L125/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 19.5.1999 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 12 April 1999 relating to a proceeding pursuant to Articles 85 and 86 of the EC Treaty and Articles 53 and 54 of the EEA Agreement (Cases No IV/D-1/30.373 — P & I Clubs, IGA and No IV/D-1/37.143 — P &I Clubs, Pooling Agreement) (notified under document number C(1999) 221) (Only the English text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (1999/329/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, Having regard to Council Regulation No 17 of 6 February 1962, first Regulation implementing Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty ('), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, and in particular Articles 2, 6 and 8 thereof, Having regard to the formal notifications for negative clearance and exemption submitted pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation No 17 of the International Group Agree- ment on 18 June 1981 and 27 July 1984, the request of 20 February 1995 to renew the exemption granted on 16 December 1985 and the formal notifications for exemp- tion of the International Group Pooling Agreement on 7 July 1998 and of the International Group Agreement on 21 October 1998, Having regard to the publication pursuant to Article 19(3) of Regulation No 17 of a notice concerning the Inter- national Group Pooling Agreement on 14 August 1998 (3 and a similar notice regarding the International Group Agreement, published on 21 October 1998 (%), () OJ 13, 21.2.1962, p. 204/62. @) O] C 256, 14.8.1998, p. 2. () OJ C 322, 21.10.1998, p. 31. After having consulted the Advisory Committee for Restrictive Practices and Dominant Positions, Whereas: (A) THE FACTS 1. INTRODUCTION (1)  This case concerns the compatibility with the competition rules of the EC Treaty and the EEA Agreement of two arrangements concluded within the International Group of P &I Clubs (hereinafter referred to as ‘the IG’), namely the International Group Pooling Agreement (hereinafter ‘the Pooling Agreement’) and the International Group Agree- ment (hereinafter ‘the IGA)). (2 The IGA had originally been notified to the Commission in 1981. The Commission granted to it a formal exemption for 10 years. This expired in February 1995 and the IG requested a renewal of the exemption. (3) In June 1997 the Commission addressed a State- ment of Objections to the IG, considering that both the Pooling Agreement and the IGA were in breach of the competition rules of the EC Treaty.