Judgment of the Court of First Instance (Third Chamber) of 8 July 2008
   - Knauf Gips v Commission

   (Case T-52/03)

   Competition - Cartels - Plasterboard market - Decision finding an
   infringement of Article 81 EC - Access to the file - Single and
   continuous infringement - Liability - Fine - Guidelines on the method
   of setting fines - Cooperation during the administrative procedure

   1.                     Competition - Administrative procedure -
   Observance of the rights of the defence - Access to the file - Scope -
   Refusal to communicate an incriminating document - Consequences on the
   level of the burden of proof on the undertaking concerned (Art. 81(1)
   EC; Council Regulation No 17, Art. 19(1)) (see paras 43-47, 67, 70)

   2.                     Competition - Administrative procedure -
   Hearings - Obligation on the Hearing Officer to draw up a final report
   on observance of the right to be heard - Scope (Commission Decision
   2001/462, Arts 15 and 16) (see paras 122-123, 125-126)

   3.                     Competition - Administrative procedure -
   Observance of the rights of the defence - Infringement by reason of
   insufficient linguistic knowledge on the part of the officials handling
   the procedure - Not included (Art. 81(1) EC) (see paras 136-138)

   4.                     Competition - Agreements, decisions and
   concerted practices - Adverse effect on competition - Criteria for
   assessment - Anti-competitive purpose - Sufficient (Art. 81(1) EC) (see
   paras 161-162, 172, 175)

   5.                     Competition - Agreements, decisions and
   concerted practices - Adverse effect on competition - Agreement
   creating an information exchange system - Not permissible in an
   oligopolistic market - Rebuttable presumption (Art. 81(1) EC) (see
   paras 187-190, 260-262)

   6.                     Competition - Agreements, decisions and
   concerted practices - Concerted practice - Meaning - Parallel conduct -
   Presumption that a concerted practice exists - Limits (Art. 81(1) EC)
   (see paras 216, 222)

   7.                     Competition - Agreements, decisions and
   concerted practices - Concerted practice - Meaning - Coordination and
   cooperation incompatible with the obligation on each undertaking to
   determine independently its conduct on the market - Receipt by a trader
   of information from a competitor about its future market conduct (Art.
   81(1) EC) (see paras 275-280)

   8.                     Competition - Agreements, decisions and
   concerted practices - Agreements and concerted practices constituting a
   single infringement - Evidence - Evidence adduced by a certain number
   of different manifestations of the infringement - Lawfulness (Art.
   81(1) EC) (see paras 309-310)

   9.                     Competition - Agreements, decisions and
   concerted practices - Agreements and concerted practices constituting a
   single infringement - Undertakings that may be held responsible for
   participating in an overall cartel - Criteria (Art. 81(1) EC) (see
   paras 312, 315-316, 320, 413)

   10.                     Competition - Agreements, decisions and
   concerted practices - Undertaking - Meaning - Economic entity -
   Attribution of infringements - Group of companies without their own
   legal personality (Art. 81(1) EC) (see paras 340-342, 350-351)

   11.                     Competition - Community rules - Infringements -
   Attribution - Legal person responsible for the running of the
   undertaking at the time of the infringement (Art. 81(1) EC) (see paras
   354-355)

   12.                     Competition - Fines - Decision imposing fines -
   Obligation to state the reasons on which the decision is based - Scope
   - Indication of the factors which led the Commission to assess the
   gravity and the duration of the infringement - Sufficient indication
   (Art. 253 EC; Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2)) (see paras 369,
   371, 374, 407)

   13.                     Competition - Fines - Amount - Determination -
   Criteria - Actual impact on the market (Council Regulation No 17, Art.
   15(2); Commission Notice 98/C 9/03, point 1 A, first para.) (see paras
   388, 391-392, 394, 398)

   14.                     Competition - Fines - Amount - Determination -
   Criteria - Gravity of the infringement - Horizontal cartel concerning
   prices - Very serious infringement (Council Regulation No 17, Art.
   15(2); Commission Notice 98/C 9/03, point 1 A) (see paras 407-411, 413)

   15.                     Competition - Fines - Amount - Determination -
   Need to take account of the turnovers of the undertakings involved in
   an infringement or in similar previous infringements and to ensure the
   proportionality of the fines with those turnovers - None (Council
   Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2)) (see paras 421-424)

   16.                     Competition - Fines - Amount - Determination -
   Criteria - Duration of the infringement - Infringements of long
   duration - Automatic 10% increase in the starting amount per year -
   Discretion of the Commission (Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2);
   Commission Notice 98/C 9/03, point 1 B, first para.) (see para. 436)

   17.                     Competition - Fines - Amount - Determination -
   Criteria - Duration of the infringement - Increase in the starting
   amount of the fine - Taking into account of variations in the intensity
   of the infringement - Not included (Council Regulation No 17, Art.
   15(2); Commission Notice 98/C 9/03, point 1 B) (see para. 438)

   18.                     Competition - Fines - Amount - Determination -
   Criteria - Gravity and duration of the infringement - Increase in the
   starting amount by reason of the duration of the infringement - Gravity
   of the infringement taken into account twice - Not included (Council
   Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2); Commission Notice 98/C 9/03, points 1 A
   and B) (see para. 443)

   19.                     Competition - Fines - Amount - Determination -
   Maximum amount - Calculation - Distinction between the final amount and
   the intermediate amount of the fine - Consequences (Council Regulation
   No 17, Art. 15(2)) (see paras 452-455)

   20.                     Competition - Fines - Amount - Determination -
   Non-imposition or reduction of the fine for cooperation of the
   undertaking concerned - Need for conduct which facilitated the
   Commission's finding of an infringement - Answer to a request for
   information - Not included (Council Regulation No 17, Arts 11(1), (2),
   (4) and (5) and 15(2); Commission Notice 96/C 207/04) (see para. 464)

   21.                     Competition - Fines - Discretion of the
   Commission - Scope - Power to fix the methods of payment of the fines -
   Imposition of interest for delay - Fixing by the Commission of an
   interest rate calculated in relation to that of the European Central
   Bank - Lawfulness (Council Regulation No 17, Art. 15(2)) (see paras
   493, 495-499)

   Re:

   APPLICATION for annulment of Commission Decision 2005/471/EC of 27
   November 2002 relating to a proceeding under Article 81 [EC] against
   BPB plc, Gebrüder Knauf Westdeutsche Gipswerke KG, Société Lafarge SA
   and Gyproc Benelux NV (Case No COMP/E-1/37.152 - Plasterboard) (OJ 2005
   L 166, p. 8), or, in the alternative, reduction of the fine imposed on
   the applicant.

   Operative part

   The Court:

   1.

   Dismisses the action;

   2.

   Orders Knauf Gips KG to pay the costs.