On 25 September 2018, the European Commission sent a Statement of Objections to the Slovak rail company ZSSK.
The Commission informed ZSSK about its preliminary view that the company obstructed an inspection conducted in June 2016 under the antitrust Regulation 1/2003,by giving incorrect information and deleting data from a laptop.
Following a careful assessment of all the evidence, including ZSSK’s reply to the Statement of Objections and the oral hearing, the Commission has decided not to further pursue the case.
Background
ZSSK is the Slovak rail incumbent, providing both passenger and freight transport services.
The Commission carried out inspections at ZSSK’s premises in June 2016. The Commission suspected that ZSSK may have entered into anti-competitive agreements aimed at shutting out competing rail passenger transport operators from the market, in breach of EU antitrust rules (Articles 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). This investigation is still ongoing.
Under Council Regulation 1/2003 (Articles 20(4) and 23), companies have the obligation to cooperate with Commission officials during an inspection, to give correct information and to give access to all documents relevant to an antitrust investigation.
More information on this investigation will be available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the reference AT.40565.
