EC will not appeal court ruling to cancel TACA fines

EC will not appeal court ruling to cancel TACA fines    The European Commission will not appeal a decision by the Court of First Instance of Luxembourg to cancel the 273 million euro (about $300 million) of punitive fines imposed on Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement carriers by the EC.
   The European court threw out the fines on Sept. 30, after TACA carriers appealed in court the EC fines originally announced in 1998. The September ruling included a decision to refuse to uphold some of the findings of the EC against alleged competition abuses of TACA carriers, while confirming other EC allegations of carrier abuses, notably those on the restriction of service contracts with shippers.
   The EC still had the option of appealing the Court of First Instance ruling on the TACA case by going to the European Court of Justice, Europe’s highest court, on points of law only. The Brussels-based executive now says that it will not do that, and that it is accepting the most recent court decision.
   The EC announcement marks the end of its decade-long dispute with transatlantic conference carriers.