The Commission raided the offices of several German publishers and the headquarters of Austrian media retail chain Libro this week following allegations of collusion against Internet booksellers

Date: 03/08/00

A spokesman said the aim of the raids was to find evidence of collusion between the publishers and wholesalers to boycott Internet booksellers who did not respect fixed book prices in direct cross-border sales to consumers in Germany. He said the Commission also wanted more information about a deal struck between Libro and German publishers and wholesalers concerning the end of rebates by Libro, which was announced last month.