Joaquin Almunia, over the last two years, took eleven cartel decisions in a variety of sectors ranging from consumer goods, such as detergents, to industrial products, such as Cathode Ray Tube glass. Galileo muttered the phrase Eppur si muove, And yet it moves, after being forced to recant in 1633, before the Inquisition, his belief that the Earth moves around the Sun. Similarly the new inquisition of regulators force executives to admit something they did not do, in order to get smaller penalties. Eppur si muove! Almunia's activity slowed down a bit last year – when he imposed fines for a total of €614 million in four decisions – with respect to 2010, when he imposed fines for €2.9 billion in seven decisions. But this fact does not imply at all a change in Almunia's priorities. Almunia is working on a number of major cases and his harassment will likely be higher this year. In addition, over the last 18 months Almunia has also carried out several inspections and received many applications for leniency. There is an Antitrust Armageddon in Europe between tiptop companies and Fourth Reich(EU). Eurokleptocrats are willing to do anything in order to get kickbacks from industry leaders. The European antitrust laws have the unfortunate consequence of harming Europeans by chilling innovation and discouraging competition. Instead of protecting competition, EU laws protect competitors who give kickbacks to kleptocrats! Kickback is the lubricant that allows a European industry to run smoothly! No European machinery can run without lubricant! Eppur si muove!  http://venitism.blogspot.com Almunia's fight against cartels has not been and should not be affected by the crisis. Cartels can do more harm to the economy and to consumer welfare in difficult times than in periods of economic expansion; so Almunia's level of harassment, if anything, should be even greater. European antitrust law is wielded most often by favor-seeking businessmen and their kleptocrat allies. Instead of focusing on new and better products, disgruntled rivals try to exploit the law by consorting with kleptocrats. EU officials routinely direct antitrust regulators to bend the rules in pursuit of political ends. In reality, the threat of abusive EC power is far larger than the threat of oligopoly. Eppur si muove! Almunia has noticed one difference related to the crisis in his practice; an increase in the number of inability-to-pay requests. Almunia assesses each application with great care. Since November 2009, when the new ITP methodology was introduced, Almunia has examined 41 applications and granted a reduction of the fine 13 times. The only viable definition of monopoly is a grant of privilege from the government. It therefore becomes quite clear that it is impossible for the government to decrease monopoly by passing punitive laws. The only way for the government to decrease monopoly is to remove its own monopoly grants. The antitrust laws, therefore, do not in the least diminish monopoly. What they do accomplish is to impose a continual, capricious harassment of efficient business enterprise. Another aspect that is worth mentioning in this area is the growing importance of the settlement procedure. Three of the four decisions adopted in 2011 were settlements; namely in the consumer detergents, refrigeration compressors, and Cathode Ray Tube glass cases. Almunia welcome this development, be