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PARALLEL TEXTS
Il diritto dell’Unione non ammette che un ordine professionale imponga ai propri membri un sistema di formazione obbligatoria che elimina parzialmente la concorrenza e stabilisce condizioni discriminatorie a danno dei suoi concorrenti
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-21_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-21_it.htm
Data documento: 28-02-2013
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EU law precludes a professional association from imposing on its members a system of compulsory training which in part eliminates competition and lays down discriminatory conditions to the detriment of its competitors
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Il diritto dell’Unione non ammette che un ordine professionale imponga ai propri membri un sistema di formazione obbligatoria che elimina parzialmente la concorrenza e stabilisce condizioni discriminatorie a danno dei suoi concorrenti
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The fact that a professional association is required by law to put into place a system of compulsory training does not remove the rules adopted by that association from the scope of EU law
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Il fatto che un ordine professionale sia tenuto per legge a porre in essere un sistema di formazione obbligatoria non sottrae le norme che esso emana dal campo di applicazione del diritto dell’Unione
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The Order of Chartered Accountants (Ordem dos Técnicos Oficiais de Contas;) ‘the OTOC’) is a Portuguese professional association of which chartered accountants must be members.
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L’Ordine degli esperti contabili (Ordem dos Técnicos Oficiais de Contas, OTOC) è un ordine professionale portoghese, di natura associativa, presso il quale gli esperti contabili devono essere obbligatoriamente iscritti.
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The OTOC represents their professional interests and oversees all aspects of the practice of their profession.
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L’OTOC ha il compito di rappresentare i loro interessi professionali e di esercitare un controllo su tutti gli aspetti collegati con l’esercizio delle loro funzioni.
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In Portugal, by virtue of a regulation adopted by the OTOC, chartered accountants are required to have obtained, over the course of the previous two years, an annual average of 35 credits for training provided or approved by the OTOC.
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In Portogallo, in forza di un regolamento adottato dall'OTOC, gli esperti contabili devono conseguire, nel corso dei due anni precedenti, una media annuale di 35 crediti di formazione erogata o omologata dall’OTOC.
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The Training Credits Regulation, also adopted by the OTOC, provides for two types of training for that purpose:
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Il regolamento relativo al conseguimento di crediti formativi adottato parimenti dall'OTOC, prevede a tal fine due tipi di formazione.
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firstly, institutional training (of a maximum duration of 16 hours), which is intended to make the professionals aware of legislative initiatives and amendments and of questions of ethical and professional conduct;
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Da un lato, le formazioni istituzionali (di una durata massima di sedici ore), dirette a sensibilizzare i professionisti alle iniziative e alle modifiche legislative nonché alle questioni di ordine etico e deontologico:
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this training can be provided only by the OTOC and every chartered accountant must earn 12 institutional training credits per year;
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possono essere erogate esclusivamente dall'OTOC ed un esperto contabile deve conseguirne annualmente dodici.
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secondly, professional training (of a minimum duration of more than 16 hours), consisting of study sessions on topics central to the profession.
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Dall’altro, le formazioni professionali (di una durata minima superiore a sedici ore), consistenti in sessioni di studio di tematiche inerenti alla professione.
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This training may be provided by the OTOC but also by bodies registered with the OTOC.
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Tali formazioni possono essere erogate dall’OTOC, ma anche dagli organismi iscritti presso l’OTOC.
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The decision to accept or reject the registration of training bodies and the decision to approve or reject training sessions proposed by those bodies are taken by the OTOC following payment of a fee.
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La decisione di iscrivere o meno un organismo di formazione, nonché quella di omologare o meno le azioni formative proposte da tali organismi, spetta all’OTOC a seguito del versamento di una tassa.
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By a decision of 7 May 2010, the Portuguese Competition Authority held that the Training Credits Regulation had distorted competition on the market in compulsory training for chartered accountants throughout the national territory, in breach of EU law.
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Con decisione del 7 maggio 2010, l’Autorità garante della concorrenza del Portogallo ha dichiarato che il regolamento sul conseguimento di crediti formativi aveva causato una distorsione della concorrenza sul mercato della formazione obbligatoria degli esperti contabili in tutto il territorio nazionale, in violazione del diritto dell'Unione.
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A fine was for that reason imposed on the OTOC.
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All’OTOC è stata pertanto inflitta un'ammenda.
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That market, it was found, had been artificially segmented, a third of it being reserved to the OTOC (12 credits out of a total of 35), and, on the other segment of that market, discriminatory conditions being imposed to the detriment of competitors of that professional association.
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Infatti, detto mercato sarebbe stato artificiosamente segmentato, riservando un terzo di esso all’OTOC (12 crediti su un totale di 35) ed imponendo sull'altra parte di tale mercato condizioni discriminatorie a svantaggio dei concorrenti dell'ordine.
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The OTOC sought the annulment of that decision before the Portuguese courts.
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L'OTOC ha chiesto l'annullamento della decisione dell’Autorità garante della concorrenza dinanzi ai giudici portoghesi.
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In that connection, the Tribunal de Relação de Lisboa (Lisbon Court of Appeal), before which the dispute was brought on appeal, asks the Court of Justice whether EU competition law applies to professional associations.
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In tale contesto, il Tribunal da Relação de Lisboa (Corte d'appello di Lisbona), investito della controversia in appello, interroga la Corte di giustizia in merito all'applicazione del diritto dell'Unione in materia di concorrenza agli ordini professionali.
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In its judgment delivered today, the Court of Justice declares, firstly, that a regulation adopted by a professional association, such as the OTOC, must be regarded as a decision adopted by an association of undertakings within the meaning of EU competition .
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Nella sua sentenza odierna, la Corte di giustizia dichiara, innanzi tutto, che un regolamento adottato da un ordine professionale quale l’OTOC deve essere considerato come una decisione presa da un'associazione di imprese ai sensi del diritto dell'Unione in materia di concorrenza.
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Furthermore, the fact that a professional association, such as the OTOC, is required by law to put into place a system of compulsory training for its members cannot remove the rules adopted by that association from the scope of EU competition law, in so far as those rules are attributable to it alone.
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D’altra parte, la circostanza che un ordine professionale, quale l’OTOC, sia tenuto per legge a porre in essere un sistema di formazione obbligatoria destinato ai suoi membri non sottrae all'ambito di applicazione del diritto europeo in materia di concorrenza le norme da esso promulgate ed ad esso esclusivamente imputabili.
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In addition, the fact that those rules do not have any direct effect on the economic activities of the members of the professional association does not affect the application of EU competition law, since the infringement of which that professional association is accused concerns a market on which it itself carries on an economic activity.
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Inoltre, il fatto che tali norme non abbiano influenza diretta sull’attività economica dei membri dell’ordine professionale non incide sull'applicabilità del diritto dell’Unione in materia di concorrenza, dal momento che la violazione censurata concerne un mercato nel quale l'ordine esercita un'attività economica.
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Secondly, the Court states that a regulation adopted by a professional association putting into place a system of compulsory training for chartered accountants in order to guarantee the quality of their services constitutes a restriction on competition which is prohibited by EU law to the extent to which – this being a matter for the national court to ascertain – it eliminates competition within a substantial portion of the relevant market, to the benefit of that professional association, and in so far as it imposes, on the remaining portion of that market, discriminatory conditions to the detriment of competitors of the association.
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In secondo luogo, la Corte dichiara che un regolamento adottato da un ordine professionale che pone in essere un sistema di formazione obbligatoria degli esperti contabili, al fine di garantire la qualità dei loro servizi, configura una restrizione della concorrenza vietata dal diritto dell'Unione,-
spetta
al giudice del rinvio verificare dette circostanze. -quando elimina la concorrenza per una parte sostanziale del mercato rilevante, a vantaggio di tale ordine professionale, ed impone, per l’altra parte di detto mercato, condizioni discriminatorie a danno dei concorrenti dell’ordine.
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Thus, in order to analyse the effects which the regulation has on competition, the Portuguese court will first have to analyse the structure of the market in order to decide whether there is justification for the distinction drawn between the two types of training on the basis of their objectives, duration and the bodies authorised to provide them.
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Pertanto, per verificare gli effetti del regolamento sulla concorrenza, il Tribunale portoghese dovrà analizzare anzitutto la struttura del mercato e valutare se sia giustificata la distinzione operata tra i due tipi di formazione in funzione del loro oggetto, degli organismi autorizzati ad erogarle e della durata.
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As regards their objectives, there are factors which are liable to show that those two types of training could be regarded, at least in part, as being interchangeable (for example, it is possible for legislative developments to be the subject-matter not only of institutional training but also of professional training).
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Quanto all'oggetto, taluni elementi sono atti a dimostrare che i due tipi di formazione potrebbero essere considerati, almeno in parte, interscambiabili (ad esempio, non è escluso che gli sviluppi legislativi possano essere oggetto non solo di una formazione istituzionale ma altresì di una formazione professionale).
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With regard to the bodies authorised to provide those two types of training, the Court observes that the regulation in question reserves a significant portion of the market in compulsory training for chartered accountants to the OTOC.
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Quanto agli organismi autorizzati a impartire i due tipi di formazione, la Corte osserva che il regolamento riserva all’OTOC una parte non trascurabile del mercato della formazione obbligatoria degli esperti contabili.
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As for their duration, the referring court will have to ascertain whether other training bodies wishing to offer short training programmes are being prevented from doing so, something which would affect the normal operation of supply and demand.
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Quanto alla durata, il Tribunale dovrà verificare se sia precluso ad altri organismi di formazione proporre programmi di breve durata, circostanza che pregiudicherebbe il normale andamento della domanda e dell'offerta.
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It will also have to analyse whether the fact that chartered accountants are required compulsorily to earn a minimum of 12 institutional training credits per year – while there is no analogous requirement for professional training – is liable to confer a competitive advantage on the training sessions provided by the OTOC.
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Dovrà altresì esaminare se il fatto che gli esperti contabili debbano ottenere imperativamente un minimo di 12 crediti annuali di formazione istituzionale – mentre per la formazione professionale non è prevista alcuna prescrizione analoga – sia idoneo a conferire un vantaggio concorrenziale alle attività formative erogate dall'OTOC.
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Next, the Portuguese court will have to examine the conditions governing access to the market in question for bodies other than the OTOC, in order to establish whether equality of opportunity is guaranteed as between the various economic operators.
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Il Tribunale portoghese dovrà poi esaminare le condizioni di accesso al mercato degli organismi diversi dall'OTOC, per stabilire se siano assicurate pari opportunità tra i diversi operatori economici.
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In that regard, the Court notes that the professional training provided by the OTOC is not subject to an approval procedure, unlike that of training bodies, for which, moreover, the conditions to be met are drafted in vague terms in the regulation.
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La Corte rileva che la formazione professionale erogata dall’OTOC non è soggetta ad una procedura di omologazione – contrariamente a quanto avviene per gli organismi di formazione, per i quali, oltretutto, i requisiti da soddisfare sono formulati in modo poco preciso nel regolamento.
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Thus, the OTOC has conferred on itself the power to rule unilaterally on applications for registration or approval without that power being made subject to any limits, obligations or review procedure, a fact which could lead it to distort competition by favouring the training sessions which it itself organises.
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In tal modo, l'OTOC si è investito del potere di pronunciarsi in modo unilaterale sulle domande di iscrizione o di omologazione senza che tale potere sia corredato da limiti, obblighi o controlli, circostanza che potrebbe condurlo a falsare la concorrenza favorendo le proprie azioni formative.
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Likewise, the Court points out that the approval procedure for training sessions, as organised by the OTOC, is liable to restrict the offer of training proposed by other training bodies inasmuch as it requires applications for approval to be submitted at least three months prior to the start of the training, a requirement which de facto deprives such other training bodies of the opportunity to offer, in the immediate future, training on current issues.
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Allo stesso modo, la Corte sottolinea che la procedura di omologazione delle azioni formative, organizzata dall’OTOC, è idonea a limitare l'offerta proposta dagli altri organismi, dal momento che esige che la domanda di omologazione sia depositata almeno tre mesi prima dell'inizio della formazione, il che, di fatto, li priva della possibilità di offrire nell'immediato azioni formative di attualità.
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Finally, the Court observes, firstly, that such restrictions appear to go beyond what is necessary to guarantee the quality of the services offered by chartered accountants and, secondly, that they are not covered by the exemptions laid down in the Treaty.
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Infine la Corte osserva che tali restrizioni sembrano eccedere quanto necessario per assicurare la qualità dei servizi offerti dagli esperti contabili e non ricadono nelle esenzioni previste dal Trattato.
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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
EU law precludes a professional association from imposing on its members a
system of compulsory training which in part eliminates competition and lays down
discriminatory conditions to the detriment of its competitors
The fact that a professional association is required by law to
put into place a system of compulsory training does not remove the rules adopted
by that association from the scope of EU law
The Order of Chartered Accountants (Ordem dos Técnicos Oficiais de
Contas;) ‘the OTOC’) is a Portuguese professional association of which chartered
accountants must be members.
The OTOC represents their professional interests and oversees all
aspects of the practice of their profession.
In Portugal, by virtue of a regulation adopted by the OTOC, chartered
accountants are required to have obtained, over the course of the previous two
years, an annual average of 35 credits for training provided or approved by the
OTOC.
The Training Credits Regulation, also adopted by the OTOC, provides for
two types of training for that purpose:
firstly, institutional training (of a maximum duration of 16 hours),
which is intended to make the professionals aware of legislative initiatives and
amendments and of questions of ethical and professional conduct;
this training can be provided only by the OTOC and every chartered
accountant must earn 12 institutional training credits per year;
secondly, professional training (of a minimum duration of more than 16
hours), consisting of study sessions on topics central to the profession.
This training may be provided by the OTOC but also by bodies registered
with the OTOC.
The decision to accept or reject the registration of training bodies
and the decision to approve or reject training sessions proposed by those bodies
are taken by the OTOC following payment of a fee.
By a decision of 7 May 2010, the Portuguese Competition Authority held
that the Training Credits Regulation had distorted competition on the market in
compulsory training for chartered accountants throughout the national territory,
in breach of EU law.
A fine was for that reason imposed on the OTOC.
That market, it was found, had been artificially segmented, a third of
it being reserved to the OTOC (12 credits out of a total of 35), and, on the
other segment of that market, discriminatory conditions being imposed to the
detriment of competitors of that professional association.
The OTOC sought the annulment of that decision before the Portuguese
courts.
In that connection, the Tribunal de Relação de Lisboa (Lisbon Court of
Appeal), before which the dispute was brought on appeal, asks the Court of
Justice whether EU competition law applies to professional associations.
In its judgment delivered today, the Court of Justice declares,
firstly, that a regulation adopted by a professional association, such as the
OTOC, must be regarded as a decision adopted by an association of undertakings
within the meaning of EU competition .
Furthermore, the fact that a professional association, such as the
OTOC, is required by law to put into place a system of compulsory training for
its members cannot remove the rules adopted by that association from the scope
of EU competition law, in so far as those rules are attributable to it alone.
In addition, the fact that those rules do not have any direct effect on
the economic activities of the members of the professional association does not
affect the application of EU competition law, since the infringement of which
that professional association is accused concerns a market on which it itself
carries on an economic activity.
Secondly, the Court states that a regulation adopted by a professional
association putting into place a system of compulsory training for chartered
accountants in order to guarantee the quality of their services constitutes a
restriction on competition which is prohibited by EU law to the extent to which
– this being a matter for the national court to ascertain – it eliminates
competition within a substantial portion of the relevant market, to the benefit
of that professional association, and in so far as it imposes, on the remaining
portion of that market, discriminatory conditions to the detriment of
competitors of the association.
Thus, in order to analyse the effects which the regulation has on
competition, the Portuguese court will first have to analyse the structure of
the market in order to decide whether there is justification for the distinction
drawn between the two types of training on the basis of their objectives,
duration and the bodies authorised to provide them.
As regards their objectives, there are factors which are liable to show
that those two types of training could be regarded, at least in part, as being
interchangeable (for example, it is possible for legislative developments to be
the subject-matter not only of institutional training but also of professional
training).
With regard to the bodies authorised to provide those two types of
training, the Court observes that the regulation in question reserves a
significant portion of the market in compulsory training for chartered
accountants to the OTOC.
As for their duration, the referring court will have to ascertain
whether other training bodies wishing to offer short training programmes are
being prevented from doing so, something which would affect the normal operation
of supply and demand.
It will also have to analyse whether the fact that chartered
accountants are required compulsorily to earn a minimum of 12 institutional
training credits per year – while there is no analogous requirement for
professional training – is liable to confer a competitive advantage on the
training sessions provided by the OTOC.
Next, the Portuguese court will have to examine the conditions
governing access to the market in question for bodies other than the OTOC, in
order to establish whether equality of opportunity is guaranteed as between the
various economic operators.
In that regard, the Court notes that the professional training provided
by the OTOC is not subject to an approval procedure, unlike that of training
bodies, for which, moreover, the conditions to be met are drafted in vague terms
in the regulation.
Thus, the OTOC has conferred on itself the power to rule unilaterally
on applications for registration or approval without that power being made
subject to any limits, obligations or review procedure, a fact which could lead
it to distort competition by favouring the training sessions which it itself
organises.
Likewise, the Court points out that the approval procedure for training
sessions, as organised by the OTOC, is liable to restrict the offer of training
proposed by other training bodies inasmuch as it requires applications for
approval to be submitted at least three months prior to the start of the
training, a requirement which de facto deprives such other training bodies of
the opportunity to offer, in the immediate future, training on current issues.
Finally, the Court observes, firstly, that such restrictions appear to
go beyond what is necessary to guarantee the quality of the services offered by
chartered accountants and, secondly, that they are not covered by the exemptions
laid down in the Treaty.
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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