The EU Court of First Instance upholds the Commission’s decision finding that national rail undertakings abused their dominant position by fixing prices and tariffs for the carriage by rail of maritime containers (Deutsche Bahn)

Case T-229/94 Deutsche Bahn AG v Commission of the European Communities* 1. An agreement between the national rail undertakings of three Member States the purpose of which is to set up a common administration for the fixing of prices and tariffs for the carriage by rail of maritime containers to or from one of those States via the ports of those States, is incompatible with the common market. An agreement establishing a common system for fixing prices falls within the scope of Article 85(1 )(a) of the Treaty and of Article 2(a) of Regulation No 1017/68 applying rules of competition to transport by rail, road and inland waterway, irrespective of the extent to which the provisions of the agreement have in fact been observed. The reason for this is that the joint fixing of prices