No L 181/28 Official Journal of the European Communities 20. 7. 96 COMMISSION DECISION of 5 June 1996 relating to a proceeding pursuant to Article 8§ of the EC Treaty (IV/34.983 — Fenex) (Only the Dutch text is authentic) (96/438/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, 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 Article 15 (2) thereof, Having given the undertakings concerned the opportunity of being heard on the matters to which the Commission has taken objection, in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 (1) of Regulation No 17 and Commission Regulation No 99/63/EEC of 25 July 1963 on the hearings provided for in Article 19 (1) and (2) of Council Regulation No 17 (3, Having consulted the Advisory Committee on Restrictive Practices and Dominant Positions, Whereas: Subject of the proceeding The Commission Decision relates to a decision of an association of undertakings regarding recommended forwarding charges in the Netherlands circulated by Nederlandse Organisatie voor Expeditie en Logistiek (Fenex) between 10 January 1989 and 1 July 1993. This proceeding was initiated by the Commission on it own initiative. On 26 May 1995 the representatives of Fenex notified the Commission of the decision of an association of undertakings which is at issue. I. THE FACTS A. The association concerned (1) The association of undertakings concerned is Fenex, an association under Dutch law. Until 22 () OJ No 13, 21. 2. 1962, p. 204/62. () OJ No L 127, 20. 8. 1963, p. 2268/63. @ ) (6) June 1991, Fenex was a federation of Dutch forwarding organizations comprising four members: — Vereniging van Nederlandse Expediteurs (VNE), Nijmegen, — Vereniging van Expediteurs (VVE), Rotterdam, — Vakgroep Expediteursbedrijven der Scheep- vaartvereniging Noord (SVN), Amsterdam, — Nederlandse Vereniging van Luchtvaartexpedi- teurs (NVVC). Since 22 June 1991, Fenex has been an association created through the merger of the former federa- tion, the VNE and the VVE. The association is open directly to forwarding companies. It had some 400 members in 1989 and 294 members in 1995. According to Fenex, there were 2 812 forwarding companies in the Netherlands in April 1995. Fenex’s representatives have stressed that the asso- ciation comprises a large number of small firms. However, the Commission notes that the associa- tion also comprises large firms, some of which are market leaders, including: — Calberson BV, — Compagnie francaise de navigation rhénane, — Danzas International, — Muller & Co,, — Nedlloyd Road Cargo services, — DHL International, — Dutch Air BY, — MSAS Nedlloyd Air Cargo. Fenex’s objective is to represent generally the joint interests of its members. In particular, it provides them with information and advice. Fenex comprises a board of directors whose members were until 22 June 1991 representatives of the affiliated associations and since that date have been representatives of the affiliated firms. Until 1 July 1993, Fenex had a ‘tariffs committee’ which was responsible for drawing up opinions for the board of directors or carrying out preparatory work for it. On 1 July 1993, the tariffs committee was replaced by an ‘economic affairs committee’.