The EC conducted unannounced inspection of Slovak Telekom a.s., the incumbent telecom operator in Slovakia based on information that the company may have abused its dominant market position by refusing to supply, price squeezing and tying.
Category Archives: EU News
EU Inspects Smart Card Chip Manufacturers
January 12, 2009 – 4:42 pm
On January 7, 2009, the EC confirmed that it had inspected the premises of several smart card chip producers. These chips are used for the production of smart cards, such as telephone SIM cards, bank cards and identity cards, and the companies inspected may have engaged in price fixing, customer allocation and the exchange of commercially-sensitive information.
EC Raids Pharmaceutical Companies
December 30, 2008 – 2:04 pm
The European Commission has reportedly raided the offices of pharmaceutical companies suspected of breaching EU competition rules by operating a cartel or abusing market position. Without identifying the companies, the Commission said only that the inspections had taken place in “several” EU Member States. The raids took place ahead of the publication of a 400-page Commission report […]
EU Power Transformer Investigation
December 11, 2008 – 12:04 pm
On December 11, the EC acknolwedged that it had issued a Statement of Objections to multiple, but unnamed, power transformers producers, concerning their alleged participation in a cartel.
Leading EU Auto Glass Producers Fined for Cartel Behavior
December 1, 2008 – 7:57 pm
The European Commission recently fined auto glass producers — Asahi, Pilkington, Saint-Bogain, and Soliver — with over 90% of the market for engaging in a market sharing cartel from 1998-2003.
ECJ Finds Competitive Restraint in Irish Beef Processing
November 23, 2008 – 7:20 pm
On November 20, 2008, the European Court of Justice issued a preliminary ruling in the Irish beef case, concluding that a scheme by some beef processors to leave the processing industry, restricted competition and violated EU rules. The European Commission commented that the ruling confirmed that agreements between competitors to restrict capacity or production were hardcore restrictions of competition that generally harm consumers.
EC Fines Banana Producers
October 15, 2008 – 10:58 am
The European Commission has fined banana suppliers €60.3m for coordinated the setting of their quotation prices between 2000 and 2002.
MasterCard Fees Again Under Investigation in Europe
October 14, 2008 – 11:02 am
The European Commission is investing whether MasterCard’s recently announced “scheme fees” are an improper attempt to circumvent the Commission’s recent decision that MasterCard’s cross-border interchange fees were anticompetitive. MasterCard discontinued cross-border interchange fees in June, pending discussion of an acceptable alternative.
European Commission Upholds Graphite Electrode Cartel Fines
October 9, 2008 – 1:48 pm
Several members of a grahpite electrode cartel challenged the propriety of a December 2003 decision to impose massive fines, but not the liability decision, for a price fixing scheme that began in the late-80s/early 90s. The Commission upheld all of the fines. The fines upheld ranged from 23 million to 43 million euros.
EC Fines Paraffin Wax Producers
October 2, 2008 – 11:07 am
Nine paraffin wax producers found to have engaged in a price fixing cartel were fined more than 675 million euros, the fourth largest cartel fine in the Commission’s history. The defendants were Exxon, ENI, Hansen & Rosenthal, MOL, Repsol, RWE, Sosol, Tudapetrol, and Total.