Brussels, 03/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - On 3 March, the EU General Court reduced the fines imposed by the Commission in 2007 on a number of companies for their participation in a cartel on the market for gas insulated switchgear (GIS). However, it kept in place the fine of €396.6 million on another participant in the cartel, the German company Siemens AG, rejecting all arguments put forward by the latter.
On 24 January 2007, the Commission had imposed fines totalling €750,712,500 on 20 companies for their participation in a cartel on the market for gas insulated switchgear (GIS). The anti-competitive practices entailed, inter alia, coordination on a worldwide scale for the award of GIS projects, involving market sharing, allocation of quotas and maintenance of market shares, the allocation of GIS projects to designated producers and manipulation of the bidding procedure. Infringement also included price fixing by means of complex price arrangements, the termination of licence agreements with non-cartel members and the exchange of sensitive market information.
The companies fined included Alstom, Areva, Schneider Electric SA, Siemens AG, Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Österreich, Siemens Transmission & Distribution SA (SEHV), Siemens Transmission & Distribution Ltd (Reyrolle), and VA Tech Transmission & Distribution GmbH & Co KEG (KEG). The largest fine, amounting to €396,562,500, had been imposed on Siemens AG, and has been maintained.
However, the General Court reduced to: €10,327,500 the fine of €11,475,000 imposed on Alstom for its participation in the cartel; €48,195,000 the fine of €53,550,000 jointly and severally due from Alstom and Areva T&D SA; - €20,400,000 the fine of €25,500,000, the share of this last fine to be paid jointly by Areva T&D SA and the other companies of the Areva group, Areva T&D AG, Areva and Areva T&D Holding SA.
The Court noted a substantial difference between how long Siemens carried out the duties of “European secretary” to the cartel, and how long those duties were carried out by Alstom and the companies of the Areva group. It therefore considers that by imposing an identical increase of the basic amount of the fine on Alstom and the companies of the Areva group (50% each), on one hand, and on Siemens, on the other, the Commission did not apply the principles of equality and proportionality. It therefore cancelled the Commission's decision on this point and applied the reductions indicated.
Furthermore, the Court also reduced fines on other companies having taken part in the cartel - Siemens Österreich, KEG, Siemens Transmission & Distribution Ltd (Reyrolle) and Siemens Transmission & Distribution SA (SEHV) and Magrini - some of which have in the meantime been taken over by other companies, considering that the Commission did not fairly determine the share that each company should bring according to its own individual participation in the cartel over the given period. (F.G./transl.jl)