Brussels, 25/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 25 May, the European Commission decided to fine Pometon S.p.A, which has been found guilty of anti-competitive practices, €6.2 million.
The Commission noted that this Italian producer of abrasive granules had broken EU competition rules. For more than four years, it participated in a cartel and carried out bilateral and multilateral contacts aiming to coordinate prices of metal abrasive granules in the whole of the European Economic Area (EEA). The company was fined €6,197,000. Margrethe Vestager, the Commissioner for competition policy, said that the decision “shows once again that the Commission is determined to sanction cartels and fine all those who participate in them”.
Scrap iron, which is the main raw material used in metal abrasive granules, is characterised by steep price fluctuations and considerable price differences between countries of the EEA. In order to offset these fluctuations, the companies involved in the cartel set up a joint specific surcharge (known as “scrap iron surcharge” or “scrap iron price variation”, based on a common formula. They also agreed not to compete with each other on prices towards individual clients.
The Commissioner said, with regard to this, that the “cartel regarding metal abrasive granules harmed many European manufacturing industries and, ultimately, consumers”. (Original version in French by Maëlle Didion)