Official Journal of the European Union

C series

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C/2025/1621

24.3.2025

(Case C-511/23,

(1)

Caronte & Tourist)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Competition - Article 102 TFEU - Abuse of dominant position - Empowering national competition authorities to enforce the rules on competition - Directive (EU) 2019/1 - Independence of national competition authorities - Article 4(5) - Setting priorities for the proceedings for the enforcement of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU - Fines on undertakings and associations of undertakings - Article 13 - Procedures for infringement of the rules of competition law - Compliance with a reasonable time limit - National legislation requiring the national authority to issue a statement of objections within a time limit of 90 days of knowledge of the essential elements of the infringement - Automatic annulment in its entirety of the decision of the national competition authority in the event of failure to comply with that time limit - Principle ne bis in idem - Revocation of the power to initiate new infringement proceedings in respect of the same facts - Principle of effectiveness - Rights of defence of undertakings)

(C/2025/1621)

Language of the case: Italian

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Caronte & Tourist SpA

Defendant: Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato

Intervening parties: Unione nazionale consumatori – Comitato regionale della Sicilia, Unione nazionale consumatori, Assarmatori, Confederazione Italiana Armatori

Operative part of the judgment

Article 4(5) and Article 13(1) of 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, as well as Article 102 TFEU, read in the light of the principle of effectiveness,

must be interpreted as precluding national legislation which, in proceedings for a finding establishing an anti-competitive practice by a national competition authority, first, requires that authority to commence the inter partes investigation stage of those proceedings by notifying the statement of objections to the undertaking concerned within a period of 90 days, starting from the moment it has knowledge of the essential elements of the alleged infringement, which could be no more than those set out in the first report of the infringement, and, second, penalises failure to observe that period by annulling in its entirety the final decision of that authority at the end of the infringement proceedings and revoking that authority’s power to initiate new infringement proceedings in respect of that same practice.

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(1) OJ C C/2023/504.

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ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/1621/oj

ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)

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