Brussels, 28/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - On 28 November, European Commissioner for Competition Neelie Kroes announced that four major international producers of flat glass had been fined a total of €486.9 million for taking part in a cartel in 2004 and 2005.
The sum total of anti-cartel fines for 2007 has now passed the €3 billion mark, and the commissioner intends to get across the message of dissuasion to other companies who may be considering going down that road. Without giving any explanations as to the calculation method used, the Commission announced that its DG Competition had used the new guidelines established last year, which authorise sanctions of up to 30% of turnover during the period of activity of the cartel (EUROPE 9221).
The companies which have been fined are Asahi Co. Ltd of Japan, the American Guardian, Pilkington of the United Kingdom and the French producer St Gobain, which hold 80% of the European flat glass market between them (estimated at €1.7 billion in 2004). The Commission's investigations showed that the management of these four companies met over the two years in question to agree on price increases and their synchronisation on the largest market for flat glass, double glazing and safety glass. The commissioner took pains to stress that the Commission had launched this investigation under its own initiative, without having been alerted to it by one of the members of the cartel. “Companies that engage in cartels will be found out, whether or not one of their members blows the whistle”, she warned. (C.D.)