Opinion of Mr Advocate General VerLoren van Themaat delivered on 21 June 1983

1 Translated from the Dutch.

2 I think that the character of the discount system is illustrated very well here by the fact that according to the fourth point of Michelin NV's summarized argument, dealers who sell more than 3000 tyres all obtain the maximum discount percentage (excluding the target bonus). In my view it is precisely this fact which shows that the variable element of the discount is mainly intended to tic dealers to Michelin. Furthermore this practice confirms that the effectiveness of this means of binding dealers to Michelin NV is directly related to Michelin NV's and its competitors' market shares. If Michelin NV's market share were smaller, it would have to give higher periodic quantitative discounts to secure customer loyalty. To that extent too the discount system used is in point of fact also evidence of the existence of a dominant position, although for the purposes of argument it is simpler in this case to demonstrate first that a dominant position exists.