126According to paragraphs 181 and 182 of the judgment under appeal:181 In the second place, with regard to the criticism concerning the failure to take the two-sided nature of the market into consideration, it must be pointed out that, in that context, the [appellants] highlight the economic advantages that flow from the MIF. Thus, in essence, the [appellants] state that the MIF enables the operation of the MasterCard system to be optimised by financing expenditure intended to encourage cardholder acceptance and use. They deduce from this that it is not in the interest of banks to set the MIF at an excessive rate, and, moreover, that merchants benefit from the MIF. The [appellants] also complain that the Commission overlooked the impact of its decision on cardholders, by focusing exclusively on merchants alone. In that regard, a number of interveners add that in a system operating without the MIF they would be compelled to limit the advantages conferred on cardholders, or even to reduce their activity.182 Such criticisms have no relevance in the context of a plea relating to infringement of Article 81(1) EC, in that they entail a weighing-up of the restrictive effects of the MIF on competition, legitimately established by the Commission, with any economic advantages that may ensue. However, it is only within the specific framework of Article 81(3) EC that the pro and anti-competitive aspects of a restriction may be weighed (see, to that effect, [judgment in] Van den Bergh Foods v Commission, [T‑65/98, EU:T:2003:281], paragraph 107 and the case-law cited).’
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