24.3.2012

Official Journal of the European Union

C 89/18

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(Case C-58/12 P)

2012/C 89/29

Language of the case: French

Parties

Appellant: Groupe Gascogne SA (represented by: P. Hubert and E. Durand, avocats)

Other party to the proceedings: European Commission

Form of order sought

—Set aside the judgment under appeal inasmuch as it dismissed the action brought by Groupe Gascogne SA for the annulment of Commission Decision C(2005) 4634 final of 30 November 2005 relating to a proceeding under Article 81 [EC] (Case COMP/F/38.354 – Industrial bags) and ordered Groupe Gascogne SA to pay the costs;

—Set aside the judgment under appeal inasmuch as it upheld the penalty imposed on Groupe Gascogne SA by the contested decision;

—refer the case back to the General Court for judgment as may be required by the Court or directly set the penalty at an amount:

—not exceeding 10 % of the combined turnover of the companies Sachsa and Groupe Gascogne S.A., the only undertakings implicated in the present proceedings;

—and/or taking into account the fact that the duration of the proceedings before the General Court was manifestly excessive;

—order the defendant, the European Commission, to pay the costs of both sets of proceedings in their entirety.

Grounds of appeal and main arguments

By the first ground of appeal, Groupe Gascogne SA submits that the General Court erred in law by refusing to examine the impact of the changes in the European Union legal order when the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force on 1 December 2009, in particular with regard to the consequences for the present case of applying the provisions of Article 48 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, safeguarding Groupe Gascogne SA’s presumption of innocence.

By the second ground of appeal, Groupe Gascogne SA submits that the General Court infringed Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 48 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (i) by incorrectly attributing joint and several liability to Groupe Gascogne SA for the practices engaged in by Sachsa as from 1 January 1994 solely on the basis that Groupe Gascogne SA held 100 % of Sachsa’s share capital, and (ii) by upholding the contested decision inasmuch as the latter held Groupe Gascogne SA jointly and severally liable, as to EUR 9.90 million, for the payment of the fine imposed on Sachsa.

By the third ground of appeal — submitted in the alternative — Groupe Gascogne SA submits that the General Court erred in law by misconstruing the concept of ‘undertaking’ within the meaning of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and, in consequence, by ascertaining compliance with the ceiling of 10 % of turnover, laid down by Article 23(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003, en relación con el volumen de negocios consolidado de Grupo Gascogne, cuando debería haberse basado — en la medida en que la sociedad Groupe Gascogne pueda ser considerada conjunta y solidariamente responsable de la infracción reprochada a Sachsa — exclusivamente en el volumen de negocios social acumulado de las sociedades Groupe Gascogne y Sachsa, al no haber expuesto las razones por las que las otras filiales de Gropue Gascogne deberían ser incluidas en la «empresa» responsable de las supuestas prácticas de Sachsa contrarias a la competencia.

Lastly, by the fourth and final ground of appeal — also submitted in the alternative — Groupe Gascogne SA submits that the General Court has infringed Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in that its case was not dealt with within a reasonable time.

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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).

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