Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 1 February 2018.Deutsche Bahn AG and Others v European Commission.Appeal — Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Article 101 TFEU — Price fixing — International air freight forwarding services — Pricing agreement affecting the final price of the services.Case C-264/16 P.

Judgment // 01/02/2018 // 2 min read
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Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 1 February 2018 — Deutsche Bahn and Others v Commission

(Case C‑264/16 P) ( 1 )

(Appeal — Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Article 101 TFEU — Price fixing — International air freight forwarding services — Pricing agreement affecting the final price of the services)

  1. Competition—Transport—Competition rules—Air transport—Regulation No 17—Scope—Activities directly concerning the provision of air transport services—Not included—Provision of international air freight forwarding services—Included

(Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulations No 17 and No 141, Recital 3 and Art. 1)

(see paras 25-30)

  1. Competition—Administrative procedure—Commission decision finding an infringement and imposing a fine—Choice of legal entities subject to a penalty—Margin of discretion—Limits—Respect for the principle of equal treatment

(Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2))

(see paras 38-40)

  1. Acts of the institutions—Statement of reasons—Obligation—Scope

(Art. 296 TFEU)

(see para. 41)

  1. Competition—Fines—Amount—Determination—Determination of the basic amount—Determination of the value of sales—Sales carried out in direct or indirect relation to the infringement—Cartel in the international air freight forwarding services sector—Cartel regarding freight forwarding services as a package of services—Account taken of the value of sales made in the provision of freight forwarding services as a package of services—Lawfulness

(Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2) and (3); Commission Communication 2006/C 210/02, point 13)

(see paras 50-52)

  1. Competition—Fines—Amount—Determination—Discretion of the Commission—Judicial review—Unlimited jurisdiction of the EU judicature—Scope

(Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 47; Art. 261 and 263 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 31)

(see para. 56)

Operative part

The Court:

  1. Dismisses the appeal;

  2. Orders Deutsche Bahn AG, Schenker AG, Schenker China Ltd and Schenker International (H.K.) Ltd to bear their own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission.

( 1 ) OJ C 243, 4.7.2016.

Competition