Top EU court confirms €357 million British car glass cartel fine
Manufacturing staff install a front windscreen | Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images
Top EU court confirms €357 million British car glass cartel fine
European Court of Justice upholds record fine against company that conspired to fix windscreen prices.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) confirmed Wednesday a €357 million fine imposed by the European Commission on the Pilkington glass manufacturing group for fixing the price of glass used in car windscreens.
The 2008 decision by the Commission to impose fines totaling €1.35 billion on four car glass producers, including on British firm Pilkington, was at the time the highest fine imposed for a single antitrust infringement.
Pilkington first challenged the decision in the EU’s General Court, which confirmed the fine. The glass manufacturer then appealed to the ECJ.
The ECJ ruled the Commission’s fine and its method of calculating it were valid, finding it was “not contrary to the principles of proportionality and equal treatment,” despite being significantly higher than prior fines.