Judgment_paragraph 6 · InnoLux Corp. v European Commission (T-91/11)

6On 27 May 2009, the Commission initiated the administrative proceedings and adopted a statement of objections, pursuant to Article 10 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 773/2004 of 7 April 2004 relating to the conduct of proceedings by the Commission pursuant to Articles 81 [EC] and 82 [EC] (OJ 2004 L 123, p. 18). The statement of objections was addressed to 16 companies, including CMO and two European subsidiaries which were wholly owned by it, namely Chi Mei Optoelectronics BV and Chi Mei Optoelectronics UK Ltd. In that regard, the Commission, in points 281 to 285 of the statement of objections, recalled inter alia that, according to the case-law, (i) European Union (EU) competition law recognises that different companies belonging to the same group form an economic unit, and therefore an undertaking within the meaning of Articles 81 EC and 82 EC, if the companies concerned do not determine independently their own conduct on the market (Case T-203/01 Michelin v Commission [2003] ECR II-4071, paragraph 290), and (ii) it is sufficient for the Commission to prove that the entire capital of a subsidiary is held by its parent company for the presumption that the parent company exercises decisive influence over the conduct of the subsidiary on the market to be established (Case T-405/06 ArcelorMittal Luxembourg and Others v Commission [2009] ECR II-771, paragraph 91). Next, in points 327 to 329 of the statement of objections, the Commission explained the reasons why, applying the case-law referred to, the two CMO subsidiaries mentioned above were to be held jointly and severally liable for the infringements committed by CMO.