Memo: Antitrust: Commission welcomes General Court judgments on appeals in calcium carbide cartel

The European Commission has welcomed judgements by the EU General Court (GC) upholding the fines imposed in 2009 on Novácke chemické závody (NCHZ) (T-352/09), Ecka Granulate (T-400/09) and Almamet (T-410/09) for participating in a cartel in the sector of calcium carbide and magnesium based reagents (see IP/09/1169). This judgement is important, because it confirms the validity of the Commission's approach for the finding of an infringement and the setting of the fines of these companies.