31989D0093
89/93/EEC: Commission Decision of 7 December 1988 relating to a proceeding under Articles 85 and 86 of the EEC Treaty (IV/31. 906, flat glass) (Only the Italian text is authentic)
Official Journal L 033 , 04/02/1989 P. 0044 - 0073
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COMMISSION DECISION
of 7 December 1988
relating to a proceeding under Articles 85 and 86 of the EEC Treaty (IV/31. 906, flat glass)
(Only the Italian text is authentic)
(89/93/EEC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation No 17 of 6 February 1962, first Regulation implementing Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty (1), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal, and in particular Articles 3 and 15 thereof,
Having regard to the application within the meaning of Article 3 of Regulation No 17 made to the Commission on 31 October 1986 by Industria Vetraria Alfonso Cobelli of Reggio Calabria asking the Commission to find that Società Italiana Vetro-SIV SpA, Fabbrica Pisana SpA and Vernante Pennitalia SpA had committed infringements of the Community competition rules,
Having regard to the Decision taken by the Commission on 15 October 1987 to initiate own-initiative proceedings and proceedings upon application in this case,
Having given the undertakings concerned the opportunity of being heard on the matters to which the Commission has taken objection, in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 (1) of Regulation No 17 and with Commission Regulation No 99/63/EEC of 25 July 1963 on the hearings provided for in Article 19 (1) and (2) of Council Regulation No 17 (2),
Having consulted the Advisory Committee on Restrictive Practices and Dominant Positions,
Whereas:
I. THE FACTS
Introduction
(1) This Decision follows on from investigations undertaken in July and October 1986, pursuant to Article 14 (2) of Regulation No 17, into three Italian flat-glass producers and one wholesaler and from investigations undertaken in January 1987, pursuant to Article 14 (3) of Regulation No 17, into the three Italian producers. Between the investigations carried out in 1986 and those carried out in 1987, Industria Vetraria Alfonso Cobelli of Reggio Calabria made application to the Commission on 31 October 1986, pursuant to Article 3 of Regulation No 17, for a finding that infringements of the competition rules had been committed by Società Italiana Vetro, Fabbrica Pisana and Vernante Pennitalia.
A. The market
1. The product
(2) The product to which this Decision relates is flat glass in all its varieties. There are three types of flat glass produced using different manufacturing processes:
- drawn glass, which takes the form of a colourless, transparent sheet, used for the manufacture of window panes,
- cast glass, which takes the form of an uneven, translucent but not transparent sheet, obtained by rolling,
- plate glass, in the form of a transparent sheet whose surfaces are almost perfectly parallel,
which may be obtained by continuous casting or by the float-glass process. The float-glass process is the one most widely used in producing glass.
(3) Float glass began to be produced on an industrial scale in the early 1960s; because of its characteristics and its relatively low production costs in relation to its quality, it rapidly replaced the other types of glass. At present, more than 90 % of flat glass is manufactured using the float-glass process.