On Tuesday 18 June, the European Commission announced that it had carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of a consultancy firm in two Member States. It suspects that the company in question supported or encouraged price coordination between tyre manufacturers, who also used public communication channels to reach agreements.
If these behaviours are verified, they would constitute breaches of EU antitrust rules which, under Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices.
During these operations, European Commission officials were accompanied by their counterparts from the national competition authorities of the Member States where the inspections took place.
The European Commission stresses that unannounced inspections are a preliminary stage in the investigation of suspected anti-competitive practices and do not prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)