Commissie verliest Europese rechtszaak tegen Volkswagen (en)
Auteur: Honor Mahony
The European Commission has today (3 December) suffered a defeat in its handling of the giant German car manufacturer Volkswagen after a European court overturned its 30 million euro fine against the company.
The Commission imposed the fine on Volkswagen for the alleged fixing of prices for one of its types of cars.
The Court of First Instance criticised the Commission for failing to prove "any actual acquiescence by the dealers".
"Since no agreement was proved, the court has annulled the Commission's decision", concluded the Court.
The court said there was no evidence to prove a "concurrence of wills" between dealers and company.
A Commission spokesperson admitted defeat calling the decision "very regrettable".
"If the court says we have to prove this, we can't have such cases in the future", he added.
The Commission has the possibility to appeal the decision before the European Court of Justice.