Commission Regulation (EC) No 463/2004 of 12 March 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 823/2000 on the application of Article 81(3) of the Treaty to certain categories of agreements, decisions and concerted practices between liner shipping companies (consortia) (Text with EEA relevance)

• Published date: 13 March 2004
• Subject Matter: Agreements, decisions and concerted practices,Competition
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Union, L 77, 13 March 2004

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32004R0463

Commission Regulation (EC) No 463/2004 of 12 March 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 823/2000 on the application of Article 81(3) of the Treaty to certain categories of agreements, decisions and concerted practices between liner shipping companies (consortia) (Text with EEA relevance)

Official Journal L 077 , 13/03/2004 P. 0023 - 0024

Commission Regulation (EC) No 463/2004

of 12 March 2004

amending Regulation (EC) No 823/2000 on the application of Article 81(3) of the Treaty to certain categories of agreements, decisions and concerted practices between liner shipping companies (consortia)

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 479/92 of 25 February 1992 on the application of Article 85(3) of the Treaty to certain categories of agreements, decisions and concerted practices between liner shipping companies (consortia)(1), and in particular Article 2(2) thereof,

Having published a draft of this Regulation(2),

After consulting the Advisory Committee on Restrictive Practices and Dominant Positions in Maritime Transport,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EEC) No 479/92 empowers the Commission to apply Article 81(3) of the Treaty by regulation to certain categories of agreements, decisions and concerted practices between shipping companies (consortia) relating to the joint operation of liner transport services.

(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 823/2000(3) grants a general exemption to liner shipping consortia from the prohibition contained in Article 81(1) of the Treaty, subject to certain conditions and obligations.

(3) One of the conditions concerns the market share held by the consortium on each market upon which it operates. Any consortium with a market share below 30 % (if the consortium operates within a conference) or 35 % (if the consortium operates outside a conference) is automatically exempt if it fulfils the other conditions of the Regulation. A consortium with a market share above that ceiling but below 50 % may still benefit from the block exemption if the agreement is notified to the Commission and the Commission does not oppose the exemption within six months.

(4) Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 introduces a directly applicable exception system in which the competition authorities and the courts of the Member...