64It should be noted at the outset that Article 12(2) of the Regulation, like Article 15 (2) of Regulation No 17, merely provides that, in determining the amount of the fine, account is to be taken of the seriousness and the duration of the infringement. According to settled case-law, that provision confers upon the Commission a wide discretion in the fixing of fines (Case T-229/94 Deutsche Bahn v Commission [1997] ECR II-1689, paragraph 127) which is, amongst other things, a function of its general policy in competition matters (Musique Diffusion française and Others v Commission, cited in paragraph 32 above, paragraphs 105 and 109). It is in that context that, in 1998, in order to ensure the transparency and objectivity of its decisions on fines, the Commission adopted the Guidelines which are designed, whilst complying with higher-ranking law, to specify the criteria which the Commission intends to apply when exercising its discretion; a self-limitation of that power results (see, to that effect, Case T-214/95 Vlaamse Gewest v Commission [1998] ECR II-717, paragraph 89), in that the Commission is required to comply with guidelines that it has itself laid down (Case T-380/94 AIUFFASS and AKT v Commission [1996] ECR II-2169, paragraph 57).
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