49It follows that the Commission was required in the present case to explain with sufficient clarity and precision the way in which it intended to use its discretion, including the various facts and points of law it had taken into consideration for that purpose. In particular, in the light of the obligation it is under to have due regard for the principle of equal treatment when determining the amount of fines — which, according to the applicants, it failed to do, to their detriment (as submitted in their second plea in law) — the duty to state reasons encompasses all the relevant factors necessary for determining whether or not the undertakings concerned, for which the basic amount of the fine was adjusted, were in a comparable situation, whether the situations of those undertakings were treated in the same way or differently and whether any equal or different treatment of those situations was objectively justified (see judgment of 12 November 2014, Guardian Industries and Guardian Europe v Commission, C‑580/12 P, EU:C:2014:2363, paragraphs 51 and 62 and the case-law cited).
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