* EU regulators set to close antitrust case against IACS
* IACS admits no illegal behaviour, pays no fine
* No major changes seen in IACS commitments (Adds details, European Commission no comment)
Source: Reuters
By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS, Oct 9 (Reuters) - EU regulators are set to accept commitments offered by IACS, a trade group for ship inspection companies, to settle an antitrust case as early as next Wednesday, a person familiar with the situation said.
The European Commission had in June asked rival ship classification societies for comment on proposals by IACS to adopt non-discriminatory membership criteria and to open the trade body's technical working groups to competitors.
"A commitment decision could come next Wednesday in which the Commission closes the case based on the commitments offered by IACS," the person told Reuters on Friday.
"There are not expected to be any major changes to the commitments," the person said.
A commitment decision, also known as an Article 9 decision, essentially means companies charged by the Commission, the European Union's executive arm, do not admit any illegal behaviour and pay no fine.
But the EU executive could levy a penalty of up to 10 percent of a company's global turnover if the firm fails to comply with the legally binding commitments.
The Commission declined to comment. One of its most high-profile commitment decisions came when it closed an antitrust probe last November into German utility E.ON (EONGn.DE) in return for the sale of some strategic assets.
It is now market-testing commitments from Microsoft (MSFT.O), which could end in the U.S. software company escaping any infringement finding and penalties as long as it implements the proposed remedies.
IACS, the International Association of Classification Societies, proposed the commitments after the Commission raided several unidentified ship classifiers in January 2008 on suspicion of breaking rules on restrictive business practices.
The proposed concessions would be for five years, according to the market test conducted in June. IACS members include British-based Lloyd's Register, the American Bureau of Shipping, the China Classification Society, Norway's Det Norske Veritas, Germanischer Lloyd, the Korean Register of Shipping, the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and Japan's Nippon Kaiji Kyokai.
Other members are based in India and Italy.
Ship classifiers certify that vessels are designed, constructed and maintained according to classification rules. (Editing by Dale Hudson)
* IACS admits no illegal behaviour, pays no fine
* No major changes seen in IACS commitments (Adds details, European Commission no comment)
Source: Reuters
By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS, Oct 9 (Reuters) - EU regulators are set to accept commitments offered by IACS, a trade group for ship inspection companies, to settle an antitrust case as early as next Wednesday, a person familiar with the situation said.
The European Commission had in June asked rival ship classification societies for comment on proposals by IACS to adopt non-discriminatory membership criteria and to open the trade body's technical working groups to competitors.
"A commitment decision could come next Wednesday in which the Commission closes the case based on the commitments offered by IACS," the person told Reuters on Friday.
"There are not expected to be any major changes to the commitments," the person said.
A commitment decision, also known as an Article 9 decision, essentially means companies charged by the Commission, the European Union's executive arm, do not admit any illegal behaviour and pay no fine.
But the EU executive could levy a penalty of up to 10 percent of a company's global turnover if the firm fails to comply with the legally binding commitments.
The Commission declined to comment. One of its most high-profile commitment decisions came when it closed an antitrust probe last November into German utility E.ON (EONGn.DE) in return for the sale of some strategic assets.
It is now market-testing commitments from Microsoft (MSFT.O), which could end in the U.S. software company escaping any infringement finding and penalties as long as it implements the proposed remedies.
IACS, the International Association of Classification Societies, proposed the commitments after the Commission raided several unidentified ship classifiers in January 2008 on suspicion of breaking rules on restrictive business practices.
The proposed concessions would be for five years, according to the market test conducted in June. IACS members include British-based Lloyd's Register, the American Bureau of Shipping, the China Classification Society, Norway's Det Norske Veritas, Germanischer Lloyd, the Korean Register of Shipping, the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and Japan's Nippon Kaiji Kyokai.
Other members are based in India and Italy.
Ship classifiers certify that vessels are designed, constructed and maintained according to classification rules. (Editing by Dale Hudson)
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