Companies contest EU ruling

Cement companies have appealed to the European Court of Justice seven rulings the EU General Court upholding the European Commission's broad requests for information (RFI) in an antitrust investigation.

Following the opening of its investigation, the Commission requested detailed and voluminous information from the investigated cement manufacturers. The companies challenged the requests before the General Court, alleging that the Commission failed adequately to explain the presumed infringements and that the RFIs imposed a disproportionate workload in relation to the volume and type of information requested and adherence to an elaborate questionnaire format.

The General Court rejected the cement companies' claims, with the exception of the claim brought by Schwenk Zement that the Commission failed to grant sufficient time for responding to a particular set of very detailed questions. The General Court rulings confirm the Commission's broad investigatory powers in assessing suspected anticompetitive activity.