Clemency will be limited to companies that inform the Authority of the existence of secret cartels, the most serious breaches of competition law and above all violations that are particularly difficult to ascertain.

POSSIBLE REDUCTIONS

The program foresees a sliding scale of reductions according to the usefulness of the collaboration offered by ‘penitent’ companies. These go as far as total immunity for a company which is first to provide the Authority spontaneously with decisive proof of a secret cartel where such information is not available to the Authority.

It is in any case possible for a company whose cooperation contributes significantly to the evidence available to the Authority to benefit from a reduction in its fine, usually of not more than 50%. Obviously account will be taken of the timeliness of the company’s collaboration and the value of the evidence produced.

Full cooperation with the Authority is an essential prerequisite for benefiting from the clemency program. Hence, on pain of exclusion, the company must present all the relevant information it has available and must not reveal its participation in the clemency program to third parties.

HOW TO APPLY

A company wishing to take part in the clemency program must present an application to the Authority, attaching the relevant information and documents. In some cases the company may not be in a position to produce immediately the elements of proof necessary to obtain immunity, but may be able to obtain them within a short period of time. In such a case, it may present an incomplete application and request that the Authority fix a deadline for the completion of the application with the production of the relevant information and documents.

Lastly, in order to lighten the administrative burden on businesses, it is possible to present an application for immunity in a simplified form in cases where the European Commission is best placed to carry out the investigation into the cartel in question.

Rome, 19 February 2007