Members of a cartel may be held liable for the loss caused as a result

EU law prohibits anti-competitive agreements, decisions and concerted practices. In that context, undertakings that participate in a cartel are responsible for the loss that other parties may sustain as a result of that infringement of competition law.

In 2007, the Commission imposed on the Kone, Otis, Schindler and ThyssenKrupp groups a fine totalling €992 million for their participation in cartels involving the installation and maintenance of elevators and escalators in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Even if determination of the offer price is regarded as a purely autonomous decision taken by each undertaking that is not a party to the cartel; such a decision may have been taken by reference to a market price distorted by the cartel. Consequently, where it has been established that the cartel is, in the circumstances of the case and, in particular, the specific aspects of the relevant market, liable to result in prices being raised by competitors not a party to the cartel, the victims of this price increase must be able to claim compensation for loss sustained from the members of the cartel.

In these circumstances, the Court finds that EU law precludes the Austrian legislation to the extent that, with regard to the compensation of loss resulting from a cartel, it requires, categorically and regardless of the particular circumstances of the case, that contractual links exist between the victim and the members of the cartel.

read full decision at http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/P_130044/