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Publishers Abstract:
In its judgment in the case of Verein für Konsumenteninformation v. Commission, the European Court of First Instance annulled a Commission decision to refuse access to documents which were contained in a cartel file. Since the application pertained to a large number of documents, the Commission justified its refusal by invoking the principle of proportionality stating that examining the application would result in an administrative burden that would undermine the principle of a sound administration. Apart from the judgment's significance for the interpretation of Regulation 1049/2001, the Court also indirectly highlighted the dilemma of requests for access to the file in competition cases. The right of access to the file is a right accessory to the antitrust procedure, and which only in the context of the rights of the defense is raised to a fundamental procedural guarantee. It can only be enforced by action for annulment against the final Commission decision concerning the competition case as such.
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