Competition - Regulation (EEC) No 4056/86 - Investigations carried out at company premises other than those of the company to which the investigation decision is addressed - Article 85(1) of the EC Treaty (now Article 81(1) EC) - Price-fixing - Proof of infringement - Error of assessment of the facts - Fines - Proportionality - Mitigating circumstances.

«(Competition – Regulation (EEC) No 4056/86 – Investigations carried out at company premises other than those of the company to which the investigation decision is addressed – Article 85(1) of the EC Treaty (now Article 81(1) EC) – Price-fixing – Proof of infringement – Error of assessment as to the facts – Fines – Proportionality – Mitigating circumstances)» Summary of the Judgment 1.. Competition – Administrative procedure – Commission decision – Identification of sanctioned infringements – Operative part taking priority over the statement of reasons (EC Treaty, Arts 85 and 86 (now Arts 81 EC and 82 EC)) 2.. Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Agreements between undertakings – Meaning – Common intention regarding conduct to be adopted on the market (EC Treaty, Art. 85(1) (now Art. 81(1) EC)) 3.. Competition – Community rules – Infringements – Committed intentionally – Meaning (EC Treaty, Art. 85(1) (now Art. 81(1) EC)) 4.. Community law – Principles – Rights of the defence – Compliance during administrative procedure (Council Regulations Nos 17, Art. 14, and 4056/86, Art. 18) 5.. Competition – Administrative procedure – Powers of the Commission in investigations – Limits – Protection against arbitrary or disproportionate intervention by the public authority (Council Regulations Nos 17, Art. 14, and 4056/86, Art. 18) 6.. Competition – Administrative procedure – Powers of the Commission in investigations – Scope – Access to the premises of undertakings – Limits – Indication of the subject-matter and purpose of the investigation – Right to bring an action before the Community judicature (Council Regulations Nos 17, Art. 14, and 4056/86, Art. 18) 7.. Competition – Administrative procedure – Powers of the Commission in investigations – Access to premises of undertakings – Undertaking not referred to in the investigation decision – Conditions for access (Council Regulation No 4056/86, Art. 18) 8.. Competition – Administrative procedure – Powers of the Commission in investigations – Voluntary cooperation of an undertaking – Consequences for the possibility of arguing undue interference by a public authority (Council Regulation No 4056/86, Art. 18) 9.. Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Scope – Decision applying the competition rules (EC Treaty, Art. 190 (now Art. 253 EC)) 10.. Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Prohibition – Cartels continuing to produce effects after they have formally ceased to be in force – Application of Article 85 of the Treaty (now Article 81 EC)(EC Treaty, Art. 85 (now Art. 81 EC)) 11.. Competition – Fines – Amount – Determination – Criteria – Seriousness of the infringements – Application in the context of an infringement committed by several undertakings (Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15) 12.. Competition – Fines – Amount – Determination – Criteria – Seriousness of the infringements – Compliance with the principles of proportionality and equity (Council Regulation No 4056/86, Art. 19(2)) JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE (Fifth Chamber)11 December 2003 (1) ((Competition – Regulation (EEC) No 4056/86 – Investigations carried out at company premises other than those of the company to which the investigation decision is addressed – Article 85(1) of the EC Treaty (now Article 81(1) EC) – Price-fixing – Proof of infringement – Error of assessment of the facts – Fines – Proportionality – Mitigating circumstances)) applicant, v defendant, THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (Fifth Chamber), having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 2 July 2002, gives the following On those grounds, THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE (Fifth Chamber) Lindh García-Valdecasas Cooke H. Jung P. Lindh Registrar President 1 – Language of the case: Greek.