This European Commission He announced on Tuesday that the preliminary investigation against the multinational has been closed. Coca Cola and its European bottlers Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Coca-Colla Hellenic due to possible anti-competitive practices.
Margrethe Vestager, the department of the vice president of competition, concluded: “There is not enough reason to continue the investigation”Community Manager reported in a statement.
Initially, Brussels suspected that Coca-Cola and two European bottlers were abusing their dominant position by: “granting a series of conditional discounts to retailers in the various Member States for the purpose of preventing new beverages from entering the market or preventing their spread”.
The European Commission noted that its decision to close the preliminary investigation was based on “an in-depth analysis and careful consideration of all available relevant evidence”, including information provided by both Coca-Cola and both. bottlers, retailers and competitors.
However, the termination of the investigations does not mean that “the conduct in question complies with the European competition rules”, therefore, the investigation “We will continue to monitor the practices of companies” “to ensure that it is affordable and leaves room for innovation and freedom of choice” in the industry.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is the famous beverage bottler in 29 Western European countries, including Spain, and was born out of the 2016 merger of three bottlers, including Coca-Cola Iberian Partners, responsible for the Iberian Peninsula.
Coca-Colla Hellenic expands its operations In 28 countries located in Central and Eastern Europeas well as the Balkans and Baltic countries.