Judgment of the General Court of 17 December 2009 - Solvay v Commission
(Competition - Abuse of a dominant position - Market in soda ash in the Community (with the exception of the United Kingdom and Ireland) - Decision finding an infringement of Article 82 EC - Supply agreements for an excessively long period -Fidelity rebate - Expiry of limitation period applicable to Commission power to impose fines or sanctions - Reasonable time - Essential procedural requirements - Relevant geographic market - Existence of a dominant position - Abuse of a dominant position - Right of access to the file - Fine - Gravity and duration of the infringement - Aggravating circumstances - Repetition of infringement - Mitigating circumstances)
Language of the case: French
Parties
Applicant: Solvay SA (Brussels, Belgium) (represented by: L. Simont, P.-A. Foriers, G. Block, F. Louis and A. Vallery, lawyers)
Defendant: European Commission (represented by: P. Oliver and J. Currall, Agents, assisted by N. Coutrelis, lawyer)
Re:
First, application for annulment of Commission Decision 2003/6/EC of 13 December 2000 relating to a proceeding pursuant to Article 82 [EC] (Case COMP/33.133 - C: Soda ash - Solvay) (OJ 2003 L 10, p. 10) and, in the alternative, application for annulment or reduction of the fine imposed on the applicant.
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
Fixes the fine imposed on Solvay SA in Article 2 of Commission Decision 2003/6/EC of 13 December 2000 relating to a proceeding pursuant to Article 82 [EC] (Case COMP/33.133 - C: Soda ash - Solvay) at EUR 19 million;
Dismisses the action as to the remainder.
____________1 - OJ C 161, 2.6.2001.