The EU Commission fines 16 firms €290 million for their involvement in the industrial bags cartel

Competition : Commission fines 16 firms €290 million for industrial bags cartel* The European Commission has fined 16 firms €290.71 million for operating a cartel in the plastic industrial bags market, in clear violation of EC Treaty rules which forbid cartels and other restrictive business practices (Article 81). In this instance competitors, with a view to increasing their profits, agreed amongst themselves on prices and sales quotas by geographical area, shared the orders of large customers, organised collusive bidding for invitations to tender and exchanged information on their sales volumes, to the detriment of competition, their customers and consumers. Plastic industrial bags are used to pack various products, mainly of an industrial nature, but also products destined