Judgment_paragraph 37 · Automobiles Peugeot SA and Peugeot SA v Commission of the European Communities (T-9/92)

37In this respect the Court stresses that, regard being had to the general principle of the prohibition of agreements restricting competition in Article 85(1) of the Treaty, provisions derogating therefrom in a regulation on exemption by categories cannot be interpreted widely or so as to extend the effects of the regulation further than is necessary for the protection of the interests which they are intended to safeguard (see the judgment of the Court of Justice in Case 90/83 Paterson [1983] ECR 1567, paragraph 16).