementi per poter presumere una partecipazione continua, anche soltanto passiva, da parte loro.
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However, although the infringement committed by the companies cannot be categorised as continuing, the fact nonetheless remains that it is a repeated infringement.
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Il Tribunale rileva tuttavia che, sebbene l’infrazione commessa dalle società non possa essere qualificata come continuata, nondimeno si tratta di un’infrazione ripetuta.
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Furthermore, the Commission did not impose any fines for the intermediate period.
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Peraltro, la Commissione non ha inflitto ammende per il periodo intermedio.
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The error made by the Commission as regards the continuing nature of the infringement did not therefore have any effect on the duration of the cartel which served as a basis in calculating the amount of the fine.
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Pertanto, l’errore commesso dalla Commissione in merito al carattere continuato dell’infrazione non ha avuto alcuna incidenza sulla durata dell’intesa utilizzata come base per calcolare l’importo dell’ammenda.
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Consequently, the Court finds that there is no need to reduce the fine which was imposed on those two companies.
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Di conseguenza, il Tribunale considera che l’ammenda irrogata a queste due società non dev’essere ridotta.
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As regards MRI, the Court partially annuls the contested decision inasmuch as the Commission did not follow its Guidelines in applying the rate of reduction of the fine imposed on the company for its cooperation.
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Quanto alla MRI, il Tribunale annulla parzialmente la decisione contestata in quanto la Commissione non ha rispettato i suoi orientamenti nell’applicazione della percentuale di riduzione dell’ammenda irrogata alla società per la sua cooperazione.
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The Court finds in particular that neither the earliness of the company’s cooperation nor the degree of added value of the evidence which it provided is reflected in the rate of reduction applied by the Commission in its decision.
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Né la tempestività della cooperazione della società né il grado di valore aggiunto degli elementi di prova da essa forniti si riflettano nella percentuale di riduzione applicata dalla Commissione nella sua decisione.
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In such circumstances, the rate of reduction of the fine should have been 40% instead of the 30% applied by the Commission.
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In tali circostanze, la percentuale di riduzione dell’ammenda avrebbe dovuto essere del 40% piuttosto che del 30%, come stabilito dalla Commissione.
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However, on account of the gravity of the infringement and the duration of MRI’s participation, the Court holds that the amount of the fine is appropriate and that there is thus no need to reduce it.
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Tuttavia, tenuto conto della gravità dell’infrazione e della durata della partecipazione della MRI, il Tribunale considera l’importo dell’ammenda adeguato e che quindi non occorre ridurlo.
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NOTE:
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IMPORTANTE:
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An appeal, limited to points of law only, may be brought before the Court of Justice against the decision of the General Court within two months of notification of the decision.
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Contro la decisione del Tribunale, entro due mesi a decorrere dalla data della sua notifica, può essere proposta un'impugnazione, limitata alle questioni di diritto, dinanzi alla Corte.
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NOTE
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IMPORTANTE:
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An action for annulment seeks the annulment of acts of the institutions of the European Union that are contrary to European Union law.
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Il ricorso di annullamento mira a far annullare atti delle istituzioni dell’Unione contrari al diritto dell’Unione.
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The Member States, the European institutions and individuals may, under certain conditions, bring an action for annulment before the Court of Justice or the General Court
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A determinate condizioni, gli Stati membri, le istituzioni europee e i privati possono investire la Corte di giustizia o il Tribunale di un ricorso di annullamento.
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If the action is well founded, the act is annulled. The institution concerned must fill any legal vacuum created by the annulment of the act.
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Se il ricorso è fondato, l'atto viene annullato. L'istituzione interessata deve rimediare all’eventuale lacuna giuridica creata dall’annullamento dell’atto.
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LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
The General Court partially annuls the Commission’s Decision relating to a
cartel on the marine hoses market
The fine imposed on Parker ITR is reduced by €25.61 million to
€6.40 million inasmuch as the Commission could not find that company liable for
the whole duration of the infringement
By decision of 28 January 2009, the Commission found that 11 companies,
including Parker ITR Srl (Parker ITR), Parker-Hannifin Corp. (Parker-Hannifin),
Trelleborg Industrie SAS (Trelleborg Industrie), Trelleborg AB and Manuli Rubber
Industries SpA (MRI) had participated in a cartel on the marine hoses market.
The cartel, regarded by the Commission as having lasted from April 1986
to May 2007, had the objectives of the allocation of tenders, price-fixing,
quota-fixing, the fixing of sales conditions, the sharing of geographic markets,
and the exchange of sensitive information.
The Commission imposed a fine of €24.50 million on Trelleborg
Industrie, for €12.20 million of which Trelleborg was jointly and severally
liable.
The fine imposed on Parker ITR amounted to €25.61 million, for €8.32
million of which Parker-Hannifin was jointly and severally liable.
A fine of €4.90 million was imposed on MRI.
The five companies brought actions before the General Court seeking
either the annulment of the Commission’s Decision or a reduction in the fines
imposed on them.
The Court partially annuls the Commission’s Decision as regards Parker
ITR and Parker-Hannifin and reduces the fines imposed on them.
First, the Court holds that the Commission has not shown that there was
a structural link between Parker ITR and the entity which preceded it and
actually took part in the cartel.
Secondly, the Court holds that it has not been proved that the transfer
of Parker ITR was an abuse.
Consequently, in accordance with the principle of personal liability,
the Court annuls the Commission’s Decision in so far as it found that the
company had participated in the infringement in respect of the period before 1
January 2002.
The Court reduces the initial amount of the fine from €25.61 million to
€6.40 million, for €6.30 million of which Parker-Hannifin must be held jointly
and severally liable.
As regards the action brought by Trelleborg Industrie and Trelleborg
AB, the Court holds that the Commission erred in law in categorising their
infringement as continuous.
The Court holds that the Commission did not have any proof that those
companies participated in the cartel during the intermediate period from May
1997 to June 1999.
During that period the cartel’s activity was reduced, or even
non-existent, and in the absence of objective and consistent indicia that the
applicants still intended to re-start that cartel or subscribe to its
objectives, the Commission was not entitled to assume continued participation,
even passive, on their part.
However, although the infringement committed by the companies cannot be
categorised as continuing, the fact nonetheless remains that it is a repeated
infringement.
Furthermore, the Commission did not impose any fines for the
intermediate period.
The error made by the Commission as regards the continuing nature of
the infringement did not therefore have any effect on the duration of the cartel
which served as a basis in calculating the amount of the fine.
Consequently, the Court finds that there is no need to reduce the fine
which was imposed on those two companies.
As regards MRI, the Court partially annuls the contested decision
inasmuch as the Commission did not follow its Guidelines in applying the rate of
reduction of the fine imposed on the company for its cooperation.
The Court finds in particular that neither the earliness of the
company’s cooperation nor the degree of added value of the evidence which it
provided is reflected in the rate of reduction applied by the Commission in its
decision.
In such circumstances, the rate of reduction of the fine should have
been 40% instead of the 30% applied by the Commission.
However, on account of the gravity of the infringement and the duration
of MRI’s participation, the Court holds that the amount of the fine is
appropriate and that there is thus no need to reduce it.
NOTE:
An appeal, limited to points of law only, may be brought before the
Court of Justice against the decision of the General Court within two months of
notification of the decision.
NOTE
An action for annulment seeks the annulment of acts of the institutions
of the European Union that are contrary to European Union law.
The Member States, the European institutions and individuals may, under
certain conditions, bring an action for annulment before the Court of Justice or
the General Court
If the action is well founded, the act is annulled. The institution
concerned must fill any legal vacuum created by the annulment of the act.
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