The European Commission has fined Eurofield SAS and Unanime Sport SAS, the ultimate parent of Eurofield at the time of the infringement, a total of around €172,000 for providing an incomplete reply to a request for information issued in the context of the Commission's investigation in the synthetic turf sector .
The Commission's investigation
In June 2023, the Commission sent a simple request for information by letter to Eurofield in the context of its investigation in the synthetic turf sector. After carefully assessing Eurofield's reply, and after comparing it with documents collected in the context of unannounced inspections , the Commission had indications that the reply was incomplete. It therefore issued, in October 2023, a subsequent request for information to the company, this time by decision under article 18(3) of Regulation No 1/2003 , and made it aware of its concerns. Eurofield again replied in an incomplete manner.
In November 2024, the Commission informed the parties (i.e. Eurofield and Unanime Sport, its ultimate parent at the time of the infringement) that it had opened an investigation into the suspected procedural breach related to the incomplete reply. From then, the parties agreed to cooperate with the Commission in this investigation, by acknowledging their liability for the infringement and accepting to pay a fine. In this context, the parties submitted the documents identified as having been omitted as well as supplementary information that the Commission had not identified as missing.
The fine
According to Article 23(1)(b) of Regulation No 1/2003 , the Commission can impose fines of up to 1% of the total turnover of companies, which intentionally or negligently supply incorrect, incomplete or misleading information in response to a request for information adopted pursuant to Article 18(3) of that Regulation. The exact percentage of the total turnover is set in function of the gravity and the duration of the conduct, taking into account the specific circumstances of the case.
The Commission considers that the infringement in this case was committed at least negligently. When replying to a request for information, recipients are required to prepare their reply with utmost care to ensure that it is correct and complete. If the parties had any doubts as to the extent of the requested information, they could have sought clarification from the Commission, which they chose not to do despite having been made aware by the Commission of the suspected incompleteness of their reply to the initial information request.
The infringement committed by Eurofield is serious. Requests for information are one of the main investigative tools used by the Commission to gather information in antitrust investigations. The effectiveness of such an investigation is therefore largely dependent on complete and accurate responses. Omitting information may therefore seriously hamper the Commission's ability to effectively investigate anti-competitive conduct.
On this basis, the Commission has concluded that a fine corresponding to 0.3% of the parties' combined total turnover would be both proportionate and deterrent. At the same time, the Commission has decided to reward the parties for their proactive cooperation once they were made aware of the investigation into their suspected procedural breach. It has therefore decided to reduce the fine by 30%, resulting in a fine totalling around €172,000.
The fine is imposed jointly and severally on Eurofield and on Unanime Sport, which was the ultimate parent at the time of the infringement and can therefore also be held liable under the presumption of parental liability.
The Commission's investigation into the synthetic turf industry is still ongoing and is a separate procedure.
Background
Article 18 of Regulation No 1/2003 empowers the Commission to require companies, by simple request or by decision, to provide all necessary information to the Commission in order for it to carry out its investigations into anticompetitive practices.
The cooperation procedure is inspired by the well-established cartel settlements procedure and can be used in other situations where companies are willing to acknowledge their liability for an infringement of the EU competition rules (including the facts and legal qualification). The cooperation framework allows the Commission to apply a simpler and faster procedure and the cooperating companies to obtain a reduction in fines.
This is the first time that the Commission has used its powers under Article 23(1)(b) of Regulation 1/2003 to adopt a decision imposing a fine for the provision of incomplete information in reply to an information request in the context of an antitrust investigation.
In the past, the Commission has taken action against other breaches of the procedural rules applicable to companies subject to an antitrust investigation. For instance, in 2024 , the Commission imposed a fine of €15.9 million on International Fragrances and Flavours for the deletion of messages exchanged on a mobile telephone during an inspection. In addition, in 2008 , the Commission imposed a fine of €38 million on E.On and in 2011 a fine of €8 million on Suez Environnement and Lyonnaise des Eaux for breaching seals during an inspection.
