Brussels, 15/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - Following articles that appeared in the press on the subject of infringement in the fuel sector, the Community competition services recalled that the Commission was only at the inquiry stage and that no infringement proceedings had been initiated to date. Between November 2000 and January 2001, the services under Commissioner Monti sent questionnaires to a number of companies in the oil sector, companies that are not refineries but essentially distributors or independent traders, in order to better define the competition conditions in this sector. "Responses are expected for the end of the month of February 2001", states the Commission. "As soon as the responses have been examined, a further meeting with the national competition authorities may be held to discuss the matter". A first meeting had been held in this connection on 29 September 2000. The Commission and the Member State competition authorities had, on this occasion, examined to what extent the competition policy may make the fuel sector more competitive. They had also shared their experiences in order to ensure the greatest possible effectiveness in implementation of anti-trust rules at national and Community levels (see EI of 2/3 October last).
European Parliament plenary session