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Brussels blow as P&O fine scrapped

13 April 2012

THE Brussels monopoly buster watchdog headed by Mario Monti was dealt a humiliating blow after a historic court victory involving British shipping company P&O ripped up a £190m fine.

In a re-run of a spate of recent European court decisions criticising the European competition commission handling of big corporate takeovers, today's ruling slammed the commission's evidence gathering and analysis of an alleged shipping cartel.

The Court of First Instance in Luxembourg annulled the commission's decision in 1998 to fine 16 shipping companies a total of e273m for their Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement, the biggest monopolies fine to be imposed at the time. P&O Nedlloyd Container Line, P&O's Anglo-Dutch freight joint venture, received the biggest individual fine of e41.26m.

Today's ruling by the court cited procedural deficiencies first highlighted a year ago when it overturned the commission's 1999 blocking of Airtours' £850m takeover of First Choice.

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