68By its second question, which is divided into two parts, the referring court asks in essence whether proceedings for the imposition of a fine which are initiated by the European Commission after 1 May 2004 permanently prevent the national competition authority of a Member State which acceded to the Union on that date from prosecuting under domestic competition law a cartel the effects of which were produced in the territory of that State before the accession of the latter to the Union. The referring court’s primary purpose in raising this question is to seek information on the interpretation of Article 11(6) in conjunction with Article 3(1) of Regulation No 1/2003 and on the delimitation of the powers of the national competition authority and the Commission to initiate such a proceeding. Secondly, the referring court inquires of the Court of Justice as to the margin of manoeuvre which that authority has in applying national competition law, in connection with the ne bis in idem principle.
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