Luxembourg, 15/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - The international merchants Louis Dreyfus and Compagnie Continentale (France) and the Bermudan company Glencore Grain (formerly Richco) have lost their case against the European Commission following a seven-year battle. The second chamber of the European Court of First Instance (CFI), which is presided by Jorg Pirrung, judged that "the amended contracts that were submitted (to the Commission) could not be approved since these contracts had not been concluded in the respect of the principle of free competition and that the new prices did not comply with the market price".
In 1992, on a decision by the Council, the Commission had lent funds to Russia for the purchase of wheat. By contract, the Russian firm Exportkhleb and the wheat merchants had agreed on the delivery of a vast quantity of wheat. A few months later, the two parties agreed, through amendments to the contracts, on the purchase of other quantities at higher prices. The Commission refused to endorse these amendments: the price increases were so great that it considered them to be an actual modification to the initial contract (and not a simple adaptation as the merchants claimed). The CFI agreed with the Commission.