On Thursday, 4 July, the European Commission readopted a decision concerning a cartel in the concrete-reinforcing steel bar sector and imposed fines totalling approximately €16 million on five manufacturers.
The five companies targeted are Alfa Acciai, Feralpi Holding, Ferriere Nord, Partecipazioni Industriali (Riva Fire), and Valsabbia Investimenti/Ferriera Valsabbia. These companies are guilty of fixing prices between December 1989 and July 2000.
An initial ruling against eight producers and the Italian steel manufacturers’ association had been made by the Commission in December 2002 (see EUROPE 8365/18) and had been annulled by the General Court of the European Union in October 2007 for procedural irregularities.
The Commission had adopted a new decision against these manufacturers (see EUROPE 9988/12). This decision applied to the three companies that had not brought an appeal before the EU judicature, but the other five successfully appealed before the Court of Justice of the European Union, which annulled the Commission’s second decision in September 2017, once again on procedural grounds.
Thus, the Commission adopted a third decision on Thursday, 4 July. In addition, the five companies have seen their fines reduced by 50% due to the long duration of the proceedings. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)