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The General Court provides clarification on, first, the legality of a ‘hybrid’ procedure combining the settlement procedure and the standard administrative procedure in cartel matters and, second, the concept of a ‘single and continuous infringement’


By decision of 27 September 2017 (‘the contested decision), 1 the European Commission found that the companies Scania AB, Scania CV AB and Scania Deutschland GmbH, three entities of the Scania group, which produce and sell heavy trucks used for long-haulage transport (together, ‘Scania’), had infringed EU rules prohibiting cartels, 2 by participating, from January 1997 to January 2011, with their competitors, in collusive arrangements aimed at restricting competition on the market for medium and heavy trucks in the EEA. The Commission imposed a fine of €880 523 000 on Scania. The contested decision was adopted following a ‘hybrid’ procedure, combining the settlement procedure 3 and the standard administrative procedure in cartel matters. In the present case, each undertaking to which a statement of objections was addressed, including Scania, confirmed to the Commission its willingness to participate in settlement discussions. However, following discussions with the Commission, Scania decided to withdraw from that procedure. The Commission thus adopted a settlement decision in respect of the undertakings which had submitted a formal request in that regard, 4 and continued the investigation concerning Scania. By its judgment of 2 February 2022, the General Court dismisses the action brought by Scania seeking annulment of the contested decision, and provides clarifications regarding the legality of a ‘hybrid’ procedure in cartel matters and the concept of a ‘single and continuous infringement’.