Judgment of the General Court of 20 March 2014 — Reagens v Commission
(Case T-181/10) 1
(Access to documents — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — Documents relating to requests that certain undertakings’ inability to pay be taken into account in cartel proceedings — Refusal of access — Exception relating to the protection of commercial interests of a third party — Exception relating to the protection of the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits — Overriding public interest — Obligation to carry out a concrete and individual examination — Partial access)
Language of the case: English
Parties
Applicant: Reagens SpA (San Giorgio di Piano, Italy) (represented initially by B. O’Connor, Solicitor, L. Toffoletti, E. De Giorgi and D. Gullo, lawyers, and subsequently by B. O’Connor, L. Toffoletti and E. De Giorgi)
Defendant: European Commission (represented initially by P. Costa de Oliveira and J. Bourke, and subsequently by P. Costa de Oliveira and F. Ronkes Agerbeek, acting as Agents)
Re:
Application for annulment of Commission Decision Gestdem No 2009/5145 of 23 February 2010, refusing the applicant access to certain documents in the file in Case COMP/38589 — Heat stabilisers, on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ 2001 L 145, p. 43).
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
Annuls Commission Decision Gestdem No 2009/5145 of 23 February 2010, refusing the applicant access to certain documents in the administrative file in Case COMP/38589 — Heat stabilisers, on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, to the extent that it refuses access to the non-confidential versions of the undertakings’ requests and to the European Commission’s first questionnaire;
Dismisses the action as to the remainder;
Orders Reagens SpA to pay half of its own costs and half of the costs incurred by the Commission;
Orders the Commission to pay half of its own costs and half of the costs incurred by Reagens.
________________________1 OJ C 179, 3.7.2010.