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Rompetrol and ENI lose the trial with the Competition Council but the tribunal reduces the fine
Rompetrol, the second oil company on the local market, and ENI Romania lost the trial with the Competition Council, through which they attacked the fine received for a agreement at the level of the cartel, but the High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania reduced the sum to be paid to 2% of the turnover of 2010.
The tribunal thus confirms that the oil companies breached the competition law, but they reduce the fine from 2.6% to 2% of the turnover of 2010.
According to the decision, Rompetrol Downstream SRL is made to pay 122.73 million lei and the fine for ENI Romania SRL is 8.61 million lei.
Both decisions of the High Court of Cassation and Justice are definite.At the same time, the tribunal confirmed at the beginning of July the breaching of the law of competition and by the oil company MOL Romania through their participation to an understanding of cartel type on the market of oils. The tribunal reduced the fine applied by the competition authority to the MOL company by 20% from 80.2 million lei to 64.2 million lei.
Thus, until now, the tribunal solved three of the six trials with oil companies on the list of the High Court of Cassation and Justice. For the period to come, there are expected solutions in the case of the appeals formulated by SC OMVPetrom SA, OMV Petrom Marketing SRL and Lukoil Romania SRL.
At the end of 2011, the Competition Council sanctioned six oil companies with a fine of almost 880 million lei (205 million euro) for the signing of an anti-competition agreement. Following the investigation, the competition authority saw that the six companies breached the Competition Law as well as the Treaty for the Functioning of the European Union (TFUE) by establishing the simultaneous withdrawal of the Eco Premium from the market.
SC OMV Petrom SA ( at the date of the breach the filling stations which worked were Petrom and PetromV) received a fine of 366.5 million lei. SC OMV Petrom Marketing SRL (at the date of breaking the law operating as OMV) was fined with 137.2 million lei, while SC Rompetrol Downstream SRL received a fine of 159.5 million lei, SC Lukoil Romania SRL was fined with 138.6 million lei, SC MOL Romania Petroleum Products SRL with 80.2 million lei and SC ENI Romania SRL with 11.1 million lei.