Memo: Competition: Commission welcomes Court of First Instance judgment in Westfalen case (Dutch industrial gases cartel)

The European Commission welcomes the 5 December 2006 judgment by the European Court of First Instance dismissing the action by Westfalen Gassen Nederland BV against the Commission’s July 2002 decision against a Dutch industrial gases cartel (case T-303/02). In particular, the CFI found that the Commission established to the requisite legal standard that the applicant participated in the cartel infringement and that the applicant has not proved that it distanced itself properly from the collusive meetings. It also found that the Commission determined the amount of the fine for the applicant in accordance with the Guidelines on fines and that the fine was neither discriminatory nor disproportionate.