Theory of harm: Concerted practice among firms is liable to affect events and

circumstances in which trade in certain products takes place between the member
states by seeking to keep the market in a fragmented state.

In this case, the conclusion was there was a concerted practice between the
undertakings. Based on the facts of the case, it was inferred that from January 1964 to
October 1967, there are three general and uniform increases in the prices of dyestuffs
which took place in the community. In addition to this, between January 7 and 20, 1964,
a uniform increase of 15 per cent in the prices of most dyes based on aniline, with the
exception of certain categories, also took place in Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium,
Luxembourg and in other third countries. An identical increase took place in Germany
on January 1965. Moreover, on the same day almost all producers in all the countries of
the common market except France introduced a same increase of 10 percent on the
prices of dyes and pigments. Then, towards mid of October 1967, an increase for all
dyes was introduced, except in Italy, by most producers, amounting to 8 per cent in
Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and 12 per cent in France. The
concerted practice resulted to challenging the Commission’s decision by the
undertakings, arguing that the price increases merely reflected parallel behavior in an
oligopolistic market where each producer followed the price leader. The conduct of the
applicant, in consonant with other undertakings against which proceedings have been
taken, was designed to replace the risks of competition and the dangers of competitors'
spontaneous reactions by cooperation constituting a concerted practice prohibited by
Article 85 ( 1 ) of the treaty. The concerted practices were liable to affect the
circumstances in which trade in the products in question takes place between the
member states by seeking to keep the market in a fragmented state. The parties who
put these practices into effect want to reduce to a minimum level the risks of changing
the conditions of competition, whenever there is a price increase. In this case, since the
increases were uniform and simultaneous, and has in particular served to maintain the
status quo, ensuring that the undertakings would not lose custom, and therefore helped
to maintain the traditional national markets in those goods " cemented " to the detriment
of any real freedom of movement of the products in question in the common market .

Theory of harm: Price-fixing by way of concerted practices may affect trade between
Member States and which can affect the prevention, restriction or distortion of
competition within the Common Market.

In this case, as per Article 1(3), all the United States applicants who were members of
KEA concerted on announced and actual prices of the delivery of wood pulp and
exchanged individualized data concerning prices for those deliveries. According to the
Commission, whenever a producer has charged the same price as another producer for
a certain product, in a particular region and during a certain quarter or period, it must, in
principle, be regarded as having concerted with the other producer. Moreover, in this
case, the communications between firms arise from the price announcements made to
users. They constitute in themselves the behavior of the market which does not lessen
their undertakings, uncertainty as to the future reaction of attitude of its competitors. At
the time when each undertaking engages in such behavior, it cannot be sure of the
future conduct of the others. The Commission also considers that the system of price
announcements constitutes evidence of concertation at an earlier stage. In paragraph
82 of its decision, the Commission states that, as proof of such concertation, it relied on
the parallel conduct of the pulp producers in the period from 1975 to 1981 and on
various kinds of direct or indirect exchange of information. Thereafter, members of KEA
were found to have indeed concerted on announced prices and on transaction prices for
deliveries to the Community and to have exchanged individualized data concerning
those prices and KEA was found to have recommended prices for the deliveries in
question.