232In the present case, as is apparent from paragraphs 78 to 121 of the present judgment, it was open to the General Court to find in paragraph 120 of the judgment under appeal, without erring in law, that the MIF were not objectively necessary for the operation of the MasterCard system. In the light of that conclusion, the General Court also correctly concluded, in paragraph 207 of that judgment, that analysis of the first condition laid down in Article 81(3) EC called for an examination of the appreciable objective advantages arising specifically from the MIF and not from the MasterCard system as a whole. It follows from this that the argument that the General Court wrongly ignored the advantages to cardholders resulting from the MasterCard scheme cannot be accepted.
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