The European Commission closes cartel procedure against Carlsberg and Heineken

On 1 March 2002, the European Commission issued a Statement of Objection (SO) to Carlsberg and Heineken relating to a proceeding pursuant to Article 81 (1) EC Treaty. After a two-year investigation, the Commission presented in the SO its preliminary conclusion that Heineken and Carlsberg had agreed not to compete in each other's home markets - the Netherlands and Denmark respectively - in the period 1993-1996. However, no evidence was found to prove that the suspected infringement took place after May 1995, the relevant period for fining purposes. On this basis, the Commission closed its investigation today. Frontier (London) were economic advisers to Carlsberg throughout the inquiry. For more details, click here.