(ANSA) - BRUXELLES - La Commissione Ue ha avviato ispezioni a sorpresa nelle sedi di alcune compagnie aeree internazionali. Il sospetto - si legge in una nota di Bruxelles - e' che queste societa' abbiano violato le regole europee sulla concorrenza attraverso il ricorso a pratiche restrittive. (ANSA)
Ispezioni a sorpresa in diverse compagnie aeree
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Si riferisce a questo?
Compagnie aeree nel mirino Ue
L'esecutivo comunitario sospetta un cartello tra alcuni operatori che trasportano passeggeri tra l'Europa e il Giappone. Alitalia, AirFrance-Klm e Lufthansa hanno confermato di aver ricevuto visite a sorpresa dei funzionari europei
Blitz a sorpresa dei funzionari Ue nelle sedi di alcune compagnie aeree internazionali. Con il sospetto che alcuni operatori abbiano fatto cartello sui prezzi e alzato le barriere all'ingresso dei concorrenti sulle tratte internazionali, il commissario europeo responsabile di concorrenza Neelie Kroes ha avviato un'indagine tra gli operatori che forniscono servizi di trasporto passeggeri su tratte a lungo raggio tra l'Europa e paesi terzi, con l'obiettivo di chiarire se il loro comportamento viola o meno le regole sancite dal Trattati Ue in tema di concorrenza.
Lufthansa, AirFrance-Klm e Alitalia hanno già confermato di aver ricevuto la visita dei tecnici europei e dei rappresentanti delle autorità locali, mentre l'elvetica Swiss, la polacca Lot, le scandinave Sas e Finnairda hanno smentito il loro coinvolgimento. Da Bruxelles solo un comunicato, che sottolinea come l'ispezione non pregiudichi il risultato dell'indagine e che non indica quante e quali compagnie siano nel mirino dell'Ue, ha confermato l'avvio dell'operazione.
Secondo quanto hanno reso noto Lufthansa e AirFrance-Klm, la Commissione europea starebbe indagando, a seguito di alcune segnalazioni, su pratiche competitive sleali nel trasporto di passeggeri tra l'Europa e il Giappone, in particolare sui collegamenti europei con Tokio e Osaka.
LA STAMPA
Compagnie aeree nel mirino Ue
L'esecutivo comunitario sospetta un cartello tra alcuni operatori che trasportano passeggeri tra l'Europa e il Giappone. Alitalia, AirFrance-Klm e Lufthansa hanno confermato di aver ricevuto visite a sorpresa dei funzionari europei
Blitz a sorpresa dei funzionari Ue nelle sedi di alcune compagnie aeree internazionali. Con il sospetto che alcuni operatori abbiano fatto cartello sui prezzi e alzato le barriere all'ingresso dei concorrenti sulle tratte internazionali, il commissario europeo responsabile di concorrenza Neelie Kroes ha avviato un'indagine tra gli operatori che forniscono servizi di trasporto passeggeri su tratte a lungo raggio tra l'Europa e paesi terzi, con l'obiettivo di chiarire se il loro comportamento viola o meno le regole sancite dal Trattati Ue in tema di concorrenza.
Lufthansa, AirFrance-Klm e Alitalia hanno già confermato di aver ricevuto la visita dei tecnici europei e dei rappresentanti delle autorità locali, mentre l'elvetica Swiss, la polacca Lot, le scandinave Sas e Finnairda hanno smentito il loro coinvolgimento. Da Bruxelles solo un comunicato, che sottolinea come l'ispezione non pregiudichi il risultato dell'indagine e che non indica quante e quali compagnie siano nel mirino dell'Ue, ha confermato l'avvio dell'operazione.
Secondo quanto hanno reso noto Lufthansa e AirFrance-Klm, la Commissione europea starebbe indagando, a seguito di alcune segnalazioni, su pratiche competitive sleali nel trasporto di passeggeri tra l'Europa e il Giappone, in particolare sui collegamenti europei con Tokio e Osaka.
LA STAMPA
E' per un presunto cartello sui voli Europa-Giappone. Ne farebbero parte LH, AZ, AF e KL.
EU regulator raids airline offices in price-fixing investigation
By Nicola Clark Published: March 11, 2008
Fonte: Herald Tribune http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/11/business/cartel.php
PARIS: European Union antitrust officials raided the offices of several international airlines on Tuesday as part of an investigation into suspected price-fixing on scheduled flights between the Europe and Japan.
Spokeswomen for Lufthansa of Germany and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, a unit of Europe's largest airline group, Air France-KLM, confirmed that their offices in Frankfurt and Amsterdam had been raided and said they were cooperating fully with the investigation.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said it and national competition regulators had "carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of a number of international airline passenger carriers." It did not identify the carriers affected.
Jonathan Todd, a spokesman for the EU competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, declined to say how many airlines were being investigated.
Air France confirmed that in similar fashion to other airlines, it was being questioned by the European Commission about links between the European Union and Japan.
Air France said it was providing the commission with its full cooperation.
Reuters cited an unnamed official at Alitalia as saying that offices of the Italian flag carrier had also been raided. An Alitalia spokesman did not return calls requesting comment.
Todd said the inquiry would not be limited to European airlines.
"Any company with operations within the European Union must comply with EU antitrust regulations," he said.
A spokesman for Japan Airlines told Reuters none of its branches in Europe had been investigated, and a spokesman for All Nippon Airways told Reuters said it was not being questioned by the European Commission.
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Finnair and SAS said they were not involved in the EU's investigation.
Surprise inspections, sometimes referred to as "dawn raids," are a preliminary step in investigations into suspected cartels, the EU said.
"The fact that the European Commission carries out such inspections does not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behavior, nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself," it said.
The investigation follows a similar inquiry into allegations of price-fixing on air cargo rates, which resulted in charges being filed against an unspecified number of European and Asian airlines, including All Nippon, in December.
Last summer, British Airways said it had agreed to pay fines worth roughly £350 million, or more than $700 million at current rates, to the British and U.S. authorities after it admitted collusion with Virgin Atlantic Airways to raise passenger fuel surcharges to £60 from £5 on long-haul flights from August 2004 to January 2006. Virgin won immunity by voluntarily taking the matter to the British competition authorities.
Both British Airways and Virgin agreed last month to pay about $203 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by passengers in relation to that case.
EU regulator raids airline offices in price-fixing investigation
By Nicola Clark Published: March 11, 2008
Fonte: Herald Tribune http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/11/business/cartel.php
PARIS: European Union antitrust officials raided the offices of several international airlines on Tuesday as part of an investigation into suspected price-fixing on scheduled flights between the Europe and Japan.
Spokeswomen for Lufthansa of Germany and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, a unit of Europe's largest airline group, Air France-KLM, confirmed that their offices in Frankfurt and Amsterdam had been raided and said they were cooperating fully with the investigation.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said it and national competition regulators had "carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of a number of international airline passenger carriers." It did not identify the carriers affected.
Jonathan Todd, a spokesman for the EU competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, declined to say how many airlines were being investigated.
Air France confirmed that in similar fashion to other airlines, it was being questioned by the European Commission about links between the European Union and Japan.
Air France said it was providing the commission with its full cooperation.
Reuters cited an unnamed official at Alitalia as saying that offices of the Italian flag carrier had also been raided. An Alitalia spokesman did not return calls requesting comment.
Todd said the inquiry would not be limited to European airlines.
"Any company with operations within the European Union must comply with EU antitrust regulations," he said.
A spokesman for Japan Airlines told Reuters none of its branches in Europe had been investigated, and a spokesman for All Nippon Airways told Reuters said it was not being questioned by the European Commission.
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Finnair and SAS said they were not involved in the EU's investigation.
Surprise inspections, sometimes referred to as "dawn raids," are a preliminary step in investigations into suspected cartels, the EU said.
"The fact that the European Commission carries out such inspections does not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behavior, nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself," it said.
The investigation follows a similar inquiry into allegations of price-fixing on air cargo rates, which resulted in charges being filed against an unspecified number of European and Asian airlines, including All Nippon, in December.
Last summer, British Airways said it had agreed to pay fines worth roughly £350 million, or more than $700 million at current rates, to the British and U.S. authorities after it admitted collusion with Virgin Atlantic Airways to raise passenger fuel surcharges to £60 from £5 on long-haul flights from August 2004 to January 2006. Virgin won immunity by voluntarily taking the matter to the British competition authorities.
Both British Airways and Virgin agreed last month to pay about $203 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by passengers in relation to that case.
Viene citata nell'articolo della Stampa la Swiss che smentisce di aver subito ispezioni... ma è un pò difficile che la UE possa andare a fare ispezioni in un paese non UE
Vero fino ad un certo punto, LX è interamente posseduta da LH e poi la Svizzera aderisce a molti trattati UE, anche se non ai principali.Citazione:Messaggio inserito da airblue
Viene citata nell'articolo della Stampa la Swiss che smentisce di aver subito ispezioni... ma è un pò difficile che la UE possa andare a fare ispezioni in un paese non UE
la proprietà conta poco, la Svizzera è una nazione sovrana che non aderisce alla UE, seppur aderendo a trattati prevalentemente commerciali con la UE, ma in tema di giustizia c'è ben poco da fare. Frontiere chiuse.
non piu' ... leggi "esperti sul terreno" ....
http://www.swissinfo.ch/ita/swissinfo.html?siteSect=125&sid=8675885&cKey=1201539506000&ty=st
Nei rapporti fra Comunità Europea e Svizzera in materia di trasporto aereo vige un trattato internazionale chiamato "Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on Air Transport", concluso per la prima volta nel 1999 e da allora più volte aggiornato. Mediante gli annessi a tale trattato, e le decisioni di un "Joint Committee" a ciò deputato, la Svizzera ha recepito diversi Regolamenti Comunitari, i quali diventano di fatto legge applicabile alla confederazione. Ad esempio, in Svizzera si applicano le norme UE vigenti in materia di aeronavigabilità, licenze dei tecnici, etc, e per tali aspetti La Svizzera è già da diverso tempo oggetto di ispezioni da parte di team UE.
Per maggiori info:
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/cms3...s.asp?cmsid=297&id=1999034&lang=EN&doclang=EN
Ciao,
CharlieTango
Per maggiori info:
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/cms3...s.asp?cmsid=297&id=1999034&lang=EN&doclang=EN
Ciao,
CharlieTango
So bene i trattati a cui aderisce la Svizzera in tema di traporto aereo, ma la commissione UE si riferisce a:
regole in tema di concorrenza a cui ovviamente la Svizzera, non membro UE, non aderisce.
regole in tema di concorrenza a cui ovviamente la Svizzera, non membro UE, non aderisce.
Mi fa piacere che tu li sappia bene. L'articolo 8 recita:
Article 8
1. The following shall be prohibited as incompatible with this Agreement:
all agreements between undertakings, decisions by associations of undertakings and concerted practices which may affect trade between the Contracting Parties and which have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition within the territory covered by this Agreement, and in particular those which:
(a) directly or indireclty fix purchase or selling prices or any other trading conditions;
(b) limit or control production, markets, technical development, or investment;
(c) share markets or sources of supply;
(d) apply dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions with other trading parties, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage; [...]
Ciao,
CharlieTango
Article 8
1. The following shall be prohibited as incompatible with this Agreement:
all agreements between undertakings, decisions by associations of undertakings and concerted practices which may affect trade between the Contracting Parties and which have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition within the territory covered by this Agreement, and in particular those which:
(a) directly or indireclty fix purchase or selling prices or any other trading conditions;
(b) limit or control production, markets, technical development, or investment;
(c) share markets or sources of supply;
(d) apply dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions with other trading parties, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage; [...]
Ciao,
CharlieTango
Qui il comunicato stampa ufficiale della Commissione EU sulle ispezioni:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressRelease...format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Antitrust: Commission carries out inspections in the international airline passenger sector
MEMO/08/158
Brussels, 11th March 2008
Antitrust: Commission carries out inspections in the international airline passenger sector
The European Commission can confirm that on 11th March 2008 Commission officials carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of a number of international airline passenger carriers. These airline carriers provide scheduled passenger air transport services on long-haul routes between Europe and a third country. The Commission has reason to believe that the companies concerned may have violated EC Treaty rules on restrictive business practices (Article 81).
The Commission officials were accompanied by their counterparts from the relevant national competition authorities.
Surprise inspections are a preliminary step in investigations into suspected cartels. The fact that the European Commission carries out such inspections does not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour; nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself. The European Commission respects the rights of defence, in particular the right of companies to be heard in antitrust proceedings.
There is no strict deadline to complete cartel inquiries. Their duration depends on a number of factors, including the complexity of each case, the extent to which the undertakings concerned co-operate and the exercise of the rights of defence.
Ciao,
CharlieTango
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressRelease...format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Antitrust: Commission carries out inspections in the international airline passenger sector
MEMO/08/158
Brussels, 11th March 2008
Antitrust: Commission carries out inspections in the international airline passenger sector
The European Commission can confirm that on 11th March 2008 Commission officials carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of a number of international airline passenger carriers. These airline carriers provide scheduled passenger air transport services on long-haul routes between Europe and a third country. The Commission has reason to believe that the companies concerned may have violated EC Treaty rules on restrictive business practices (Article 81).
The Commission officials were accompanied by their counterparts from the relevant national competition authorities.
Surprise inspections are a preliminary step in investigations into suspected cartels. The fact that the European Commission carries out such inspections does not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour; nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself. The European Commission respects the rights of defence, in particular the right of companies to be heard in antitrust proceedings.
There is no strict deadline to complete cartel inquiries. Their duration depends on a number of factors, including the complexity of each case, the extent to which the undertakings concerned co-operate and the exercise of the rights of defence.
Ciao,
CharlieTango