Brussels, 26/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - Further to the letter of objections that the Commission sent to it concerning its new programme for the distribution of diamonds, the De Beers group announced it would respond "positively" to the concerns of the European Executive. The South African group states it will use the objections made in this communication as a base for identifying problems and remedying them. Although the joint company LVMH will not strengthen the already dominant position of De Beers (which controls between 60 and 65% of the production and sale of rough diamonds worldwide), it is another matter for its programme called "Supplier of Choice" (preferential supplier) and the Commission has decided to verify whether the clauses contained in these contracts are anti-competitive. (See yesterday's EUROPE, p.11).