Brussels, 17/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission confirmed on 17 May that it had undertaken, that same day, a series of unannounced inspections at the premises of “companies active in the container liner shipping”. According to a press release, the spot checks were carried out in several member states. The Commission has reason to believe that the companies concerned may have violated the antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices and/or abuse of a dominant market position (Articles 101 and 102 respectively of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). Commission officials were accompanied by their counterparts from the relevant national competition authorities. The Commission did not reveal the names of the companies concerned in its press release, but, in the course of the day, two European firms, French Group GMA CGM and Danish group A.P. Moeller-Mærsk, admitted that their premises had been inspected. The Commission noted that the fact that it carries out “such inspections does not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself”. There is no legal deadline for inquiries into anticompetitive conduct to be completed. Duration depends on a number of factors, including the complexity of each case, the extent to which the undertakings concerned co-operate with the Commission and the exercise of the rights of defence. (A.By./transl.rt)