Brussels, 11/10/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 11 October the European Commission confirmed that it had carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of various providers of international freight forwarding services. Accompanied by their counterparts from the national competition authorities, Commission officials carried out surprise inspections into suspected cartels or companies suspected of having breached other aspects of competition law. In a press release, the Commission explained that such inspections do not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour; nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself. The European Commission said that it respects the rights of the companies targeted.
A branch of Deutsche Bahn (Schenker) and Deutsche Post confirmed that they had been involved, as well as the Swiss firms, Kuehne & Nagel and Panalpina. Several important companies in the sector have denied that they have been affected by the inspections, such as Lufthansa, Thiel Logistik and TNT. (cd)