Competition Commissioner points to more sectoral inquiries

Joaquín Almunia, European Commissioner for Competition, has indicated that the Commission will be conducting more sectoral inquiries over the coming years during the remainder of his tenure.

In a speech to a European Parliament committee, Mr Alumina recognised that sectoral inquiries have given "very good results in the past". He did not however indicate which sectors might face a probe from the Commission; primarily to retain the element of surprise should the Commission wish to make use of unannounced inspections at the start of an inquiry (as it did in the pharmaceutical sector inquiry).

A sector inquiry may be opened where the Commission has concerns that a market may not be working as well as it should and can be particularly appropriate for investigating cross-border market concerns and examining sector-wide practices that do not normally fall within the scope of an individual case.  Over the course of an inquiry, firms may receive (sometimes extensive)