Europe’s General Court reduces cartel penalties
On July 13 the General Court of the European Union reduced the fines imposed on a number of companies involved in a synthetic rubber price fixing cartel. The 13 companies participating in the butadiene rubber and emulsion styrene butadiene rubber (substances primarily used in tyre production) cartel between 1996 and 2002 were given fines totalling more than 519 million euros by the European Commission in November 2006. The companies appealed this decision; all, excepting Shell group companies, succeeded in gaining an annulment or reduction in their fines from Europe’s second highest court.