Judgment of the General Court of 14 November 2012 - Prysmian and Prysmian Cavi e Sistemi Energia v Commission

(Case T-140/09) 

(Competition - Administrative procedure - Action for annulment - Acts adopted during an inspection - Intermediate measures - Inadmissibility - Decision ordering an inspection - Obligation to state the reasons on which the decision is based -Protection of privacy - Reasonable grounds - Review by the Court.)

Language of the case: Italian

Parties

Applicants: Prysmian SpA (Milan, Italy) and Prysmian Cavi e Sistemi Energia Srl (Milan) (represented by: A. Pappalardo, F. Russo, L. Stasi, C. Tesauro and L. Armati, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission (represented by: V. Di Bucci and X. Lewis initially, then V. Di Bucci and N. von Lingen, Agents)

Re:

First, application for annulment of Commission Decision C(2009) 92/2 of 9 January 2009 ordering Prysmian SpA and all companies directly or indirectly controlled by it, including Prysmian Cavi e Sistemi Energia Srl, to submit to an inspection in accordance with Article 20, paragraph 4, of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 of 16 December 2002 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 [EC] and 82 [EC] (OJ 2003 L 1, p. 1) (Case COMP/39.610); secondly, request seeking that the General Court declare unlawful the decision taken by the Commission during that inspection to copy certain computer files to examine them in its offices and, thirdly, request seeking that the General Court order the Commission to abstain from using any document obtained unlawfully and to return to Prysmian and to Prysmian Cavi e Sistemi Energia the documents obtained unlawfully.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

Annuls Commission decision C (2009) 92/2 of 9 January 2009 ordering Prysmian SpA and all companies directly or indirectly controlled by it, including Prysmian Cavi e Sistemi Energia Srl, to submit to an inspection in accordance with Article 20, paragraph 4, of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 of 16 December 2002 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 [EC] and 82 [EC], in so far as it concerns electric cables other than high voltage underwater and underground electric cables and the material associated with those other cables;

Dismisses the action as to the remainder;

Orders Prysmian and Prysmian Cavi e Sistemi Energia to bear their own costs and to pay half of the costs incurred by the European Commission;

Orders the European Commission to bear half of its own costs.

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¹ - OJ C 141, 20.6.2009.