Brussels surprise inspection of Red Bull facilities in several countries for possible cartel

BRUSSELS, March 21 (EUROPA PRESS) -

The European Commission has unannounced Red Bull facilities in several European Union countries to investigate whether the company has violated EU competition rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices.

Community Executive officials inspected the trademark offices in several countries accompanied by the national Competition authorities responsible in each case, as reported by Brussels in a statement, in which, however, it does not specify the name of the firm and limits itself to to indicate that it is a producer of energy drinks.

Red Bull, for its part, has confirmed the records in another statement to the German agency DPA without giving further details of the case, although it has expressed its willingness to "cooperate and work" with the Commission on "all matters that concern them". .

The community services fear that the inspected company has violated the antitrust rules of the European Union that prohibit companies from agreeing prices with competitors and other restrictive activities in commercial matters.

Brussels is also investigating whether the company in question has also infringed the common rules against abuse of a dominant position, it explained in the statement, while recalling that surprise inspections are a preliminary step to opening an investigation and do not prejudge the result. of the investigations.

There is no closed legal step to complete investigations into possible anticompetitive behaviors because the times will depend on factors such as the complexity of the case, the degree of collaboration of the companies involved and the legal defense exercised by the firms.