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PARALLEL TEXTS
Gli accordi sui prezzi per la riparazione di veicoli assicurati conclusi tra le società di assicurazioni e le officine di riparazione hanno un oggetto anticoncorrenziale e sono dunque vietati qualora siano, per loro propria natura, dannosi al buon funzionamento del gioco normale della concorrenza
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-29_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-29_it.htm
Data documento: 14-03-2013
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Agreements concerning the price of repairs of insured vehicles concluded between insurance companies and repair shops have an anti-competitive object and are therefore prohibited where they are, by their very nature, injurious to the proper functioning of normal competition
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Gli accordi sui prezzi per la riparazione di veicoli assicurati conclusi tra le società di assicurazioni e le officine di riparazione hanno un oggetto anticoncorrenziale e sono dunque vietati qualora siano, per loro propria natura, dannosi al buon funzionamento del gioco normale della concorrenza
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The injurious nature thereof must be determined in relation to the two markets concerned, namely the car insurance and car repair markets
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Tale dannosità deve essere valutata in rapporto ai due mercati coinvolti, quello delle assicurazioni automobilistiche e quello della riparazione di veicoli
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Once a year, the Hungarian insurers – in particular Allianz and Generali-Providencia – agree with the car dealers, or with their national association, the conditions and rates applicable to repair services that the insurer must provide in the case of accidents involving insured vehicles.
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Gli assicuratori ungheresi – in particolare la Allianz Hungária e la Generali-Providencia – concordano una volta all’anno con i concessionari automobilistici, o con l'associazione nazionale che li rappresenta, le condizioni e le tariffe applicabili alle prestazioni di riparazione che l’assicuratore deve fornire in caso di sinistro ai veicoli assicurati.
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In the event of an accident, the dealers’ shops are thus able to carry out repairs immediately according to those conditions and rates.
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Pertanto, in caso di sinistro, le officine dei concessionari possono procedere direttamente alle riparazioni in base alle condizioni e alle tariffe suddette.
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In that context, the dealers are connected with the insurers in two ways:
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I concessionari sono quindi legati agli assicuratori sotto un duplice aspetto:
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first, they repair, in the event of accidents, cars insured by the insurers and, secondly, they act as intermediaries on behalf of the latter by offering car insurance to their customers on the occasion of the sale or repair of vehicles.
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in caso di sinistro, essi riparano per conto degli assicuratori i veicoli assicurati ed intervengono come intermediari a favore degli assicuratori medesimi offrendo assicurazioni automobilistiche ai propri clienti in occasione della vendita o della riparazione di veicoli.
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The agreements concluded between the insurers and the dealers provide that the dealers' remuneration for car repairs increases according to the number and percentage of insurance policies sold for the insurer concerned.
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Gli accordi tra gli assicuratori e i concessionari prevedono che questi ultimi percepiscano per la riparazione una tariffa maggiorata in funzione del numero e della percentuale di contratti di assicurazione commercializzati per l'assicuratore interessato.
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Since it found that the agreements at issue had as their object the restriction of competition in the car insurance contracts and the car repair services markets, the Hungarian competition authorities prohibited the continuation of the anti-competitive behaviour and imposed fines on the companies concerned.
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Ritenendo che gli accordi in questione avessero per oggetto una restrizione della concorrenza sul mercato dei contratti di assicurazione del ramo automobilistico e su quello dei servizi di riparazione degli autoveicoli, l'autorità ungherese garante della concorrenza ha vietato la prosecuzione del comportamento anticoncorrenziale e ha inflitto delle ammende alle società interessate.
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The Legfelsőbb Bíróság (Supreme Court, Hungary), hearing the case on appeal, asks the Court of Justice whether the agreements at issue have as their object the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition.
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Il Legfelsőbb Bírósága (Corte di cassazione, Ungheria), investito dalla controversia in sede di impugnazione, chiede alla Corte di giustizia se detti accordi abbiano per oggetto di impedire, restringere o falsare il gioco della concorrenza.
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In its judgment, the Court points out, first of all, that the agreements which have such an object, that is to say those which are by their very nature injurious to the proper functioning of normal competition, are prohibited and there is no need to examine their effects on competition.
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Nella sua sentenza odierna, la Corte ricorda anzitutto che gli accordi aventi un oggetto siffatto, vale a dire quelli che per loro stessa natura sono dannosi al buon funzionamento del gioco normale della concorrenza, sono vietati senza che sia necessario esaminare i loro effetti sulla concorrenza.
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Next, the Court notes that the agreements link two activities which are in principle independent, namely car repair services and car insurance brokerage.
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Successivamente, la Corte constata che gli accordi esaminati mettono in collegamento due attività in via di principio indipendenti: il servizio di riparazione di veicoli e la mediazione di contratti di assicurazione del ramo automobilistico.
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In that regard, the Court points out that, although such a link does not automatically mean that the agreements concerned have as their object the restriction of competition, it can nevertheless constitute an important factor in determining whether those agreements are by their nature injurious to the proper functioning of normal competition.
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La Corte sottolinea che, sebbene l’istituzione di un simile collegamento non significhi automaticamente che gli accordi hanno per oggetto una restrizione della concorrenza, essa può nondimeno costituire un elemento importante per valutare se tali accordi siano per loro natura dannosi al buon funzionamento del gioco normale della concorrenza.
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In that context, the Court holds that, although the present case concerns vertical agreements – that is to say, agreements concluded between undertakings which are not in competition – they may nevertheless have as their object the restriction of competition.
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La Corte rileva che, pur trattandosi nella specie di accordi verticali – ossia conclusi tra imprese non concorrenti – il loro oggetto può nondimeno consistere in una restrizione della concorrenza.
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The Court also points out that in the present case, the object of the agreements at issue must be determined in the light of the two markets concerned.
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La Corte precisa altresì che, nel caso di specie, l'oggetto degli accordi incriminati dev'essere valutato in rapporto ai due mercati coinvolti.
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Therefore, it is for the Hungarian court to determine, first, whether, taking account of the economic and legal context of which they form a part, the contested vertical agreements are sufficiently injurious to competition on the car insurance market to justify a finding that their object is to restrict competition.
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Pertanto, spetta al giudice ungherese verificare, da un lato, se gli accordi verticali controversi rivelino, alla luce del contesto economico e giuridico nel quale si collocano, un grado di dannosità per la concorrenza sul mercato delle assicurazioni automobilistiche sufficiente per constatare che il loro oggetto consiste in una restrizione della concorrenza.
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That could in particular be the case where the role assigned by domestic law to dealers acting as intermediaries or insurance brokers requires that they be independent in relation to the insurance companies.
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Ciò potrebbe verificarsi in particolare nel caso in cui il ruolo assegnato dal diritto nazionale ai concessionari, operanti come intermediari o broker assicurativi, esiga la loro indipendenza rispetto alle società di assicurazione.
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Likewise, the anti-competitive object of the agreements is also established where it is likely that, following the conclusion of those agreements, competition on the car insurance market would be eliminated or seriously weakened.
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Del pari, l'obiettivo anticoncorrenziale degli accordi sarebbe dimostrato ove fosse probabile che, a seguito della loro conclusione, la concorrenza sul mercato delle assicurazioni automobilistiche sarà soppressa o gravemente indebolita.
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Secondly, in order to determine the object of the agreements at issue in relation to the car repair service market, the Hungarian court should take account of the fact that those agreements appear to have been concluded on the basis of ‘recommended prices’, established in decisions taken by the national association of the car dealers.
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Dall'altro lato, al fine di valutare l'oggetto degli accordi controversi in rapporto al mercato dei servizi di riparazione dei veicoli, il giudice ungherese dovrà tener conto del fatto che essi sono stati conclusi sulla base dei «prezzi consigliati», stabiliti da decisioni dell'associazione nazionale dei concessionari automobilistici.
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If that court holds that those decisions had as their object the restriction of competition by harmonising hourly charges for car repairs and that, by the contested vertical agreements, the insurance companies voluntarily confirmed those decisions, which can be assumed where they concluded an agreement directly with that association, the unlawfulness of those decisions would also vitiate those agreements.
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Nell’ipotesi in cui il giudice constati che tali decisioni avevano per oggetto una restrizione della concorrenza mediante l’uniformazione delle tariffe orarie di riparazione e che, tramite gli accordi verticali, le società assicurative hanno volontariamente ratificato le decisioni dell'associazione dei concessionari – ciò che può presumersi nel caso in cui esse abbiano concluso un accordo direttamente con l'associazione – l’illegittimità delle decisioni di cui sopra vizierebbe anche gli accordi tra le assicurazioni e le officine.
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NOTE:
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IMPORTANTE:
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A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and tribunals of the Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them, to refer questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European Union law or the validity of a European Union act.
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Il rinvio pregiudiziale consente ai giudici degli Stati membri, nell'ambito di una controversia della quale sono investiti, di interpellare la Corte in merito all’interpretazione del diritto dell’Unione o alla validità di un atto dell’Unione.
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The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute itself.
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La Corte non risolve la controversia nazionale.
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It is for the national court or tribunal to dispose of the case in accordance with the Court’s decision, which is similarly binding on other national courts or tribunals before which a similar issue is raised.
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Spetta al giudice nazionale risolvere la causa conformemente alla decisione della Corte.Tale decisione vincola egualmente gli altri giudici nazionali ai quali venga sottoposto un problema simile.
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LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
Agreements concerning the price of repairs of insured
vehicles concluded between insurance companies and repair shops have an
anti-competitive object and are therefore prohibited where they are, by their
very nature, injurious to the proper functioning of normal competition
The injurious nature thereof must be
determined in relation to the two markets concerned, namely the car insurance
and car repair markets
Once a year, the Hungarian insurers – in particular Allianz and
Generali-Providencia – agree with the car dealers, or with their national
association, the conditions and rates applicable to repair services that the
insurer must provide in the case of accidents involving insured vehicles.
In the event of an accident, the dealers’ shops
are thus able to carry out repairs immediately according to those conditions and
rates.
In that context, the dealers are connected with
the insurers in two ways:
first, they repair, in the event of accidents,
cars insured by the insurers and, secondly, they act as intermediaries on behalf
of the latter by offering car insurance to their customers on the occasion of
the sale or repair of vehicles.
The agreements concluded between the insurers and
the dealers provide that the dealers' remuneration for car repairs increases
according to the number and percentage of insurance policies sold for the
insurer concerned.
Since it found that the agreements at issue had
as their object the restriction of competition in the car insurance contracts
and the car repair services markets, the Hungarian competition authorities
prohibited the continuation of the anti-competitive behaviour and imposed fines
on the companies concerned.
The Legfelsőbb Bíróság
(Supreme Court, Hungary), hearing the case on appeal, asks the Court of Justice
whether the agreements at issue have as their object the prevention, restriction
or distortion of competition.
In its judgment, the Court points out, first of
all, that the agreements which have such an object, that is to say those which
are by their very nature injurious to the proper functioning of normal
competition, are prohibited and there is no need to examine their effects on
competition.
Next, the Court notes that the agreements link
two activities which are in principle independent, namely car repair services
and car insurance brokerage.
In that regard, the Court points out that,
although such a link does not automatically mean that the agreements concerned
have as their object the restriction of competition, it can nevertheless
constitute an important factor in determining whether those agreements are by
their nature injurious to the proper functioning of normal competition.
In that context, the Court holds that, although
the present case concerns vertical agreements – that is to say, agreements
concluded between undertakings which are not in competition – they may
nevertheless have as their object the restriction of competition.
The Court also points out that in the present
case, the object of the agreements at issue must be determined in the light of
the two markets concerned.
Therefore, it is for the Hungarian court to
determine, first, whether, taking account of the economic and legal context of
which they form a part, the contested vertical agreements are sufficiently
injurious to competition on the car insurance market to justify a finding that
their object is to restrict competition.
That could in particular be the case where the
role assigned by domestic law to dealers acting as intermediaries or insurance
brokers requires that they be independent in relation to the insurance
companies.
Likewise, the anti-competitive object of the
agreements is also established where it is likely that, following the conclusion
of those agreements, competition on the car insurance market would be eliminated
or seriously weakened.
Secondly, in order to determine the object of the
agreements at issue in relation to the car repair service market, the Hungarian
court should take account of the fact that those agreements appear to have been
concluded on the basis of ‘recommended prices’, established in decisions taken
by the national association of the car dealers.
If that court holds that those decisions had as
their object the restriction of competition by harmonising hourly charges for
car repairs and that, by the contested vertical agreements, the insurance
companies voluntarily confirmed those decisions, which can be assumed where they
concluded an agreement directly with that association, the unlawfulness of those
decisions would also vitiate those agreements.
NOTE:
A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and tribunals of the
Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them, to refer
questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European Union law
or the validity of a European Union act.
The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute
itself.
It is for the national court or tribunal to
dispose of the case in accordance with the Court’s decision, which is similarly
binding on other national courts or tribunals before which a similar issue is
raised.
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