Judgment_paragraph 72 · Duravit AG and Others v European Commission (C-609/13 P)

72Furthermore, although that requirement of independence does not deprive economic operators of the right to adapt themselves intelligently to the existing and anticipated conduct of their competitors, it does however strictly preclude any direct or indirect contact between such operators, which is such as either to influence the conduct on the market of an actual or potential competitor or to disclose to such a competitor the course of conduct which the operator concerned himself has decided to adopt on the market or which he contemplates adopting, where the object or effect of such contact is to create conditions of competition which do not correspond to the normal conditions of the market in question, regard being had to the nature of the products or services offered, the size and number of the undertakings and the volume of the said market (see judgment of 8 July 1999, Commission v Anic Partecipazioni , C‑49/92 P, EU:C:1999:356, paragraph 117 and the case-law cited).