Today, 12 October, unannounced inspections are taking place at the premises of several paper groups in different European countries. The Finnish companies Stora Enso, Metsä Fibre, a subsidiary of Metsä Board Corporation, and UPM have announced that they are concerned by these inspections.
The European Commission suspects the wood pulp industry of having "violates EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices." it said in a statement. The commission's spokespersons did not wish to give us any further details on these alleged anti-competitive acts.
Unannounced inspections are a preliminary step in an investigation into suspected anticompetitive practices. The European Commission emphasizes that conducting such inspections does not imply that companies are guilty of anticompetitive behavior or prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself.
She adds that there is no legal deadline for closing investigations into anticompetitive behavior. Their duration depends on a number of factors.
