Brussels, 18/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes told press on Wednesday that those involved in restrictive trade practices on the Dutch beer market had been fined a total of €273 million. This decision means the total amount imposed in fines for anti-competitive conduct in 2007 is already over €2 billion, compared with €1.8 for the whole of 2006.
The Commission investigation and surprise inspections carried out in 2000 in several member states has led, in the case of the Dutch market, to fines being imposed on four brewers: - €219 million on Heineken (Netherlands), €32 million on Grolsch (Netherlands) and €23 million on Bavaria (Netherlands). The fourth, InBev - InBev NV (Belgium) & InBev Nederland BV (Netherlands) - was also found guilty and fined €84 million, but saw this amount reduced by 100% because it provided decisive information about the cartel under the Commission's leniency programme. In other words, InBev was fined, but will not have to pay anything.
The evidence uncovered during inspections, in particular handwritten notes taken at unofficial meetings and proof of the dates and places of these meetings, showed that the four companies ran an illegal cartel in the Netherlands at least from 1996 to 1999, fully confirming the corporate statements provided by InBev. At meetings called “agenda meeting”, “Catherijne meeting” or “sliding scale meeting”, the four brewers coordinated prices and price increases of beer in the Netherlands, both in the on-trade segment of the market - where consumption is on the premises (known in Dutch as “horeca”, an acromym for “hotels, restaurants and cafés”) - and the off trade market segment - consumption off the premises (mainly sold through supermarkets), including private label beer.
Replying in her native Dutch to the questions of journalists from the Netherlands, Ms Kroes said that the high level of these fines was not simply due to the large turnovers of the companies involved, but also to their market position, with Heineken, for example, holding a more than 50% market share. Ms Kroes refused to speculate on the outcomes of the ongoing Commission investigations in Belgium, Luxemburg, France and Italy, but said that she expected the number of decisions by DG Competition to continue to increase, thanks in part to the creation of the dedicated cartel-busting directorate.
Ms Kroes also said she was “very disappointed” to learn that management at the very highest levels of these four companies had taken part in this cartel activity, despite knowing that this behaviour was illegal. Questioned directly on this issue by press, she did not express the desire to see those responsible face criminal sanctions. She, nonetheless, let it be understood that Dutch consumers who felt they had been adversely affected by the actions of the cartel might consider organising themselves and initiating legal proceedings at national level. Average annual per capita beer consumption in the Netherlands, she pointed out, was of the order of 80 litres, after all. According to a Commission press release, such proceedings could use the Commission decision as evidence that the behaviour took place and was illegal, and damages may be awarded by a national court without these being reduced on account of the Commission fine. (cd)