Campine participated in a used-car-battery purchasing cartel and received a final €4.28 million fine
Company: Campine NV
Summary
The European Commission found that Campine and other recycling companies participated in unlawful coordination concerning the purchase prices paid for used lead-acid automotive batteries. The wider cartel operated between September 2009 and September 2012 and affected purchases in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Participants coordinated target prices, maximum prices and fixed price reductions. Unlike a conventional sales cartel intended to increase selling prices, the arrangement sought to reduce the prices paid to scrap dealers and battery collectors. In 2017, the European Commission imposed fines on Campine and other participants. Campine challenged the decision before the General Court of the European Union. On 7 November 2019, the General Court partially annulled the Commission's findings against Campine for certain periods because continuous participation had not been established throughout the entire period. The Court nevertheless confirmed Campine's participation during other periods, upheld the classification of the arrangements as restrictions of competition by object, and set Campine's final fine at €4,275,648. This record uses the final post-judgment amount and expressly reflects Campine's partial success on appeal. Sources: European Commission case AT.40018 — Car battery recycling: https://competition-policy.ec.europa.eu/antitrust-and-cartels/cartels-cases-and-statistics_en Official EU summary of the Commission decision: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52017XC1123(01) General Court judgment, Campine and Campine Recycling v Commission, Case T-240/17: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62017TJ0240