Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

European Commission Competition Investigations under Articles 101/102 TFEU: Stages, Dawn Raids, Information Requests, Rights of Defence, Leniency, Settlements, Commitments, Interim Measures, Fines, Remedies, Limitation Periods and Appeals

Published by a LexisNexis Competition expert

Practice notes

European Commission investigations

The European Commission (Commission) examines indications or allegations of anti-competitive behaviour by companies that affect more than one EU Member State—for instance, international price-fixing cartels and other collusive practices prohibited by Article 101(1) TFEU, or situations where a company seems to misuse a dominant position contrary to Article 102 TFEU. Note—criminal action against individuals can be pursued in some Member States, but not by the Commission...

Investigations may begin in one of four ways:

an implicated party coming forward as a whistleblower,
a complaint submitted by a third party,
the Commission obtaining market intelligence suggesting a breach of competition law—for example, press reports or informal customer complaints, or
the Commission identifying suspected infringements during a sector inquiry (see EU Sector inquiries).

Frequently, a company only becomes aware that it is under investigation after the Commission has conducted an unannounced inspection (a ‘dawn raid’) or has sent information requests...

Once opened, an investigation follows an established procedure. This gives the undertakings accused of wrongdoing the chance to present their defence, including submitting written observations and attending an oral hearing...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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