Action brought on 10 September 2007 - Ryanair v Commission

(Case T-342/07)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicant: Ryanair Holdings Plc (County Dublin, Ireland) (represented by: J. Swift, QC, V. Power, Solicitor, A. McCarthy, Solicitor, G. Berrish, lawyer, D. Hull, Solicitor)

Defendant: Commission of the European Communities

Form of order sought

Annul the decision;

order the Commission to bear the costs of these proceedings.

Pleas in law and main arguments

By means of this application, the applicant seeks annulment of Commission Decision C(2007)3104, of 27 June 2007, declaring a concentration to be incompatible with the common market and the functioning of the EEA Agreement (Case No COMP/M.4439 - Ryanair/Aer Lingus).

The applicant's main contention is that the Commission allegedly erred in finding, and failed to demonstrate to the requisite legal standard, that the merger would lead to a significant impediment to effective competition in the common market. In the alternative, the applicant submits that the Commission erred in finding, and failed to show to the requisite legal standard, that the merger as modified by the various commitments offered by the applicant during the investigation would lead to a significant impediment to effective competition.

In support of its claims, the applicant pleads that the Commission made manifest errors of assessment with regards to (a) the competitive relationship between the two carriers; (b) the barriers to entry/expansion; (c) its route-by-route analysis, as well as fundamental and manifest errors in its appreciation of the efficiencies which would flow from the merger and the treatment of the commitments offered by the applicant.

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