Memo: Competition: Commission welcomes Court of First Instance judgments in carbon and graphite cartel case entirely confirming level of fines

The European Commission welcomed the judgments by the Court of First Instance in Cases T-68/04, T-69-04 and T-73/04 dismissing in their entirety the appeals by SGL Carbon AG (SGL), by Schunk GmbH and Schunk Kohlenstofftechnik GmbH and by Le Carbone Lorraine S.A.. The three appeals concerned a Commission decision of December 2003 finding the involvement of these and several other companies in a cartel on electrical and mechanical carbon and graphite products. The Court fully confirmed the fines imposed on the companies of € 23 million, € 30 million and € 43 million respectively.