Brussels, 08/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 8 December, the European Commission imposed a fine of €5 million to the Ordre national des pharmaciens (ONP) and its governing bodies for having imposed minimum prices on the French market for clinical tests and for having hindered the development of groups of laboratories on this market, in violation of EU antitrust rules and provisions on restrictive business practices (Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU). The ONP is a professional body whose remit is to ensure that pharmacists in France comply with their professional duties. The Commission believes that ONP behaviour has damaged patients and the state, which have paid more for clinical tests than if competition had been allowed to develop. Pointing out that such behaviour “has not yet been fully eliminated”, the Commission orders ONP to put an end to it immediately. “An association that represents and defends private interests cannot take the place of the state and issue its own rules restricting price competition in areas in which the state intended to maintain it, and hindering the development of undertakings on the market beyond what is provided for by law”, said Joaquín Almunia, Commission Vice-President responsible for competition policy, who went on to add: “As an association of enterprises, the ONP and its members, like all economic operators, must comply with EU law”. (O.L./transl.jl)