Brussels, 23/09/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has confirmed that it has carried out "surprise" inspections in the Spanish premises of several manufacturers of cement and other building materials, on 22 and 23 September. In a press release published on Wednesday 23 September, the Commission declared that it had reason to believe that competition law may have been infringed, by illegal agreements over prices and a concerted sharing-out of the market. According to some parts of the media, the companies involved are believed to include Lafarge (France), Holcim (Switzerland) and Cemex (Mexico), world numbers 1, 2 and 3 respectively in cement production. These companies had previously been targeted by inspections on 4 November 2008. Additionally, Lafarge was fined by Brussels in 1994 for taking part in a cartel. (C.D./trans.fl)