Press Release: Antitrust: Commission fines bitumen suppliers €183 million for market sharing and price coordination in Spain

The European Commission has imposed fines totalling €183,651,000 on the groups BP, Repsol, Cepsa, Nynäs and Galp for participating in a cartel for bitumen in Spain in violation of the EC Treaty’s ban on restrictive business practices (Article 81). Between 1991 and 2002, these companies shared the market for bitumen, used for road construction, and coordinated bitumen prices. BP was the first company to come forward with information about the cartel under the Commission's 2002 Leniency Notice and received immunity from fines.

European Commission: MEMO/07/393: Competition: Commission action against cartels – Questions and answers http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/07/393&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

European Commission: SPEECH/07/591: Neelie Kroes: Introductory remarks on Spanish bitumen cartel, Visa/Morgan Stanley and Sony/BMG joint venture http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/07/591&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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