Brussels, 24/11/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 24 November, European Commission officials carried out surprise inspections at the premises of the energy company ÈEZ, a.s. and other undertakings in the Czech Republic. The department headed by EU Competition Commissioer Neelie Kroes wanted to find out whether the Czech Republic's biggest electricity generator had been acting illegally on the country's wholesale electricity market. In a press release issued the same day, the European Commission said it had “reason to believe that action carried out by CEZ unilaterally or together with other players may have led to a substantial distortion of competition and resulted in the enhancement of CEZ's dominant position on the Czech wholesale electricity market… Surprise inspections are a preliminary step in investigations into suspected anti-competitive practices. The fact that the European Commission carries out such inspections does not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour.” (A.B./transl.fl)