21.11.2022

Official Journal of the European Union

C 441/10

(Case C-560/22)

(2022/C 441/14)

Language of the case: Italian

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Appellants: Ferriere Nord SpA, SIAT — Società Italiana Acciai Trafilati SpA, Acciaierie di Verona SpA

Respondents: Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, Agenzia delle Entrate — Riscossione

Question referred

Can Article 5-bis of Decree-Law No 1 of 24 January 2012 (as amended by Conversion Law No 27 of 24 March 2012) — which added paragraphs 7-ter and 7-quater to Article 10 of Law No 287/1990 — under which the institutional activities of the Italian competition authority are financed solely by a ‘contribution’ payable only by companies (Italian or foreign, in the event that they have branch offices with permanent representation in Italy that are subject to registration with the Companies’ Register) with total revenue exceeding EUR 50 million, which therefore does not affect to a fair and proportionate extent all market participants, for whose benefit (in addition to consumers) the activities of that authority are undertaken, be interpreted as being compatible with EU law, in particular:

Article 4(3) TEU (principle of sincere cooperation);

the principles underlying the internal market (including the right of establishment and free movement of capital);

Articles 101, 102 and 103 TFEU;

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 (now Articles 101 and 102 TFEU);

Directive (EU) 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market (in particular recitals 1, 6, 8, 17 and 26, Article 1(1), Article 2(10) and Article 5(1));

read in the light of Articles 17(1) (right to property), 20 (equality before the law), 21(1) (non-discrimination) and 52(1) (principle of proportionality) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;

and therefore must it be interpreted as meaning [that] the national legislation laid down in Article 5-bis of Decree-Law No 1 of 24 January 2012 (as amended by Conversion Law No 27 of 24 March 2012) — which added paragraphs 7-ter and 7-quater to Article 10 of Law No 287/1990 — is contrary to EU law as stated above?

Language of the case: Italian

* * *

(1) OJ 2003 L 1, p. 1.

(2) OJ 2019 L 11, p. 3.