Brussels, 30/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - According to the Financial Times, the European Commission is getting ready to hand down record fines to several constructors of heavy-goods vehicles and medium-duty trucks involved in an illegal cartel.
Four of the six companies concerned (MAN, Volvo/Renault, DAF, Iveco, Scania and Daimler) are believed to have earmarked €2.6 billion in anticipation of a decision of the European Commission, possibly before the summer, according to the FT.
In November 2014, the Commission notified the companies of its objections, namely that it suspected that they had agreed on prices and coordinated their rates practices in the European Economic Area between 1997 and 2011 (see EUROPE 11201).
Even then, the commissioner responsible, Margarethe Vestager, said that it would be “very difficult” to enter into agreements with the parties involved, adding that fines may be imposed.
When asked about the revelations of the Financial Times, Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas advised journalists to take the information with a pinch of salt, stressing that there were considerable economic and commercial interests related to the dossier. “The work is underway”, he simply commented. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)