Settlement procedure for cartel cases adopted

A new settlement procedure for cartel cases has been introduced by the European Commission. Under the new regime, the parties in a cartel investigation may acknowledge their breach of European antitrust law and waive certain procedural rights in exchange for a 10% reduction of the fine.

The procedure involves an abbreviated investigation with respect to those parties who are willing to settle. The Commission retains full discretion to determine whether a case is suitable for settlement, whether the evidence available with respect to a party is adequate for these purposes and whether the scope of a settlement is appropriate.

Linklaters partner Jonas Koponen says it could shorten cartel proceedings and reduce the number and scope of appeals brought against Commission decisions. He adds, however: “The procedure will only be a success if the Commission uses its substantial discretion transparently and consistently. The procedure must offer companies strong incentives to settle. In some cases and for some companies, a fine reduction of 10% may be sufficient, but it is far from certain that this will generally be the case.” Koponen says that although, in recent years, the number of cartel decisions has increased, the Commission’s resources are strained by a backlog of cases. By introducing a settlement process, he says, the Commission hopes to speed up that process and to free up resources that can be used to take on the backlog and new cases.