Europe’s highest court on Wednesday, September 26, ordered a lower court to review a penalty imposed on Infineon Technologies for its role in an alleged cartel with other chipmakers.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) stated the General Court must “assess the proportionality” of the €82.8 million (US$97.4 million) fine, which was levied on Infineon by the European Commission in 2014, after it found the company had conspired to fix prices for chips used in mobile phones between 2003 and 2005.
Infineon and fellow chipmaker Philips NV—which was hit with a €20.1 million fine—challenged the Commission’s decision in the General Court, disputing the existence of any cartel and the amount of the fines. The General Court dismissed the actions and upheld the fines, prompting the companies to lodge a second appeal with the ECJ.
Following its investigation, the ECJ found that the General Court should have responded to Infineon’s claims that the penalty was disproportionate. The ECJ dismissed Phillips’s appeal and upheld the original fine imposed by the Commission.
Full Content: EU Court of Justice, Reuters
