The European Commission has raided the offices of a number of soft drinks companies over possible competition law breaches, after dropping a similar inquiry into the sector two years ago.
On Monday, the Commission said it was investigating companies in the “non-alcoholic drinks sector” in several countries over concerns they may have “violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive practices, and abuses of a dominant position”.
It added that it was investigating “restrictions on the trade of goods” and “market segmentation”. The Commission did not name the companies whose premises were raided but an EU official said the inspections related to the soft drinks sector.
The Commission said the raids related to conduct “that may potentially still be ongoing”, adding that its officials had been accompanied by national competition authorities in the countries involved.
Unannounced inspections of companies’ offices are a preliminary step in investigations into suspected competition law breaches.
The Commission said it had also sent a request for information to an unnamed company in the personal care sector. Such requests are another mechanism used to gather evidence related to suspected anti-competitive practices.
Companies found to have breached European competition law may face hefty fines, but can apply for leniency if they report the misconduct to authorities or co-operate with the Commission’s investigations.
Two years ago the Commission carried out a preliminary investigation into potentially anti-competitive practices by Coca-Cola and its bottlers in Europe — Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Coca-Cola Hellenic.
At the time, the Commission said it had concerns that Coca-Cola and the bottlers were abusing their position by offering incentives to retailers that blocked new drinks makers from entering the market.
The Commission announced in 2023 that after reviewing evidence submitted by the companies, their competitors and the retailers, it had found there were insufficient grounds to continue the investigation.