The European Commission has closed its antitrust investigation into the pulp sector.
By October 12, 2021, the commission had carried out unannounced inspections in several member states at the premises of major paper groups. Stora Enso, Metsä Fibre, part of the Metsä Board Corporation group, and UPM announced at the time that they were affected by the controls .
The institution suspected the companies concerned of having infringed anti-competitive rules, in accordance with Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (EU), which prohibits agreements between independent undertakings and restrictive business practices.
In its press release, it states: "After a thorough analysis and careful evaluation of all the evidence gathered, the commission concluded that there were insufficient grounds to continue the investigation."
And she adds: "The closure of the investigation does not mean that the behavior in question complies with EU competition rules."
