The European Commission announced on 3 July 2009 that it had raided the premises of a number of companies in the special glass sector on suspicion of cartel activities. The nales of the companies invo…
The European Commission announced on 3 July 2009 that it had raided the premises of a number of companies in the special glass sector on suspicion of cartel activities. The nales of the companies involved were not revealed. Special glass products are used for optical and electronics applications in the commercial and industrial sectors. As per a statement from the 27-country European Union“s executive arm: “The Commission has reason to believe that there may have been a violation in this sector of rules on restrictive business practices.” The Commission said that the raids took place on 4 March 2009, adding that there was no strict deadline to complete its probe. It also said that these raids are preliminary steps in investigations into suspected cartels, which would not prejudge the outcome of the investigation. The Commission, the European Union“s antitrust watchdog, has the possibility of fining companies up to 10% of annual turnover if they are found guilty of antitrust violations. In 2008, glassmaker Saint-Gobain was obliged to pay a EUR 896 million fine for price fixing.