EU Court rejects ARA action

In a first-instance judgment handed down on 22 March, the European Court has rejected an application filed by the Austria packaging waste recovery organisation ARA (Altstoff Recycling Austria AG). ARA had brought the action to have certain conditions on the use of its collection and sorting system by competitors annulled. These conditions on the shared used of infrastructure were imposed in 2003 by the European Commission in a decision granting some exemptions to ARA under anti-cartel legislation. In the court procedure, the EU Commission was supported by the ARA competitor EVA and the Austrian Chamber of Labour which represents employee and consumer interests.