EU Commission raids Intel's German offices

The EU Commission paid a visit to the Munich offices of chip manufacturer Intel and a number of computer retailers on Tuesday. Officials from Brussels and representatives of Germany's Competition Bureau interrogated employees and searched through offices as part of the EU's investigations into Intel for alleged breaches of competition law. Headed by EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes, officials from Brussels are looking into the possibility that Intel may have committed collusion and abused its dominant position on the market. Specifically, Intel is charged with abusing its market power and reaching secret agreements with manufacturers and large computer retailers so that only Intel processors are used in a large section of the market. Intel's competitor AMD would then be taken out of the market.

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A spokesperson for Commissioner Kroes confirmed that searches had taken place, though she did not say which companies had been raided. A German Intel spokesperson told dpa, "EU officials were in our offices in Munich." Prior to that statement, a spokesperson at Intel's US headquarters confirmed events in the EU in US media. The chip manufacturer has not provided any further information about the searches. According to reports in the media, antitrust authorities also paid a visit to electronics retail chain Mediamarkt/Saturn. A spokesperson for the Metro subsidiary confirmed in a Reuters report that investigations had taken place. Among other things, AMD has accused Intel of reaching secret agreements with Mediamarkt/Saturn to have AMD products kept off the shelves.

Last July, the EU Commission officially opened proceedings against Intel. In January, Intel reacted to the charges, and the firm recently asked for an unofficial hearing with the EU Commission, which is scheduled to take place in March. The EU Commission has expressly stated that the unannounced searches on Tuesday are only the beginning of investigations and should not be misconstrued as indicating that Intel will be found guilty. The Commission also pointed out that Intel can continue to defend itself against the charges. There is still no word on when the investigations will be completed.

(jbe)