Judgment_paragraph 43 · Allianz Hungária Biztosító Zrt. and Others v Gazdasági Versenyhivatal (C-32/11)

43In that regard, it must, first, be noted that, in contrast to the view apparently held by Allianz and Generali, the fact that both cases concern vertical relationships in no way excludes the possibility that the agreement at issue in the main proceedings constitutes a restriction of competition ‘by object’. While vertical agreements are, by their nature, often less damaging to competition than horizontal agreements, they can, nevertheless, in some cases, also have a particularly significant restrictive potential. The Court has thus already held on several occasions that a vertical agreement had as its object the restriction of competition (see Joined Cases 56/64 and 58/64 Consten and Grundig v Commission [1966] ECR 429; Case 19/77 Miller International Schallplatten v Commission [1978] ECR 131; Case 243/83 Binon [1985] ECR 2015; and Pierre Fabre Dermo-Cosmétique).