The European Commission has registered this Tuesday in two EU countries several premises of companies delivering food and other consumer products on suspicion of carrying out monopoly practices prohibited by Community legislation.
The searches, carried out without prior notice by officials of the European Commission and the national authorities of these two countries, have been communicated by the Executive, although they have not specified which Member States or which companies they were.
The investigation began because the European Commission detected alleged distributions of market shares between several investigated companies, which is why it already carried out several inspections last year, according to Efe.
Now, the investigation by the Community Executive will go one step further, since Brussels suspects that the companies involved have closed alleged non-solicitation agreements and have exchanged sensitive information from a commercial point of view.
Brussels fears that the companies under investigation may have violated European Union (EU) antitrust rules, which prohibit both cartels and restrictive business practices. The inspections this Tuesday, November 21, are a preliminary step in the investigation carried out by the Commission, although the institution itself clarified that the records do not prejudge the final result of its investigations.
Brussels investigation
The investigation does not imply that the companies investigated are guilty of antitrust practices, but there is also no legal deadline to complete this type of investigation.
Brussels will begin investigating these suspicions of anti-competitive conduct for as long as it deems appropriate. Companies that have participated in a secret cartel can also benefit from immunity from fines or benefit from a reduction in the penalties imposed in exchange for reporting the conduct and cooperating with the Commission during the investigation.
