174The Commission denies having infringed the principle of proportionality and making an error of assessment. First, as regards the aims of fines, it states that deterrence directed not only at the undertaking concerned but also at third parties is a legitimate objective (ACF Chemiepharma v Commission, cited in paragraph 168 above, paragraphs 172 to 176; Case 49/69 BASF v Commission [1972] ECR 713, paragraph 38, and Musique diffusion française and Others v Commission, cited in paragraph 41 above, paragraphs 106 and 109). According to the Commission, if, despite its numerous decisions, such clear and significant infringements of the competition rules as the one in the present case are still occurring, it is clear that the deterrent effect of fines is particularly important (Joined Cases T-202/98, T-204/98 and T-207/98 Tate & Lyle and Others v Commission [2001] ECR II-2035, paragraphs 144 and 145). It also contends that it took account of the applicant's economic capacity by setting the point of departure at EUR 3 million, which is considerably lower than the amounts available under the Guidelines in cases of serious infringements.
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