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 // 12/07/2018 // 3 min read
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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)

  1. 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)

  1. 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)

  1. 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)

  1. 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)

  1. 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)

  1. 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.

Competition