The Court of Justice ruled on a cartel case involving eight undertakings and an association of undertakings in the Italian market for concrete reinforcing bars, spanning from December 1989 to July 2000. The fines imposed by the Commission in 2002 were initially annulled by the General Court in 2007 due to a lapsed legal basis, leading to a series of subsequent decisions and legal challenges.

After a lengthy legal process, the Commission re-adopted a decision in 2019, reducing fines by 50% due to procedural delays. Three undertakings challenged this decision, but the Court of Justice upheld the fines for two of them and partially reduced the fine for Ferriere Nord SpA.

The Court of Justice affirmed that the fines were justified to penalize anti-competitive behavior and deter future violations of EU competition law. It noted that fines aim to discourage unlawful acts and not just prevent the specific cartel's recurrence.

In the case of Ferriere Nord SpA, the Court found that the Commission's unequal treatment in granting reductions for non-participation in the cartel infringed the principle of equal treatment. As a result, the fine imposed on Ferriere Nord SpA was reduced from €2,237,000 to €2,165,000.