234As regards the arguments that the General Court wrongly ignored the two-sided nature of the system and the advantages flowing from the MIF for cardholders, first of all, it is settled case-law that the improvement, within the meaning of the first condition laid down in Article 81(3) EC, cannot be identified with all the advantages which the parties obtain from the agreement in their production or distribution activities. The improvement must in particular display appreciable objective advantages of such a character as to compensate for the disadvantages which that agreement entails for competition (see judgment in Consten and Grundig v Commission, 56/64 and 58/64, EU:C:1966:41, 348).
Source: EUR-Lex, © European Union, 1998-2026. Reuse authorised under Decision 2011/833/EU.