Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 14 March 2014 — HeidelbergCement v Commission
(Case T‑302/11)
Competition — Administrative proceeding — Decision to request information — Necessity of the information requested — Duty to state reasons — Proportionality
1. Competition — Administrative procedure — Request for information — Indication of the legal basis and the purpose of the request — Scope — Infringement of the duty to state reasons — None (Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18(3)) (see paras 26, 29, 36, 42)
2. Competition — Administrative procedure — Observance of the rights of the defence — Possibility of the undertaking concerned fully relying on those rights only after the sending of the statement of objections (Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003) (see paras 32, 33, 37)
3. Competition — Administrative procedure — Request for information — Indication of the legal basis and the purpose of the request — Requirement of a necessary link between the information requested and the infringement investigated — Discretion of the Commission — Judicial review — Scope (Art. 101 TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18(3)) (see paras 34, 52)
4. Competition — Administrative procedure — Request for information — Powers of the Commission — Limit — Observance of the principle of proportionality — Request for information already in the possession of the Commission — Infringement of the said principle — Request for further clarification of information previously supplied — Lawfulness (Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18(3)) (see paras 72-74, 76, 79)
5. Competition — Administrative procedure — Request for information — Powers of the Commission — Power to issue a request involving the marshalling of the information sought — Limits (Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18) (see paras 85, 86)
6. Competition — Administrative procedure — Request for information — Powers of the Commission — Limit — Observance of the principle of proportionality — Time limit for reply notified to the undertaking — Assessment of proportionality (Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18(3)) (see paras 92, 104-107)
7. Competition — Administrative procedure — Request for information — Rights of defence — No absolute right to silence — Right to refuse to provide an answer implying recognition of the existence of an infringement (Art. 101 TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 47 and 48(2); Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18) (see paras 118-120)
8. Competition — Administrative procedure — Request for information — Rights of defence — Right to refuse to provide an answer implying recognition of the existence of an infringement — Questions of the Commission having such replies as the consequence — Assessment (Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 18) (see paras 121, 134-136)
Re:
| ACTION for annulment of Commission Decision C(2011) 2361 final of 30 March 2011, in the context of a procedure pursuant to Article 18(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 (Case COMP/39520 — cement and related products). |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders HeidelbergCement AG to pay the costs, including those of the interim proceedings. |