The European Commission decided this week to uphold its fine of EUR 20 million (USD 23 million) against Marine Harvest over its acquisition of Morpol in 2013.
Marine Harvest has been battling the fine in the General Court of the European Union since 2014, after the E.U. accused Marine Harvest of finalizing the deal as much as eight months before seeking the approval of E.U. regulators.
“Marine Harvest is disappointed by the outcome and that our arguments presented to the General Court have not been accepted,” the company said in a statement provided to SeafoodSource.
However, the aquaculture giant already recognized a provision of EUR 20 million in its financial statements.
“Marine Harvest will now, together with its legal advisor, conduct a judicial review of the judgment and decide if the judgment shall be appealed to the E.U. Court of Justice,” the company said.
If the company decides to appeal the decision, a final non-appealable judgment is expected to be made at the end of 2018.
