Commission offers deal to cartel 'confessors' 

The new measure, going into effect immediately, is part of a broader Commission strategy to better tackle increasing cartel activity within the bloc. Since 2004, fines raised by the Commission have increased almost five-fold, from €700 million to over €3.3 billion in 2007. 

Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said "this new settlements procedure will reinforce deterrence by helping the Commission deal more quickly with cartel cases, freeing up resources to open new investigations". 

Under the new rules, companies which are convinced that the Commission will be able to prove their involvement in a cartel can ask for a settlement with the EU executive, which would in turn reveal some of its evidence to the companies under suspicion. 

Those can then opt to settle the investigation immediately in return for a 10%-fine discount or continue to contest the case. 

Lawyers and businesses are very much in favour of these deals, considering them as a means of shortening the length of a case. But they criticised the small scope of the fine reduction, with the American Chamber of Commerce describing it as "disappointing". Companies had hoped for reductions of at least 25%, believing 10% to be too low an incentive to settle cases. 

Moreover, the Commission stressed that under the settlement procedure - unlike in the US - fine discounts are not negotiable. Companies aiming for higher discharges can draw on the Commission's existing leniency programme, which offers companies a full amnesty if they are the first to report a cartel and can provide useful information about other members.