49The principle of a free market economy in which there is freedom of competition, enshrined in Article 4(1) EC, and contractual freedom, enshrined in the laws of the Member States and already recognised by Community law, are of fundamental importance in the Community legal order (Case T-41/96 Bayer v Commission [2000] ECR II-3383, paragraph 180; see also, to that effect, Opinion of Advocate General Rozès in Case 210/81 Schmidt v Commission [1983] ECR 3045, at p. 3072; and Opinion of Advocate General Jacobs in Case C-7/97 Bronner [1998] ECR I-7791, I-7794, point 56).
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