Competition - Article 85(1) of the EC Treaty (now Article 81(1) EC) - Definition of the relevant market - Statement of reasons - Price fixing agreements - Evidence of participation in a cartel - Evidence of distantiation - Principle of non-discrimination - Fines - Criteria for assessment.

«(Competition – Article 85(1) of the EC Treaty (now Article 81(1) EC) – Definition of the relevant market – Statement of reasons – Price fixing agreements – Evidence of participation in a cartel – Evidence of distantiation – Principle of non-discrimination – Fines – Criteria for assessment)» Summary of the Judgment 1.. Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Definition of the market – Purpose – Assessing the impact of the cartel on competition and trade between Member States – Consequences as regards the objections raised against the definition of the market (EC Treaty, Arts 85 and 86 (now Arts 81 EC and 82 EC)) 2.. 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)) 3.. Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Scope (Art. 253 EC) 4.. Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Concerted practice – Concept – Coordination and cooperation incompatible with the obligation on each undertaking to determine its market conduct independently (EC Treaty, Art. 85(1) (now Art. 81(1) EC)) 5.. Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Participation in meetings held by undertakings for an anti-competitive purpose – Sufficient basis for concluding that, if an undertaking has not distanced itself from the decisions taken, it participated in the subsequent arrangements (EC Treaty, Art. 85(1) (now Art. 81(1) EC)) 6.. Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Agreements between undertakings – Onus on the Commission to prove the duration of the infringement (EC Treaty, Art. 85(1) (now Art. 81(1) EC)) 7.. Competition – Fines – Amount – Commission's margin of discretion (Council Regulation No 4056/86, Art. 19(2)) 8.. 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)) 9.. Competition – Fines – Amount – Reduction in fine in exchange for cooperation – Actions for annulment – Fresh review of the size of the reduction – Excluded (Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15) JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE (Fifth Chamber)11 December 2003 (1) ((Competition – Article 85(1) of the EC Treaty (now Article 81(1) EC) – Definition of the relevant market – Statement of reasons – Price fixing agreements – Evidence of participation in a cartel – Evidence of distantiation – Principle of non-discrimination – Fines – Criteria for assessment)) 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 3 July 2002, gives the following On those grounds, THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE (Fifth Chamber), Cooke García-Valdecasas Lindh H. Jung P. Lindh Registrar President 1 – Language of the case: Italian.