When Does An Agreement Have As Its Purpose The Restriction Of Competition?

The Danish High Court has affirmed that Article 6(1) of the Danish Competition Act (corresponding to Article 101(1) TFEU), was infringed by a natural gas company, Hovedstadsregionens og Midt-Nords Naturgasselskab I/S ("HMN"), the trade association and two subcontractors, as these parties entered into an agreement with two competing undertakings and a trade association concerning price fixing of subscriptions.

The parties had entered into two agreements, by which the parties had (1) agreed to raise the end-user price of HMN's servicing of heaters, which would allow the subcontractors to raise their subscription prices, and (2) agreed to lower the prices charged to HMN's customers by the sub-contractors for spare parts.