#62025TJ0087EU General Court Upholds €3.5 Million Pierre Cardin Competition Fine
AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.
The judgment keeps in place a €3.5 million EU competition fine against Westfälisches Textilwerk Adolf Ahlers over restrictions linked to Pierre Cardin-licensed clothing and accessories in the EEA. The Court rejected the company’s argument that the Commission used the wrong turnover base when applying the legal cap on fines. For businesses, the practical message is clear: restructuring, insolvency, or selling a subsidiary before a fine decision will not automatically reduce competition-law exposure if the group benefited from the relevant turnover during the infringement period.
AI-generated summary. May contain errors. Refer to official sources for legal decisions.
Key Changes
- The General Court upheld the Commission’s use of consolidated group turnover to calculate the fine cap.
- The Court rejected Ahlers’ request to annul or reduce the €3.5 million fine.
- The ruling confirms that subsidiary sales or insolvency steps do not automatically lower EU competition fines.
Obligations
What this law requires
EU competition law prohibits undertakings from participating in agreements or concerted practices that have as their object the distortion of competition within the internal market under Article 101(1) TFEU and Article 53 EEA Agreement.
For fines under Article 23(2) of Regulation No 1/2003, the 10% turnover ceiling may be calculated using the undertaking's consolidated turnover for the last business year preceding the Commission decision, including turnover from entities that formed part of the economic unit during that year.
A parent company may be held liable for competition-law infringements committed through a subsidiary where the subsidiary did not determine its market conduct independently and formed a single economic unit with the parent company.
The applicant was authorised by the Commission decision to pay the €3,500,000 fine in instalments, starting with €250,000 within three months of the decision date, followed by annual instalments with interest.