Judgment_paragraph 34 · Matra Hachette SA v Commission of the European Communities (T-17/93)

34It has been consistently held — and the defendant and the intervener rightly cite the cases in question — that the principle that there must be full disclosure in the administrative procedure before the Commission for the application of competition rules to undertakings applies only to undertakings which may be penalized by a Commission decision finding an infringement of Articles 85 or 86 of the Treaty, since the rights of third parties, as laid down by Article 19 of Regulation No 17, are limited to the right to participate in the administrative procedure (judgment of the Court of Justice in Joined Cases 142/84 and 156/84 BAT and Reynolds v Commission [1987] ECR 4487, paragraphs 19 and 20). It follows that the Commission enjoys some latitude in taking account, in its decision, of the written observations and any oral observations presented by them. In particular, contrary to the applicant's contention, third parties cannot claim a right of access to the file compiled by the Commission on the same basis as the undertakings under investigation (judgment of the Court of Justice in Case 53/85 Akzo v Commission [1986] ECR 1965).

Matra Hachette SA v Commission of the European Communities (T-17/93)

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