Brussels, 09/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - Without making an official announcement, the European Commission confirmed on Wednesday that it had launched an investigation into the French beef industry where there have been allegations of illegal price-fixing. The expiry of the interprofessional agreement on minimum prices and a temporary suspension of beef imports signed at the end of October in France had been set for 30 November but an inspection by the Commission before Christmas in Paris found evidence that the price-fixing agreement was still in force, but had taken another form, explained a spokesperson for Mario Monti. The spokesperson went on that the investigation was still at a preliminary stage. EUROPE has been given to understand that minced beef prices were kept artificially low after the alleged expiry of the agreement.
Inspectors from the Commission's Directorate-General for Competition carried out an inspection at the headquarters of the Fédération française des syndicats d'exploitants agricoles (FNSEA), the Fédération nationale bovine (FNB) and the Fédération des industriels et commerces de gros de la viande. The case was referred to DG Competition by DG Agriculture which had looked into the French agreement to suspend beef imports. The interprofessional agreement was signed by French farmers and abattoirs in order to try and get the French beef industry out of the doldrums. A spokesperson for Franz Fischler criticised the agreement when it was signed (see EUROPE of 27 October, p.11).