Action brought on 4 June 2008 - Verhuizingen Coppens v Commission
(Case T-210/08)
Language of the case: Dutch
Parties
Applicant: Verhuizingen Coppens NV (Bierbeek, Belgium) (represented by: J. Stuyck and I. Buelens, lawyers)
Defendant: Commission of the European Communities
Form of order sought
Annul Article 1 of the Commission Decision of 11 March 2008 in Case COMP/38.543 so far as concerns the applicant;
annul Article 2 of the Commission Decision of 11 March 2008 in Case COMP/38.543 so far as concerns the applicant;
in the alternative, reduce the fine and set it at an amount not exceeding 10% of the applicant's turnover on the relevant market for international removal services;
in any event, order the Commission to pay the applicant's costs.
Pleas in law and main arguments
The applicant's first two pleas in law seek the annulment of the Commission decision of 11 March 2008 relating to a proceeding under Article 81 EC (Case COMP/38.543 - International removal services).
The applicant submits, first, that there is an infringement of Article 81(1) EC. The applicant was sanctioned for participation in a complex cartel even though, according to the Commission's file, the applicant differed from the other participants in that it was found only to have participated in a small part of the alleged cartel. Furthermore, the applicant's alleged participation in the cartel was shorter than was found by the Commission, and the Commission failed to take into account the relative weight of the applicant's participation in the cartel.
Second, the applicant submits that there is an infringement of Article 23(2) and (3) of Regulation 1/2003,
1 since the Commission incorrectly established both the duration and the continuing nature of the infringement.
In the alternative, the applicant seeks an exemption from the fine imposed or at least a drastic reduction in its amount on the ground that the basic amount of the fine was wrongly established and calculated and there was a manifest breach of the principle of proportionality when setting the fine.
____________1 - Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 of 16 December 2002 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty (Text with EEA relevance) (OJ 2003 L 1, p. 1).