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PARALLEL TEXTS
È contrario alle regole di concorrenza un accordo tra imprese inteso ad escludere un concorrente, anche se quest’ultimo opera illegalmente sul mercato
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-13_en.htm
Italiano tratto da: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-13_it.htm
Data documento: 07-02-2013
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An agreement intended to exclude a competitor is contrary to the competition rules even if the competitor is operating unlawfully on the market
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È contrario alle regole di concorrenza un accordo tra imprese inteso ad escludere un concorrente, anche se quest’ultimo opera illegalmente sul mercato
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The competition rules are intended to protect not only that competitor but also the structure of the market and, consequently, competition as such
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Le regole di concorrenza sono volte a proteggere non solo tale concorrente, ma altresì la struttura del mercato e, pertanto, la concorrenza in quanto tale
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In 2009 the Competition Authority of the Slovak Republic found that three major Slovak banks –Slovenská
sporiteľňa a.s.,
Československá
obchodná banka a.s. and Všeobecná úverová banka a.s. had infringed the EU competition rules.
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Nel 2009 l’Autorità garante della concorrenza della Repubblica slovacca ha constatato che tre importanti banche slovacche, ossia la Slovenská
sporiteľňa a.s., la
Československá
obchodná banka a.s. e la Všeobecná úverová banka, avevano violato le regole di concorrenza dell’Unione.
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They decided to terminate in a coordinated manner contracts concerning current accounts that the Czech company Akcenta CZ a.s. had with them and not to enter into any further contracts with it.
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Esse, infatti, avevano deciso di risolvere in maniera coordinata i contratti relativi ai conti correnti dell’impresa ceca Akcenta CZ e di non stipulare più nuovi contratti con essa.
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Akcenta is a non-bank financial institution providing services involving cashless foreign exchange transactions.
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Quest’ultima società è un istituto diverso da un istituto bancario che fornisce servizi consistenti in operazioni di cambio in forma scritturale.
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It therefore needs to have current accounts in banks in order to carry on its activities, which include foreign-exchange transfers from and to abroad, including for its customers in Slovakia.
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Essa ha quindi bisogno di conti correnti aperti presso istituti bancari per poter esercitare le proprie attività, che comprendono il trasferimento di divise da e verso l’estero, anche per i propri clienti nella Repubblica slovacca.
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In the Competition Authority’s view, the three banks colluded because of their dissatisfaction with the fact that their profits had fallen as a result of the business carried on by Akcenta which they regarded as a competitor providing services to their customers.
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Secondo l’Autorità garante della concorrenza, le tre banche si sono concertate in quanto scontente della diminuzione dei loro profitti derivante dall’attività della società Akcenta, considerata come una concorrente che forniva servizi ai loro clienti.
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The Slovak authority imposed fines on
Československá obchodná banka (€3 183 427), Slovenská
sporiteľňa (€3 197 912) and Všeobecná úverová banka (€3 810 461) for infringing competition law.
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L’autorità slovacca ha irrogato ammende alla
Československá obchodná banka a.s. (EUR 3 183 427), alla Slovenská
sporitel’ňa (EUR 3 197 912)e alla Všeobecná úverová banka a.s, (EUR 3 810 461) per violazione del diritto della concorrenza.
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One of the banks, Slovenská
sporiteľňa, brought proceedings against the national authority’s decision imposing a fine on it.
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Una della banche, la Slovenská
sporitel’ňa, ha impugnato la decisione con cui l'autorità nazionale le aveva inflitto l’ammenda.
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The bank submits that it has not infringed the competition rules, as Akcenta cannot be regarded as its competitor.
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La banca sostiene di non aver violato le regole della concorrenza in quanto la Akcenta non poteva essere considerata sua concorrente.
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According to the bank, since Akcenta did not have the licence required under Slovak law for it to carry on its business, it was operating illegally on the Slovak market.
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Infatti, secondo la banca, poiché l’impresa ceca non disponeva dell’autorizzazione richiesta dal diritto slovacco per l’esercizio della sua attività, essa operava illegalmente sul mercato slovacco.
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The Najvyšší súd Slovenskej republiky (Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic) hearing the case, has asked the Court of Justice whether it is of legal relevance for the assessment of a restrictive agreement that a competitor adversely affected by such an agreement is operating illegally on the market.
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Il Najvyšší súd Slovenskej republiky (Corte suprema della Repubblica slovacca), investito della causa, chiede alla Corte di giustizia se la circostanza che un concorrente leso da un accordo di cartello operi illegalmente sul mercato sia giuridicamente rilevante per la valutazione del cartello stesso.
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In its judgment the Court of Justice observes that where an agreement has as its object the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition, there is no longer any need to take account of the concrete effects of the agreement in order to establish its unlawful nature.
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Nella sua sentenza odierna la Corte ricorda che, ove un accordo abbia per oggetto di restringere, impedire o falsare il gioco della concorrenza, è superfluo prendere in considerazione i suoi effetti concreti sulla concorrenza per stabilirne l’illegittimità.
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The Court also states that the EU competition rules are intended to protect not only the interests of competitors or consumers but also the structure of the market and thus competition as such.
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La Corte precisa altresì che le regole di concorrenza dell’Unione sono destinate a tutelare non solo gli interessi dei concorrenti o dei consumatori, ma anche la struttura del mercato e, in tal modo, la concorrenza in quanto tale.
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In this case, the Court finds that the agreement in question specifically had as its object the restriction of competition.
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Nel caso di specie la Corte constata che l’accordo aveva specificamente ad oggetto la restrizione del gioco della concorrenza.
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Consequently, the fact that Akcenta was allegedly operating illegally on the Slovak market is irrelevant for the purpose of determining whether the conditions for an infringement of the competition rules are met.
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Di conseguenza, il fatto che l’Akcenta operasse sul mercato slovacco in modo asseritamente illegale non incide sull'accertamento dell'esistenza di un’infrazione alle regole di concorrenza.
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Moreover, the Court points out that it is for public authorities – and not private undertakings or associations of undertakings – to ensure compliance with the competition rules.
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Peraltro, la Corte sottolinea che spetta alle autorità pubbliche – e non a imprese o ad associazioni di imprese private – garantire il rispetto delle regole di concorrenza.
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The Court also states that Slovenská
sporiteľna cannot avoid liability for the restrictive agreement on the ground that its employee who took part in the meeting at which the agreement was concluded had not been given authorisation.
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Inoltre la Corte rileva che la banca Slovenská
sporiteľna non può sottrarsi alla propria responsabilità derivante dall’accordo di cartello adducendo che il suo dipendente, che aveva partecipato alla riunione nel corso della quale era stato concluso l’accordo anticoncorrenziale, non aveva ricevuto un mandato.
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The Court observes in that regard that participation in unlawful agreements is more often than not clandestine and is not governed by any formal rules.
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La Corte ricorda, infatti, che la partecipazione ad accordi illegali costituisce nella maggior parte dei casi un'attività clandestina che non si svolge nel rispetto di regole formali.
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It is thus rarely the case that an undertaking’s representative attends a meeting with a mandate to commit an infringement.
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È quindi raro che il rappresentante di un'impresa partecipi a una riunione munito di mandato al fine di commettere un'infrazione.
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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
An agreement intended to exclude a competitor is contrary to the
competition rules even if the competitor is operating unlawfully on the market
The competition rules are intended to protect not only that
competitor but also the structure of the market and, consequently, competition
as such
In 2009 the Competition Authority of the Slovak Republic found that
three major Slovak banks –Slovenská
sporiteľňa a.s.,
Československá obchodná banka a.s. and Všeobecná
úverová banka a.s. had infringed the EU competition rules.
They decided to terminate in a coordinated manner contracts concerning
current accounts that the Czech company Akcenta CZ a.s. had with them and not to
enter into any further contracts with it.
Akcenta is a non-bank financial institution providing services
involving cashless foreign exchange transactions.
It therefore needs to have current accounts in banks in order to carry
on its activities, which include foreign-exchange transfers from and to abroad,
including for its customers in Slovakia.
In the Competition Authority’s view, the three banks colluded because
of their dissatisfaction with the fact that their profits had fallen as a result
of the business carried on by Akcenta which they regarded as a competitor
providing services to their customers.
The Slovak authority imposed fines on
Československá obchodná banka (€3 183 427), Slovenská
sporitel’ňa (€3 197 912) and Všeobecná
úverová banka (€3 810 461) for infringing competition law.
One of the banks, Slovenská
sporitel’ňa brought proceedings
against the national authority’s decision imposing a fine on it.
The bank submits that it has not infringed the competition rules, as
Akcenta cannot be regarded as its competitor.
According to the bank, since Akcenta did not have the licence required
under Slovak law for it to carry on its business, it was operating illegally on
the Slovak market.
The Najvyšší súd Slovenskej republiky (Supreme Court of the Slovak
Republic), hearing the case, has asked the Court of Justice whether it is of
legal relevance for the assessment of a restrictive agreement that a competitor
adversely affected by such an agreement is operating illegally on the market.
In its judgment the Court of Justice observes that where an agreement
has as its object the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition,
there is no longer any need to take account of the concrete effects of the
agreement in order to establish its unlawful nature.
The Court also states that the EU competition rules are intended to
protect not only the interests of competitors or consumers but also the
structure of the market and thus competition as such.
In this case, the Court finds that the agreement in question
specifically had as its object the restriction of competition.
Consequently, the fact that Akcenta was allegedly operating illegally
on the Slovak market is irrelevant for the purpose of determining whether the
conditions for an infringement of the competition rules are met.
Moreover, the Court points out that it is for public authorities – and
not private undertakings or associations of undertakings – to ensure compliance
with the competition rules.
The Court also states that Slovenská sporiteľna
cannot avoid liability for the restrictive agreement on the ground
that its employee who took part in the meeting at which the agreement was
concluded had not been given authorisation.
The Court observes in that regard that participation in unlawful
agreements is more often than not clandestine and is not governed by any formal
rules.
It is thus rarely the case that an undertaking’s representative attends
a meeting with a mandate to commit an infringement.
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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