Brussels, 02/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission confirmed on Wednesday 2 March that Commission officials had, the previous day, carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of companies in the e-book (electronic or digital books) publishing sector in several member states. The Commission says it has reason to believe that the companies concerned may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and other restrictive business practices, in particular agreeing on the prices of e-books. In the inspections, Commission officials were accompanied by their counterparts from the relevant national competition authorities. As is usual in such cases, the Commission has not revealed the names of the publishers, but four French publishing companies - Albin Michel, Hachette, Flammarion and Gallimard - confirmed on Wednesday that spot checks had been conducted on their premises. The Commission points out in a press release that unannounced inspections are a preliminary step into suspected anti-competitive practices, that they do not mean that the Commission has evidence that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour nor do they prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself. There is no legal deadline to complete inquiries into anti-competitive conduct. Their duration depends on a number of factors, such as the complexity of each case. (O.L./transl.rt)