Brussels, 02/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 2 June, the Commission announced that it had opened a formal investigation against the French pharmaceutical laboratory Sanofi-Aventis, regarding an alleged obstruction during a surprise inspection carried out in January 2008. At the centre of this dispute is the refusal on the part of the staff of the Paris-headquartered group to allow Commission investigators to examine documents without the presentation of a French national warrant. This warrant was presented within days, and the inspection was accordingly completed, but the regulation 1/2003 (article 20 (2)) grants authority for Commission inspectors to obtain and copy all relevant documents of a company during a surprise inspection. (C.D.)