EuG: Judgment rendered by the General Court in Case T-29/05, Deltafina v Commission¹⁾¹⁾Judgment T-29/05 , Deltafina v Commission, 8^th September 2010.

By decision of 20^th October 2004, the Commission imposed fines totalling € 20 million on five companies, inter alia Deltafina, for participating in a cartel on the Spanish raw tobacco market between 1996 and 2001. The cartel consisted essentially in fixing prices paid to tobacco producers and sharing out quantities purchased from the producers of tobacco. The biggest fine (€ 11.88 million) was imposed on Deltafina as leader of the cartel. Deltafina requested the General Court of the European Union (then Court of 1^st Instance) to annul the Commission's decision or to reduce the amount of the fine. On the 8^th September 2010 the fourth chamber of the General Court has rendered its judgment. The following abstract summarizes the main issues dealt with in the judgment and highlights some interesting points, specifically on the clarifications made with regard to the AC-Treuhand²⁾²⁾Judgment T-99/04 , AC-Treuhand v Commission, [2008] ECR II-1501. judgment and the definition of "leadership" in a cartel.